8 Miles of Birding

I had a good chunk of a day and wanted to do a lot of local birding so I broke out my Newton Conservators Trail Guide to see what I could find. Looking at the map of Newton, the biggest stretch of green space quickly jumps out at you. Nahanton Park in Newton, Helen Heyn Riverway of Newton, Cutler Park in Needham, Millenium Park and Brooks Farm of West Roxbury. So I decided to make a hiking loop. Check out the Newton Conservators' website for maps of these areas.

I arrived at Nahanton at 9am and the day still had quite a chill to it. I was thinking that I had a ways to walk so I wouldn't spend too much time in this favorite haunt, but was quickly sidetracked in the lower gardens. Many of our usual friends were there but I kept seeing this sulker flush from the brush and fly to the opposite side. This bird had this warm reddish brown hue to it that made me think of a female cardinal, a fox sparrow, and hermit thrush. So I kept passing around the gardens, now actively trying to find this one elusive bird. I moved slower, carefully peering into the deep brush surrounding the gardens before a brief glimpse of an eye ring. Eventually our friend was curious about me and he came out from cover a little more.  When I saw his brown head and back, spotted breast, and the rufous tail. The game was up: a hermit thrush! My first of Massachusetts.

Now I really was behind schedule so I tried to pick up the pace as I took the path down to the river for a few geese and mallards (still no luck with the mergansers) and a quick and quite stroll around woodcock meadow.

At this point my fingers were quite cold as I walked to Nahanton St and crossed the river leaving Nahanton park behind. The middle section of this story will continue on our new blog "wild newton" designed to be a newton wide companion to nahanton park bird news.

Visit Wild Newton

When I finally crossed back into Nahanton park from the Helen Hyen Riverway I was quite behind schedule and didn't plan on stopping to bird at all. By the Nature Center tons of robins were flitting about then I passed onto the little trail that abuts the vernal pool and the fields. Just before the driveway the bird chatter picked up. It turned out to be two fearless Golden-crowned Kinglets, certainly the bird of the day, working the brush in an energetic chickadee like manner all the while flashing those golden crowns. What a way to end this adventure.

Our Regulars

Chickadee

It was cold this morning - a little colder than I thought it would be. 33 degrees, clear and sunny.

The upper and lower gardens were so quiet. I only managed to see a few song sparrows and a robin. Heard a chickadee calling.

The soccer field and pond area were quiet too. Heard a goldfinch and a titmouse, but never saw them. Only some robins and song sparrows hopping around in the leaves.

Most of the action seemed to be in and around the river area. From the dock, I saw four hooded mergansers - 3 males and a female hanging around on the opposite side near the edge of the river. They were beautiful. Geese and mallards were flying low, up and down the river. I guess their breeding season is almost upon us.

Lots of chickadees, juncos and a male cardinal hanging out together near the picnic tables. Saw one American Tree sparrow.

A Walk in the Park

Tree Fungus

34 degrees at 7:00 a.m. A little colder than I thought it was going to be, but not bad.

The park has been awfully quiet. The lower gardens had, dare I say it, some house sparrows I believe. I hate seeing them at the park. Also saw some song sparrows, juncos, and a mockingbird. I could hear goldfinches, titmice, chickadees and a cardinal, but never caught a glimpse of them.

I cut through the upper gardens and down to the river. Saw only a single robin and a woodpecker drilling. I thought I saw some ducks on the other side of the bridge, so I crossed Nahanton St. and hung out on the bridge for a while. There were six common mergansers. One of them had a fish in its beak and kept dropping it and picking it up again. I was surprised at the size of the fish. It seemed rather large to swallow.  Also saw about a dozen mallards on some ice near the edge of the river. Eventually, they joined the mergansers and they all disappeared upstream.

A Quiet New Year

I wanted to enjoy the unseasonable warmth and bright sun on New Years Day and thought I'd get in some birding. Inspired by the posting about the CBC Screech Owls in Kennard Park, and my own recent Great Horned Owl in Houghton Garden, I wanted to try birding Nahanton in the late afternoon and dusk hoping that I might find owls. I arrived a little later than I planed as I was side-tracked at the end of my birding walk at Castle Island by a the surprise appearance of a harbor seal.

But at 3:30 I was back in the familiar territory of the lower gardens of Nahanton and this is where I found most of the avian activity for new years day. Canada geese streamed over head, honking raucously; and flying north? A female Cardinal declared herself with her sharp "chink" call notes, while a Mockingbird acrobatically navigated among the tangle of shrubs and vines. A small flock of Juncos twittered around the garden, fully earning their name as the "winter chippy", trying to stay a few feet ahead of two young kids enjoying a hike. I was very excited when I found two American Tree Sparrows (picture) keeping company with the Song Sparrows, as I thought a New Year birding trip must include this winter favorite.

