Winter doldrums are over!! Season firsts, at least for me!

Savannah Sparrow

It was 44 degrees at 7:30 a.m. Clear and sunny. A perfect day to see if any newcomers had arrived from a few weeks ago.

I was greeted by a tuftie singing high up in a tree right at the beginning of the path to the lower gardens. I was sad to see that someone had run over a small garter snake. I hate that. The tree swallows were in great abundance as well as blue jays and robins. A downy woodpecker was busy extracting seeds from a weed. Sparrows were out in full force, from this Savannah sparrow, to song sparrows to white-throated sparrows. Goldfinches were very busy foraging.

Catbird

 I saw my first catbird of the season. They're so lovable and tame. Don't seem to be the least bit disturbed by admiring birders. A cowbird couple prowled around nearby.

I headed up to the upper gardens to see what might be happening up there. A gardener was busy with spring clean up and a few bulbs had escaped and were blooming in the scrub. Nature is so interesting and beautiful. Of course, it goes without saying that there were several tree swallows and song sparrows here as well.

Cowbird

The oaks are flowering and I swear I heard some kind of high-pitched warblish sounds high up in the trees, but I couldn't catch a glimpse of them at all, so I really can't say.  The I caught a glimpse of a thrush. I think it was a hermit thrush, but possibly a wood thrush? It was very quiet so I'm leaning towards hermit, but if anyone can confirm from my picture below, it would be much appreciated.

A blue heron flew overhead. Titmice were flitting about in the woods at the back of the garden. And then I heard another first for me this spring - a house wren.

Hermit Thrush?

House Wren

I cut through the woods to head down to the soccer field. A red-winged blackbird was singing. There were two male mallards looking very bright and regal and in tandem, they would dive. Bottoms up!

Mallard Males

I always check to see how the bloodroot is doing and it's finally coming up. The bloodroot in my garden at home is always a few weeks ahead. I guess it's the shady environment where it grows at Nahanton.

The river was more active then I've seen it in a while. Surprised that I haven't seen the Eastern phoebe couple that usually starts nesting on the Nature Center eaves. Are they unhappy about the new paint job? There were red-bellied woodpeckers, downies, bluejays, song sparrows, goldfinches and possibly some warblers that again, I couldn't get a good look at.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

In woodcock meadow, I walked by a tree where I heard tiny little noises and a beautiful song. At first, I thought it was a blue-gray gnatcatcher, except the song didn't seem quite right. I know they have the "see-saw" buzz, but the little trill afterwards wasn't a gnatcatcher. That much I knew. I stood there for ages and went round and round the tree trying to see what was in there. There were several birds, but they were extremely hard to spot. Finally, I saw them! Several ruby-crowned kinglets and some of them were showing the brilliant red crown. This picture isn't great, but I was surprised anything turned out. They really don't sit still for a second.

Can't wait to go back next week and looking forward to the Mother's Day Bird Walk led by Haynes Miller and Alison Leary on May 8th at 8:00 a.m. Meet at the Nahanton St entrance.

Signs of Spring!! Fox Sparrows and Tree Swallow

Song Sparrow

Daylights Savings Time in effect today, so arrived at the park at a seemingly late 8:00 a.m. It was a little cloudy, but the sun was trying to come out and a very tolerable 51 degrees.

Song sparrows could be heard as I headed down the path to the lower gardens. I was greeted by this song sparrow (to left) singing it's heart out. As I stood by watching, I saw a white-throated sparrow on the ground under the large crabapple tree in the center but also noticed a reddish looking bird. It was busy hopping back and forth in the leaf litter. As I got a closer look, I was delighted to see it was a fox sparrow.

Tree Swallow

There were several crows flying about and a seagull passed by. Chickadees appeared looking very dapper. There were a few juncos, and I wasn't quite sure if I saw a few chipping sparrows. I could hear a red-bellied woodpecker calling from the woods. High up in the sky, there appeared to be a swallow. YES, it was
my first tree swallow of the year and it seemed to be the first and only to arrive so far.

The upper gardens had pretty much the same group of birds, but it seemed the tree swallow had finally alighted near a bird house it had it's eye on. Bet it can't wait until all its fellow swallows arrive and it can find a mate.

Fox Sparrow

The soccer field was filled with at least 19 robins. Heard my first red-winged blackbird of the season calling and saw 2 male cowbirds high up in a tree. Another red-bellied woodpecker was purring, some jays were squawking and I caught a quick glimpse of a beautiful pair of wood ducks. Too bad they're always hanging out at the far side of the pond. It's almost impossible to get a good picture. A mallard couple flew in to enjoy the pond as well.

Cowbirds

I heard a pretty song and saw a flash of reddish brown. I finally discovered another fox sparrow right above me perched on a branch resting and enjoying the sun. All told, I think there were  between 2-4 fox sparrows in this area and maybe two in the lower gardens.

As I approached the river, there was a noisy thrum of bird song. It turned out to be a huge cloud of grackles that finally settled on several trees across the river.

If you haven't been to Woodcock meadow recently, you really must come. The woodcocks have been out displaying at dusk for at least a few weeks. The Newton Conservators and Friends of Nahanton Park's joint effort to restore the meadow is going great! The City has removed several of the largest invasive white pines (one of the many Audubon recommendations). Thank yous to Marc and his staff. A small group has removed some of the large cedars and smaller white pines and it seems as if the woodcocks are loving it there. They have so much more room to take off and land.

Welcome the new year

A quick and damp walk through Nahanton Park this morning. All the Juncos and Tree Sparrows were gathered on the ice on the pond. The Fox Sparrow Mary Lou found last week was still there, near the parking lot at the upper field.

