Yellow-rumped Warbler and other Sightings at the Charles River

I took a walk at the Charles River Sunday and had quite a few exciting spring sightings. The first of which as a yellow-rumped warbler. I spent some time up close to it on the bank of the river. I took a lot of pictures but need to perfect my craft since I only ended up with one good shot:

I was also excited because I was able to locate the songbird that I recognize from the beach at the Cape. I spent some time listening to it and attempting to photograph it at the very top of a tree. Here are my best attempts. Based on what I can see in the photo, but mostly thanks to its call I think it's a Savannah Sparrow.

Another familiar bird I was able to stop and capture was a Red-winged Blackbird- a regular at the River:

I also spent some time photographing a pair of Song Sparrows (?). Sparrows can be tricky though- I spent a lot of time with my guidebook and this was my best guess.

I also followed the call of a Northern Flicker and got these pictures from far away:

It was such a beautiful day and I'm so glad I got down to the river for a walk. I'm also glad I had my camera with me and spent some time really trying to identify the various calls- all of which were familiar to me. It's really important to start matching up the calls I've heard my whole life with the birds I'm used to seeing but in a different context where they're not singing- at a feeder for example.

Difference Between Grackles and Starlings

I saw a sad sight today during my lunchtime jog—a dead grackle. Or was it a starling? I'll get to that in a minute. I was making my way down to the trail along the Charles River when I saw what I thought was an injured bird in the middle of the road. It was just sitting there and I figured it was just stunned or maybe had an injured wing. The bird probably didn't have much of a chance, but the least I could move it out of the road. As I got closer to the bird I saw it had its mouth open and then I realized the gruesome truth—it was dead and was frozen in that position. I just got shivers thinking about it. The poor thing. Anyway, so it got me to thinking 'What is the difference between grackles and starlings?' I use the two interchangeably and haven't really made an effort to sort it out. Until now. I like to use All About Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as an online resource. The site is comprehensive and easy to use. (I also really like the 'Cool ...

Well, Here We Are — Back to Birding Girl After 11 Years

Well, here we are—after an epic 11-year hiatus, I’m sitting back at my Adirondack chair, overlooking the picturesque cranberry bogs we live on now. I've swapped my super strong coffee for a hoppy, locally-brewed IPA to celebrate the end of the work day, and starting work again on my personal project- BirdingGirl. Honestly, it feels a little surreal. If you’re popping in and thinking, “Wait, she’s posting again?”—yep, it’s me! The binoculars are still close by, the dog is snoozing nearby, and yes, the birds have kept me company all along. Life Lately: Birding (Mostly) at Home Let’s get this out of the way—I never stopped birding. Not for a minute! Sure, life looks a bit different now. Marriage and kids will do that to you, right? These days, “getting out in the field” means looking up at the trees lining the trails leading to the cranberry bogs I walk my dog on, listening for great-horned owls and wood thrushes, or watching a flash of yellow as the warblers return each spring. I ...

Killdeer Chick in Yellowstone National Park

These were taken at West Thumb Geyser Basis, along the beach. It was really cool to get to watch these little chicks up close and personal. I had never seen Killdeer chicks before- only adults. These pictures are from our trip to Montana/Wyoming in July 2012.

BirdingGirl

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