Good fishing days

The three Green Herons were on the same three logs across from the dock this morning. Here are today's Dragonflies:

Male Blue Dasher

Female Blue Dragonlet?

Female Eastern Pondhawk

Besides the Dragonfly, I came across two birds stuck for various amounts of time in netting like this. At the least, I think the garden should ban netting across the tops of plots. 

There were also a lot of birds:

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2     pond
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  1
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  3     Lined up exactly as before, across the river
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  3
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris)  4
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1     f
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  5
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  3     some song
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  3
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  6
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  4     bridge
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  6
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  5
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  3
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  8
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  45
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  12     mostly quiet
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  2
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  10
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  4
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  10
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  8
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1     im M
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  2
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  3
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  10

Never a dull moment

A visit to Nahanton Park is never without its surprises. Today it was the three Green Herons lined up across the river from the boat launch (conspicuous but too far for a good picture); the Northern Water Snake at the picnic tables;

the deer thundering into the upper field, realizing this wasn't a good place to be either, and thundering off again, seen later quietly in the woods

The odont of the day was Common Whitetail, male

and female

Here's the bird list

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1     pond
Green Heron (Butorides virescens)  4     one flyover early at lower garden; 3 lined up on far bank of the Charles at the boat launch.
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  2
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  1     f
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  6
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus)  2
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  1     back of upper garden
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  2     song; one at river, one in forest
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2     song
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  4
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  5
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  8
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  4
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  4
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  7     noisy
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  1     Nature Center
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  40
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  12
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  5
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  10
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  15
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1     im m, path by soccer field
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  15
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1     Nature Center

bunnies, birds, bugs, and pipes

Nice morning at Nahanton Park, with lots of breeding activity, as Suzette said. In addition to the birds and bunnies, I saw a couple of groundhogs run out of the lower garden, and identified four Dragonfly species in the upper ("Woodcock") field: Twelve-spotted Skimmer and the three flashy males shown below.

Slaty Skimmer

Widow Skimmer

Eastern Amberwing

Also, the Indian Pipe Monotropa uniflora is in full "bloom" in the forest (near the fork):

Here's the bird list:

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2     pond
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1     pond
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  1
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  3
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus)  2
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  3
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  2
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  2     pr, in trees between pond and soccer field
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  3     silent
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  5
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  6
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  3
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  8     Lots of song
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  30
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  12     silent
Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  1     upper field
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2     im
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  10
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1     upper field
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  15
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  4
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  1
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)  4
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  5     all female type
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  8

Good to be back!

Cedar Waxwing

It's been far too long since I've been able to get to the park. It was so nice to go over this morning. It was a pleasant 66 degrees and overcast and thankfully, not very buggy.

I was immediately greeted by the bubbly song of a house wren which is always a nice way to start the morning. As I started down the path to the lower gardens, I heard very high pitched sounds and I started looking for cedar waxwings. And there they were - all around me! Even got to see one feeding it's

Waxwing baby being fed

baby! There were bunnies of all different sizes all over the place. I saw some disturbing looking fluttering coming from some netting and I went over to investigate. There was a young cardinal caught inside. I went to try and help her, but she finally figured out how to exit the way she most likely got in - through an opening in the bottom on the ground. Thank god she got out of there. She was very panicked.

There were robins, song sparrows, mourning doves and maybe one or two yellow warblers. What was noticeable was the lack of tree swallows and yellow warblers. Time is marching on....

Yellow Warbler

The upper gardens yielded some chickadees doing their aerial feeding gymnastics in the trees, more bunnies, cardinals, chickadees, goldfinches and a flicker. Caught a really quick  glimpse of a hummingbird, but couldn't even tell if it was a male or female. I'm just glad it was there. A catbird meowed from some shrubs at the back. The sumac is starting to bloom as well as lythrum, fleabane, St. Johns wort and coneflowers in the meadow. A beautiful color palette of white, yellow and purple.

Gloriosa Daisy

The gardens are looking quite successful with lots of ripening vegetables and the 6ft or more towering sunflowers are in bloom. They're always so spectacular! I headed down to the soccer field where I could hear the titmice calling from the woods. I was hoping for a heron or sandpiper in the pond, but just as I got there it started raining. I was worried about my camera, so I headed back and saw this gorgeous doe in the meadow!

Doe

It's just amazing what you can see when you least expect it. We are so lucky to have this park. I'm including a photo from a very brief visit yesterday, where I saw this butterfly that I don't think I've ever seen before. It's called a red spotted purple and it looked as if it had just emerged from its cocoon as it was on the gravel drying its wings in the sun.

Red Spotted Purple Butterfly

The firestation is fully ensconced but doesn't seem to be bothering anything. I hope they enjoy their beautiful surroundings! There will be some great fall bird walks that I'll be posting soon to the NahantonPark.org website, so please check it out soon....

Phoebe finally on nest!

