Father's Day!

Mother robin

It was 57 degrees and sunny at 7:00 a.m. A beautiful day to go birdwatching and not a soul at the park.

I was immediately greeted by a cowbird in the parking lot. Our lower garden sentinels were there - the tree swallows and house wren neighbors rearing young in the boxes by the path. I wouldn't be surprised if the tree swallows are on a 2nd brood at this point.

Baby Yellow Warbler

Saw catbirds, song sparrows, downy woodpeckers and mourning doves. I discovered a robin's nest in the small tree at the corner where the path starts to curve around the gardens. She was very still.

I saw a baby tree swallow on a post with it's proud parents, basking in the sun. It's coloring was more of a gray then the beautiful metallic blue. A large group of house finches were foraging together in one of the gardens. I love how they are so family oriented. As I rounded the bend to head up to the upper gardens, I came across this rumpled, funny colored baby and was pretty sure it was a baby yellow warbler. It looked like it was fresh out of the sac (urrrr, nest that is). Eventually, dad (see it was Father's Day after all), came and fed the baby and they sat together for a brief moment (apologies for the fuzzy picture).

Father and Son/Daughter?

The white mulberry tree next to the bath is fruiting now. Squirrels were draped over branches, gorging themselves. Catbirds and others were having a field day. I saw one bird that I couldn't quite make out and then I saw a bright red patch that was positively glowing in the sunlight! Turned out to be the rose-breasted grosbeak.

Foxgloves (Digitalis)

The upper gardens are starting to look quite lush and delicious. Many flowers are in bloom, including some bright pink foxgloves pictured below. The vegetables are growing rampant and the crisp, white flowers of the raspberries will soon become yummy fruit. The tree swallows are attending to their families and the house wrens are also busy raising their young too. I heard a phoebe calling from the woods. The baby bunny I saw last week has almost doubled in size. These creatures sure are on the fast track! The yellow warbler nest where we had seen babies, looked destroyed by all the rain. I sure hope they are o.k. I wouldn't have thought they would be old enough to leave yet.

The soccer field and pond were very quiet, save for the song of the wood thrush wafting through from the woods. I heard the witchety, witchety of the common yellowthroat that seems to be nesting somewhere there.

Short tailed weasels at Nahanton? You bet!

Common Yellowthroat

Got to the park early at 6:30 a.m. It was 58 degrees and pleasant.

Although it's not exactly a field full of color, the meadow is gaining wildflowers each week. The sunny yellow of the coreopsis is in bloom along with white fleabane and purple vetch. I was greeted in the lower gardens by robins, tree swallows (of course!), house wrens, mourning doves, song sparrows, yellow warblers, catbirds and a female oriole chasing a grackle. Maybe it got too close to her nest. The yellow warbler was in her nest, hidden in some scrub. All you could see was a little dark eye and beak poking out. Haynes and Ian showed up and we walked around together. The best sighting was not a bird, but a ferret (which Haynes identified later as a short-tailed weasel). It was quite small and colorful and fast as lightning. At first we thought it had caught some prey, as it had something the size of a large field mouse in it's mouth. It carried it from the scrub into the gardens and disappeared. As we stood in disbelief, it came back towards us and back into the scrub, reappearing with another bundle in its mouth. After several more times of this same pattern, we finally realized that it was moving it's babies to a new location! It's so fast, I couldn't get a picture, even though I stood with my camera at the ready.

Babies everywhere!

The white mulberry on the way to the upper gardens is starting to bear fruit. Just the beginning, but soon the birds will be gorging themselves, especially since the blue mulberry was taken down this spring.

It's baby time all over the park and in the upper gardens, it was apparent. There were baby robins learning how to forage. A yellow warbler was feeding her babies in the nest as we quietly watched in amazement. Even a baby bunny appeared and though it's hard to tell from this picture, it could not have been more than four inches long. It was hard to believe it was real! A common yellowthroat suddenly appeared near the birch tree in it's striking patterns. It chased a house wren around and around. A redwing blackbird flew overhead. We found the rose-breasted grosbeak nest incredibly difficult to see. She was in her nest and like the warblers, all you could see was her beak and distinctive white eye stripe. Ian spotted a hummer zipping by and it predictably flew to a bright red honeysuckle vine, dipping into each trumpet shaped flower. We could hear peewees calling from the woods.

Common Whitetail

As we headed to the soccer field, Haynes pointed out the chickadee nest in a very small dead trunk and Common Whitetail and is very common in North America. We got to see them going in and out to feed and check on their babies. We heard a warbling vireo and a common yellowthroat (pictured above). As we neared the pond, we heard a very loud, scratchy call that  we all agreed was some kind of heron. Haynes thought it was probably a black-crowned night heron, but when we got there, it was not to be seen. I've included a picture of a dragonfly that I saw the day before. It was quite eye catching. When I researched it, I discovered it is called the

The river was fairly quiet as was Woodcock meadow. The woods bordering the JCC were pretty quiet too, although we heard the red-bellied woodpecker, saw a pair of nuthatches and got a nice look at a peewee on a bare branch.

