Weekend Update

Crab Apple Blossoms

The crabapples are blooming everywhere and they are so pretty. I love their fragrance. The temps have been in the mid 50's with Saturday turning to sun, but today, rather cloudy with some sprinkles around 9:30 a.m.

I had the pleasure of running into Mary Lou on Saturday, and Haynes and Ian on Sunday.

Saturday, the lower gardens were filled with tree swallows circling and guarding their new homes. There were goldfinches, a flock of chipping sparrows, mourning doves, a few yellow-rumped warblers, song sparrows, house finches and some beautiful savannah sparrows. The new addition was a bubbling house wren making its presence known everywhere it went! The upper gardens had robins, chickadees, cardinals and more house wrens. We saw a blue heron flying overhead and a heard a white-throated sparrow singing in the woods. I think I caught a glimpse of a merlin that suddenly appeared and swooped after some tree swallows and then just as quickly disappeared.

The soccer field and pond had some titmice and the two male mallards were feeding. Down by the river, we heard our first warbling vireo of the season, and saw Mrs. Phoebe patiently sitting on her nest. We heard the red bellied woodpecker. In searching for the warbling vireo, all we kept seeing was a flicker. In woodcock meadow, we caught a glimpse of some bright yellow, and then saw two beautiful palm warblers in an evergreen bush. They were quite striking and definitely don't like to sit still for long. One junco was seen. The majority of them seem to have moved on.

Red-backed Salamander

Today, we were greeted by a yellow warbler song - sweet, sweet, very sweet! The first one back!! How nice to hear its song. Had a good sighting of him in the scrubby tree in the middle of the lower gardens along with several yellow rumps and some savannah sparrows. In the upper gardens we saw a tree full of about a dozen cedar waxwings that Haynes had spotted and later we got a great view of them in a crabapple in the lower gardens. The birds seem to love the flowers. Across the river, we heard the warbling vireo again and finally, it flew to our side of the river into a tree right near us. We had a great view of it as it opened its beak and warbled! Our own, personal concert. Haynes also saw a green heron flying down the Charles River bird highway. We caught a quick glimpse of a Coopers hawk flying across the driveway into some woods. Saw our usual song sparrows, chickadees, titmice, grackles, red-winged blackbirds etc. and heard a red bellied purring from the other bank.

On our way back, we cut through the soccer field and through a small portion of the woods. When we were almost at the parking lot we decided to turn over a log, as Haynes had recently been on the vernal pool walk. It got us thinking about salamanders. I saw something dark and shiny and was sure it was only a worm, but when Haynes put it in his hand, we could all see it was a tiny, little salamander!

No sign of our bluebirds this weekend...

New Arrivals!

White Throated Sparrow

What a lovely day! It was about 55 degrees and sunny this morning as I headed for the lower gardens. I could hear the "chiva chiva" of the titmice coming from the woods bordering the parking lot.

Palm Warbler

More garden plots are sprouting fences each time I arrive which is great. The first bird I saw was a song sparrow, but when I got my binoculars on it, I was totally wrong. It was a Savannah sparrow! It had the bright yellow eyebrow and the short tail. Later, I saw a whole flock of them in the meadow, combing the ground for goodies. The tree swallows were in abundance, some circling in the sky and some with their little blue and white faces peering out of their nest box holes, checking out the goings ons.

The color green is sprouting everywhere and fat, pink buds are ready to pop on all the crabapples. Such a beautiful time of year.

Bluebird Female

Daffies

In the upper gardens I spotted some bright yellow near the new compost bins. I knew it must be some kind of warbler, but who? Turned out to be two very bright palm warblers! I apologize for the poor quality of the photo, but what can you do… There were also some chippers searching for food on the ground right along with them. Then there was the bluebird couple. After what we've seen over the years, I don't want to be overly optimistic, but after watching them for a while, I think they've found suitable accommodations, while the tree swallows seem satisfied with theirs!

Lots of birds were out and about today up there - goldfinches, song sparrows, cardinals, some juncos, and chickadees. The bees are starting to come to, from their long winters nap. As I was about to head through the woods, I saw something that I thought would be a chickadee, but turned out to be a yellow rump! There were two that I could see - very bold and bright.

Down by the pond, the small colony of blood root is budding and the level of water is very low, not the usual. This time, there were two male mallards and no sign of the female. I hope she is sitting on a nest somewhere. Redwings and grackles were abundant.

I went to check on the phoebe nest. No bird sitting on it, but one parent was watching me from a nearby branch. Spotted a beautiful white throated sparrow, pictured above. And this Canadian goose was checking out the river view.

Must be love!

I'm just so into you!

40 degrees and cloudy this morning.

New composting bins appeared in the scrub area adjacent to the driveway where we had tons of invasive black swallowwort. That will be a definite improvement and it saved a lot of back breaking work.

Eastern Phoebe

The lower and upper gardens were filled with tree swallows, circling in the sky, socializing and getting ready for breeding season. I saw one fly to a tree, pick off some dead foliage and carry it to one of the boxes to start nest building.

Song sparrows were singing, along with goldfinches, cardinals, titmice and robins. Saw a lone cowbird in the mulberry tree in the upper gardens as well as a nuthatch and phoebe. No sign of the bluebirds today. Juncos still around!

April Fools Day!

Bluebird Male

We had a hard frost last night - the grass was all white this morning, so it felt surprisingly warm for 32 degrees this morning. It was nice and sunny.

