BirdingGirl

Birding Binoculars: Getting Ready for the Bird-a-Thon

2008-05-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I bit the bullet and finally got a pair of binoculars. Since I'm a novice user I figured I would go for a lower end and now that I'm home and have done a little research I'm pretty pleased with my purchase.

I ended up with a pair of Nikon Action 8x40s.I paid $74 so at least that's not too far off Amazon's price. Larry at The Brownstone Birding Blog gave me some helpful advice on purchasing binoculars, but I regret to say I didn't have much of a chance to shop around. I went to Hunt's Photo after work thinking they'd have a great selection based on what I had seen on the website. Unfortunately they did not. I learned that the Harvard Square location I went to was actually a satellite store and they don't carry a full inventory. Just mostly point-and-shoot and SLR cameras. Oh, and just 2 pairs of binoculars! I had the option of driving to their main store in Melrose or checking out the Nikons. I knew they were a strong brand and honestly I just wanted to get a pair and be done with it.

As I was saying to my friend Dave last night- I equate it with the experience of buying a musical instrument. I started playing the flute when I was 12. I started out with a 'band' issue flute- I think it was a Selmer- and once I had actually mastered the technique I was in a position where I could appreciate a quality flute and purchased a silver Yamaha. Flute World in Michigan actually shipped my flute teacher several for me to try and then I simply had to choose the one I liked, and send back the rest along with my payment. What a difference there was! In addition to the Yamaha I tried a Jupiter, Gemeinhardt, Armstrong and maybe one more (it was almost 15 years ago so my memory's a little fuzzy). I was able to play each one and actually notice the differences in clarity, tone, weight, keys etc.

Somehow I don't think I could accomplish this with binoculars in my price range so the first pair I saw was the first pair I bought! I hope none of you are disappointed in me. At least I'm using binoculars now!

Be kind to your feathered friends! Bike to Work

2008-05-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Casey at Volunteer Boston wrote an informative post about the joys of biking to work, and included lots of helpful information about participating in Mayor Menino's Bay State Bike Week. For inspiration click on the image for the background story on how he got started.

I recommend reading Casey's entire post, Biking to Work in Boston - My first time. Here are some highlights:

"The ride to work was a breeze. I concentrated on shifting, signaling, and avoiding potholes (my car could take them, but I don't know that my rear end could). I think it helped that most of the trip was downhill. I felt the breeze in my hair, sweat just a little at some tiny uphills, and thought, "wow, this isn't bad."When a Prius passed me, I laughed. "You think you're green? Ha!"I got to work safely. Believe it or not, the ride took just about the same amount of time as driving - I'd say about 10 minutes with traffic lights, etc. Maybe even quicker. After all, on my bike I can coast up to the front of every intersection. I had but a few drops of sweat on my brow. I would have felt comfortable throwing on my work clothes and heels without showering - I think I sweat more climbing the 3 flights of stairs to my office."

Tomorrow's 'Bike Day' marks the end of Bay State Bike Week, but it's not too late to get started. Casey gives some really helpful information on local and national biking resources so check it out even if you're not from Boston.

Naturally I support any type of green initiative since it helps make the world a better place for birds (oh and people too). Way back in March 2007 I created the post Test Your Knowledge of Global Warming and included some really interesting insights from a 1907 field guide for birds about the impact of human activity on bird populations:

"There are parts that each one of us can play in lessening the unnatural dangers that lurk along a bird's path in life. Individually, our efforts may amount to but little, perhaps the saving of the lives of two or three, or more, birds during the year, but collectively, our efforts will soon be felt in the bird-world."

Massachusetts Important Bird Area: Mt. Auburn Cemetery

2008-05-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

I just signed up to participate in the MassAudubon Bird-a-thon 2008 this weekend- May 16th- May 17th. I'm pretty excited about it since this is my first time birding with a group, and we'll be going to Mt. Auburn Cemetery—one of the most desirable birding spots this time of year.

Mt. Auburn is identified as an IBA (Important Bird Area) by MassAudubon. The primary reason is that it's an important stopover for migratory land birds. Another reason is that it supports long-term research and monitoring projects. I've lived close-by for almost two years, and yet I've never been to Mt. Auburn Cemetery. I've always known that it has beautiful gardens, but it wasn't until I started my birding hobby that I learned how well it supports migratory birds, and that it is known as a prime birding spot.

