Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cold Brook Birding (MWT)

1. HOME-kab Hooded Merganser in Cold Brook, Skowhegan, ME 5-13-11

I am always looking for new places to count birds and I do not let myself be deterred by grocery stores and parking lots. So it was that on a recent trip to Maine Gus and I drove into Skowhegan to pick up some pizza for the family at the local pizza hut in Route 201.

2. 0464 Pizza birds-kab While Gus went into the restaurant to pay for the pizza, I grabbed my bins and headed for the edge of the asphalt.

3. birds calling-kab I could hear all kinds of bird sound coming from the greenery beyond. down over the edge I looked and there found a small pond. above me the trees were full of movement as bird fluttered here and there among the leaves. I did not get to look for very long because we had to hurry home while the pizza was still hot, but as soon as we finished I grabbed my gear and drove back by myself to observe the birds. these are just some of the species I saw on my visit to Cold Brook.

4. 0457 WAVI-kab Warbling Vireo 5-13-11

 

5. EAKI-kab Eastern Kingbird 5-13-11

 

6. 0437 BAOR-kab Baltimore Oriole 5-13-11

 

7. 0428 YEWA-kab Yellow Warbler 5-13-11

 

8. 0431 AMRE-kab Can you find the American Redstart in these branches? 5-13-11

 

9. Cold Brook_0414-kab A pair of Hooded mergansers in the pond 5-13-11.

 

10. 0467 BAOR_kab Male Baltimore Oriole 5-13-11

 

11. Warbling vireo-kab Warbling Vireo 5-13-11

 

12. 0474 COYE-kab Common Yellowthroat 5-13-11

 

13. 0475 WTSP-kab White-throated sparrow 5-13-11

I did not know this would be my last white-throated sparrow of the year when I saw it. I have not seen one since.

14. 0465 Cold Brook-kab Many times I was looking down through brush like this. I could hear and see common grackles and red-winged blackbirds around the pond.

15. 0490 Edge-kab But I never had to get my feet wet or dirty. I just walked along the edge of the pond and parking lot for a short distance. The pond is just down through the trees. The birds were everywhere! Gus and I were back again on may 29th. We stopped on the way to my in-laws’ house to order pizza once again. and while Gus placed the order and waited for the pizza, I squeezed in about 10 minutes of birding at cold Brook. In that short amount of time I saw 13 species of birds, including tow juvenile European Starlings! Yes, I know they are invasive, but I can’t help myself. I thought these were cute!

16. DSC_0008 Juvenile Starling 5-29-11

 

17. DSC_0015 “Feed me!”

My World Tuesday 

 

CLICK THIS PICTURE!

 

Birds seen at Cold Brook in Skowhegan Maine:

Location: Cold Brook
Observation date: 5/13/11
Notes: What a place to watch birds! Discovered this when we went to pick up pizza. Gus went in, I stayed outside by edge of parking lot/pond. After we ate I came back alone to watch birds. What a treasure trove! sunny, warm evening. Photos.
Number of species: 18

Hooded Merganser 4
Herring Gull 1
Mourning Dove 3
Eastern Kingbird 3
Warbling Vireo 2
American Robin 3
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 3
Yellow Warbler 4
American Redstart 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Song Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 10
Baltimore Oriole 2
Purple Finch 1
American Goldfinch 4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)


 



Location: Cold Brook
Observation date: 5/29/11
Notes: Watched birds while husband bought pizza. cloudy, gray, 74F.
Number of species: 12

Hooded Merganser 1
Mourning Dove 1
Chimney Swift 6
Eastern Kingbird 1
American Crow 1
swallow sp. 1
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin 1
European Starling 3
Yellow Warbler 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)


Robert Mortenson of the Birding is Fun blog also knows how to find birds whenever and wherever he can. You can read his recent post on the subject by clicking the following link:


Exotic Parking Lot Birds

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Fort Hill (Battle of the Hawks)

1. RTHawk-kab Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk 5-8-11 Fort Hill

It’s a very short drive from the Salt Pond Visitor’s Center to Fort Hill. I do not know what we will see as we turn down that road and by now and do not have high hopes.

2. Fort Hill-kabBut as we turn in past an old house and drive through pasture lined with stone walls my spirits start to rise. An old homestead stand nearby with flowering trees and an American flag waving, but I did not come here for a history lesson. I want to see birds.

