Hermit Thrush Call- Fryeburg Maine

A couple weeks ago we went up to Fryeburg, Maine to visit some of Steve's college friends. They live on Lovewell Pond, which actually seems more like a lake.

I did some birding (and also jogging) on the trails near their house, and didn't see anything too exciting, but did see my first red-breasted nuthatch.

The underside isn't as "red" as typically seen in pictures, although it could just be the lighting. I still wanted to include it in case anyone wants to set me straight!

Every time I went jogging or birding on the trails near their house I heard this "mystery bird" that had an eery whistle-like call. I was very, very, patient but the bird was elusive and I could never get close enough to see it—it always got spooked and moved further away.

I reached out to my friends at the BwBTC Forum and Sharon and "Chickadee" in the Maine forum were very helpful in identifying this call, even without hearing my audio clip! Both suggested thrushes (Chickadee asked if it sounded like a flute, which it did) and sure enough I listened to the Hermit Thrush call clip on All About Birds and it was a match!

Here is my audio clip from the weekend in Maine:

(Image source: http://www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice)

These are a tricky ID for me since I don't see them often. I saw a hermit thrush last spring at Drumlin Farm MassAudubon Sanctuary in Lincoln, MA but that wouldn't have helped me since I never saw the bird in Maine.

I also had fun watching these Eastern Phoebes down by the shore of the pond. There were two of them flitting around on the steps of the house next door.

The loons were fairly active (there was a rumor that one of them flipped our friend's canoe but it couldn't be proved- haha) and the first night we thought we saw one coming up near the house, but this pictures shows it was just a mallard:

After hearing them all weekend, I finally saw one on Sunday.

Common Loon:To set the scene, here's a shot of the pond and our friends' deck/yard on the right:

It was a great weekend! Thanks to Kate & Techer for having us!

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.

Red-tailed Hawk Attacks a Girl at Fenway Park

Apparently there are three resident red-tailed hawks at Fenway Park. One of them attacked a middle school student from Connecticut while she was there on a tour of the park. She received a scratch on her forehead and was treated and released from Children's Hospital. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff What a terrible thing to happen, but at the same time I'm fascinated by these Fenway Park hawks. Boston.com has full coverage with both a news story and a pictorial giving a high-level account of the story. I recommend taking a look at the pictorial by clicking on the image above because there are some amazing pictures in there. WCVB, TheBostonChannel.com, also covered the story and has a video of the hawk watching visitors in one of the luxury boxes. The video captures both angles- the visitors chattering behind the glass and of the hawk perched in front of the window watching them critically. Click on the image to view the video (taken by reporters touring the park) on their site. It...

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