Mulberry Madness

Double-decker swallow babies

It's been quite cool for the last week or so and today was no exception. It was 57 degrees at 7:15 a.m. but I'm a fan of this type of weather.

The park has generally been rather quiet as the birds have been nesting and here is the perfect example. I was greeted by these double-decker tree swallow babies waiting for tasty treats from mom or dad. They were rewarded shortly after taking this picture.

Yellow warbler baby

The main attraction today was the mulberry tree situated on the path from the lower to the upper gardens. The white fruit is out. It's like a new restaurant opened up and everyone had to try it out. First, I saw a strange looking little bird - mostly gray with a bright yellow tail. I thought it might be a yellow warbler baby, but wasn't quite sure. Luckily, mom or dad showed up to feed it, so it was definitely confirmed as a yellow warbler. Among the steady customers at the new Mulberry Cafe, were catbirds, robins, goldfinches, cedar waxwings and several greedy chipmunks.

Rose-breasted grosbeak female

All our regulars were in attendance between the upper and lower gardens. A few blue jays, lots of song sparrows, tree swallows, a cardinal, and a house finch family.

On the path by the soccer field, I had a close encounter with a female grosbeak which I have to assume means she is breeding here at Nahanton. I remember when we saw the babies towards the end of the summer last year and I hope we see them again!

Two baby phoebes were looking rather plump in their nest and crying for their food with large, open beaks. That means that this year, both broods were successful!

Other birds seen or heard include a baltimore oriole, nuthatch, red winged blackbird, red-bellied wood pecker, flicker, mourning doves and a rough winged swallow.

Very Sweet!

Yellow Warbler

58 degrees this morning and sunny - a lovely morning at 6:15 a.m.

As I drove down the driveway, a deer jumped across the road and it all happened so fast, I only caught a glimpse of it's hind quarters and a flash of it's white tail!

I decided to head to the upper gardens first. The wildflowers in the meadow improve weekly. Today some bright yellow coreopsis were in bloom along with some white campion, purple vetch and the white fleabane.

Coreopsis

In addition to other house wren families nearby, a pair I've been watching have finally moved in to the house next to the tree swallows as you walk the path to the lower gardens. They were very busy taking turns piling in the nesting material.

Tree swallows are feeding their young. Robins and catbirds abound as well as goldfinches, song sparrows and yellow warblers. I saw a family of Baltimore orioles in the upper gardens. The young brother and sister were still with their parents in a tall tree at the back of the gardens. A brightly colored red winged blackbird was extremely vocal.

Wild Rose

The vegetable gardens everywhere are looking incredible. The gardeners have put in so much work and so far, it looks like it's going to be a great season for them. The lettuce looks healthy and full, carrot foliage is looking strong, pea plants are as high as people's fences and the tomatoes are bulking up and looking strong. All the rain we had last week, combined with the sunny weekend is sure to add inches to everything!

Caught in the act!

Didn't see a whole lot today in the lower gardens. Saw a family of yellow warblers, several cowbirds and a barn swallow as well as our regulars. My favorite wild roses are blooming. The color of the pink is just glorious.

Heard a peewee calling from the woods as I headed down to the pond. Across the river was a lone cedar waxwing high up in a tree. This baby rabbit was caught red-handed. Luckily for the gardeners, it was in a weed patch near the river and was very happy with a plantain leaf.

Very Quiet...

Aquilegia (Columbine)

The temperature was a little cool this morning at 57 degrees, but it wasn't raining, so I decided to head to the park for a nice walk.

It's fairly quiet over there as the birds attend to their parental duties. Saw most of our summer regulars including, of course, the tree swallows, a few barn swallows, robins, titmice, mourning doves, song sparrows, cow birds, blackbirds, grackles, yellow warblers, cat birds etc. Saw two cedar waxwings sitting in a tree looking very elegant. Their coloring is one of those miracles of nature.

The house wren family, in the bird box on the golf course side of the lower gardens, have babies that are quite vocal now. It made me laugh to hear them. Mom or Dad came back with some goodies and they were so excited.

I've been checking the meadow out each week to see if more wildflowers are coming back and today I saw purple dames rocket, fleabane and yellow coreopsis blooming. Not a lot, but it's something.

Canadian geese family

It seems like the upper gardens have been extraordinarily quiet compared to other years. I could hear a warbling vireo, but never caught a glimpse. Some goldfinches were hanging out, the tree swallows were in abundance and I could hear a flicker, some chickadees and more house wrens. Two cormorants flew overhead.

Down by the river, the phoebe still sits on her second nest while Canadian geese families glide down the river for a Sunday outing. I saw two families together today - one with two babies and one with three.

Settling Down...