Down at the river I was able to discern the distant dry rattle of a Belted Kingfisher, making me wish he had decided to fly a little nearer. A Downy could be made out in the distant tree tops and the occasional "ang ang" was the only sign of the White-Breasted Nuthatch.

I sat up in Woodcock Meadow nearer to dusk watching robins stream south across Nahanton St. to their evening roost. Dusk was now fully upon the park (picture) and the wing-whir gave away a passing Mourning Dove as I sat straining my ears hoping for the low hoot of an owl. So far none of our feathered friends had provided any calls consistently or loud enough to record. When dusk was fully past, I turned my binoculars strait up to peer through the high hazy clouds at the moon and stars; even Jupiter's moons were visible as discrete pin pricks.

I slowly began to give up on the owls, and made my way back across the soccer field and up the the gardens, without a Great Horned Owl's low hoot or a Screech Owl's eerie whinny. It may have been the end of the day, but it is just the begining, the start of a new year. And who knows what this year might bring to Nahanton Park.

Very Quiet at Park. Luckily, Had Some Turkey Fun!

It was 34 degrees at about 8:00 a.m. The meadow has now been mowed, but the park was very quiet today. All I saw were some robins, a cardinal couple, a few song sparrows, a junco, some geese flying and a seagull.

Therefore, I decided to pursue a new interest - a flock of wild turkeys that has been roosting in the trees on a street nearby. Since I recently saw the movie on Channel 2 "My Life As a Turkey" ( a documentary about Joe Hutto, a naturalist who raised a flock of 16 wild turkeys from egg to adulthood), I've been more and more curious about this local flock.

After leaving the park, I knew they would have left their roosts and wondered where they go during the day. Today, I discovered them in a Rachel Road resident's side yard. Here is a very short video of the turkeys.

Christmas Bird Count

Richard, Haynes and Greg

Today was the Christmas Bird Count.!

We met at Chris' house at 7:00 a.m. Some of the group had already gone owling and had seen screech owls at Kennard Park. It always sounds so exciting, but I can't get myself up and out by 5:00 a.m. on these dark, freezing cold mornings. Some day, I'll get it together…

After coffee and delicious coffee cake, the birders broke into several groups and covered specific areas. I was in a group with Haynes, Richard and Greg.

Red-tail Hawk

It was only in the 20's but we held out for four hours of birding. We covered Kennard Park, Newton South, Hammond Pond and Houghton Gardens. We had a great time! I won't list all the birds we saw today because most of them were our regulars. However, we did see a nice red-tail hawk at Newton South, huddled in a tree. In fact several of the birds looked awfully cold - all puffed up and hanging out in trees and shrubs.

I would say our most exciting moment was when we arrived at Hammond Pond. I think it was Greg who spotted a blue heron. It turned out there were three of them! We also saw several hooded mergansers looking absolutely spectacular as well as a ring-necked duck and some gulls. We had seen one of the herons fly off and we discovered it later as we walked around the pond. It was looking very chilly on a tree branch. For us humans, the winds across the pond were almost unbearable. The woods were much more tolerable.

Chilly Blue Heron

In the Houghton Gardens area, we were pleased to see two hairy woodpeckers. Deeper in, Haynes pointed out a golden crowned kinglet flitting about and then a brown creeper that we were fortunate enough to have several good sightings of.

As we were leaving, I was happy to see all three herons together. Whether you're a bird or a birder, it's nice to have friends to hang out with on a day as cold as this.

Gardening Season Officially Over

This friendly pumpkin was left
on a rock to greet people?

Arrived at the park around 8:15 a.m. It was 32 degrees and clear. Right away, I noticed that the gate to the gardens was closed and locked, marking the official end to the community gardening season.

The meadow has not been mowed as it usually is in November, even though we were informed it would be. Perhaps they are just late. I'm sure the birds are happy about the delay.

It was a pretty quiet day in general. Everything was covered in frost but slowly started melting as I walked around. I saw several house finches, juncos, goldfinches, robins, a few white throated sparrows, and some tree sparrows as well as a few chickadees.

Down by the river I saw two mallard couples reminding me that ducks can be really fun to watch for soon.

Got word today that the Christmas Bird Count will be December 18th. Stay tuned for more details.