Last Flowers Standing

Tansy

Weekend Update: Saturday was 47 degrees and Sunday, a cooler 33 degrees.

It's pretty quiet at the park. The most active area seems to be the lower part of the upper gardens near the meadow.

Between Saturday and Sunday, I saw house finches, song sparrows, robins, white throated sparrows, my first American tree sparrows of the season, lots of goldfinches, cardinals, tufted titmice, chickadees and a blue jay. Also, had a nice but brief sighting of a cedar waxwing couple in the Mulberry tree.

Some Nice Surprises!

Bluebird Male

Bluebird Female

It was 50 degrees this morning! Not bad for November. Very pleasant and sunny.

The woods at the parking lot looked dramatically different today. They looked like they were all cleared out! It took me a minute or two to realize that all the leaves had fallen off the oak trees and now you could see right through.

The lower gardens were very quiet so  headed to the upper gardens.

A flock of goldfinches flew out of the artemesia in the meadow as I headed up. There were several song sparrows, and some house finches and then I saw something blue. I only caught a glimpse of it, but I was sure it was a bluebird and then it disappeared. I couldn't have been happier, when 5-10 minutes later, it appeared on top of the favorite purple bird house along with two females. I have to think these are our bluebirds. It makes me feel better. Saw a few juncos, but literally only a few. A brilliant red cardinal appeared and a female downy in the woods at the back of the gardens as well as a few robins.

Hermit Thrush

Then Mary Lou appeared! She saw a hermit thrush, which of course I missed. However, as we headed around the path, she spotted the same or another hermit thrush in the leaves on the ground with a beautiful fox sparrow and a couple of white throated sparrows. We followed them into the woods and got to watch them for quite a while. They were like a little gang, going everywhere together.

Hermit Thrush Eating Berry

We walked down to the pond seeing virtually nothing, but when I turned around to head back I saw yet another? hermit thrush having a field day with some bittersweet. Did we see one, two, or three hermit thrushes today? We'll never know...

In Transition

Wild Grasses

It was chilly out, but not as cold as it could be, so I was grateful.

Before I even got started, something made me want to check the Bird Register. I was really excited to see that birdwatchers, Scott and Aviva are back from Israel! Scott was the first one I knew about in Newton to start a birding blog and I've missed his sightings and writings! Welcome back you guys! Hope you had a great time and can't wait to hear about the birds you saw.

Many leaves are off the trees. The maples that are left are a beautiful orange and the oaks are their usual dreary brown with the leaves still clinging. Most of the vegetables and flowers are dead making things look a little sad and lonely.

Goldfinch

The upper and lower gardens were pretty quiet except for our regulars. I saw lots of juncos, song sparrows, a few white throated sparrows and a few robins. The evening primroses are still proving to be a great attraction for the goldfinches which are now all sporting their winter coats.

As I was about to head home, I noticed that it was quite sunny down near the soccer field. If I was a bird, I guess that's where I'd be, so I headed down there.

Downy Male

It turned out to be a hotbed of activity. It was sort of a mixed flock of upper garden birds i.e., goldfinches, juncos, white throated sparrows and song sparrows with the addition of a red bellied woodpecker, a downy, cardinals and nuthatches. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it was so fun to see them hanging out together.

Last Saturday of October

Young Swamp Sparrow?

Well, it's definitely getting chilly now. It was about 36 degrees and clear at 8:00 a.m.

Arrived and saw that Mary Lou was there. Before I headed to the upper gardens, I checked out the path that cuts through the edge of the meadow. There have been lots of birds hanging out as they fly back and forth from the shrubs to the artemesia.

Chipper

Was immediately greeted by a really cute yellow rump. This is the second one that has let me watch it very close up for quite a long time. Lots of song sparrows and juncos.

Mary Lou was on her way down when we met and we ended up going to the upper gardens together. It was filled with sparrows. We saw chipping sparrows, swamp sparrows, song sparrows and white throated sparrows. We did not see any white crowned or savannah sparrows. Also saw a female cowbird, a cardinal couple, more juncos and some goldfinches.

Palm Warbler

Mary Lou headed to the lower gardens which she had not yet explored and I stayed a little longer. I'm so glad I did, because finally, I saw my palm warbler - not one, but two! They flew up from the meadow into a tree right in front of me and hung out there long enough for me to get a good look at them. Now, I feel like my fall is complete.

White Throated Sparrow

In a few more weeks our tree sparrows should be arriving and then we know that winter is on its way!

Yellow Rump Encounter

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Look  at this cute little yellow rump. I encountered him/her shortly after I arrived, on the mulberry tree at the base of the path to the upper gardens.

It's not every day that they sit relatively still, but this one seemed to be enjoying the sun. I love the way it turned away from the camera, saying "O.K. - if you must. Take a picture and make sure you include my pretty yellow feathers.

I hadn't been at the park very long, when Haynes, and then Ian showed up. The upper gardens seems to be the place to start at this time of year. It was cool this morning - 41 degrees, and sunny.

