Earth Day is Turtle Day!

Lots of turtles out today on the banks of the Charles, more than I've even seen. Parents and children, soaking up the sun. Scanning the opposite shore, it seemed like every available submerged tree branch or jutting rock had a painted turtle (or twelve) on it.



In other CRP news, spring is progressing.

The tree swallows are nesting. (See detail below)



Here's the female bluebird who has chosen the box near the entrance to the property.


And the great blue herons are back to stay.


(No sounds today. Earth Day also seems to produce landscaping trucks and leaf blowers.)

Fowl Meadow Magic

A magical early morning mid-April walk down Fowl Meadow. Palm warblers in mass quantities. Trilling and trilling. (The palm warbler doesn't have much of a "song" individually but put a bunch of them together and you get a sound that you can bathe your ears in).

They were down at eye level, sometimes chasing one another. Hard to miss in the gray season. And when the tail gets bobbing you know exactly what you've got.





But it's not all warblers in Fowl Meadow. For a short while the general blackbird clamor was joined by a flock of rusty blackbirds, who proceeded to blow the roof off the joint. And then a robin showed up who would not be dominated, not by blackbirds, spring peepers, or passing aircraft.



(This is THE robin in the recording. I thought he deserved some recognition.)

Savannah Sparrows

Yet another bird that would pass unnoticed if one didn't know it existed. From a distance, checked off as a song sparrow (the chest spot). In my second year of actually paying attention, though, I'm building a better sense of how these birds behave, and the sparrows that were foraging in the bright late afternoon sun on the lawn of my daughter's elementary school were definitely not song sparrows. Look at that bright yellow brow and tell me these birds shouldn't be noticed more.

Broadmoor morning

Went out early to check if the local herony was inhabited this year. Three nests, one heron at 6:30 a.m. I'm looking forward to coming back later in the season. (The site is in Sherborn on Rt 16 right after the Natick border. There was a surprising amount of traffic on that road so early in the day).




I had Broadmoor all to myself for a short time. Got some decent ambiance recordings, including this short excerpt featuring crows, frogs, and juncos palm warblers. (Frankly, the sounds from my driveway this morning were as compelling as anything else I heard---the goldfinches are singing like mad and the flickers are drumming on the sides of our houses and every once in a while you catch a hint of white-throat).

I stumbled upon this group of white-tails on the meadow. They were wary but let me pass without bounding away.

Dawn Chorus: Chestnut Hill Reservoir Edition

This morning I decided to head down to warblerton (AKA Chestnut Hill Reservoir) to catch some glimpses of yellow. I was not disappointed. (A flock of birders was assembled in the grove by the ice rink looking upwards, in hopes of a recently spotted Townsend's warbler. I think they were disappointed, at least during the hour or so I was in the area... They found it). But I was happy to soak up the assembled pines, palms, and yellow-rumps.


And a bunch of singing ruby-crowned kinglets.

The reservoir's other treasure is a group of ruddy ducks that can be found pretty close to shore.



Two other recordings of note from earlier in the week. The first, some evening trilling frogs (I need a guide to frog songs--these aren't peepers but I don't know enough to ID them). And second, some bluebird. They are all over the CRP this spring, much better established (as far as I can tell) than last year.

Arnold Arboretum

On the most beautiful day of the year, I took Lily to Arnold Arboretum. She was able to collect enough dandelions for a small bouquet.

Flying/singing things: first good looks this spring at chipping sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers. This tree swallow was very active collecting nest material and singing, branch-tip.


And I stumbled upon this savannah sparrow. I thought it was a chipping sparrow at first and then I caught the yellow. Oh lovely birds. Turns out they are all over the place this time of year (I also spotted a flock feeding in the grass at the CRP).

Crane Beach and Castle Hill

Windy day. These brants don't seem to mind.

Two snowys and a great egret roadside. Stopped the car and snapped the photo.


Lost my hat looking at dunlins.