Columbus Day at Cutler

One of two young bucks on the train track (detail below)


Took a nice slow Columbus Day morning stroll through lower Cutler Park, starting at the Great Plain entrance and going along the train tracks toward the river. Predictably birdy, though some surprises.

For example, it was nice to see red-winged blackbirds again, at least temporarily.


But mostly sparrows (the shot below is actually from the CRP--none of my swamp sparrow photos turned out today) and a surprising number of common yellow-throats. I enjoyed watching the swamp sparrows land on top of goldenrod and acting all surprised when it would bend beneath their weight.

The overall activity on the ground was suppressed by a Cooper's hawk in the air. The coop went on to buzz a roost of crows (who, surprisingly, seemed terrified and in no mood to gang up on it) and engaged in some mild dog-fighting with the resident red-tailed hawk pair.

Here's a robin enjoying some berries. Lots of red in this picture!


And I finally got a taste (just a taste) of ruby-crowned kinglet singing. I pulled out the binoculars and what did I see? A hermit thrush. (In nature-faker mode, I imagine the thrust and the kinglet deliberately hanging out--a mutual appreciation society of supreme summer and fall singers).


Here's my full ebird list

Location: needham
Observation date: 10/11/09
Number of species: 19

Mallard 6
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Blue Jay 12
American Crow 50
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 25
Gray Catbird 2
Common Yellowthroat 8
Song Sparrow 20
Swamp Sparrow 8
White-throated Sparrow 18
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 10
American Goldfinch 5

Sparrow Fight (with a twist)

One Bird-Lore trope is "baby birds in a line," which I've explored elsewhere. Another is the "hanged bird," which I'm not going to explore in-depth for reasons of good taste. If you want to know what I'm talking about here's a link to a rather gruesome image. (Mama Kinglet, please don't let your babies play around the burdock plant).

Not ever having seen a bird that's managed to hang itself, I was struck by the following scene, witnessed while I was pumping gas: a house sparrow battle in which the defender seems to be tangled in something (hanging by a leg) and his opponent is hanging onto him by his beak! Quite an amazing scene of acrobatics. As far as I could tell, the defender was eventually able to extract himself.

More Charles River Peninsula birdiness

Eastern Phoebe

An early morning return to the CRP. An addition to yesterday's list: Ruby-crowned Kinglet! (I'm going back this week to see if I can catch some delicious kinglet singing and get a photo in better light conditions).[UPDATE: Caught the song, sung while flittering around. Not quite as musical as usual but definitely striking.]



And a "tut-tut-ing" common yellowthroat, which I assume was around, just not seen yesterday.


Now some additional documentation:
Savannah sparrow (a whole bunch of them this morning)

House finches (singing)


A group of swamp sparrows all in one place.

Here's a detail (with the sun out).


And finally, the best palm warbler shot this fall. Two at once.

Detail below.

Fall Migration Peak at the CRP

Moments earlier these trees were full of common grackles

I've never seen the Charles River Peninsula so absolutely stuffed with birds. From the grackles lining the edges to a huge influx of sparrows and the continuing bluebird-warbler pack, there was activity everywhere you looked. And such restlessness, flying back and forth, chasing, foraging. Due in part to a sharp-shinned hawk gliding over the meadow, blue jay calls ringing.

Very overcast, so good photos were difficult. Managed a few, mostly by accident.

Yellow-rumped warbler.


Palm warbler (western variety)


Palm warbler (yellow)


Best shots were of song sparrows, so obliging. And singing today!



Here's my full ebird report
Location: Charles River Peninsula
Observation date: 10/9/09
Number of species: 31

Canada Goose 2
Mallard 8
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 12
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue Jay 4
Tree Swallow 20
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 1
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 8
American Robin 10
Gray Catbird 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 6
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler (Western) 2
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 2
Chipping Sparrow 15
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 2
Common Grackle 75
House Finch 12
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow 1

Wednesday Afternoon Warblers

Same time, same place as last week. Different warblers. Yellow-rumps this time. In their dull winter dress, with the tell-tale yellow spot on the side.

This one was eating berries.

Early October Miscellany

Immature green heron (Riverside, RI)

Tiny snapping turtle (Charles River Peninsula)


I poked it with a leaf to see if it was still alive. It moved.

The large bluebird contingent continues at the CRP. I sat in the warm October sun and watched them catch insects.



It's the same group that's been around for the last week or so. Palm warblers, pine warblers, and a lone house finch (that gets bossed around a bit by the bluebirds) and sits singing in the hickory tree.

I waited and waited for a good palm warbler shot but I was finally intimidated by the self-appointed chipmunk sentry (below).

Plum Island Blues

Big an' li'l yellow-legs

Even a poor day at Plum Island is an interesting one.

An encounter with the bane of hellcat--THE MIDDLE SCHOOL FIELD TRIP--set the tone for the day. Two buses of bored, chatty, and mostly unsupervised preteens. I could hear the wall of noise as it moved down the trail. I tried to outrun it, but it caught up to me at the old blind. "Anything out there?" they ask.
"There's a hawk called a northern harrier," I reply.
See below (highlight of the day).


"Write that down," they told each other. (They had been sent out on the trail with a lined piece of paper to write down any bird they could see.)
This was apparently the first one some of them had "seen." On the whole trail.
To be honest, I hadn't done much better. White-throated sparrows (here comes winter) and yellow-rumped warblers were the only birds of interest.

I cut my losses and headed for the parking lot.

Oh don't give up, says the chickadee peeking out of a tree hole.

There are plenty of other quiet places you can try.

I headed down to the pines trail, a spot where I've never had much luck before. I immediately heard towhees, lots of them, scratching in the leaves and hopping across the trail.

My first decent towhee photo ever.

And do my ears deceive me or could those be golden-crowned kinglets? Sure enough. Still got ear skills.

OK. That was good.

But this group of black-bellied plovers pretty much sums up the day's "action."

Just hanging by the waves...

Hey, what are those guys doing, just sitting there?

Let's go see.

Now we're both standing.

The end.

With a bonus season-end look at semi-palms, peeps n plovers.

And the necessary great egret shot.