BirdingGirl

It's been a while since I've blogged about birding while jogging. This was one of my favorite things to do when I lived in Watertown, MA and had the beautiful DCR Charles River trails at my disposal. Here are a few of my "Birding While Jogging" posts from 2007-2008: http://birdinggirl.blogspot.com/2008/01/birding-while-jogging.html http://birdinggirl.blogspot.com/2007/08/birding-while-jogging.html Since moving to Bridgewater, MA I haven't been as inclined to go running because we lack scenic trails like the ones on the Charles River. However, there is a nice route I like to take that crosses the Taunton River and its off-shoots in a couple of places. Naturally rivers and streams are a jackpot when it comes to birding. So, since I've picked up running again I've also been trying to get in some birding while I'm out there. Here's what I've seen so far in my jogs this week and last: Yellow warbler Pine warbler Rose-breasted grosbeak Tree swallows ...

June 5th we finally got around to visiting Tuckerwood Conservation Area. It's so close to our house, but we just never ventured over to it. Be warned though- it's very buggy so make sure you load up on bug spray first. It turned out to be an excellent spot for birdwatching- especially the powerlines area. That's where I saw this blue-winged warbler, and eastern towhee. The only thing that made me nervous was that I kept hearing large animals moving around in the bushes and I was worried there were coyotes there. Hopefully it was just deer or something. Blue-winged warbler: Look at the worm in its mouth! Clearly this bird is nesting. I'm always excited to see warblers, especially outside of migratory season. I'm still getting to know the warblers that stick around Massachusetts. To help, I've been following the blog " In Pursuit of Warblers " which is run by a gentleman named Larry in Western Massachusetts. Granted, the birds there will be different fro...

These Great Blue Heron pictures were taken at Carver Pond on Memorial Day Weekend. We stayed in Bridgewater to avoid traffic and decided to take advantage of all of the wonderful parks in the are. (Earlier this day we went to the Tuckerwood Conservation Area, and then went directly to Carver Pond.) Anyone want to take a guess at what kind of fish it's eating? I haven't a clue, but I do know it's huge! I would never expect to see a great blue heron eating a fish that large, but that just goes to show how much I know about great blue heron eating habits. What's funny is that I wasn't even trying to sneak up upon this great blue heron eating its dinner. I was simply walking down to the water to (yes- this is gross) wash off the mess of a mosquito I squashed on my leg that happened to be full of my blood- yuck. Once I was down at the water's edge I saw the great blue heron across the way and of course whipped out my camera. For those of you local to Massachusetts, h...

The Northern Mockingbird song is truly impressive. I have been observing northern mockingbird habits since I lived in Watertown, MA and had one nesting in the bushes out front. I love encountering mockingbirds in situations where I'm not looking for them- like in Winthrop during Bird-a-Thon. Today I got to enjoy sitting through a full repertoire of a northern mockingbird song. Mockingbirds are well-known for their imitation of other birds' songs and calls. Watch the video below to hear a short sampling of this Northern Mockingbird's repertoire. Can you name that Mockingbird tune? Comment to let me know which ones you hear in the repertoire!

Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Halifax, MA is a very popular spot for birding in Southern Massachusetts. I first discovered it during a South Shore Bird Club trip. Here are some pictures from my trip there on Good Friday. Song Sparrow: Garter Snake:

I'm not sure if where the Eastern Bluebird nest sites are at Burrage Pond in Halifax, MA, but they are definitely out in full effect there. I love spotting Eastern Bluebirds- there are eastern bluebird nest boxes on Bridgewater State College campus. I see them when I'm driving by in the early morning.

Steve and I celebrated Valentine's Day by going for a hike to Blue Hills on Sunday, and then for a in our backyard- Stiles & Hart Conservation Area- on Monday (President's Day). Trying to keep things cheap now that we're saving for a wedding! We had gorgeous weather- temperatures were mild enough to go out with just a fleece & vest- yet there was still snow on the ground, which made for some pretty photos. All the ones in this post are from Stiles & Hart. Notice Steve in the background throwing a snowball at me: We were out midday and didn't see anything too interesting, although these was this red-tailed hawk hovering over the marsh area. I was inclined to think it was a Cooper's Hawk, since my neighbor, the Bird Man of Bridgewater , has one regularly stalking his feeders. Upon closer inspection though, the red tail is distinct. See the hawk using its "rudder" in this picture? Not the brightest picture, but the red tail is distinct, even with...

I was so happy to be home this past weekend so I could do some backyard birding, and count birds for Project Feederwatch. Actually, I recently connected with another Bridgewater birder, the " Bird Man of Bridgewater ," who also took pictures in the snow over the weekend. John is good at identifying the gender of birds in his pictures, something I blogged about last spring. I love this picture- I'm excited to have my very own picture of a Carolina Wren at a suet feeder. It's such a common picture for carolina wrens, and I'm glad this guy came around on Saturday to pose for me. This suet actually was a Christmas gift from my mom- it's a Berry blend and the birds love it. Carolina Wren and Downy Woodpecker: On a related note- not sure how to tell the difference between a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker ? I wrote a post about it nearly a year ago. Red-bellied Woodpecker: Winter Goldfinch: Dark-eyed Junco (I like how you can see the darker feathers with it...

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.

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.

It occurred to me as I was Googling "female red-winged blackbird," that it's funny how we indicate the gender of the female of a species but not the male's. It goes without saying when you share a sighting of a Red-winged Blackbird or a Baltimore Oriole that you're talking about the male. Why is that? Is it because males tend to be more brightly-colored than females and therefore more exciting to observe? Or is it because statistically birders observe more males than females? In my experience it seems males are more abundant and certainly more noticeable. They're very showy when they're demonstrating to attract mates or intimidate the competition and they also seem to be more active. They're always chasing each other around while the female calmly perches somewhere nearby, away from all the action, and certainly away from the observer's eye. I also think the female is also likely to be out of sight when she's sitting on her nest or foraging for...

This past weekend it was gorgeous in New England. We had temperatures in the 90s in Bridgewater and I took advantage, doing yard work and going birding on Sunday. I've help out hope for the diversity of birds in the Stiles & Hart conservation area behind our house, and sure enough I saw warblers! And here I thought I had to travel all the way to Boston-area parks in order to see migratory warblers... I picked up on their call and found a group of 3 or so among saplings and low bushes. The area small trees covered an area passing over a creek connecting two of the ponds in Stiles & Hart. I stopped and watched them for probably a half hour and even saw a Northern Waterthrush walking along and pecking at the edges of the creek but unfortunately didn't get a picture. It was very difficult photographing them between the emerging leaves, but here are some of the best pictures. I will also point out some tips for male yellow-rumped warbler identification. First, I notice the b...