Is anyone else signed up to participate in the Bird-a-thon? It's my first time and I was pretty clueless about donating money and trying to join a team, but someone from MassAudubon called me right away and helped get me set up. I'll be joining the team Gordon's Gaggle, which will also be raising money for General MassAudubon support.

I'm anxious to report what I see on Saturday and hopefully share some pictures as well!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet and other evening sightings at the Charles River

2008-05-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

It took a little bit of motivation but I went for a walk tonight around 6:30pm since it was so nice out and I wanted to see what birds were down at the River. As soon as I got out of my I heard an interesting song and followed it to a Baltimore Oriole. I was excited to see something right away and quickly opened my lens. I kept pressing the shutter button but nothing was happening. Then I noticed the red '0' in the bottom right-hand corner of my screen. The memory card was full- D'Oh! I quickly deleted a few pictures and managed to get a few good ones:

I also saw several yellow-rumped warblers during my walk:

A cute little Savannah Warbler:

I also saw a Yellow Warbler...

...and an adorable Ruby-crowned Kinglet. It took quite a long time to identify it using my guide. Kinglets are such a small group that they don't come to mind right away. (Despite the fact that I saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet at the river last January.) I spent a long time going through the wood warblers, and even looking at vireos, but then finally I came upon the one page in my Sibley guide devoted to kinglets. The pictures were too blurry to include, but I'm just glad I finally got to the bottom of it! Ok- I can't leave it out after all that. Here a few *terribly blurry* pictures:

Chipping Sparrow and other Cape Bird Feeder Sightings

2008-05-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

I was at my parents' house on the Cape this past weekend and despite the rainy weather there was quite a lot of activity at the front and back yard feeders. I saw a lone Chipping Sparrow, which went back and forth between the front and back yards, a Goldfinch pair, a female Cardinal, several chickadees and nuthatches, and a titmouse. I was also happy to observe that both of my parents' birdhouses are currently being moved into—the nuthatches are moving into the front yard birdhouse and the titmice are moving into the back yard birdhouse. Two years ago my parents had a great crested flycatcher family attempt to live in the back yard feeder, but House Sparrows kicked them out. They cleaned out the birdhouses after that and repainted them, but didn't get any inhabitants last year. My dad hypothesized that maybe they didn't like the fresh paint smell and now that the houses have had a year to 'season' they're attractive again. Nonetheless, I'll be anxious to see how these two families fare and hopefully the house sparrows will stay away.

Yellow-rumped Warbler and other Sightings at the Charles River

2008-04-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

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.

Charles River Lunchtime Birdwatching

2008-04-16T04:58:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've been able to do this, but I went for a walk during lunch last Wednesday (April 9th) and was surprised at all of the birds I heard and saw. Unfortunately I didn't bring a camera but I'll do my best to report on what I saw.

I came across several ducks, and interesting ones that included a Common Goldeneye pair (or so I think- male had a mostly white body and black head), as well as a pair I saw in which the male had white rings around its all-black neck. My Sibley Guide is really helpful since I encountered the ducks as they were taking flight, and it includes illustrations of ducks in flight. The Harlequin Duck has the same white rings I saw, but according to the description it's a coastal bird, so it's unlikely I would have seen it in an inlet of the Charles River. But currently, that's the best guess I can make.

I heard many red-winged blackbirds throughout my walk. At this part of the Charles River the banks are very close to one another so I was able to hear birds on the other side of the river as well. The first red-winged blackbirds I heard were on the other side, but on my loop back to the office there were some on my side also.

One of the surprising calls I heard was what I call a 'shrill beach bird.' It evokes memories of my grandparents' beach in Wings Neck, Pocasset (Cape Cod) since this bird was always there to keep me company on days I spent at the beach alone. This is actually at the top of my list to identify because I am so curious what it actually is after all these years. During one of my few trips to Monument Beach last year (local public beach where I grew up) I was able to spot the bird making these calls, but at the time didn't have my Sibley Guide and also didn't have a camera. If I remember correctly it was a rather nondescript bird that was very muted in color. I would say it was a very light brown, with no distinct features. I do have a disc with bird calls on it; however, so I'll try to spend some time today listening to it to see if I can eventually narrow it down. I know that once I hear it I'll immediately know it- it's more a matter of choosing the right birds whose calls to listen to.

Finally, I had a larger bird sighting that I have not been able to identify at all. This bird was roosting very high in a tree and did fly between the tops of adjacent trees but never came down low enough so I could see it. This would be where my much-needed binoculars would come in handy! It was also a sunny day so it was difficult to look up for that long. The most distinguishing feature I could see was that it had a slight crest on its head. Its overall color was light brown/taupe and it had a distinct call. It was large as I mentioned, at least 10" long. My initial thought was that it was some type of Flycatcher, but I'm having trouble matching it up with any of those.

