Birding My Way Home

 American Robin in the fountain 7-13-12

After our birding adventure at Colchester's Cohen Meadows Dawn and I went to Mom’s house for a visit and lunch. We barely pulled into the yard when we saw a robin in Mom’s backyard fountain.

 Red Squirrel by the barn in Mom’s yard 7-13-12

Then, to my utter surprise, we saw a red squirrel by the barn! While I have seen chipmunks, gray squirrels and groundhogs here before I have never seen a red squirrel in Mom’s yard. This little cutie kept jumping up and down off the old metal chair. It would grab a seed, eat it on the chair, then jump down for another seed!

 Dawn sitting by the fountain

After a visit with Mom in the backyard we ate lunch and then I packed up my dog and my car and brought Dawn back to her “Homey.” Then it was my turn to get on the road and head for home. Often when I travel I bird my way home on the return trip. I intended to stop at Owen Bell Park in Killingly, but was so absorbed in the book on CD I was listening to that I drove right past the exit! However, by the time I neared the Oxford, MA Exit off Route 395 both the dog and I needed a restroom break. As I drove towards the exit the highway crossed Lowes Pond. From the corner of my eye I saw two Mute Swans floating in the still water. I decided to take exit 4a (which is towards the pond) instead of 4b (which is where I normally get off to get gas and use the restrooms) so that I could drive behind the Home Depot and Market Basket grocery store to see if I could get a better look at the swans.

 Lowes Pond with Route 395 in the background 7-13-12

Whenever I Bird My Way Home I often find new places to count birds this way. Today I hit the jackpot for as I drove behind the store I saw a Green Heron on a chain link fence surrounding a smaller retention pond. As I parked the car to let the dog out I saw an eastern phoebe. Mourning doves were resting on top of the street lights and barn swallows swooped overhead. Song sparrows sang from the pond edges and, as I walked the dog along a cliff-like retention wall goldfinches twittered and robins hopped along the grassy edge.

Below in the pond a family of wood ducks paddled away from me.

These are the birds I saw in 15 minutes at Lowes Pond in Oxford, MA:

1. Mute Swan, 2
2. Wood Duck, 6
3. Green Heron, 1
4. Mourning Dove, 2
5. Eastern Phoebe, 1
6. Blue Jay, 1
7. American Crow, 1
8. Barn Swallow, 2
9. Black-capped Chickadee, 2
10. Tufted Titmouse, 2
11. American Robin, 1
12. Cedar Waxwing, 6
13. Red-winged Blackbird, 2
14. American Goldfinch, 2

What did you say?

With our upcoming move back to Tucson I suppose I will really be Birding My Way Home then for I will be driving across the country with my birding buddy and longtime friend, Kathryn Kelley of My Mountain Green from Utah. One of the best things about becoming a blogger and a birder are all the new people that I have met. When I moved here two years ago I did not get much chance to write about the birds I saw as we drove across the United States back then. Hopefully this time it will be a different story, but I think that no matters where I live, I will always be Birding My Way Home!