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

Several cowbirds were strutting around someones garden and Donna's poppies are spectacular! I saw something quite large in my peripheral vision, and realized a large turkey had come from the golf course side and was marching down the path headed towards some cover. I followed it and it knew I was following, so we both sped up and finally I was able to get a picture of it.

Foxgloves

The invasive multi-flora roses with little white flowers are in full bloom, along with raspberries. I was thinking about the word "raspberries" today and wondering if the thorns have anything to do with the word "rasp" used for a tool that has sharp edges. I'll have to look that up. I've been watching the meadow to see if the planted cosmos would turn up, but not a sign of one so far. The wildflowers are in short supply after the snow dumping fiasco last year, but a few are making their way back. I saw some ox eye daisies and some purple clover. At least that's something…

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!

Mother's Day Bird Walk

Our Group

Today was the Mother's Day Bird Walk, led by Alison Leary and Haynes Miller, two excellent bird watchers. It was co-sponsored by the Newton Conservators and the Friends of Nahanton Park.

We started at the Charles River entrance where we heard the constant warbling of a warbling vireo. Saw some orioles, titmice, a barn swallow, downy woodpecker and catbirds. The phoebe is in her nest and looks like one of the babies is sitting up and looking rather large!

Baltimore Oriole

As we walked through the woods, we saw a male wood duck in the far end of the pond as well as lots of turtles basking on logs and a veery was seen nearby. As walked through the soccer field, we saw yellow warblers, orioles and a magnolia warbler. As we neared the little rotary, alison heard and saw a glimpse of a black-throated blue warbler and we also saw the northern parula, a goldfinch, and a green heron flying overhead.

House wren

It was sunny and comfortable as we toured the lower gardens where we saw tree swallows, song sparrows, house wrens, robins, mourning doves and lots of yellow warblers. We then headed to the upper gardens and saw more house wrens, cedar waxwings and finally saw the striking black, white and red, rose-breasted grosbeak singing it lyrical song high atop a tree.

Lady Slipper

We then cut through the woods to walk around the JCC to see what might be in the woods. The lady slippers are in full bloom. We heard and then saw the red-bellied woodpecker. A chipping sparrow lured us up to the JCC in hopes of also finding some pine warblers, but we never did see them. As we continued through the woods, we heard the KREEEET of a great-crested flycatcher and were finally able to view it in a bare branch in the distance.

Scarlet Tanager

Black and White Warbler

We ended up in Woodcock meadow and stayed there for quite a while as there were two scarlet tanagers, a least flycatcher, a juvenile orchard oriole, a black and white warbler, cedar waxwings, an Eastern kingbird, American Redstart and a cowbird to keep us looking in every direction.



For Haynes' Official List, see below:

Canada Goose 5 Wood Duck 1 m Ring-billed Gull 2 Chimney Swift 1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 4 Least Flycatcher 1 Eastern Phoebe 2 Great Crested Flycatcher 3 Warbling Vireo 5 Red-eyed Vireo 1 Blue Jay 4 Tree Swallow 14 Barn Swallow 5 Black-capped Chickadee 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 House Wren 4 Wood Thrush 2 American Robin X Gray Catbird X Northern Mockingbird 1

European Starling X Cedar Waxwing 6 Black-and-white Warbler 1 American Redstart 2 Northern Parula 3 Magnolia Warbler 1 Yellow Warbler 6 Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Black-throated Green Warbler 2 Eastern Towhee 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 6 Scarlet Tanager 2 m Northern Cardinal 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 Red-winged Blackbird X Common Grackle X Brown-headed Cowbird 5 Orchard Oriole 2 1 m, 1 im m Baltimore Oriole 12 American Goldfinch 4

Weekend Update

Male wood duck in tree!

When I arrived at the park on Saturday, I was greeted by the "teacher, teacher" of the ovenbird. It was in the woods right near the parking lot. I walked in to the woods a few feet to look for it and when I looked up, imagine my surprise when I saw a wood duck on a branch overhead! I thought wow - this is a good way to start the day.

As it turned out, it took at least twenty minutes of looking for the ovenbird, even though it was right overhead, when finally it hopped to the ground very close to where I was standing. Its camouflage is so perfect for the leaf litter they scrounge around in. I got a really good look at it and then it disappeared into the woods.

Two different wood thrush were situated on trees in the lower gardens on either side of the area that has now been hacked up and has the compost bins and they each stayed on their same branches and sang for over three hours!

The lower gardens were so busy, that I barely got to the upper gardens. There were lots of yellow warblers singing, house wrens bubbling, male and female orioles, robins, flickers, catbirds, blue jays, tree swallows, red winged blackbirds and some savannah sparrows. I caught a glimpse of the American redstart and had a long and close look at a beautiful chestnut sided warbler. Saw more than one magnolia warbler and a northern parula. As I thought about heading to the upper gardens, I saw something high in a tree. I was hoping to see the black-billed cuckoo that someone saw on Friday, but instead, it was a beautiful indigo bunting - my first sighting in breeding plumage.