I suppose one way to solve some of these difficult identifications is to make a return trip this week!

Red-tailed Hawk Attacks a Girl at Fenway Park

2008-04-04T05:14:00.000-07:00

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's reported that the hawk has been building nests there since 2002, but is usually shooed out before Opening Day. In the end Animal Rescue League removed the nest at the direction of MassWildlife or the Department of Fish and Game. The Red Sox spokeswoman referred to the agency as Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife. I'm not sure who it is then since as far as I know that agency doesn't exist.

After learning about habitat management from Dave Scarpitti it occurred to me the hawk chose Fenway since it's an open tract of land in the heart of an urban center where it can hunt (groundskeepers report seeing it catch mice and small animals in years past) and have other habitat needs met.

What are your thoughts? Did anyone else see this in the news?

Six Word Birding Meme

2008-04-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by fellow Cape Codder Bennet over at Pish to write a 6-word meme about birding. I received this tag March 22nd...it is now April 2nd...can you tell I was a bit intimidated by the task?

I did some brainstorming and initially I wanted to talk about birding while jogging, but you already know how much I like that so that's not interesting. Instead I decided to look to my roots:

Birding cultivates knowledge and inspires grace

I've included a picture of my late grandmother, a woman who embodied both of these qualities and shared her love of birding with me. I think of her every time I see a Baltimore Oriole- one of her favorite birds.

Now I'm charged with the task of tagging 5 more bloggers. I'm afraid a lot of the bird bloggers I know have already been tagged, but I'll take my chances! I've tagged: John at Birds Etcetera, Larry at The Brownstone Birding Blog, Rob at The Birdchaser, bootstrap analysis, and Beginning to Bird.

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like

3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere

4 .Tag five more blogs with links

5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Northern Mockingbird Habits

2008-03-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

I have some exciting news to report- the Northern Mockingbird that lives in the shrubs of our side yard has hatchlings! I've posted about and referred to this mockingbird several times, and recently I've formed quite the relationship with her. I would often see her on the fence and in the fruit tree on the border of our neighbor's lot, but lately she's been hanging out in the shrub right next to where I park my car. One day I was on the front lawn going through the low bushes and picking up trash that blows into the yard and I saw her there inside one of the bushes. She didn't budge and just watched me intently as I picked up the papers caught in the leaves and branches. That's when I realized her nest must be inside of there.

In the weeks since I've watched her hang out at the bush, guarding it carefully. In the morning she'll usually be sitting right on top of it and won't move, even as I open the doors on my car adjacent to the bush. One morning there were two house sparrows harassing her in the bush and I yelled at them and made a commotion to scare them away.

Luckily the nest was untouched and this morning when I was up really early I heard their chirping from inside the nest and there was the mother in her usual perch on top of the bush.

I really wish I could have a pet right now, but our lease doesn't allow cats or dogs. I suppose my mockingbird friend is the next best thing. I like to talk to her as I get into the car and pull out of the driveway on the way to work. Anyone who witnesses this obviously must think I'm crazy.

Am I alone in this? Does anyone else have personal 'bird friends'?

Edge Habitat and Grassland Birds- Interview with Dave Scarpitti: Part Three

2008-03-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am continuing with part three of my interview with Dave Scarpitti, an Upland Game Bird Biologist with MassWildlife. Dave will be speaking about habitat management at the Mass Audubon Birders Meeting Saturday March 15th at Bentley College.

Describe edge habitat in relation to grasslands.

Edge habitat is where grassland and forest meet. This area enhances biodiversity because it boasts the characteristics of two different structures. However, there are benefits and minuses. They support wildlife like foxes, and can be good for plants and various insects. However, a negative edge effect for birds is that predators like foxes and raptors lurk there since they have cover and then can sneak out and grab them.

What types of native grasses grow in Massachusetts?

Warm season grasses are most abundant, used in places like horse pastures, but they're not native. They give more homogeneous ground cover, and are most palatable in the middle of summer. Cool season grasses on the other hand, are native and grow much differently. They grow more patchy and birds and other grassland inhabitants like the clusters this grass grows in because they can crawl between them and hide for cover from predators when foraging. Cool season grasses benefit a larger group of species, and are native birds are better adapted to using them. They are most palatable in the early spring and fall.

