Wood Duck Boxes at Carver Pond

Today is the last day of August and even if it kills me I'm going to catch up on my August birding! I started commuting into the city using the Commuter Rail 4 weeks ago and I haven't yet figured out how blogging is going to fit into all of this. But I'll at least catch up on my pictures from August. That's a start!

The first weekend in August we went to Carver Pond, right here in Bridgewater. Steve had driven by it a bunch and wanted to check it out, and it's a really nice spot. Most of the other people we saw that day were fishing, including a father and his young sons- they had to be around 4 or 5 and were so cute.

I didn't see many birds, but wanted to share these pictures of Wood Duck boxes. I'm always interested in seeing where they're mounted and of course I'm curious to learn of their success rate. Incidentally, we were hiking in New Hampshire yesterday (Mountain Lake trail in Intervale, NH) and saw one that had been knocked down in a storm I'm presuming, and was in a big pile of trees and debris.

While we're in off-peak birding season, I like to hone my other nature identification skills. I'm very interested in learning the names of wildflowers so let's get started.

I'm referencing an old book from 1961 that I picked up at a flea market. It's called Wildflowers of North America in Full Color, by Robert S. Lemmon and Charles C. Johnson, published by Hanover House.

Wouldn't you know, the first picture is actually an easy ID- I started at the back of the book (that's how I read magazines and similar publications- for some reason I always start at the back) and the first flower I need to ID is right there- the Cardinal Flower:

According to my book the Cardinal Flower blooms late in the season (August into September) and likes shaded streams and moist thickets.

Here are some pictures of different stages of Groundnut Flowers:

This one is a mystery to me, although I feel like I saw it in the Audubon Field Guide (*UPDATE: this is Buttonbush- thanks Pete for the tip):

Pearl Crescent?:

Mute Swan:

Painted Turtles:

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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