BirdingGirl

Back on June 14 th I was home on the Cape for my dad's birthday. He got a shellfishing license for the first time this year (we've been saying we wanted to do it for years) and we went quahoging on Sunday. We didn't realize the restrictions , but you can only go on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays and you need to do it before 7:00pm I believe. The way the tides fell that Sunday we timed it just right and got in just before the cut-off. On our way to Monk's Cove I asked my dad to stop at Monument Beach so I could take pictures of the osprey fledglings in the nest there. The nest is located to the left of the bridge out to Tobey Island. I always enjoy watching the osprey family at Monument Beach . Last summer I got a picture of the mother in flight, after being alerted by the cries of the babies. She flew right over Shore Rd. and the beach itself but the babies were off on the other side of the street near the safety of the trees. Look at the size of that fish she...

In this photo: Bev, Jeff, Pam (Christopher's wife), Christopher, and Steve Back on June 13th Dawn Fine of Dawn's Bloggy Blog organized a Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp trip to coincide with her and Jeff's visit to Mass. Christopher from Picus Blog took the reigns and planned an exciting itinerary that included Plum Island, a Mississippi Kite nest in Southern New Hampshire, and another spot where sharp-tailed sparrows has been sighted. I cannot possibly do the story justice, so if you are interested in a recap of the day please read Christopher's post since it is a very comprehensive one: http://www.picusblog.com/2009/06/birders-who-blog-tweet-chirp-field-trip.html Many of the other Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp wrote good recaps too so if you're interested in seeing additional pictures and points of view check out the links I've provided below. Please check out their blogs if you haven't already. I was surprised I wasn't already connected to e...

Back in mid-May Steve had an off-shore trip to Georges Bank. He's a marine biologist and goes off-shore at least a couple times a year. He and his co-worker Dave got some great pictures of the birds they saw while out there. Georges Bank itself is about 60 miles offshore, and then the area itself is 150 miles long by 75 miles wide. For more info: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Georges_Bank Apparently they get a lot of avian ocean hitch-hikers , which I think is a great term for it, although not widely used. Sometimes birds get blown out to sea in a storm and are exhausted and need to stop and take a rest. As you can see, they picked up a migratory warbler, and they also had an Eastern Kingbird stop to take a rest. They also saw plenty of pelagic birds. I wrote another post earlier this week about what I believe to be an Audubon's Shearwater . Can anyone help on this I.D.? Unfortunately this storm petrel (I believe a Wilson's Storm Petrel- the one most commonly s...

I'm excited to post pictures Steve brought back from his recent offshore trip to Georges Bank. I'm having a lot of trouble identifying one of the seabirds though. I have zero experience with Shearwaters (or any pelagics for that matter), but Manx Shearwaters are a common sighting off Revere Beach right now so Shearwaters are at the forefront of my mind. Looking at my guidebooks and pictures online Audubon's Shearwater looks like a close match. *UPDATE: Thanks to Steve from Shooting My Universe for the tip that this is likely a Manx. He lives in Gloucester and I consider him an expert on sea birds. Thanks Steve! I also could be completely off- these might not be Shearwaters at all. Any ideas? Thanks!

During the same trip where I saw the blue-gray gnatcatcher in Stiles and Hart, I also came across a bat on one of the paths. It was completely unexpected of course since it was the middle of the day and the bat was on the ground. I had only seen bats in flight before so it was interesting to see one up close, but also concerning of course. I actually noticed it as I was walking over it, I stopped, took some pictures from behind, then walked over it again, saw it turn its head and look at me, then took one from the front. I was worried it was sick, but it moved its head, so hopefully it wasn't too sick. I mentioned it to my dad and he told me about white nose syndrome, which is a mysterious disease killing Massachusetts bats. The name comes from the white fungus growing on the bats' noses. I didn't see any on this bat's nose so hopefully it's in the clear. For more information on white nose syndrome: Boston.com article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/20...

I was birding in Stiles and Hart Conservation area a couple weeks ago and didn't have much luck with migratories (they've all moved on), but I did see my first blue-gray gnatcatcher. It wasn't until I got home that I was able to identify it. I couldn't get any decent pictures since it stayed in the canopy of the trees. But I did get to hone my birding skills by paying attention to important details and looking it up in my Sibley Guide later. I need to get better at that- it seems I rely too much on my pictures. What first grabbed my attention was its wheezing call. Here is a good sample: http://fsc.fernbank.edu/birding/birdID/bggnat.htm I spent some time trying to get a good grasp of its features and was able to pick up on its size (small) and coloring (gray with a white belly). Source: North American Birds Photo Gallery Photo by Peter LaTourrette.

Wayyyy back on Memorial Day Weekend I was on the Cape with my parents and did some birding at Crane Wildlife Management Area . I've blogged about it before, but this was my first time there if you could believe it. I used to drive by it every day on my way to work at New Seabury Country Club, but of course this was before I was a birder. My parents and Marsy: I got a good look at an Eastern Bluebird for the first time. I had seen one before on my street in Bridgewater, but at Crane Wildlife Management Area they have several bluebird houses set up so there's an active population. ( My bluebird house on the other hand has Carolina Wrens living in it.) Tree Swallow: I also couldn't resist taking this picture of Lady Slippers. We used to have so many on the Cape but you see fewer and fewer lately. When I was younger I remember picking them in my back yard and my mom setting me straight- explaining that they were endangered. I'm not quite sure what the status of them is ...