Cedar Waxwing |
I was unable to post last weekend due to my son's college graduation. I ran into Paul, an avid bird watcher and the highlights we saw or heard last Sunday, included: peewees, a couple of blue-gray gnatcatchers (glimpse only), a wood duck, a mallard with over eight little yellow fluffy babies following mom all around the pond, the phoebe in nest adjacent to the previous one starting a 2nd brood and a pair of green herons flying down the Charles River flyway.
The migration excitement has definitely quieted down. Today it was 70 degrees at 7:00 a.m. and a little hazy. The business of nesting and rearing young is in earnest.
Common Yellow Throat Male |
Donna's Poppies |
Heard and saw the usual in the lower gardens i.e., robins, house wrens, tree swallows, yellow warblers, catbirds, mourning doves and goldfinches. However, I heard the tell-tale high pitch noise of the waxwing and finally saw this beautiful bird doing gymnastics in the tree in the middle of the gardens. As I was watching it, I heard the witchety witchety of the common yellow throat. They're so elusive in a large shrub, but finally, after several minutes of searching it appeared towards the edge where I could see it.
Wild Turkey |
Foxgloves |
The upper gardens were pretty quiet. The tree swallows are feeding young so they're pretty low key. An oriole couple had some little argument, but then made up. Lots of vegetables are coming up - the lettuces are almost formed into heads for picking. One gardener had some beautiful foxgloves blooming just outside their fence.
No excitement in the pond save for some frogs with their deep-throated noises. There's a robin nest in a tree adjacent. We saw her building it last weekend, but now all is quiet and she is probably sitting in it.
Saw a few tufties and then some barn swallows down by the river and of course the warbling vireos down there were warbling away!
I like your cedar waxwing picture. I'm glad you found some green herons... i haven't seen any yet this year.
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