3. Nauset marsh

Gus drives me up to the crest of the hill where there is a parking lot surrounded by a split rail fence and I get out. He agrees to wait for me in the car while I go exploring.

4. PathBefore me the grassy hill rolls down to the Nauset Marsh. Its path is a silver invitation to explore. With bins and camera in my gloved hands I set out.

5. cormorants-kab 

Before I have even gone two steps a flock of cormorants flies over my head. Their dark bodies are silhouetted against the leaden sky. Away they fly across the marsh to land in a silver pool. It seems a good omen as I start out on the trail.

The trail winds down the hill past a brush and bramble covered hollow. A few trees rise from this area and I can hear and see red-winged blackbirds and common grackles. I also hear some other small kind of birds chirping in the brush but I cannot find the things, whatever they are. I do not have time to waste on small things that hide; instead, I head further down the path to the edge of things. I step down off a bit of a bank to the flat boggy marsh grass below. While I am standing on the firmer part, I can see the wet edge before me. The wind has not abated but continues to buffet and blast me. I stand my ground and let the wildness flow through my being. Soon my heart is beating wildly and I feel as if I could sprout wings and fly!

6. snowy egret-kab

I am standing in this windy wildness when suddenly something white flies by, low over the water, neck bent, wings silently pumping, long legs extended. I see the black legs that end with yellow feet, like galoshes and I know I am seeing a snowy egret. The yellow galoshes are a good way to remember it is a snowy egret because it needs its boots to go out in the snow! The snowy also has a black beak while the Great Egret has a yellow beak. I am pleased to see this elegant bird, a first sighting of this species in Massachusetts for me.

7. willet-kabI barely get over the surprise of the snowy when I spot another bird low over the bank. 

8. willet-kab As I walk closer it peeks is head up to look at me,

9. willet-kab then ducks down,

10. willet-kab …then takes flight!

11. willet-kab It is then I know that I am seeing a willet! This plain colored shore bird shows its real beauty when it flies. The black and white pattern of its wings form a “W” for Willet.

12. willet-kab It has a thick, black beak and black legs, different from the yellowlegs I saw earlier.

13. Laughing gull-kab

While I am watching the willet and listening to the howling wind the Laughing Gulls soar above me and laugh at this foolish women out on this windy day in the marsh being buffeted by wind and having a great time!

14. north woodland-kab However, I am conscious of the fact that my husband is patiently waiting for me up in the car and so I turn away and head back up the trail. As I round the bend and start up the last bit of incline I suddenly see a hawk hovering over the pasture to the north.

15. hawk-kab

I turn and stop. What hawk is it? Could it be Northern Harrier? Formerly called a marsh hawk, this would certainly be its habitat but just as I am focusing in the bird drops below the brow of the hill and is lost from view. I am off and running now and later my husband tells me he was just walking down to meet me, but I am unaware of anything but the bird.

16. pasture n marsh-kab I am running through grassy pasture land but beneath my feet I become aware of bits of brambles. This would be a thorny enterprise if someone had not cut the field last fall. Now all the thorns are but stubble beneath my feet as I run to the top of the hill and stop to watch the drama unfolding before me.

17. hawks-kab 

18. hawks 

19. hawksAt the far end of the pasture the woodland starts again. Off to the right the mash lies wet and wild, gray and flat. Over all of this a pair of hawks is being mobbed by crows. I watch mesmerized as the birds whirl and dive and whirl again. Down below the trees they fall on folded wings only to swoop upwards and glide. What kind of hawk am I seeing? I try and try to figure it out in these gray and gloomy skies. I can tell now that it is not a harrier for it does not fly like one and it does not have the characteristic white rump patch. Sometimes I am seeing one hawk, sometimes two.

20. hawk-kab 

21. hawk-kab 

Can you see the hawk in these pictures?22. hawk-kab 

23. hawk-kab 

24. hawk-kab Hawk over the marsh

25. hawk in tree-kab Do you see the hawk in these trees?

26. 2 hawks-kabAt one point I thought I saw three, but they are up and down and in and out of view. I see them land in the trees, and then take off again.

27. hawk with bone-kab At one point one hawk has something in its talons…

29. hawk bone-kab 

30. drop bone-kab …which it drops to the raptor below.