Quick Visit

Flicker

It was 31 degrees this morning at about 7:30. The sky was clear. A little nip in the air, but not too bad for January.

I did a quick walk around the park. It was extremely quiet in the upper and lower gardens. Didn't actually see one bird, except for Canada geese that were flying in groups overhead.

I headed down to the soccer field, where at least the sun which was low, was starting to rise and shine on a few areas. This did seem to bring out some of the birds.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

There were several flickers and a Red-bellied woodpecker as well as a flock of goldfinches that seemed to be finding a lot of food on the ground next to the pavement right near the soccer field entrance. The pond is frozen and saw very little near the river today.

Puzzled-looking Titmouse

I headed back to the soccer field as it seemed to be the only area with much activity. Eventually, I saw a song sparrow, a robin, a blue jay and some titmice. Now that the leaves are off the trees, I found the remnants of the warbling vireo nest spotted during the June Doin' event last summer.

Flicker

Ran into Bev who had been to Plum Island with the BBC. I mentioned that Haynes was there too and she said she had run into him and other birders. She mentioned everyone saw a snowy owl. Wish I had been able to go!

I'd like to let our readers know that the renewed interest in restoring Woodcock meadow is moving along. Two documents have been drafted by Jon Regosin and are currently under review before submitting to the City. The Newton Conservators and the Friends of Nahanton Park will be starting fundraising efforts in the next month or so. Once the donation link is established, we will be posting it on our website: NahantonPark.org.

P.S. It was so great to hear from fellow blogger Matt (see posting below from New Years Day).

New Year's Day Birding: Welcoming 2016

American Goldfinch

While I haven't been out for the sake of birding for a while, I still thought New Years' Day necessitated my tradition of birding at the park. Owing to the company that joined me today, I started at a leisurely 9:30am. The overcast sky and coating of snow and ice made it seem much earlier though, and I was hoping the birds would agree.

Pulling into the parking lot, a White-breasted Nuthatch became my first seen bird of the new year (a couple of early morning revelers in the form of Blue Jays made my first heard bird of the year).  As we headed down the path towards the lower garden we were greeted by a skittish flock including Song Sparrows, Juncos, Goldfinches, and American Tree Sparrows, which might be one of my favorite reliable New Year's birds. As I was trying to pick through the flock, a tremulous call note reached my ear to announce a Brown Creeper! This little triangle of brush between the lower gardens and the meadow seemed to have most of the activity of the entire day between a pass at the start of the walk and again at the end. Other triangle denizens included Cardinals, Titmice, White-throated Sparrows, and a lone Robin.

American Tree Sparrow

The rest of the lower and upper gardens seemed devoid of life except for the constant stream of gulls overhead, so we decided to take the little path down to the river and look for ducks. We found a pair of boisterous Canadian Geese flying low along the Charles, their wing-tips barely above the water. At the dock there was no sign of other water fowl, though as I turned to look down river 3 small birds flew out of the neighboring Birch tree. While I'm pretty sure they were actually Goldfinches, I couldn't help but think back two years to the Common Redpolls on another New Year's Day.

While this year's walk was a little less eventful, I was still happy to take in the sights and see what the park has to offer for 2016.

Full eBird checklist.

Sparrows and kinglets

Nice walk this morning through the park. This winter the place is crawling with American Tree Sparrows. The notables today were a Flicker and a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets in the woods. I managed a single more or less in focus shot, but the second picture is more representative. Something else was calling there too - maybe a Towhee.

Fox Sparrows! And renewed interest in Woodcock meadow restoration.

Fox Sparrow

Got to the park today around 8:00. It was 50 degrees and overcast.

The lower gardens were pretty quiet. I could hear blue jays when I first arrived and saw some sea gulls flying overheads. There were large flocks of goldfinches and house finches busy finding seeds on some of the tall weeds. A mockingbird perched on a branch and surveyed the area. A few song sparrows were hanging out in the old crabapple in the middle of the gardens. A small group of Canada geese honked as they flew by. A couple of American tree sparrows foraged on the path.

White-throated sparrow

The upper gardens were extremely quiet. I don't think I saw or heard one bird up there, so I decided to head down to the pond area where Haynes and I had seen a lot of different little birds looking for goodies in the now waterless vernal pool. Not very much there either. Where were they all?

As I headed down the path to the river, I came upon today's hangout. There were titmice flitting about, cardinals, chickadees, lots of white-throated sparrows and a couple of fox sparrows (shown top left) as well as many juncos, a few grackles and blue jays.

New Eagle Weathervane

There are some important updates to let you know about. One is that the City has repainted the nature center and it looks fantastic! Also, Judy Dore has replaced the aging weathervane atop the center with a new, beautiful eagle weathervane that is elegant and striking. I'm proud to say that The Friends of Nahanton Park donated the funds to reimburse Judy for the purchase.

Of great interest: Jon Regosin, Chief of Conservation Science for the National Heritage and Endangered Species Program of Massachusetts, is spearheading a renewed effort to restore Woodcock Meadow back to it's meadow state. Yesterday, over 10 people gathered together to assess the situation and come up with a new preliminary plan to revisit this issue and re-approach the City. We had members of the Newton Conservators, Friends of Nahanton Park, Charles River Canoe & Kayak and other experts and knowledgeable citizens to take a look at the meadow and prioritize the most immediate needs, which is essentially removing the large and invasive white pines and a few other large trees to control the succession to forest. A plan will be created to deal with the order or priorities, fundraising and overall management in general. We hope you will join us in this important endeavor.