Additional sightings not mentioned above are pulled from Haynes' list for the day:

Empidonax sp.  1     Lower garden. Silent, brief look.
Eastern Phoebe  1
Eastern Kingbird  1

Red-eyed Vireo  1

Blue Jay  2

Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1

Barn Swallow  4

Cedar Waxwing  5

Northern Cardinal  2     Feeding BHCO

Brown-headed Cowbird  5

House Finch  5

American Goldfinch  2

House Sparrow  2     M and F in different locations; M again on empty box at upper garden

Weekend Update

I knew it was going to be a brutal weekend, so went early both days, but apparently not early enough to run into Haynes (see previous entry). I did run into Mary Lou Saturday, and we walked around together.

We saw a couple of Eastern kingbirds in the lower gardens which were my first of the season. Our usuals were out in full force - mourning doves, tree swallows, robins, house wrens, song sparrows etc. There's a yellow warbler nest in the lower gardens I've been keeping an eye on. Mom sits in the deep nest and just the tippy top of her head was showing with her little eye and beak. Also had a nice look at a common yellowthroat male in a shrub near the compost piles.

I love it when the wild roses are blooming. Their deep pink color is so striking against the yellow green foliage. What a feast for the eyes! Since the meadow and it's invasive artemisia is always a topic of discussion, I like to see what wildflowers there might be. Saw some ox eye daisies, purple dames rocket and pink clover.

There's another yellow warbler nest in the upper gardens and I wonder if this couple is new at this. There's is out in plain view and I never see them in the nest. They always seem to be nearby though. I wasn't sure if the warbler at left was a baby flapping it's wings for food or an adult stretching. We saw some titmice, house wrens, catbirds, more swallows, orioles, and a red wing blackbird flying overhead.

Heading down the path through the woods we had a nice look at a red eyed vireo. It either had food or nesting material. We weren't sure which. I think I saw little phoebe heads just barely poking up over the top of their nest. A warbling vireo was calling, but couldn't be seen. I see that Haynes has found it's nest though. I saw a downy fly into a hole in a dead tree across the river. Definitely a nest in there.

We walked through the woods by the JCC. I was looking for lady slippers and Mary Lou was hoping for a scarlet tanager and we found both as well as peewees calling back and forth and several wood thrushes singing. Sadly, we never did get to see the scarlet tanager. It sang for the longest time and we knew it was right above us and yet we just couldn't see it. However, this raccoon resting high in a tree branch was some consolation!

I didn't see any lady slippers where we had seen them last year, but finally, as we got closer to the parking lot, we found a couple that were just barely still in bloom. They probably had bloomed the week before. After the rain and heat, they were a little sad and pale looking, but nonetheless, a magical sight. I see that Matt found some too and has posted beautiful pictures on his blog Wild Newton as well as really interesting information about how lady slippers get pollinated. Check it out!

Back at the parking lot, I saw some cowbirds. Wonder whose nest they have chosen to lay their eggs in… I read somewhere that some yellow warblers are getting wise to them and will toss the eggs.

Sunday was more of the same except I happened upon the red-breasted grosbeak nest in the upper gardens! I just happen to see it in a branch and then it flew to a bush where I saw the nest ass the babies poked their heads up for food. Now that is exciting, eh?

Summertime

Summer's here: all nest building an brooding. I got to the park early, 6:30. I found a Baltimore Oriole nest in a tree in the lower garden. Below the nest, a turtle was laying eggs: 

There's also a Song Sparrow nest in a dense bush at the fence of a garden plot at the east end of the lower garden. At the circle near the soccer field, there's an easily spotted Black-capped Chicadee nest:

The highlight was a brief Cuckoo song, Yellow-billed I believe. Here's a list. I missed Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Great-crested Flycatcher. 

Canada Goose  11     single V
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Mourning Dove  6
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1     heard at nature center
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  3     Nest 2' in small snag at lower traffic circle.
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Warbling Vireo  4     Nest 20' up above sign to soccer field at nature center
Blue Jay  3
Tree Swallow  8
Barn Swallow  2
Black-capped Chickadee  8
Tufted Titmouse  6
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
House Wren  5
Wood Thrush  2
American Robin  15
Gray Catbird  6
Common Yellowthroat  2     singing males
Yellow Warbler  7
Song Sparrow  10
Scarlet Tanager  1     first year male, singing
Northern Cardinal  4
Red-winged Blackbird  4
Common Grackle  7
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Baltimore Oriole  8     Nest at W edge of small tree in lower garden
American Goldfinch  2
House Sparrow  1     M at empty house at E end of upper garden

Nesting Begins!

