Checking out Fairhaven - May 1st

We spent a wonderful Sunday checking out stops in Mattapoisett and Fairhaven where will plan to bring a class trip in a few weeks. At the end of Sconticut Neck Road we had breeding gulls and Double-crested Cormorants already on nests at Angelica Rock.And we had a a fat and very fluffy-locking raccoon hunting along the edge of the marsh at the conservation area and bike path off Little Bay Road. There were Yellow Warblers, Towhees and male Baltimore Orioles in the area, but in a few weeks we hope to find the breeding Orchard Orioles and the Willow Flycatchers.

Red-winged Blackbirds were displaying as the females are coming back in force now and they want to protect the prime territory they had staked out several weeks earlier.

Fairhaven has a wonderful bike path and along the thickets there were male Yellow Warblers zipping after other males who had wandered into "their" thicket.

And we had a small flock of Cedar Waxwings along the same section of the bike path. These birds seem to stay in small flocks until much later in the season when they get very quiet and pair up.

At the end of Brandt Island Road in Mattapoisett we had some great close looks at a pair of Willets. It's so nice to see them in their rich warm brown breeding color vs. the plain grey color I always associated with their fall migration.

Usually I get a fuzzy shot of their bold wing pattern in flight, but this Willet decided to show me the pattern without making me work for it!

It was also nice to see a Red-breasted Merganser standing out of the water on a spit of land so you could get the jiz of the bird rather than just it's back as it sails away....

But the highlight of the trip for me was to get my first tern of the season!

We had one tired-looking Common Tern sitting on a rock. I know that in a few weeks when we're back with the class we'll have many more, and probably Roseate Terns as well....but for today it was time to celebrate this one little Common Tern who had just arrived back from who-knows-where.

At the Herring Run we stopped to check on warblers, but instead we found a pair of White-breasted Nuthatch already tending a nest. We saw both male and female at one point, so it's hard to know whether they are still building the nest, just about to lay eggs, or actually feeding young already.

Can't wait to bring Mark's spring migration class to this location in a few weeks and see what's happening then!

Enjoy.....Sheila

Spring Migration - MAS Class Trip to The Brookfields

Mark had his first trip with his Spring Migration class this past weekend, and we kept it local. It was a morning trip only and we met at the Dunkin Donuts in Spencer so everyone could fuel up before heading off to Lake Quabog. We had a distant immature Bald Eagle, but haven't seen the previously-breeding adults for about a month now. Wondering if they moved to South Pond or elsewhere this season??? It was nice to hear the morning song as we hiked in the WMA adjacent to South Pond. We had nice looks at a pair of Yellow Warblers, towhees, nesting Canada Goose, Wood Duck, a lovely Swamp Sparrow and heard our first Blue-gray Gnatcatchers of the season. The gnatcatchers were stubborn though and we couldn't get them to come out in plain view for the class. We did have a small (3-4) migrating flock of Great Crested Flycatchers that everyone got looks at.

We headed off to see if the gates were open in Wells State Park yet, but the DCR told us they won't be opening up to the public until May 6th. So we walked along the dirt road to the powerlines instead and got our first Prairie Warbler singing.

The dirt road runs right along the little pond that feeds into Walker Pond to the south. There is a trail that follows the powerlines to the west where you can get a good look at the heron rookery, but it was somewhat flooded and we plan to go back when the park is open and take the trail inside the park to get the same view.

The pond proved quite enjoyable with all the turtles out sunning themselves and our first green frog was looking very fresh in his spring colors. We also had a pair of Belted Kingfishers putting on a very noisy show.

The Tree Swallows were starting to set up natural cavity nesting territories in all the dead stumps in the pond. The Pine Warblers were in full song and we had a Brown Creeper doing it's lovely spring song as well.

Since we were essentially in Sturbridge, we decided to stop in and check on the progress in that heron rookery. In a matter of one week everything had changed.

Warblers had moved in and there were Yellows everywhere. Tree Swallows were swooping in close to us as we tried counting all the active Great Blue Heron nests -- I had 14! It'll be totally chaotic in another few weeks when both parents are out catching food for the voracious young birds.

When we first arrived the Osprey nest looked deserted. However, one of the birds must have been tucked down since the mate flew in after about 10 minutes and perched right at the nest before he, too, disappeared.

The Killdeer was sitting tight on a nest as well, so we left her alone so as not to flush her.

Everyone seemed to really be blown away by the amount of bird life going on right behind these industrial buildings and literally stuck between the Mass Pike and Rt. 20. It was a great stop to make with a class.

