BirdingGirl

Here are the rest of my pictures from Bird-a-thon in Winthrop. Savannah Sparrow: Eastern Kingbird:

I was excited to see my first Rose-breasted Grosbeaks of the year. They were very noisy and very active, picking at the buds on the trees, chasing each other and also the Baltimore Orioles. There was quite a bit of action in Stiles and Hart yesterday. Rose-breasted Grosbeak: Baltimore Oriole: I also got a (slightly) better picture of a Yellow Warbler, which I had seen in a different part of the conservation area a few weeks ago. I also saw a Palm Warbler, which I always get really excited about because I think it's a new species of warbler for me but then when I look more closely I realize that's all it is. Still cute though and fun to watch.

I've found a new way to work birding into my busy work week. As I mentioned last week, I've started birding along the Charles River before work to catch migratory warblers while they're at their peak. Some days I don't have enough time for a full walk so I've been pulling over and parking on Charles River Rd. right near the prime spot I mentioned (stand of trees right after Watertown Square) to get in some quick birding. I did it on Tuesday of this week and saw some more yellow-rumped warblers but didn't get any good pictures. Then on Thursday I decided to pull over and stop in the same spot on my way home. I was excited to see my first Baltimore Oriole of the year! This is a young male I believe- the black is still coming in on its head: Then I spotted another male along the banks of the river: I also enjoyed watching the double-crested cormorants that were roosting in the trees rather than perching on logs/dead trees in the river. This was because the Boston C...

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 warbl...

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been doing a lot more of my runs in the morning now that the sun's out so early. It's great especially since we're having a little bit of a heat wave so it's still nice and cool in the morning. I really like the challenge of trying to identify birds without slowing down or stopping. The path I run along is very dense in vegetation, which makes it even harder to spot the birds when I hear their calls. The few birds I was able to spot yesterday morning included two Baltimore Orioles (very vocal), a Goldfinch and what I believe was a Northern Waterthrush, since my Sibley Guide says they're very common in dense shrubs and small trees new slow-moving or standing water . I've seen these little and white-streaked birds during many of my trips down to the river, but I haven't put much effort into identifying them. I'll have to get a better look next time. I'm going to be down the Cape this weekend for Memorial Day. I...

I'm taking a break from my Hawaii posts to report on some local birds I've seen along the Charles. Yesterday morning on my drive to work I saw a Baltimore Oriole fly across the road and land on a shrub. Its yellowish color caught my eye and I'm glad he landed low enough for me to get a good look at him. Baltimore Oriole: Courtesy of www.briansmallphoto.com I've also seen quite a few warblers in the trees along the river during my runs either in the morning or after work. I've read that the best time for birding is either early morning or dusk and it's been true according to my experiences. The two warblers I've been able to remember and identify are: Black and White Warbler: Courtesy of www.jeffraflik.com Yellow Warbler: Courtesy of www.jnweb.com/british-columbia/ I'll pick up with my Hawaii posts soon enough. I still have my Kauai pictures to post so there should be at least one or two more posts from Hawaii. I really want to get in some more birdwat...