Reservoir Redux: For the Warblers and Swallows

Prairie Warbler

 After having a great day on Saturday with the Caspian Tern at Chestnut Hill Reservoir (blog post), there were a number of reports on Massbird of Prairie Warblers (in the morning from Peter), then reports added Yellow-throated Warbler, and all five of the likely Swallows for New England: Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, and Cliff Swallow (reported in the afternoon by a number of the Ryans, Sam, and others). Needless to say, this morning I had to check it out.

The Prairie Warbler was fortunately found relatively quickly, though I had trouble picking out his song from all the other warblers present. The Yellow-throated Warbler took a lot more work and I was aided by other birders. While slightly less exciting since I had already found the Yellow-throated Warbler at Nahanton Park, this time I had better views, which was much appreciated. Beyond the rare Yellow-throated and uncommon Prairie, all around the number of warblers was astonishing.

Yellow-throated Warbler

After finding many of the warbler on the hill, I headed over to the peninsula where a number of swallows could be seen flying around. Luck was with me this day, after a couple of Barn Swallows, the next bird I started tracking was a Cliff Swallow, the light patches on the rump and forehead were giveaways. I was eventually able to add the other three Swallows for a full Swallow sweep. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pictures of the Swallows (I didn't even try), but Ryan did yesterday (link). The Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Cliff Swallow, and Prairie Warbler, were all new birds for me in the state.

I'll keep the text short today and let the pictures do the work . There is also a short video of the Prairie Wabler below, it doesn't do his song justice though. Here is a link to the full checklist and a big thanks to the other birders I met today and to all who reported their findings.

Black-throated Green Warbler

Caspian Tern and Warblers at the Reservoir

Caspian Tern

  Yesterday morning I took a short walk at Chestnut Hill Reservoir with the little one. As soon as I opened the car door, I could hear lots or warblers up on the hill and Yellow-rumped Warblers were in the trees all around the parking lot. On the grass, several Savanah Sparrows were foraging.

But before checking out the warblers, I went to scan the water as there had been reports over the last few days of a Caspian Tern, though I didn't think it was likely I'd find one. Just when I was satisfied that all the birds on the water were gulls and there wasn't a Tern present, I saw a large white bird dive into the reservoir. Gulls don't usually do that! It was quickly  obvious that this was the Caspian Tern when I spotted that thick bright orange bill and dark underwing primary feathers. The bird circled for the next 10 minutes as we watched before I lost sight of him. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Next I set my sights on the hill and the influx of warblers that it contained. I could hear songs of a Black-throated Green Warbler and a Northern Parula but try as I might all I could find were yellow-rumps, there were just that many up in the trees. Down lower in the under story Palm Warblers flitted about. I would have been impressed by the number of Palm Warblers, but the Yellow-rumps had already taken that prize. Additionally there was a singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet and I thought I heard the song of a Dark-eyed Junco, but had a hard time believing it until I was able to see it, it is getting late for juncos to still be here. Especially now that the warblers are arriving. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them again.

A Northern Pintail Drake at Chestnut Hill Reservoir

Northern Pintail

  After a a couple of days of a birding blitz (maybe that is for another post), I knew that the ice on the local ponds was breaking up and had been keeping an eye out on eBird. So when I saw that a Northern Pintail was seen at Chestnut Hill Reservoir over the past few days I decided to check it out on my way to work this morning. I was fortunate to find my life Northern Pintail as a female at Jamaica Pond back in January, so today I was really hoping for a drake.

Wood Duck

When I turned onto Chestnut Hill Dr. from Beacon, I saw large group of birds on a small patch of open water. My heart skipped a beat as I caught a fleeting glimpse of a drake Northern Pintail in the mix, that color pattern is quite distinctive! After parking I made my way back towards the West side of the reservoir I added Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, and was surprised to see a female Wood Duck in a flock of Canada Geese. Additionally a Song Sparrow sure new it was spring from his non-stop singing (full checklist here).I saw a flock of ducks take off and was hoping the Pintail wasn't among them, but fortunately he was still in the same place and keeping company with a group of Mallards.

