Yellow Rumps Passing Through!

Yellow Rumped Warbler

After yesterday, I had to get back over to see who would be there today! 53 degrees, clear and comfortable.

I was very excited to see some yellow rumps seemed to have arrived overnight in the lower gardens as well as the upper gardens. I discovered that, in addition to the sparrows, they are big fans of the artemesia seeds in the meadow.

Cowbird

I saw a pine warbler/black poll on the path to the upper gardens (I wouldn't dare say one way or the other unless I had someone more experienced with me), although I suspect it was a pine warbler. Also, a kinglet was flitting about high up in the canopy of a tall tree.

Junco

I really wanted to study the sparrows in the upper gardens. Plenty of song sparrows, and several white throated sparrows. Had a really nice, close encounter with the Lincoln sparrow. I was so close that I could finally, clearly see what everyone had been explaining to me for two years now - the buffy breast with the fine striations that make it different from the song sparrow. I may have seen some swamp sparrows, but wasn't 100% sure.

Common Yellowthroat

I couldn't stay very long so and as I headed down, I discovered several birds hanging out in the mulberry tree. There was a cowbird couple hanging out together for quite some time. Yellow rumps were flitting from the tree to the meadow. A male house finch was sunning himself at the very top, while a junco posed on a branch and surveyed the area. A common yellowthroat showed me a bit of his mask as I took his picture.

There will be a walk with the Brookline Bird Club next Saturday, 8:00 a.m. at the Nahanton Street entrance with Linda Ferraresso. Hope to see you there! Check out our listings on the Nahanton Park website: www.nahantonpark.org.