Friday, April 24, 2009

Palm Warbler and More at Charles River

I got up extra early this morning to do some birding along the Charles River before work. Since I don't live in Watertown anymore I need to take advantage of being near the river during the work week.

For all of you Massachusetts birders caught up in the warbler frenzy right now (I see Christopher at Picus Blog made a recent trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery and to Brighton to see the Townsend's Warbler at Chestnut Hill Reservoir- so jealous!), I'll give a tip of my own about the best spot for warblers on the Charles River Rd. stretch of the river in Watertown. Today confirmed for me that the best area is in the stand of trees immediately after Watertown Square. This is where I've seen nearly all of the warblers/kinglets I've spotted in along the Charles in Watertown. I walk the whole stretch between Watertown Square and N. Beacon St. when I go birding, but for some reason they only like that area. Especially where the trees border the lawn when it is nice and sunny.
I first heard then saw two Ruby-crowned Kinglets that I tried desperately to get pictures of, but this was the best I could do:

I've seen Golden-crowned Kinglets at the Charles River before, but this was my first Ruby-crowned! I consider it a lifer since I have no memory of seeing this one a year ago and the pictures in my previous post are blurry as you can see. Kinglets are just too damn quick- they're fun to watch but impossible to photograph. That's when I know I've really made it as a bird photographer...I'll have crisp beautiful ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets pictures to post on my blog :)

Then when I got to the stand of trees I heard the kinglets again, stopped to watch them and then saw a yellow Palm Warbler (lifer):


Finally, I saw a yellow-rumped warbler, which I've seen in this stretch of the Charles River before:


5 comments:

Kim said...

I see you have been bit by the warbler bug too! Isn't it great!!! I saw my first kinglet ever yesterday too and I fell in love immediately. It's nice to know there are warblers in Boston!

Scott said...

Hi,

Great blog! I stumbled upon it while searching for some pictures to try to identify a duck I saw on Long Island this past weekend. If you are interested, I've started a blog for Newton Birders at newtonbirding.blogspot.com. I would love to have you as a follower and/or author. Feel free to pass the url to anyone you know who might be interested.

Best,

Scott

Rene said...

Cute little guys! Isn't it amazing how much wildlife is ready for viewing in any part of the US?

Unknown said...

I'm jealous. I haven't seen a single warbler. Everyone else sees bunches. Either I'm too blind or I'm looking in the wrong places!

Birdinggirl said...

@Kallen- It's very addicting isn't it?? Kinglets are very cute and fun to watch. I also was surprised to learn of the amazing birds passing through and living in Boston area parks when I started birding.

@Scott- Thanks! I checked out your blog and like it a lot. I'd be happy to contribute sometime. I've been birding in Watertown a lot more lately.

@Rene- I know, it's there you just have to look for it!

@Susan- I'm sure they're there- you'd be surprised. I'm glad I finally found them in Bridgewater. Happy Birding!