Sunday, before the Mother's day bird walk, the only thing I saw that we didn't see later of note, was a beautiful white-crowned sparrow.

May is for the Warblers

Yearling Baltimore Oriole

After reading the recent posts about all the warblers from Suzette, I found myself compelled to visit Nahanton Tuesday before work. I arrived to a overcast and drizzly day at the park, and I was hoping that this more dismal weather would keep the birds active for a little longer. The first thing I noticed as I was walking down the path was the jubilant and bubbly song of the house wren accompanied by the songs of the Song Sparrows and Yellow Warblers. Then a few clear liquid whistled notes reached my years and I immediately thought “Baltimore Orioles!” and indeed a yearling male / female appeared in the plowed brush immediately by the lower gardens. Unlike the brilliant orange of the adult male, this bird was more washed out yellow-orange.

House Wren

To the right of the path to the lower gardens a lot of the brush has been cleared away and while I was wondering why, the wrens, orioles and catbirds didn’t seem to mind and they spent lots of time working the debris. It appeared to me that the oriole was gathering fine grassy material making me think of their hanging woven nests that would make any architect proud. I have yet to find an oriole nest at Nahanton, but I’m sure they must be there.

In the corner of the garden I heard the loud and emphatic “TEACHER TEACHER TEACHER” of an Ovenbird. This is a warbler I’ve only seen once, but I’m always hearing his distinctive song. I tried to “pish” out the Ovenbird, but instead a brilliant male Redstart appeared. I had been hearing a song like a Black and White Warbler, like a squeaky wheel, but I also know that Redstarts are notoriously tricky songsters and can also imitate Black-and-White and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Then In the very back corner of the lower gardens a Common Yellowthroat was singing his “witchity-witchity-witchity” song and showing off his black facemask.

I made my way over to the upper gardens and ended up seeing two more Baltimore Orioles! Another yearling or female and then finally a splendid bright orange male appeared, though no more oriole songs. I managed a glimpse of the yellow eye-brow of a Savannah Sparrow, and some twittering Goldfinches overhead drew my eye upwards where I saw a smaller heron flying over. It was probably a Green Heron, but all I know for sure was that it was smaller than a Great Blue.

Can you spot the Canada Warbler?

I was just about to head back to my car when I caught a flash of movement in the trees adjacent to the field. This movement turned out to be a Black-and-white Warbler, who drew my attention to a warbler sulking in the underbrush. When I got my binoculars I caught yellow under parts, yellow spectacles and a black streak by the eye, leading me to get my hopes up for a Kentucky Warbler. This warbler flushed and we played a game of cat and mouse across the edge of the woods closest to the soccer field. I soon realized that the bird I was chasing had a much more complicated song than the “churry churry churry” of the Kentucky. And that was when I saw the black necklace across the entirely yellow under parts and I realized that this was a Canada Warbler! Could this be the same individual that Mary Lou found on Friday? I tried hard to catch a picture but was mostly thwarted, but I was able to get a very busy 30 second audio recording. I followed him around the garden and he always seemed to want to stay just far enough into the undergrowth that I could keep catching glimpses of him.

Today I’ll leave you with the auditory recording that includes the Canada, but the recording is quite a cacophony as the birds don’t always take turns. Try listening to the beginning of the clip a couple of times to see how many birds or warblers you can identify.  The clip will repeat twice then after a 10 second delay the individual warbler songs will play with a label so if you aren’t ready to have the calls identified be sure to stop the player. The text below will also be about the recordings.

I can hear 7 species including 4 warblers. I filtered some of the lower frequency sounds to decrease the street noise to better hear the birds.
The Canada Warbler sings his loud whistled warbled notes at 2 and 8 seconds . A better recording can be heard here.
A Yellow Warbler's "sweet sweet sweet little-more-sweet" song is at 11 and 28 seconds.
The Black-throated Green Warbler's buzzy "zoo zee zo zo ze" is at 6, 12, and 23 seconds.
A Black-and-white Warbler's "weeza weeza weeza" can be hear at 21 seconds.
The House Wren's bubbly and exuberant song starts with a harsh chatter at 4, 14, 26 seconds.
The sixth species is a Tufted Titmouse, who can be heard calling "Here here here" or "Peter, peter, peter" throughout in the background. And ever so faintly a Red-winged Blackbird's "Conklaree" can be heard with other blackbird call notes. Though the call at 24 seconds I can't quite place, maybe a Yellow Warbler?

P.S. The next day I found a deer tick firmly attached to the back of my knee, so please remember to be care full and check for ticks! And if you find a tick attached you might want to call your Dr. and think about Lyme Disease.