Osprey and Northern Mockingbird on Cape Cod

These pictures are from my trip to the beach with my mom last Thursday. I was hoping to get some pictures of the Osprey (and her fledglings if they were still around) and sure enough she was out making some passes over Shore Road.

I was also following this Northern Mockingbird, who was very active. I followed it down to this dead tree where some sparrows were also hanging out. The Mockingbird was jumping and climbing about the tree like a monkey until finally perching atop one of the tallest branches of the tree, shown in the right-hand side of the picture.

Here's the close-up of that shot.

Later on I heard the Osprey, which alerted me to get my camera out quickly.

I wish I had had it with me back in July when the fledglings were out for practice flights. Their "bleating" calls caught my attention and there they were- probably four or so- flying in the exact same spot over Shore Road. About two minutes later their mother came from the other side of the road (where there are woods) and met them. Shortly after they made their way back to their nest atop the man-made perch. We have lots of these perches around Bourne (and other parts of the Cape).

According to an article in The Enterprise, Ospreys were almost completely wiped out in Massachusetts due to DDT. Apparently ospreys and other birds of prey are extremely susceptible to pesticides. There were just a dozen of them left before agencies stepped in. As a child I remember my grandmother and mother pointing out and explaining what the giant perches were. It was several years before I actually noticed the birds out flying around.

One particularly memorable encounter occurred at the same spot as Thursday- Monument Beach. This was back when I was babysitting in high school and I took the kids down to the beach to walk around. We oblivious to the fact that the perch was even there, and were wading in the water near the marsh and to the left of the road out to Tobey Island. All of a sudden the mother appeared, fervently protecting her young up in the nest, screeching and diving at us. Needless to say, we made that a short trip to the beach.

The Enterprise article goes on to share other interesting information about the osprey's nesting habits and conservation history in Massachusetts.

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 ...

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.

Indigo Bunting at Mt. Auburn Cemetery- Lifer!

I was so excited to see my first Indigo Bunting today. I quickly ran over to Mt. Auburn during lunch to take advantage of peak warbler season before it's over. I'm going to be in San Francisco for work all next week so I fear by the time I get back the birds will have moved on. There were a lot of birders there today and of course lots of activity around the Dell. That's where I saw a flash of blue fly into the undergrowth at the edge of the water. None of the other birders with scopes set up were bothering to look at it. I'm assuming they had already seen it and were focusing on other more exciting birds- such as the pair of screech owls that have been reported at the Dell recently. Here is where I first sighted him at the edge of the water. There was also a female cardinal there splashing around trying to cool off. He then flew up into the bushes on top of the wall behind the Dell, where I got a better picture. I was very pleased with the day! It's addicting tho...

BirdingGirl

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