Sharp-shinned hawk disrupts Broadmoor sparrow party

All the sparrows (especially white-throated and tree sparrows) in the Metrowest area appear to be living in South Natick around the feeders at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary. Everyone chattering at once, with the pine siskins throwing in a occasional zreet and the juncos plinking away.

Until the sharp-shinned hawk showed up. Suddenly everything went quiet, and when the hawk swooped in closer, there was a mad rush. Tree, house, white-throat, junco, song all rushing past. The chickadees were the only ones left, dededede-ing the alarm. (And then I foolishly got too close and the hawk was gone).

Midwinter life (and death) at Cutler

The train track that runs through Cutler brings life and death. Snow thaws first on the southern side of the track ridge exposing the ground and attracting birds. Particularly bluebirds, robins, white-throated sparrows, and starlings. Actually, mostly robins--doing their best to press the starlings away from the berry trees.


The train, in addition to scaring the birds off (every half an hour on weekdays), seems to kill deer too. I was shocked, the other day, to suddenly run across a trail-side deer carcass (I couldn't resist taking photos--here's a relatively tasteful one, still too disturbing to embed directly). Already stripped down to bone, the kind of thing that makes you think about the meaning of life for the next day or so.

Mid-winter life at the Charles River Peninsula

I put on my snow boots and trudged through the CRP this afternoon. About 8 inches on the ground on average--sometimes over a foot. I tried to walk around the perimeter, sometimes balancing on old ski tracks, sometimes even sliding across the icy crust. Not much active wildlife but lots of evidence of past activity.

For example, holes in the otherwise smooth crust, far from the tracks of dogs and snow walkers like me. Upon investigation, pretty clearly outlet holes for something with underground/snow tunnels (meadow mice, I assume).



This dirty trail went between the exposed swamp water and a burrow at the base of a dead tree.


And I'm guessing an otter did this.


Finally, bluebirds. I was able to get extremely close (in fact, they practically flew into me). Pure sweetness.

Random snow bird photos taken through windows

Puffed up goldfinch trying to stay warm.


Juvie cardinal discovering a stash of seeds under the snow.


Jet black male junco.


The pine siskins are still around. One spent the afternoon singing its heart out.

Blingee Siskin

Glitter Graphics



Another Lily design.

Fierceness

Yes, I am a sweet little pine siskin, kind and

GET OFF OF MY FEEDER!


Well, nothing is sweeter than me, a little goldfinch, always mild and

GET OFF MY FEEDER!


A little tension on this cold afternoon between the turn-takers and the feeder hogs. The goldfinches and the siskins tend to tolerate each other but the titmice have been battling them all day long. The fiercest skirmishes, though, seem to be intraspecies.

Mallards vs Mergansers (Mallards win)

Mill Street in Dover runs along the Charles River. During the winter you can see many ducks and mergansers (common and hooded) seeking refuge along the banks there. The mallards and mergansers don't get along (the mallards exerting that "I'm going to swim towards you" pressure).