Of course hoping to repeat last year's class trip to the miniature horse farm where we watched a mare give birth right in front of us, we had to make a stop and check out the frisky foals. At this point Mark doesn't even try to stop me anymore, since he knows it's fruitless -- if we're in the area, I am going to stop!

While we didn't have the birth drama, everyone seemed to enjoy the 6 or 7 babies running around. In fact we had twins come right up to the fence with their mom and allow for some nuzzle rubbing.

Since we were pretty close to the noon hour, we headed back to Spence via Elm Hill Farm (which is a Mass Audubon sanctuary) and enjoyed some nice patches of Bloodroot in full bloom.

This member of the Poppy family gets it name from the orange color of the juice that runs out of its stem if broken. Since they don't bloom for very long, I can never bring myself to pick one or break a stem to see the orangey color myself. This is one of my favorite early spring flowers!

It was a great first class trip, with a total of 81 species for the morning -- not bad for inland. And the mix of birds was great. It's always such fun to pull a class together and have the first trip be such a hit. What a great way to end April. Thank you Spring!!!

Enjoy......Sheila

April in Quabbin

Since I took Monday (4/25) as a holiday from work, we decided to head out to Quabbin to see how migration was progressing inland. As we entered the park from the easternmost gate, we stopped along the road to listen to some Pine Warbler song. I noticed a number of Bluejays flying in and out of one tree and then I saw something moving near a squirrel's nest. It turned out to be a Fisher looking for his morning breakfast. By the time I got my camera ready, he was already zipping down the tree trunk and making a hasty retreat into the deeper woods. Never again will I wait to get my camera ready -- all I managed was one quick shot (somewhat blurry) as he sped away. Still a nice way to start the morning though. We came across a number of deer in south Quabbin -- all looking a little worse for wear from the winter.

At the rotary near the road up to the tower, we had a flock of about 8 Flickers feeding on the ground. Most of the birds flew off, but this one bird definitely had some good food he was not prepared to leave.....so he allowed me to drive around the rotary twice snapping photos from different angles.

Even after checking the tower, he was still in the rotary as we passed back down.

Near the Administration entrance we had a pair of Turkeys....with one male in full display. It was almost silly looking. I just can't understand why Fish & Wildlife allows hunting of this bird during it's breeding season. They are totally oblivious to everything around them when there's a female nearby -- it must be like shooting a pet at close range. Ridiculous!!!

Other birds focusing on their spring breeding activity included this Red-bellied Woodpecker...

this pair of Common Mergansers in the river near the Fish Hatchery....

and this female Belted Kingfisher.

Red-winged Blackbirds and Grackles are all in full display at the marsh along Rt. 9 as well. I don't know whether it was the rough winter or my advancing age, but this spring I've definitely enjoyed every moment, every song, every chance to photograph nature.

While at the Administration Building we ran into both Dave Small and Dale Monette. We were able to find out from Dave which roads were now drivable inside Quabbin and from Dale we learned that the Ravens along the powerlines in Gate 35 had young in the nest.

So we decided to head home via north Quabbin and check out Gate 35 area....at least along the first part of the road near the water.

Sure enough when we approached the powerlines one of the adult Ravens flew off and we could see two young bobbing up and down in the nest -- another record for the Breeding Bird Atlas!

Following the old railroad bed along the water, we had 3 different adult Bald Eagles, including a pair on the nest on Hamilton Island. And we had lots of warblers moving along the trees at various points.

We could great looks at Palm Warblers foraging very low on both sides of the road.

And Yellow-rumps seemed to be everywhere, along with Pine Warblers which didn't approach close enough for a good photo opportunity. Nevertheless, I was delighted with the spring Palms.

Early spring in Quabbin can be such an amazing thing......

Enjoy.....Sheila

Westport and Acoaxet - April 24th

We spent a foggy Sunday morning in Westport and Acoaxet...hoping the fog that was hugging the shore would lift. It was fun to photograph in the fog, though. Even this Herring Gull at the boat ramp at Gooseberry Neck looked exotic shrouded in gloom. Traveling along the shore road we found two Greater Yellowlegs in the small pool across the street from Westport Town Beach. These were our first real migrant shorebirds of the year. Of course, I realize that Killdeer do migrate, but somehow when I see a migrant non-breeder at the ocean I experience shorebird migration differently.

As we pulled into the beach park right at the corner, we were greeted by a Northern Mockingbird going through a full repertoire of spring song. I actually snapped this photo as the bird was doing his Killdeer rendition!

We checked down Fisherville Lane (the side road across from Mysti Brook farm) hoping for our first Black & White warbler, but it was a bit quiet. With the morning fog still holding close, the Usnea looking especially fluffy.

While we didn't get the B&W, we did have our first Great Crested Flycatcher....although the foggy conditions didn't allow for his colorful plumage to be truly appreciated.

