Cuckoos

Beautiful morning at Nahanton Park. The surprise was this pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos, apparently nesting along Florrie's Path. Beyond the two trees fallen across the path (and not yet cleared by the city) there is a ten foot high snag on the river side of the path, with a hole near the top (maybe a chickadee nest). The birds were in the canopy just beyond.

The bloodroot by the pond is looking great, and the ladyslippers are blooming in the usual place!

Mothers Day surprises

Every year Alison Leary and I lead a Mothers Day bird walk at Nahanton Park. This year we had quite a large and enthusiastic group, and found some interesting birds. We encountered about 35 species of which nine were warblers, including Black-throated Blue, Chestnut-sided, Canada, and Wilson's.  

I was too busy to take any photos till after the walk was over, when I found this second Canada Warbler along Florrie's Path.

At the end of the upper (Woodcock) field, a brown bird flushed out of a tree and into the tree screen in front of the parking lot. Black-billed Cuckoo!

Soon after, I relocated the Chestnut-sided Warbler ....

Grim discovery, but happy goings ons too!

Dead Seagull found on outskirts of pond area

7:00 am, 60 degrees and partly sunny.

The yellow warblers are back and singing away!! They're such cheerful little birds.

Lower Gardens: I ran into a man named Bill, who had arrived earlier. He was taking pictures with a huge lens and tripod. He had seen some black & white warblers and an oven bird which unfortunately, I was not able to locate. However, I did see the following: a VERY colorful white-throated sparrow, house finches, tree swallows, robins, goldfinches, cowbirds, blue jays, (2) house wrens checking out the bird boxes that the tree swallows are staking out, an oriole male, catbirds, gulls overhead and cardinals.

The upper gardens had similar fare with the addition of several red-winged blackbird couples, chickadees and song sparrows. One of the gardeners has several feeders up and they were all having a field day.

The soccer field/pond area had some downies, a nuthatch, a blue heron flying overhead and a beautiful male towhee. So, I guess he's still here!

I saw signs of large gray wings back in the brush and worried it was a dead blue heron. I had to scramble through crabapple and cat briar thorns to get to the bird. It was a dead seagull. When you see them up close, you realize just how large they are. It was very sad and I have no idea what happened. It's head was in a strange position and I wondered if it had somehow broken its neck.

Down by the river, the barn swallows are back flying under the bridge where we usually see them. I found out an interesting fact last night at the Newton Conservators dinner. Peter Alden, the guest speaker informed us that there is a huge decline in barn swallows due to people painting their barns. Apparently, their type of nests do not stick well to painted wood - only to natural wood.

Make sure to come to Haynes and Alison's Mother's Day bird walk on Sunday, May 13th at 8:00 a.m. Meet at the Nahanton St. entrance. It's always a special treat.