31. flyaway-kab

Then, to make everything even more interesting, a turkey vulture floats in on the wind! At one point I think I am seeing eagle because the birds appear so large in my bins. What are they? In this gray light it is hard to tell.

32. marsh path-kab I suspect Red-tailed hawks, but I do not see any red tails, but I know that juvenile do not always have red tails. At least one of these birds is really patchy white and brown, more like a rough-legged hawk, yet I know it isn’t that bird, so what is it? The birds are swift and rarely in view for long. I am keeping my distance far across the pasture but then I notice people on the path walking right beneath the birds and they don’t even seem to notice them. I have no idea how long I have been standing here on the crest of this hill but suddenly it occurs to me that, in the amount of time I have been standing here I could run down to the path and follow the trail around to where they are. So off I go again in pursuit of birds.

33. overhead hawk-kabIt isn’t long before the firmly packed trail is beneath my feet and I am hurrying as fast as I can to the far end of the pasture. I am barely on the path before one of the two hawks breaks away and soars calmly over my head riding the wind like a train.

34. cormorant-kab

At this point the trail passes close to the marsh and as I am standing there watching the hawk I suddenly see a cormorant fly in and land in a nearby pool of water. I stop for a quick look, then continue on my way.

35. hawk w women-kabOne of the hawks has landed in the evergreens and is finally sitting quietly. Now the women who are ahead of me on the trail pass right beneath the bird and it does not move!

36. hawk-kab

I wait until they are past, then, step by step, I begin to creep closer.

37. hawk-kab

This bird doesn’t seem to mind even a little bit.

38. hawk-kab 

39. hawk-kab 

40. preening-kab Closer and closer I come, but the bird sits calmly and even preens itself.

 

41. hawk-kabI now know that I am looking at a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. It has the classic hood, white breast and dark belly-band. I gaze and gaze and snap and snap. By the time I am done I will have taken 134 pictures in 35 minutes since the start of the hawk drama!

42. homestead-kabI finally tear myself away from the hawk. Pulling my phone from my pocket I call my husband and ask him to meet me at the lower parking lot where I am headed. I now have a new view of the homestead before me as I walk back. I also now have a new view of this day. This is bird watching at its best for me, a day when I can feel the wildness; a day with calm, quiet moments and heart pounding excitement. It is a day when anything can happen and it did. It really did.

43. hawk-kab Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk 5-8-11

Birds Seen at Fort Hill:

Location: Fort Hill, Eastham
Observation date: 5/8/11
Notes: My first time here. Very windy, cold, gray. Parked at upper parking lot and walked down to marsh. There were other birds out in marsh too far away to ID or photograph. Wind almost knocked me down a couple of times. So wild! Came up from marsh and was heading back to car when I saw hawk hovering beyond brow of hill. It dipped below crest so I ran to top to see if I cold ID it, then watched as hawks and crows did battle for over 45 minutes! Finally one hawk landed in tree and didn't seem to mind as people walked below so I hiked over to see and photograph bird. It was a juvenile or immature red-tail with no red in its tail as of yet. What an awesome day this turned out to be! Continued hiking the rest of the way around pasture to lower parking lot where my hubby picked me up.
Number of species: 15

American Black Duck 2 in pond
Mallard 1
Double-crested Cormorant 30 flying overhead in large flock
Snowy Egret 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2 watched hawks being harassed by crows for over 45 minutes as they dived and soared and dived again. In and out of trees. amazing to watch!
Willet 3
Laughing Gull 15
Herring Gull 3
Larus sp. X various flying about and on water or in marsh
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 6 chasing and harassing hawks and raven
Common Raven 1 Chased by crows. Large, black and twice as large as they were.
American Robin 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Common Grackle 15

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)




Blogger’s Note: I was working on this and the previous post when blogger went down over two weeks ago. that same night my computer was infested with a nasty virus. The Tech was here Monday afternoon and again on Tuesday. I am very happy to report that he restored all my files and installed a new Norton antivirus on my computer! Even though I previously had a current version of McKaffee he found 127 viruses on my computer! I am so glad to be back online but it will take me awhile to get caught up on my blogposts and blog visits. Meanwhile, I probably won’t be going on too many new birding adventures until my back heals completely. However, let me just say, it feels good to be back! I have missed you all! ~Kathie




P.S. You can read the first half of this story in the post below or click on the link: Mother’s Day on Cape Cod.