Does you ever recommend local seed resources to landowners? There is a small niche market for commercial cool season grasses. We might tell them to look for a specific blend.

Do you know of any prescribed burns taking place in Massachusetts as a means of habitat management?

Some habitat types are very well adapted to burning- pitch pine for example. They best regenerate after a burn since the high heat melts the wax in the cones and allows them to easily disseminate their seeds. Also, fire helps reduce competition from other plants. Prescribed burns are more likely to take place in southeastern Massachusetts- like the Cape where pitch pine are abundant. Montague is one area in Western Mass where prescribed burns have been done. This area also supports pitch pine and scrub pine. Prescribed burning can also be used as an alternative to manage debris from land clearing.

Massachusetts Bird Habitat- Interview with Dave Scarpitti: Part Two

2008-03-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of my interview with Dave Scarpitti, an Upland Game Bird Biologist with MassWildlife who will be speaking about habitat management at the Mass Audubon Birders Meeting Saturday March 15th at Bentley College.

There are three primary types of land conversation for birds, breeding habitat, wintering habitat, and migratory corridors. Can you give examples of birds in Massachusetts requiring these types of habitat.

Breeding Habitat: A lot of different groups breed in Massachusetts- hawks, owls, warblers and sparrows breed in forests, while the Massachusetts coastline is very appealing to shorebirds and wading birds like herons, and egrets.

Wintering Habitat: There are many wintering birds in Massachusetts, such as black ducks and eiders attracted to Nantucket Sound. The type of wintering habitat requiring management is earl successional habitat- maintaining open tracts of land.

Migratory Corridors: Most birds migrate; the ones in Massachusetts that require management are resident birds. Woodcock migrate in winter, but grouse and quail do not and they require management of open spaces with areas of ground cover from the snow and cold.

Tell me about migratory flyways in Massachusetts. Birds use the coastline, in this case the Atlantic Ocean, as a guide in Massachusetts. Cape Cod sticks out in the migratory path, which results in a high concentration of birds stopping there to rest along the way. As for rivers, the Hudson in Connecticut and the Kennebec in Maine are other local waterways that serve as migratory flyways.

Birds like hawks, follow mountain ridge lines in their migration. As a matter of fact, it's been reported in recent years that some hawks have adapted to use major highways as migratory flyways. I had someone tell me they saw migrating birds following the Mass Pike just the other day.

Tomorrow's portion of the interview will cover edge habitat and grassland birds.

Hermit Thrush- Mystery Bird Solved

2008-03-07T18:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Bennet and to Andrea for their help in identifying my mystery bird from last weekend at Drumlin Farm. I naively thought it could be one of several thrushes, but Andrea set me straight that the most likely thrush to be seen this time of year is the Hermit Thrush.

Habitat Management for Birds- Interview with Dave Scarpitti: Part One

2008-03-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

I had the good fortune to sit down with wildlife biologist Dave Scarpitti and discuss his topic for a break-out session at the Mass Audubon Birders Meeting. Dave is an Upland Game Bird Biologist with MassWildlife and will be speaking about habitat management in Massachusetts and how birders can play a role in this conservation effort.

Many birds have learned to adapt to their urban surroundings. Can you give some examples of birds going through such a transition right now?

Red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures can be seen circling around highways- this is something that we've seen within the last 100 years. These are birds that have been around for thousands of years so they have learned to adapt to their current environment. The highway provides an open space for hawks to hunt small prey and it provides roadkill for the turkey vultures.

Humans have altered every square inch of land so everything has learned to adapt.

What are the types of birds in Massachusetts requiring large tracts of woodland and grassland?

There are many, but the most notorious are the ones that require the largest areas of land. 5 acres is not good enough- some of these birds need 30-40 acres of uninterrupted land.

Upland sandpipers (related to shorebirds) have evolved to live inland, and they really have declined since the end of widespread agriculture in MA. Others include grasshopper sparrows, vesper sparrows, and bobolinks. Crane Wildlife Management Area features large open tract areas of land that these types of birds require. The northern portion serves grassland birds, while the southern portion serves quail.

The Frances A. Crane Wildlife Management Area on Cape Cod provides 1,800 acres of conversation land for hunting and maintaining an open tract of land of land for birds and other wildlife. Parking is located in Falmouth near the Nickelodeon Cinema. The land was purchased by the state in 1958 from the Crane family and is named after Charles Crane's daughter Frances Crane who was killed in a car accident after leaving the Falmouth Playhouse.