Northern Pintail Preening

I think that many of our local ducks are quite beautiful (Mallards, Green-winged Teals, Wood Ducks) but none of them holds a candle to a drake Northern Pintail in sheer elegance. The long and slender profile combined with the chocolate brown head with white accents and the textured back make him a pretty dapper sight. I kept thinking that he was dressed in him finest suit and there were no ladies to be impressed. Maybe he'll fine the female that over-wintered between Jamaica and Leveret Ponds. He even flashed his green speculum feathers while preening. I spent maybe 10-15 minutes watching him and taking pictures. Much of the time while I was there he was vocalizing with a soft trilled whistle, much sweeter than a Mallards harsh sounds. But honestly, what else would you expect from a duck dressed like that? He actually sounded similarly to the Eurasian Teal at Newton City Hall. I tried to take a video so as to share his vocalizations but I'm afraid its a little jittery as the post-processing stabilization didn't work at all! But I thought I'd still include it just for the vocalizations, which will probably require that you turn up for volume a fair amount.

White-winged Scooters at Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

I stopped at Hammond Pond and Chestnut Hill Reservoir on my way to work mid-day. My first stop at Hammond pond I was excited to find the first Hooded Mergansers of the season. Two crisp males and a female were working the far shore. I was also hoping for some Ring-necked Ducks, but I didn't see any. There were plenty of Mallards though and a Great Blue Heron. Among the gulls, one appeared to be different that the others, but they all flew off before I had a chance to turn my attention their way. The full list of birds from Hammond Pond can be found here.

Pied-billed Grebes, American Coot, Double-crested Cormorant

 My next stop was Chestnut Hill Reservoir. I was excited to see that the water was littered with birds. Mostly they were more than a hundred Ruddy Ducks in small rafts. And there were quite a few gulls, including Ring-billed, Herring, and Greater Black-backed. Also it was fun to see a number of American Coots that have returned as well, while Pied-billed Grebes and Double-crested Cormorants were present (how many species can I fit in a picture...). When I got to the tip of the peninsula I found Mallards and a single American Black Duck, but out on the far side were 3 dark ducks that I couldn't make out. I even tried to take a picture to enlarge on my camera, but still no luck. When I got to work though I loaded the pictures on to the computer and was surprised that one of them had a small white spot in the center of the head (bird on left, click to enlarge picture), they must have been White-winged Scooters! Not a common bird around here, they have been seen once before at the Reservoir and twice migrating over Millennium Park. Fortunately I saw that two other birders had also seen the White-winged Scooters before I was there, making me feel more confident on the ID. I also saw that I missed a female Green-winged Teal (eBird list with pictures of scooters and teal). But the White-winged Scooters were quite a treat. The full list of birds from Chestnut Hill Reservoir can be found here.

White-winged Scooters

Confusing Fall Warblers at the Reservoir

Blackpoll Warbler

 Yesterday morning I stopped by Chestnut Hill Reservoir to see what I could find of fall migrants. When I first scanned the water I was a little surprised to find exactly nothing on the water. While something could have been hiding at the far side, I couldn't make anything out. The only thing close was a gull sitting on the little patch of rocks. So I headed up the hill behind the ice rink with warblers on the brain. Some blue jays were calling but the only other sound was that of squirrels munching on acorns and then tossing them down, nearly on my head.

Around the back of the hill things started to get a little better as I stopped to investigate a call note. As I was peering though the branches trying to resolve the bird, a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk came soaring down the trail and up into a tree. I know that owls are supposed to be the silent birds of prey, but this Red-tail was certainly stealthy.

Blackpoll Warbler

As I turned my attention back to the call note more movement was discernible. A beautifully plumaged male American Redstart was skulking up in the branches never giving a clear view. But who else could have that pattern of black an orange? After he headed off, the call note came closer to reveal what Rodger Peterson referred to as a confusing fall warbler. Now looking back I'm sure it was a Blackpoll Warbler.

I carried on around the reservoir picking up some Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice before I made a point to check out the rocks for potential shorebirds. The full turned out to be a Ring-billed Gull (later many more and a Herring Gull would join it). There were also two sleepy Mallards among the rocks and a pair of Spotted Sandpipers who were in winter plumage and lacking the telltale spotted breasts.  I always enjoy watching Spotted Sandpipers up close to watch than bobbing their tails as they search for food.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