The gardeners in the newly plotted out area of the lower gardens are starting to turn up and work the soil. A few fences have been erected. It's pretty exciting. I met two very nice people, new to the community gardens and looking forward to the season.

The lower gardens had a lot of robins, tree swallows and song sparrows. As I was chatting with the gardeners, I saw our hermit thrush, "Skulker" fly into a tree and then onto the soil of the new garden area, nosing around for good things to eat. I saw it again in the brush near the two birdhouses (golf course side) which seems to be its favorite spot. Three male cowbirds appeared atop a tree. It's funny how one minute, nothing is there, you turn your head, and the next minute a bunch of birds have arrived! There was a very happy, now almost fully yellow goldfinch singing, high in a tree. Titmice were calling from the woods and a phoebe appeared in front of me but was on the move. Every time I raised my camera, it flitted to another tree.

I live here!

The upper gardens had more of the same, including another phoebe, and some chickadees, and then I saw the bluebird male. Didn't see the female today. He looked splendid in his bright blue coat. The tree swallows are starting to try and stake out their boxes and this one (pictured right) was no exception.

Chickadee

The pond still has our mallard couple and the red-winged blackbird. The phoebe wasn't on its nest when I first looked, but late I saw it fly to the nest. Wondering if she has laid her eggs yet… I could hear a red-bellied woodpecker from across the river. Chickadees were having the best time playing in the trees near the dock.

On my way back I heard tell-tale  twittering and there was a group of juncos. Guess they haven't left yet.

Let the Nesting Begin!

Phoebe on nest

It was 50 degrees this morning and overcast.

As I drove down the driveway to the parking lot, I had the pleasant surprise of having two white-tailed deer leap across the road right in front of me! They took off into the woods near the JCC. That's always a nice way to start the day.

Little green leaves are starting to show on many shrubs and vines. There are robins everywhere, the song sparrows are singing their hearts out and there were several juncos. They really seem to like the meadow right now. It won't be long before they start their journey northward.

Tufted Titmouse

The upper gardens were fairly quiet. I could hear goldfinches, but never quite saw them. They've been very elusive, even though I know they're there. Saw a few song sparrows and robins. Looked for the tree swallows and didn't see any. Just when I had decided that maybe the swallows from last weekend had just been passing through, they turned up - circling in the sky and chittering. Also in flight was a blue heron, grackles and a seagull. Several gardens had cheerful, bright yellow daffodils blooming. A first sign of things to come. It was really nice to see some color.

The pond revealed our friends the mallard couple and the red winged blackbird who've been hanging out there for the last few weeks.

This place is mine!

Today, the river was the place to be! Right away I was greeted by the phoebe in its nest! There were two of them and they took turns finding plant material and food and then sitting on the nest to see how it was shaping up. There were lots of chickadees and the cutest little titmouse looking very coy from behind the tree trunk. I could hear a red bellied woodpecker from across the river and saw a downy female hiking up and down the trunk of a tree.

As I was returning to the parking lot, I saw that the tree swallows were now investigating the same boxes the bluebirds had been looking at last weekend. One of them was very intently claiming one of the boxes as their own. No sign of the bluebirds today.

Apartment Hunting

I couldn't resist stopping by the park on my way home from work. I really wanted to see what the bluebird couple was up to. They weren't exploring the boxes near the parking lot like they were on Saturday so I wasn't sure if I would see them.

I went for a little stroll around the lower gardens. Saw something out of the corner of my eye and it turned out to be an Eastern phoebe, it's soft yellow sides brighter than usual in the waning sun! Then a flash of blue and there they were  - the bluebird couple - investigating the boxes on the golf course side of the lower gardens. I'm sure they have many more to examine before they decide and then there's always the question of the tree swallows...

Colorful Jewels on a Gray Day - Some Old Friends Return

Song Sparrow Singing

43 degrees this morning and very gray but the park was hopping! Juncos and robins and cowbirds were combing the meadow in search of seeds. Bird song was everywhere despite the lack of cheerfulness of such a dull looking day.

This song sparrow pictured left was letting all the ladies know that he's the very best! Of course there were several other song sparrows singing, and they all thought the same thing!

In the lower gardens were chickadees, a cardinal couple and mourning doves in addition to the large quantity of song sparrows. I could hear a red bellied woodpecker purring from a tree near the parking lot.

I headed to the upper gardens and was immediately greeted by two tree swallows flying in circles high up above me. They genuinely seemed so excited to be back. Later, the two turned into at least six - twittering and performing flight maneuvers. Saw a couple of crows, geese and ducks flying overhead, more cardinals and heard some goldfinches. Later, I am happy to report, I caught a brief glimpse of our friend "Skulker", our wintering-over hermit thrush in some brush at the edge of the path on the swamp side. I was so hoping to see the bluebirds atop the purple birdhouse but no such luck.

Mallard Couple

The soccer field was filled with robins, song sparrows, goldfinches and more cardinals. The mallard couple was in the pond, but no sign of the lone merganser. A red winged blackbird called from a tree nearby. I checked out the river, but nothing terribly exciting. I was hoping the phoebe might be back, but not yet.

On my way back to the parking lot, I cut through the woods and came back down through the upper gardens. Just as I hit the path near the brushy triangle I was stunned to see our bluebird couple checking out the boxes down there!

 

Male and Female Bluebird