The largest open area is the meadowland, featuring a large grass strip from the former Falmouth Airport. This is area is actively maintained with mowing to prevent it from reverting back to forest and it supports several species of threatened plantlife, including native grasses.

The area is also stocked with quail and pheasant for hunting, and also offers other recreation opportunities such as mountain biking, horseback riding and walking. As a matter of fact, I blogged about how much my friends Chelsea Harry and Chris Walsh's dog Jackson enjoyed the area back in a December post. He was exhibiting instinctive bird dog skills and flushed out a bird in the meadowland.

Watch for tomorrow's continuation of the interview where Dave talks about wintering birds and migratory flyways.

Snowy Owl at Drumlin Farm!

2008-03-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

Today was the inaugural day for my Mass Audubon membership- I got a membership for myself and my boyfriend yesterday and today the cards were in action!

It snowed last night into this morning and I really wanted to get out there and enjoy the snow before it's too late! Yes, unlike everyone else in Boston I am not sick of the snow. Ok, I'm a little tired of shoveling but I truly love having snow on the ground since it's been a rarity in recent years.

I threw on my Tretorn rubber boots and we headed off into the slush. At the point we got to Drumlin Farm it was lightly sleeting, and the overall temperature was pretty mild today so the snow had gotten very wet. The boots help up great- my feet were completely dry and warm- I highly recommend them.

We explored the farm yard for the first time, now that we did have to pay for admittance. We checked out the Drumlin Underground, which allows you to view various animals' dens through glass panes from within a basement of sorts. The dens are connected by tunnel to the above-ground enclosure. The only active animals today were the Red Fox and the Black Fox (?). The Red Fox was the friendliest though- when we went around to the above-ground enclosure he stayed out in his pen and jumped around and seemed interested in us. Maybe it was the fact that we were the only people walking around the grounds today...Oh and on our way out the door of the Underground there was a tank containing baby mice that had just hatched. They were red and squirming around their mother.

We went on to check out the birds in Bird Hill. They included owls (barred owl, great-horned owl) raptors (red-tailed hawk, broad-winged hawk, american kestrel), a pheasant, and a crow. They all had interesting back-stories and it's nice that they found a good home where they can also help educate.

As for birding, we certainly heard lots of active birds on the grounds, but dismissed a lot of the common chickadees and titmice in favor of covering more ground on this wet sloppy day. There were some very active male cardinals that caught my attention. Normally when I encounter cardinals I only see a male/female pair; however, today was interesting because I saw males only and observed how they were interacting with each other. There was a lot of squawking and chasing going on, which I found interesting. I kept assuming that I would see a female in the mix, but no- just males chattering and following each other around the canopy. I decided to do a little research since I'm ignorant on the subject and I learned a lot from All About Birds on the Cornell Ornithology Website.

The most natural thing to assume is the sparring had something to do with a female, and the site said they will very fiercely defend their breeding area. Perhaps there was a new male trying to encroach on that patch of land. I also learned that brighter colored males are also evolutionarily superior, living in areas with denser vegetation, feed more often and have better reproduction success. I can't recall the colors of the various males I saw, but here is a picture of one I captured from far below. Note his crest high in the air.

I also saw quite a few robins during the trip.

I stopped to take pictures of a bird that was along high up in a tree making a shrieking sort of noise since I thought it might be a type of hawk. Upon getting home; however, I discovered it was merely a robin!

And a BirdingGirl post wouldn't be complete without a Mystery Bird!

Here's the progress I've made so far: At first glance I thought it was just a house sparrow since it had brown and white feathers, but it was by itself and that made me pay more attention. Next I tried getting a closer look at the coloring and saw that there were markings on the head. It also hopped and clung upside down more than I've seen house sparrows do. I managed to get some pictures through the trees, but unfortunately the branches obscured most of them. This is the best picture I have to work with. Once home I pulled out my Sibley Guide and first started trying to identify if by the coloring on the breast and flanks, but that wasn't enough. The next identifying feature I saw was the beak, which is long and narrow. That helped rule out finches and sparrows. I picked up on the resemblance to the ovenbird I saw at Gifford Pinchot State Park in Pennsylvania, but I remembered that bird was large and kept to the ground.

Here are my guesses- feel free to shoot me down!

Swainson's Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, or Hermit Thrush- narrow beak, spotted breast and white eye-ring (which can be seen just barely in the photograph); I'm leaning toward Swainson's because the tail seems to be more gray than red.