When I got to the peninsula I suddenly came across a whole flock of migrating warblers. As none of them were in brilliant breeding plumage again they all fell into the confusing fall warbler category, at least it felt that way. I started to pick out details on the most common type in the flock. White wing bars on gray wings, yellowish green, streaking on sides, eye line, white under-tail coverts. It took me a little while when I got home to go over the guide books, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of my confusing fall warblers we Blackpolls. They seems to be everywhere! Looking at photos later helped even more to pick up on more details like leg color and see the yellow on the foot (click to enlarge pictures). After being able to recognize this one type, I started looking for birds that were different. One I thought might have a faint chestnut hue to the sides like a Bay-breasted, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

Palm Warbler

Other warblers did start to appear though. The Yellow-rumped warblers were quite easy when they would flash their diagnostic rumps, but they were a little confusing with out that field mark. Through the streaks on the breast and the little yellow shoulder patches helped the identification. I also noted the dark gray face with week eyebrow and light throat that extends around the neck a little. Fortunately the Northern Parulas were not very confusing at all, the gray back with green patch across the center was unmistakable, especially when combined with the yellow throat and white wing bars. A Black-throated Green Warbler was also present wasn't much of a challenge with the streaky black bib and brighter facial markings. 

Palm Warbler

My next challenge was a little brown bird with yellow under-tail coverts. As the two best candidates for this field mark are Common Yellowthroat and Palm Warbler. Yellowthroat was eliminated as this bird lacked the yellow throat and the back was warm brown instead of an olive brown. Palm warblers can be divided into Eastern (Yellow) and Western forms. The Easterns have extensive yellow underneath and in the supercilium (eyebrow) while Westerns have the yellow mostly restricted to the under-tail coverts. I was fortunate get a few bad shots of this bird and to me looks more like a Western but I'm not completely sure. I was hoping that someone might have thoughts on this identification. In the spring most of the birds migrating along the Atlantic coast and Eastern states are the Eastern/Yellow type but in fall we can easily find Westerns as well. Also, Western Palms tend to migrate earlier (September) and the Eastern/Yellow variety, which may also help point to a Western.

Eastern Wood-pewee

Mixed in with the warbler flock was a Downy Woodpecker and a flycatcher. I think the flycatcher is an Eastern Wood-Pewee, but unfortunately I've come to rely on vocalizations so much for my identifications and this was a silent bird.

Overall it was a great Fall morning with lots of fun with migrating warblers. I also found this really helpful and simplified view on confusing fall warbler identification from the McGill Bird Observatory. I'm looking forward to my next chance to get out and practice my confusing fall warblers! 

An August Morning at Chestnut Hill Reservoir

Double-crested Cormorant

 I have been quite the reformed birder recently. I've hardly done any birding at all in fact, even though the weather has been so nice and mild. But yesterday morning I managed to sneak in a walk around Chestnut Hill Reservoir and get in a little birding.

The cool weather made for a very pleasant walk. The highlights were some Sandpipers (Least and Spotted) on the exposed rocks on the east side and I also heard the song of a Back-billed Cuckoo that came drifting over the water from the direction of the hill on the eastern edge of the reservoir. I have been feeling the distinct lack of cuckoos, so hearing just the one snippet of song was a treat. And the Least Sandpipers are only the second record for the reservoir on ebird. See the full list below.

Red-Eared Slidder

Beyond these I was also struck by the green-blue eyes of the cormorant. I haven't seen any this close in a while and I never noticed their eye-color before. Quite magnificent. While walking, I scared up some turtles in a couple of places and snapped a few pictures. Later at home, I realized that the turtle had a red patch on the side of its head and therefore wasn't the typical painted turtle. So a quick internet search revealed that it was a Red-Eared Slidder, which is native to the Southern US and Mexico. But as popular pets, they are frequently released into the wild and have become invasive. But I was still excited to identify a new turtle. (If you click on the picture to enlarge you should be able to make out the red-ear patch.)

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Mallards
Double-Crested Cormorants
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpipers
Great Black-backed Gull
Gull sp.
Black-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swifts
Northern Flicker
Blue Jays
Black-capped Chickadees
Tufted Titmouse

Least Sandpiper

White-breasted Nuthatch
Yellow Warbler
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Beautiful Morning at the Reservoir

Gray Catbird

 I visited the Chestnut Hill Reservoir this morning to take advantage of the beautiful weather. I know we needed the rain we've had this past week, but it was nice to take advantage of a warm sunny morning and some of the birds were thinking the same. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear the songs of Baltimore Orioles and American Redstarts. I also heard several Blackpoll warblers, but I couldn't see them.