Red-eyed Vireo

It was 55 degrees and overcast as I arrived at the park around 7:30 a.m.

For some reason, I started in the upper gardens where I saw a pair of house wrens. I know they're nesting in a certain box and soon we should be hearing the little calls for food from the babies.

There was a continual flute concert by a wood thrush in the woods nearby. Yellow warblers were singing and catbirds were flitting about. A pair of redstarts were chasing each other and there were three red-eyed vireos which captivated me as they were low and very visible. The overcast day made the lighting poor, so this was the best I could do as far as a photo.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

There are three nests near the soccer field that I've been watching: two oriole nests and a yellow warbler nest. When the yellow warbler first built its nest it seemed like a very poor location as it was so obvious, but I was wrong. As the foliage has filled out it is completely hidden and even though I know where it is, I have the most difficult time locating it now. Saw more redstarts and heard a peewee calling.

Down by the river I was so pleased to see the phoebe finally in it's nest! I heard a warbling vireo and
saw a few Eastern kingbirds.

In Woodcock meadow was a beautiful grosbeak, nice and low and obvious - however the lighting doesn't do it justice.

She’s on Fire: Mary Lou Finds a Prothonotary Warbler!

Prothonotary Warbler

 After a weekend away from email, I was stunned to see that Mary Lou reported a Prothonotary Warbler Sunday morning at Nahanton Park. This is the second time this spring that Mary Lou has found a new bird for Nahanton Park, previously it was the Yellow-throated Warbler. The Prothonotary Warbler typically inhabits more southern swamp lands, so to have one visit us wonderful.

Monday morning, I decided to try for the Prothonotary as it would be a life bird. When I arrived, I tallied birds as I walked from the Winchester St. entrance towards the river. But the Yellow Warblers, CommonYellowthroats, and American Redstarts couldn’t keep me long. I was on a mission.

Prothonotary Warbler

When I arrived the river, the first people I ran into were Haynes and Pete, fresh from their own sightings of the Prothonotary. Buoyed by the good news, I set off down Florrie’s Path straining my ears to try and catch the loud ringing “sweet sweet sweet” song repeated on one pitch. Another birder, and walked the path looking for motion and listening intently. I started to hear a two-parted song, with the first few notes at a lower pitch, before rising into a decisive “sweet sweet”.  It almost ended like a Prothonotary, but not having heard one sing before, I couldn’t be sure. But as it was the only song we couldn’t recognize we started scanning the far bank for this bright yellow bird.

Prothonotary Warbler

A long story short, a number of us birders banded together to examine the trail on the other side of the river where we were finally able to see that the singer was indeed a Prothonotary! After it returned to the Nahanton side of the river, I headed back over and was eventually rewarded with some better views, though a decent photograph was elusive. In all the excitement, a Canada Warbler was summarily dismissed after a few seconds by the birders present. The Prothonotary was singing so energetically he must have been trying to attract a female, but he is the only Prothonotary Warbler sighted for more than a hundred miles.

So while its fantastic for us that we get to experience him, I do wonder what happens to these wayward migrants. Do they eventually realize they aren’t in the right place and then fly back south? Is he going to hang out up north going bust on this year’s breeding season and hit the reset button when he migrates south for winter? Or is there another possibility that I haven’t thought of? If only his “sweet sweet sweet” song could tell us.

Apple blossoms fading...

Northern Parula

I was hoping it would be a nice day when I saw a deer meandering through the woods as I drove down to the parking lot. That always puts me in a good mood. They're such beautiful creatures.

It was 53 degrees and sunny at 7:00 a.m.

Sadly, the apple blossoms that the warbler wave was feasting on was on the wane, but still one parula was not to be put off. In the lower gardens were catbirds, yellow warblers, tree swallows, orioles, cowbirds and goldfinches. I could hear a red-bellied woodpecker calling from some nearby trees. Also heard

Scarlet Tanager

a red-eyed vireo's song, but couldn't locate it. Mourning doves, robins and a cardinal were there and surprisingly, I saw 3 rough-winged swallows in a puddle on the path!

I ran into Mary Lou and then Paul and later Barbara! In the upper gardens were house wrens, blue jays, songs sparrows and yellow warblers, nothing too earth shattering.

Down by the soccer field was a warbling vireo and more yellow warblers. Saw one oriole tending to it's nest. Saw one male wood duck in the pond. At the river, we saw a rose-breasted grosbeak. The meadow was quiet save for some grackles.

Peewee Singing

We walked through the woods by the JCC where towards the end of the path, we saw a Peewee, Scarlet tanager and heard the incessant calling of an ovenbird which for the life of us we couldn't locate. Also heard a great-crested flycatcher which was nice.

And a little stand of lady slippers was in bloom. They are so very spectacular!

As I returned to my car, there was a note from Mary Lou. She had seen a prothonotary warbler across the river!!!!!!! Too bad I missed it.

We are so lucky to have this park...