Ovenbird- again, I doubt that it is this, but the spotted breast, white eye-ring and stripes on the crown make me consider it.

Last but not least, I have to report on the Snowy Owl we saw. I'm still trying to verify that there have been other sightings at Drumlin Farm, but I am 99% positive that's what I saw, especially after having seen one already at Crane Beach in Ipswich.

I first spotted it as we came up the hill where Hayfield Loop meets Drumlin Loop. I saw it swoop down from a big evergreen over the hillside. I remember the distinct slow beating of the wings, along with the very long wingspan. I kind of shook it off as possibly a seagull, but then as we continued along the ridge of the hill I saw it come back up from the field and fly into another large tree up ahead. At this point the weather was getting really bad and I didn't want to expose my camera to anymore sleet and wet snow so we didn't hang around long enough to see it again. Not to say we didn't try- we did linger for another 10 minutes or so. But after all the time we spent tracking the snowy owl at Crane Beach we felt we had gotten that out of our system.

Cute Fat Little Horned Larks!

2008-02-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

Check out these great pictures posted by Charlie over at 10,000 Birds: Horned Lark. Jones Beach, NY. These birds are stocky, chubby, and wet-faced, shown foraging in the snow.

They're in sharp contrast to the ones I took at Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA. You can see my pictures in my January 13th post: Horned Larks at Crane Beach. The birds I saw appeared taller, sleeker and behaved like plovers.

I just had to share the link to 10,000 Birds' post since these are some great close-up pictures.

I also have some exciting news to share—this morning I finally bit the bullet and got a Mass Audubon membership. Can't wait to start taking advantage of it!

The first thing I will do is sign up for the Mass Audubon Birder's Meeting March 15th. I'm really looking forward to the event. As a matter of fact, BirdingGirl will be featuring an interview with one of the presenters at the meeting, David Scarpitti, this weekend. His break-out session is on Habitat Management Opportunities for Birds and Birders and I had the opportunity to pick his brain last night. I'll probably break it up into two posts that I'll share this weekend.

We're getting even more snow in Boston tonight but as these lovely Horned Lark pictures prove—that shouldn't stop me from getting out there with my camera! I'll try to catch some birds in the morning.

Seed Recycling Bird Feeders

2008-02-25T09:21:00.001-08:00

Ever wonder why I don't talk about the birds visiting my backyard feeder? It's because I don't have one.

I often post about birds I see at my parents' home on Cape Cod, or even the birds that friends spot at their own feeders. Unfortunately I can't have one since my apartment is on the second floor and although we have a back porch, I resent the mess it makes on our porch, as well as the first floor apartment's porch and yard.

That's not to say we haven't tried—I have made two separate attempts to hang a feeder and suet basket from the porch roof, but those darn House Sparrows make such a mess, strewing birdseed everywhere and messing all over the floor. They're even so bold as to feast right on top of our furniture. Bird poop on the table is not too appetizing at a barbecue.

My boyfriend was the one who was really on top of the cleaning, but of course I chipped in and helped sweep and scrub the floor with Windex. I think one of our biggest problems might have been that we were using a mixed seed, meanwhile the consensus seems to be that black oil sunflower seed is the preferred seed and birds will just pick out the filler. My mother swears by black oil sunflower seed and only feeds her birds that.

What's really kept me from pursuing a feeder is the fact that there is little variety in an urban setting. When I lived in a neighborhood of Boston I only saw House Sparrows, a Mourning Dove or two, and rarely a Downy Woodpecker. Here in Watertown it's not much different. I often mention the Northern Mockingbird that lives in the vicinity of our yard, but unfortunately there are few other interesting residents. I certainly could be proved wrong, but the two times I've hosted a feeder I didn't see very much. Another motivation for not hosting a feeder is that I'd like to become a more active birder, being motivated to travel to birding locations.

Needless to say, I clicked on an ad for a no spill, seed recycling bird feeder and I'm seriously considering purchasing one. I'd also like to give suction-cup window feeders a try at the recommendation of local friends.

The seed recycling feeders from Tidy Diner seem to be well constructed:

Has anyone had any luck with this type of feeder? Although it would catch the strewn seed, I still think the House Sparrows would have a field day hopping around our porch floor eating and pooping as they please. The issue with our porch is that there are not stairs; therefore, there are no predators up there to force them to fly to tree branches to eat their seen. I'm worried this is a lost cause, but I certainly welcome your ideas.

