BirdingGirl

Here are some more pictures from our hike at Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, MA back in May. Toads and frogs are fun to try and spot while you're hiking. We tend to take the trails that don't see as much foot traffic so we usually have a better chance of seeing wildlife. With frogs & toads you'll see a flash of movement and then it's fun to try and locate them on the side of the trail since they're so fantastic at camouflaging. American Toad Wood Frog

Back in May Steve and I made a trip to the Blue Hills Reservation in Canton, MA. When we go for hikes we usually don't have much time to stop and bird, but luckily I got some downtime when we reached the top of a hill to eat lunch. I first heard, that noticed this beautiful Male Indigo Bunting singing atop a pine tree. He was very far away, but at least I was able to zoom with my camera to a certain degree. I believe this was only my second time seeing an indigo bunting. The first time I saw an indigo bunting was at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in May of 2009.

My boyfriend and I made a trip to Blue Hills last weekend and I was thrilled when he wanted to go to Fowl Meadow. We hadn't been there since our first trip in January 2007 when I tried out my new camera. This time of year there's much more activity there, as many of you locals know. Steve got some really great pictures of a Female Yellow Warbler: We were tipped off about a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and about halfway through out hike we encountered a male that was very active and tended to stay high in the canopy, hence the crummy pictures: We also encountered a Mallard family as we went through a swampy area. I heard them first and then saw the mother and babies making their way away from the path to the other side of the swamp. The male was actually in the trees above us and did a lot of squawking and flying around in distress. This died down of course as we got further away from the family. Here are some non-bird pictures I got while in the Fowl Meadow. This is an iris that I...

I've made a few trips to Blue Hills lately but unfortunately I don't have any bird pictures to share! I have some great ones of a garter snake, a deer, and some pretty foliage but no birds :( I may post those in the next few days once work dies down a bit.

Our last two trips to Blue Hills revolved around birding. We chose our hikes based upon areas we thought would be good for birding- low-lying fields and wetlands. We took it slow, listening for birds and stopping for long periods of time to locate birds and line up shots. This trip was a different story-- the focus of our trip today was strictly hiking. We spent time on the Skyline Trail, as well as Green woodland loops and the orange Massachuseuk Trail. The Skyline is probably the most popular trail so we saw lots of other hikers today, including an organized group. It felt good to be doing a strenuous hike again. We went up Tucker Hill on a few different occasions, and our pace was certainly much faster than it had been when we were birding. Who would have guessed that we'd get our best bird picture to date! My boyfriend takes the credit for this one: We were making our way along the Green loop when I spotted him just as we turned a corner. He was sitting on top of a fallen tree ...

I had planned on doing some research and birdwatching over Thanksgiving, but unfortunately I was sick with a migraine for the two days I was home. Luckily I was able to do some birdwatching over the weekend during a hike at Blue Hills (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/blue.htm ). My boyfriend and I go for hikes there as often as we can and this time I was particularly attentitive to the birds around us. It was a little too late in the day to see anything too interesting I'm afraid, but I was just happy to be out there. I didn't get any decent pictures since I'm still learning the art of capturing birds, plus we were moving and there wasn't time to stop and watch. I saw lots of chickadees, nuthatches and a downy woodpecker again.