Yellow Warbler

The water of reservoir was relatively slow with only some Canada Geese and a few Ruddy Ducks, but no other waterfowl. The main action was along the shores for passerines and above the water for many Chimney Swifts and Tree Swallows. I thought that I might have caught a few note of a Brown Trasher, but wasn't completely sure and was unable to find the singer. While many of the birds seemed to be up in the canopy and happy to stay there a few intrepid individuals came up to investigate me, including this catbird and the yellow warbler. I was particularly excited to get such a great view of this tiny puffball of a yellow warbler. I have only seen a few this spring so far (though Nahanton Park is crawling with them). I always love to see birds up close to admire the details of their feathers and just enjoy the moment of mutual contemplation.


Canada Goose  10
Ruddy Duck  6  
gull sp.  1
Chimney Swift  9
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Eastern Kingbird  1

Baltimore Oriole

Warbling Vireo  2
Blue Jay  2
Tree Swallow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Wood Thrush  1    
American Robin  6
Gray Catbird  1
European Starling  3
American Redstart  1    
Northern Parula  1    
Yellow Warbler  2    
Blackpoll Warbler  3   
Song Sparrow  2
Northern Cardinal  3
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Common Grackle  8
Baltimore Oriole  2
House Sparrow  15

Earth Day Birding at Chestnut Hill Reservoir

Palm Warbler

 I haven't gone birding the way I would like recently, but I had to go birding yesterday morning in honor of Earth Day! With that in mind, I made a quick stop at Chestnut Hill Reservoir on my way to work. I had pine warblers on the brain as I had a lot of fun last April observing one at this location.

After encountering some of the year round residents, a song I didn't recognize drew me to spot a palm warbler. Interestingly it was not the palm that was singing, but as my first migrant warbler of the spring I took a few minutes to bask in his presence and enjoy the rich yellow and chestnut plumage. When I started to get back into birding, a palm warbler was the first warbler that I encountered and was able to identify ( I was already familiar with yellow-rumps). The palm warbler is probably one of the birds that sparked my return to birding, so I always feel like I need to spend a little extra time with them. My palm warbler from yesterday morning though must have flown in last night as he seemed rather tired and as though he needed to rest and warm himself in the sun.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Male)

When the palm warbler finally had enough sun and flew off (I did not tire of him), I started focusing more on the odd exuberant song that first brought me to this spot. Finally something clicked in the back of my brain and it dawned on me that it was a ruby-crowned kinglet! My first for MA! Sure enough he finally came down out of the pines where I could enjoy this slightly less conspicuous kinglet. Shortly there after I also found a male yellow-rumped warbler and two blue-gray gnatcatchers. Their wheezy little voices are so endearing and their coloration reminds me of a miniature mockingbird. From what I can tell they were both males as they had strong black "eyebrows". I had my work cut out for me trying to photograph warblers, kinglets, and gnatcatchers. A smaller and more restless group of birds would be hard to find.

While mindful of the time, I primarily birded around the wooded hill in the eastern edge of the reservoir. That probably limited the water birds I found to, Canada geese, a mallard, and a common merganser. But the large raft of ruddy ducks more than made up for it. I kept hoping to see a blue bill, but they all seemed intent on napping in the sun with their bills tucked away.

As I left the reservoir, it barely even registered that I didn't find the pine warblers this trip.

Full List

Canada Goose

Mallard

Common Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck

gull sp.

Downy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

Tree Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Palm Warbler (Yellow)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)

Chipping Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Common Grackle

House Sparrow

Flight of the Northern Shovelers

Northern Shovelers

 I really wanted to join the Christmas Bird Count this year (see Suzette's post), but unfortunately knew that I wasn't going to be able to. So I started this weekend thinking there wasn't going to be any birding. But after dropping a sick pet off at the vet early this morning I couldn't resist taking a lap around Chestnut Hill Reservoir to clear my mind.

Upon arriving I quickly noted many gulls, Canada geese, ruddy ducks, common mergansers and hooded mergansers. But before I had even started walking around the pond, a pair of ducks caught my eye, as no one other than the northern shoveler has the green head, white breast, and chestnut sides! I haven't seen any this close to Newton so I was very excited. I made my way around the reservoir also noting mourning doves, golden-crowned kinglets, a downy, a titmouse, a hermit thrush, and even a brown creeper. The creeper has eluded me since moving here, so apparently I had to stop looking for them to find one. I have frequently heard them calling, but this was the first time in years I had gotten to see one!

