Jodrey Pier

Herring Gull, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

I had to go to work (yes, despite spring break),  I thought I might as well have some fun, so I popped up to Jodrey Pier in Gloucester. There had been some interesting recent reports: thick-billed murre, Pacific loon, Iceland gull. (Jump to the chase: 1 of 3, the murre, probably...)

View from Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

Jodrey is best known, notorious even, for its gulls. You are very likely to see something beyond the herring, ring-billed, and great blacked that we are used to.

Glaucous Gull, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

And wouldn't you know, down flew a gorgeous nearly all-white gull onto a nearby dock.

Glaucous Gull, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

A little help from the friendly community of birders staked out for the Pacific loon allowed the ID (I was thinking Iceland, frankly). Black tip on the bill. There is also a little gray texture on the wing, viewable by scope.

Horned Grebe, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

I was also thrilled to get nice close views of some winter-plumaged grebes.

Horned Grebe, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

Particularly red-necked grebes, quite abundant today.

Red-necked Grebe, Jodrey Pier, Gloucester, MA

I wonder if the others ever saw the Pacific loon...

Spring Break!

Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Being chair of an academic department is time-consuming and the first sacrifice has been regular outings into the outdoors (of course the cold and snow don't help). But it is now spring break and while there is still work to be done, I do have a little more room for adventure. Starting today.

Wood ducks, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Now that the Charles River is losing its ice cover, wood ducks are beginning to filter in (and mergansers, hooded and common moving through).

Singing song sparrow, Charles River Peninsula, Needham, Ma

And birdsong is back. I recorded some particularly delightful moments, embedded below:

A loud Carolina wren, in chorus with a song sparrow and a red-winged blackbird.
A woods of echoing tufted titmouse whistles.
My favorite early spring sound: black-capped chickadees sing-songing.

Tunnel, Cutler Park, Needham, MA

And then in the afternoon (this is where the relatively free schedule comes in) I shuffled through the snowy trails of lower Cutler. I love the barren wintery scene there, particularly of Pine Island across the wetland and its skeletal birches.

Pine Island, Dedham, MA

Bird activity was limited (it was mid-day after all) but I did hang with a noisy golden-crowned kinglet for a while (embedded below).
If you listen to the end you'll get a surprise. Spring must truly be here.

Halibut Point State Park 2013

Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA

It was sunny but frigid in Rockport, the wind chill at about zero. Cool ice patterns in the quarry.

Cool patterns in the ice.

Visible sea bird life was minimal. A long-tailed duck or two popping their heads out of the waves.

Long-tailed duck, Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA

A few relatively small rafts of harlequin ducks, all business.

Harlequin ducks, Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA

Too cold for frolicking. 

Odd Feeder Year

Northern Cardinal, Needham, MA

This is the first year in the five years or so I've been actively feeding birds that a cardinal pair have been regular visitors to my window and tube feeders (technically under the feeders competing with squirrels for seeds rejected by others). Every once in a while I catch a strain of mid-winter cardinal song. Makes it feel like March.

Northern Cardinal, Needham, Ma

But it is an odd year for other birds, not just because we have been blessed with myriad red-breasted nuthatches.

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Needham, MA

Goldfinch numbers are way down (no one is visiting my new nyjer feeder, though a junco tries to pull some seeds out every once in a while). And oddities of oddities I'm seeing far fewer house sparrows. Not that I mind (and I know populations are robust in other parts) but it is a little disconcerting....

Windy morning in January

Ridge Hill Reservation, Needham, MA

Bird song minimalism. Wind textures. Tree creaks.

Moldy Hemlocks, Ridge Hill Reservation, Needham, MA

Springtime in January

Charles River Peninsula, Needham, MA

Chickadees and titmice singing. Muskrats on the surface snacking. Bluebirds in the air. Balmy breezes. It must be spring!

"Pine Grosbeak" should be the name of a color

Pine Grosbeak, Wilmington, MA

Irruption 2012/2013 keeps giving. Today on the way home I took a short detour to see the well-publicized flock of pine grosbeaks at an office park in Wilmington. As with the white-winged crossbills, the real revelation was how fantastically beautiful they were. Parrot-like really, especially when twisting all about to get at crab apples.