National Audubon Society Not Affiliated with MassAudubon

2008-02-21T09:28:00.000-08:00

I have yet another update on my Nation Audubon Society membership saga. It started back in mid-January when I was charged right away, didn't receive any materials until a few weeks later, and as of yet I still haven't received a copy of the magazine.

All along I've suspected that national membership does not cover my local chapter membership (which happens to be Massachusetts) because there is such a high discrepancy in membership dues ($20 vs. $44).

I decided to get on the phone Monday, as I posted, spoke with a very nice woman from the national office and then waited to hear back from my local chapter. Then I got a call on Tuesday explaining that the National Audubon Society is not affiliated with the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

So now I have a national membership that offers me no value (except for the magazine) and I have to start from scratch in getting a MassAudubon membership. I hate to complain so much, especially when I know the funds I've donated still go to a good cause, but it's a little frustrating because this information is not disclosed on the website.

Hopefully I can be of help to other Mass residents interested in joinging the Audubon Society and not knowing where to start! My advice—go directly to the MassAudubon Website.

MassWildlife and MassAudubon co-sponsor 16th Annual Bird Conference

2008-02-18T14:25:00.000-08:00

Massachusetts Bird Conference

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Bentley College, Waltham, MA

The theme is "Massachusetts Birds: Our Common Wealth and Natural Heritage." Here's a brief description:

"Whether you feed birds at home, seek birds with binoculars, spotting scopes or hunting gear, you are sure to find topics that appeal to your interest in Massachusetts birds including: research findings, waterfowl identification, youth bird clubs, conservation stamps, bird calls, habitat management techniques for birds in decline and many other bird related topics."

I'm seriously considering going to learn more about birding and get some ideas for the blog and things I'd like to start doing.

Here are the prices (they go up $10 after March 10):

$48 Mass Audubon members
$58 Non-members

The prices may seem steep, but all proceeds go toward Mass Audubon’s Important Bird Area (IBA) program and Mass Wildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program.

There are 3 morning lectures by representatives from both MassWildlife and Mass Audubon.

Speakers include:

Lang Elliott: a renowned bird photographer and author of audio guides to wildlife sounds
Hector Galbraith: global climate change expert (I'd like to his own site but it's down)
John O'Leary: Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
John O'Keefe: Harvard Forest (HFR) Forest Ecologist

There are also three afternoon workshops scheduled (with 4 topic choices for each timeslot).
Some interesting titles include:

To Feed or Not to Feed: That is the Question?
Identifying Water Fowl
Massachusetts Coastal Birds: What Are We Learning?

and this one that seemed particularly interesting:

Habitat Management Opportunities for Birds and Birders

To register click on the link at the top of this post. Already registered? Let me know!

Charles River Bird Sightings

2008-02-18T13:49:00.000-08:00

I went jogging on Saturday and this time I left my camera at home to focus on my time.

Despite not taking any time to stop, I was still able to catch a few sightings. I saw the resident Great Blue Heron, actually prompting him to take flight as I ran by. This was strange because the last time we were jogging my boyfriend picked up on him after I had already gone by and he stayed still while we took pictures before continuing on. Maybe he was in a more 'fleeing' mood due to the warmer temperatures this weekend. The previous time he was hunkered down into his shoulders trying to keep warm wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The only other interesting sighting I had was a Common Redpoll. This one crossed the path low in front of me and started hopping around the underbrush. My Sibley Guide says they're almost always seen in flocks (and when I saw them before on Martha's Vineyard there was a good number of them) but in this case I think they were there, but I just didn't stick around long enough to see the others. The way it moved, along with the distinctive red on the crown distinguished it from the hoards of house sparrows I also saw during the run.

Interesting fact about Common Redpolls from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Website: they have pouches in their cheeks for temporarily storing seeds. That way they can fly off to safety where they have take their time swallowing them.

You all know how much I favor this part of the Charles River for birdwatching, but I'm not alone! I've had many birding group sightings, and while I was jogging Saturday I saw 3 different groups. Two of them were couples, but the third was a group of about 7 people, with a leader who was educating them about something. I whizzed by without catching what they were talking about, but they picked the worst part of the trail to stop for their talk. It's an extremely narrow part of the trail that goes along a hillside, and is impossible for more than one person to pass at a time. For all I know there could have been a very relevant reason for stopping there, so maybe I should check it out next time I'm there for a birdwatching trip. It is actually in the vicinity of where I see the most species during the warmer months. It's a nice warm little cove where they like to hang out.

Photohunt for Birders!