American Toad

52 degrees and sunny around 7:30 a.m.

As I got out of the car, I was greeted by three cowbirds strutting and courting a female.

I headed to the lower gardens where the house wren just can't seem to stop singing! He really loves his house. There were several catbirds, robins and song sparrows. Was surprised when I saw a male house sparrow. We really don't want them to move in to the park. Yellow warblers were singing from all over and are busy building their nests. I happened upon one near the golf course side. The nests are actually a lot larger then I would have thought and they look very cozy. Apparently the nest is mainly made of grasses but then on the outside she will use soft plant fibers, feathers, spiderwebs and dandelion down. Saw some barn swallows - seems they might be nesting somewhere nearby? I got a nice view of a warbling vireo, high up in an oak tree and some goldfinches.

Eventually, I ran into Mary Lou. In the upper gardens we had a nice view of a striking magnolia warbler and the male rose-breasted grosbeak singing from a very high branch in a huge oak tree at the back of the gardens. He was out in the open and his breast was almost glowing in the sun. Also saw some cute titmice.

We cut through the woods where we heard the ovenbird calling. I think Mary Lou saw it, but I missed it. The wood thrush was singing through the woods near the JCC, but we could hear him from across the soccer field. Mrs. Phoebe is sitting in her nest. I'll bet by next weekend, she'll be feeding her babies.

At this point Mary Lou and I split up. I really wanted to back to the upper gardens and she wanted walk

Incognito Woodchuck

through the woods. As I headed back to the soccer field area, I was thrilled to hear the pee o wee of the peewee. They're back! Raspberries starting to bloom. Can't wait to eat some if I can get to them before the birds! The upper gardens were rather uneventful, save for a flicker and this creature that thought I couldn't see him!

Found a note on my car from Mary Lou. She saw a scarlet tanager, a Swainson's thrush and also heard the peewees!

Postscript: Got an email from Donna Cohen. She had a great-crested flycatcher on a post right near her garden!

Mother's Day Bird Walk!

Early arrivals to Mother's Day Bird Walk

It promised to be a rainy day, but it looked like it was holding off as we gathered at the Nahanton Street entrance for a walk with Alison Leary and Haynes Miller.

Considering the dreariness and threat of rain, everyone was a bit surprised when over 18 people showed up!

Female Cowbird

We started down by the river, where we saw a black and white warbler, cardinals, catbirds, a white breasted nuthatch, orioles, mourning doves, downy woodpeckers. We may have seen and definitely heard a warbling vireo, and red-bellied woodpecker. I also saw this female cowbird which I am now noticing in my neighborhood. Have they always been here or are they becoming more urbanized?

The rain came in fits and starts. When it was heavy, we watched from under a large tree. Eventually we headed toward the pond and soccer field. Once down there, we saw red-winged blackbirds, more catbirds, canada geese overhead, grackles, tree swallows, yellow warblers and some goldfinches. Someone saw the female red-breasted grosbeak. Haynes spotted a Northern waterthrush but unfortunately, the rest of us were too late! However, we had a great view of a male common yellowthroat in a nearby shrub. Their black mask could make you think of the lone ranger or Halloween! I love their coloring. We saw one Savannah sparrow and song sparrows. In the lower

House Wren

gardens were several pairs of tree swallows all guarding their houses. I noticed one pair had gotten kicked out and was replaced by one of our bubbly, but aggressive house wrens who was happily singing! Of course there were, orioles, song sparrows, a red-tail hawk, goldfinches, and a wood thrush which I missed.

Sadly, the mulberry tree has been taken down. The city was worried it was getting too dangerous. At least we got an extra year out of it. Our big thrill in the upper gardens was a black-throated blue warbler which we got a really good look at. Saw another common yellow throat and a blue-gray gnatcatcher which is always nice. Seagulls occasionally flew over head. All in all, despite the rain, it was a great walk.

Thanks Alison and Haynes!

Nothing like a few birds to shake off the rainy blues

Despite the gloomy morning weather, Mary Lou Kaufman, Suzette Barbier and I had a nice morning at Nahanton Park today. Here's a list. Lots of summer residents are back. We also found a bee swarm, like this one, which I found there on May 3 --

Canada Goose 2
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Ring-billed Gull 8
Mourning Dove 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 3
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 12
Barn Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 6
House Wren 6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 dull female
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin X
Gray Catbird 12
Ovenbird 2
Black-and-white Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 5
American Redstart 1 f
Northern Parula 1
Yellow Warbler 15
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Chipping Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2
Common Grackle 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 8
Baltimore Oriole 15
House Finch 3
American Goldfinch 8