The Willets of Wellfleet

Willet, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Wellfleet, MA

Mid-June isn't the best time to see birds in Wellfleet, I was told.

Willet, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, Wellfleet, MA

By mid-June spring migration is over.

Willet, Coast Guard Beach, Eastham, Ma

And the mid-summer southern migration of shorebirds hasn't yet begun.

Willets, Provincetown breakwater, Provincetown, MA

So you are left with the local breeders.

Willet, Provincetown breakwater, Provincetown, MA

Such as towhees, field sparrows, and prairie warblers (!)

Willet, Provincetown breakwater, Provincetown, MA

And willets. They may not be beautiful or musical but they certainly liven up a place.

Yellowlegs. Greater? Provincetown breakwater, Provincetown, MA

And what you see (and hear) is what you get.

Bluebirds! Season 6. Episode 9. Empty boxes and refills

Tree Swallows, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Last week the bluebirds and chickadees fledged. This week it is the tree swallows' turn.

Box 1. Tree swallow nest with chickadee base.

Leaving empty boxes requiring clean out.

Box 2. New Eastern Bluebird attempt.

Meanwhile, bluebirds have begun round 2 in box 2. Box 11 was snatched by tree swallows before the other bluebird pair could start again.

Box 12. Full of sticks.

In gloomier news, the tree swallow that was so stalwart in protecting its nest in box 12 last episode, finally succumbed to house wren stick mania. And the chickadees finally gave up on their next in box 14 (box 4 chickadees, a tiny clutch of 2, managed to fledge).

Box 13

And unpopular box 13, unused for the second year in a row, may finally be completely covered in multiflora rose this year.

Some June mornings

Foggy morning at Powisset Farm, Dover, MA

Grassland bird monitoring at Powisset Farm.

Tree Swallow, Powisset Farm

Just two bobolinks singing this year.

Tree Swallow, Powisset Farm

June bonus yellow-billed cuckoo song.

Wild Turkey families, Powisset Farm

Hidden turkeys.

Great-crested Flycatcher, Chestnut Hill Farm, Southborough, MA

Grassland bird monitoring at Chestnut Hill Farm. 12 bobolinks. Much better.

Hooded Merganser, Great Meadows NWR, Concord, MA

An early morning stroll at Great Meadows.

Hooded Merganser, Great Meadows NWR, Concord, MA

I wonder if we'll see baby hoodies this year.

Bluebirds! Season 6. Episode 8. Satisfaction.

Box 2, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

The first bluebird broods have fledged.

Box 11, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

I pulled out the nests to give them a place to try again. But halfway through, this breeding season is already a success. Two broods of bluebirds fledged.

Box 12, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Tree swallow eggs are beginning to hatch. And the birds with smashed eggs last week are determined not to let it happen again. 

Box 4, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Chickadee eggs are hatching too. Two new eggs in the second chickadee nest.

Box 17, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

The house wrens have found empty spaces to fill with sticks. And there are no house sparrows anywhere. From here on out, barring catastrophic weather or vandalism, things should run smoothly. My job this spring is just about done.