2008-02-18T13:19:00.000-08:00

I got an email promoting this Audubon-sponsored game to help promote the Great Backyard Birding Count (GBBC). It's great practice for real-life birding where you may only have 5 seconds to absorb and memorize every detail about a bird's size or coloring. You can adjust the time limit and even go for unlimited time (which I admit I resorted to in the end...).

Try it out by clicking on the image below:

Audubon Eagle Eyes Game

Let me know how you do!

National Audubon Membership Update

2008-02-18T11:58:00.000-08:00

So I received my national membership materials a week or so ago. The welcom letter clearly states:

"In addition to your membership card, please find enclosed out brochure which outlines benefits of Audubon membership: Membership in your local Audubon chapter..."

It's just vague enough though that I'm still not sure. It just seems too good to be true: a one-year National Membership for $20 that carries the same benefits as an individual Massachusetts Membership for $44. I'm not complaining, but as you can understand I'm just highly skeptical that it's going to work out that way.

I just called the national membership services number and the woman said I should contact my local chapter to go about getting membership materials (most importantly the sticker for my car and the card needed to get into certain sanctuaries). I called the local chapter number she gave me but the office was closed due to the holiday. I left a voicemail though so hopefully someone will get back to me tomorrow. I'll keep you all posted on my progress! It would be great if things work out the way they suggest they should.

Waterfowl update: Mallard Hybrid, Green-winged Teal, or American Widgeon?

2008-02-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

Thanks again for all the tips in identifying the 'Mystery Bird' from my jogging trip a few weeks ago. As I explained, I initially thought it was a mallard hybrid, I received multiple tips that it was a green-winged teal, and my friend Dave also got in on the action, sharing that he thought it was an American Widgeon. This was based on his knowledge that green-winged teals should not be this far south this time of year ('they are one of the first birds to head south in the fall'), and that it did not look small enough among the mallards in the picture I had posted.

I kept trying to cross-check it but I kept forgetting the name he used, thinking he said 'midgeon.' Finally I was able to get confirmation that it was widgeon and just look a moment to look them up. I can see the similarities but it's not the same bird I captured. I found this picture on The Bird Zoo. Click on the picture to visit the duck section- it's worth scrolling through the whole list- there are some really great pictures in there.

Another recent development in this mystery bird identification was the latest issue of the Ducks Unlimited Newsletter. The 'Fowl Fact' of the month happened to be about the Green-winged Teal- the only species of duck known to scratch in flight. This picture was too close to question- I compared the coloring on the feathers and it was an exact match. Click on the first image (from Ducks Unlimited) to visit the Green-winged Teal profile page.

This second image is the one I took along the Charles River a few weeks back.

Now every time I return to the river I look for them in that same spot, but have yet to see another. I learned this about their preferred habitat from the Ducks Unlimited site:

Tidal creeks and freshwater marshes associated with estuaries are favored over more saline or open-water habitats.

It makes sense then to have seen them in that slow-moving, protected part of the river. I'm really looking forward to seeing what springtime birds will arrive to the river.

Mass Audubon Sanctuaries

2008-02-03T06:54:00.001-08:00

Thanks to everyone for their helpful tips and information about National vs. Regional Audubon memberships. My plan is to wait and see what comes with my national membership and then probably get a dual membership for my boyfriend and me. That would be $58 for two vs. $44 for one. Thanks to Bennet for the tip about seasonal promotions. He and his wife paid just $25 for the two of them! I'll see how long I can hold out, but I may just bite the bullet and pay the $58 so we can gain access to some of the most desireable sanctuaries.

Bennet also shared his goal of visiting all of the Massachusetts Audubon sanctuaries (45). What great motivation to get out there and bird! The Mass Audubon Website has an interactive map that links to the individual sanctuaries:

Bennet also posed the question of which Mass sanctuaries I would recommend. After reviewing this map I realized I've only been to 3! Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, Blue Hills in Canton, and Ashumet Holly in East Falmouth. Of the 3, Drumlin Farm I've been to the most since it's so close to where I live now. Although I've never has access to the learning center I've had some great walks throughout the grounds and there's always been plenty of diverse birds there thanks to the nesting initiatives they have set up. The Blue Hills sanctuary constitutes the learning center I think, where they have some birds in cages (owls, hawks etc.), and Ashumet Holly I've only been to once and not to bird or check out the wildlife. I was there at night for a seminar for a Cape Cod Times story I was writing about renewable energy sources so I didn't have a chance to explore.

This map is great because it helps put things in perspective and will certainly help me choose my next birding destination.