We decided to cut across Horseneck Road and head out towards Demarest Lloyd state park to check down some of the side roads for an early White-eyed Vireo. At the little pond at the dip in the road right after making the turn, we had this beautiful Great Egret in full breeding plumage. Just the color around his eye made the trip worthwhile!

We didn't get the vireo, but we had our first raptors of the morning, with this Red-tailed Hawk trying to get dry from the damp, foggy start to his day.

Since it seemed to be clearing a little, we headed over to Acoaxet hoping there was finally better visibility right along the coast. At the end of River Road we realized that the coast wasn't going to be our best bet for visibility still.

Although at the overlook near Richmond Pond we did get a Harlequin Duck even in the foggy conditions.

Just 1/4 mile inland, though, the clearing was happening. These Marsh Marigolds along Brayton Point Road were our first of the year.

And we had Yellow Warbler near the herring run.

The birds seemed to be feeding in the bushes all along the side roads. I was intrigued by these "pussy willows" which were in that in-between stage after their pussy willow phase.

And we finally had a singing White-crowned Sparrow as well.

As we left the area we stopped in the boat launch area near the Back Eddy restaurant and had some nice Common Eider, along with another Greater Yellowlegs -- this one more striking without the fog.

We headed back to Worcester after a lovely Easter morning in the area -- both the fog and the holiday kept a lot of people off the roads. Very relaxing....and just what we needed before heading off to an Easter visit four energetic (but totally delightful) grandchildren.

Enjoy.....Sheila

Yellow-legged Gull.....or is it?

On Friday, April 15th, we headed down to Hyannis in the hopes of finding the Yellow-legged Gull. We don't chase nearly as many rarities as we used to, but a North American bird will still get us wandering further afield than usual, especially if the bird is in Massachusetts. We arrived at the Kalmus Beach lot to get some glimpses of the gull perched fairly far out on some pilings at the end of a dock. After about 10 minutes all the gulls took off and headed somewhere for the evening roost. Oh well, we decided that we had planned to stay overnight and come back in the morning anyway. So after watching the Piping Plover for a bit we headed into Hyannis for a nice dinner and checked into a hotel.
Saturday morning back at the parking lot we were greeted by the noisy calls of the pair of Osprey who had taken up residence right at the entrance to the lot. Judging by the size of their nest this wasn't new territory to them.

We spotted both birds in the marsh across the street and managed to get some close shots.

As we pulled into the parking lot, Mark spotted a group of birders already there at the far end of the lot, so we zipped right down -- not realizing that they were looking in our direction at the Yellow-legged Gull right next to my car! As soon as I stopped the bird flew off to the beach and all I could think about was that the birders at the far end were probably using every name in the book to describe what we had just done. Luckily as soon as we stepped out onto the beach it was clear that the bird hadn't flown very far and we all got a chance to study the bird in our scopes.

Luckily we knew some of the birders so I was able to apologize for my car flushing the bird and we all joked about what would have happened if it had flown off for good.

To make up we tried to thrown some of the previous evening's dinner out to bring the bird closer, but for some reason none of the gulls seemed very interested in our leftovers.

The bird was quite cooperative and we managed to get good looks and really notice not only the legs but the bill color and construction as well. It should be noted that there have been subsequent questions about whether this bird is truly a Yellow-legged Gull or actually a hybrid between a Lesser Black-back and Herring Gull. I guess we'll have to wait for the "powers that be" to decide.

We did have the bird flying around and settling out on the water. After about 30 minutes we decided to head off cape where we planned to check out one of the blocks we planned to do for the atlas this year.

We did stop to check some of the Herring Gulls at the far end of the parking lot. There was a pair definitely courting each other.

One of the Herring Gulls in the lot seemed to have a bad foot, so Mark decided to pull over and go to the edge of the lot and dump out the remaining leftovers from the night before. We thought that this bird might enjoy not having to fight with other gulls for a handout since he was injured.

Within 5 seconds of dumping the chicken, every gull in the area seemed to converge. Now realize these are the same gulls that wouldn't take out handout on the beach. This time, however, they were interested.

Sure enough Mark spotted the Yellow-legged Gull flying in and a got one quick shot of the bird as he gulped down a piece of Chicken Marsala and headed off to digest the good-sized piece of chicken.

I'm sure the birders who had been watching this bird on the beach were less than thrilled....again. So we decided to beat a hasty retreat before we had a third instance of causing havoc with birders. We did check and found out that the bird did reappear after a few hours and many other birders arrived and had a chance to see this handsome gull.

It'll be funny if all this havoc turns out to be over a hybrid gull!

Enjoy.....Sheila