I worked my way to the shore nearest the shovelers to get good views of them and was able to just make out the large trademark bill. I also tried to take a picture with my phone through my binoculars. At least I think its good enough to identify them! As I carried on around the water, I added goldfinch, white- and red-breasted nuthatches, a lone pied-billed grebe, and a handful of house sparrows to my list before heading out.

I quickly learned that this is the first ebird report of nothern shovelers at Chestnut Hill Reservoir and then a few hours later saw the first ebird report of shovelers at Hammond Pond. I then checked a little more carefully and saw that the shovelers were no longer being seen at the reservoir and so it seems likely that the same pair probably moved over to Hammond Pond! Maybe they were visiting the redheads. I'll be curious to see how long the northern shovelers might stay with us.

Breaking News: Long-tailed Ducks at Chestnut Hill Reservoir!

Long-tailed Ducks with Ruddy Ducks

Yesterday Ryan Schain posted on Massbird that he found two Long-tailed Ducks at Chestnut Hill Reservoir. These diving sea ducks tend to stick to the ocean or the Great Lakes. In the arctic they breed in ponds, streams, and marshes, but they mostly winter off shore on the open ocean. So on my way home from work yesterday I stopped by the reservoir and I was able to pick them out from the Ruddy Ducks from across the reservoir with their stockier body and color pattern with white along the waterline and dark back and head. I thought I could even make out the long tail at the distance (on the male, center of the picture). After a lot of walking in the rain was finally able to get much better views (and bad pictures) where I could discern the lighter face patch on the dark head and the long thin tail held up at an angle was quite visible. These ducks are quite unique with three distinct plumages giving them an ever changing appearance through out the year as they frequently molt. The Long-tailed Ducks are also the deepest diving ducks reaching depths of 200 ft. But while I was watching they weren't diving and they seemed mostly preoccupied with getting in a good nap. So if you get the chance get out there and check them out!

As a side note the original post from Ryan also mentioned Baltimore Orioles and Eastern Kingbirds, so keep your eyes out. Also of note, I also found a Palm warbler and a few Yellow-rumps and a Flicker who didn't seem to mind the pouring rain at all.

4/26 Update. I just saw that Ryan has great pictures of the pair on his Flickr stream you can check out here.

Songs and Calls of Chestnut Hill Reservoir

Blue Jay

Pine Warbler

This morning I stopped off at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for a little birding. In very short order I heard the loose musical trill that give away a Pine Warbler! My first in the state. I spent a few minutes following him around trying to get some pictures and hoping to snatch a small recording of his song. While I was able to get a few pictures as he flitted among bare branches, he never sang close enough that I'd be able to get a recording over the hustle and bustle of Cleavland Circle. But a pair of Northern Flickers were calling back and forth, a boisterous and repeated "Wick-wick-wick" that clearly cut through the traffic. (At the beginning of the clip, the further Flicker is calling and at 5 seconds, the second closer Flicker joins in. Robins are heard calling throughout and a T train can be heard at 10 seconds)  The Song Sparrows and Chickadees were quite vocal and one Blue Jay took great offense at my presence by flying to a nearby branch and scolding me with his loud calls. By Beacon St. several Goldfinches were singing their song and further along a pack of grackles were just about the noisiest of all.

American Coots

The water level in the reservoir was low without melting snow and without much rain either. Some Coots were standing on shallow points in the water. A raft of Ruddy Ducks didn't seem to mind, a whole mix of birds in different stages of molt slept and I even caught a glimpse of one blue bill when it wasn't tucked up under the owner's wing. By another shallow patch with wood sticking out of the surface, I found a female duck too small to be a mallard. Just as I was beginning to think I was going to have trouble identifying this duck, I saw her mate camouflaged by the wood, a striking male Green-winged Teal. His gray mantle, vertical white shoulder patch, and head with brown and green made him quite distinctive. These Teals would prefer ponds with more vegetation, but perhaps the water is just low enough at Chestnut Hill Reservoir that they thought they'd give it a try. Just as I went for a camera the female gave and alarm call and flashed their green wing patches as they flew to the other side of the reservoir.

Chestnut Hill Reservoir