We were greeted by several white throated and song sparrows in the little shrub at the top of the path. The meadow was filled with birds, but it's difficult to know exactly who's in there until they land on top of the artemisia. 

White Throated Sparrow

In the upper gardens we encountered several savannah sparrows, house finches, a swamp sparrow, a chipping sparrow, goldfinches, cardinals, chickadees, a nuthatch and two or three great views of the indigo bunting. In the oak trees at the back of the garden we had brief but good sightings of a couple of blue headed vireos and a golden crowned kinglet.

We checked out the soccer field area hoping for more golden crowned kinglets, but mostly saw juncos and chickadees. A shortcut through the woods turned up some titmice. It's sad to think the fall migration will be coming to an end soon.

Pete Gilmore Bird Walk

Birdwatching Group

50's and clear this morning, but not windy. A great day for a walk with Pete.

Haynes, Jane and I happened to arrive at the Winchester St. entrance at the same time and a bit early, so we walked around the lower gardens, but it was very quiet. We headed down to the river and as we passed the pond, Haynes and Jane spotted a hermit thrush down on a low branch - very difficult to see when it dropped to the ground.

Wild Turkeys

At the river entrance, the group was forming - at least 12 people in all. We started by going down to the dock where Matt saw a pied billed grebe that dove under the water. Very exciting!

As we walked the path adjacent to the soccer field, some of us saw several chickadees high up in the oaks and others in the group saw a couple of golden crowned kinglets. There was much activity at the meadow and at the edge of the woods behind it. We saw a female yellow throat, several white throated sparrows, song sparrows and a very dull yellow rumped warbler. Someone saw wood ducks flying overhead.

The Scout

The lower gardens were fairly quiet. We saw several house finches, an Eastern phoebe, cardinals, a fleeting look at a palm warbler and another thrush! There was much discussion during and after about whether this was a wood thrush or a gray cheeked thrush. Not sure if it will ever be agreed upon… As we were examining the meadow again, a troupe of wild turkeys arrived near the parking lot. They foraged a bit and then headed into the woods, single file. Pete pictures them as little old ladies with pocketbooks under their wings, on a group shopping expedition!

As we headed to the upper gardens, we had several sightings of this funny little house finch. It looked young because it's red coloring was quite blotchy, it was very puffy and it didn't seem terribly afraid of our group.

The upper gardens were in sun and that made the birds more active. We saw an enormous flock of cormorants high in the sky in formation, migrating. With two mathematicians in our midst, it was estimated that there were between 128 and 150 birds. Power of 2!

Young House Finch?

Savannah sparrows have now arrived and some of them were quite bright with their yellow eyebrows. The goldfinches were active and vocal and juncos were twittering and flittering. A beautiful swamp sparrow was seen foraging in one of the gardens and chipping sparrows were seen.

Cormorants Migrating

We were all hoping to see a blue grosbeak that Pete had seen earlier in the week but it was not to be. However, we did have yet another sighting of the indigo bunting which was very nice. Had a nice view of another yellow-rumped warbler, only this one was very bright, looking like it was almost still in it's breeding plumage. It's yellow patch under the wing and tail was vibrant.

As the walk was winding down, we took one more look near the lower gardens and saw a red-eyed vireo and a mockingbird. I had to leave, but the last few people, Haynes, Jane, Pete and Matt took another pass at the lower gardens. If there is anything to report, it will be in the comments area.

Brookline Bird Club Walk with Linda Ferraresso

King Stag

It was in the mid 50's when I arrived at 7:30 and overcast. Haynes pulled up beside me in the parking lot. Mary Lou was there too and already exploring. We saw some white throated sparrows, juncos and song sparrows, but it was relatively quiet.

As we turned the corner in the lower gardens and looked in the brush towards the golf course, we saw this beautiful stag with his large antlers. I've seen does and fawns and possibly young/spring males, but I never saw saw a creature like this at Nahanton. His fur was quite gray and he was very regal, laying in the grass. I decided he will be known as "King Stag". He got up and calmly walked away.

Before we knew it, it was 8:00 and several people started arriving for Linda's walk. At last count, there were at least 14 or 15 people - a great turnout! I was happy to see my friend from work, Winnie decided to get up early and drive in from Braintree.

Group Intro

Linda warned us that the sparrows may be laying low today because of the wind and it seemed to be the case. The warblers were also in short supply, but we still managed to see a wide variety of birds.

Between the upper and lower gardens we saw more white throated sparrows, a mockingbird, song sparrows, chipping sparrows, a pine warbler, house finches, cardinals, chickadees, kinglets and goldfinches.

Looking for sparrows

Flying overhead we saw Canadian geese, herring gulls, red tailed hawks and a Coopers hawk as well as the grackles that are gathering together now.

I had to leave a little early, so there may be additional sightings that I'm unable to report.

There's another walk next Saturday, with Pete Gilmore. Hope you will join us! Check out Nahanton Park to find out more about it.