Early Migrants Around Newton

Green Heron

 On my way to work yesterday I stopped off at Hammond Pond (checklist), Houghton Gardens, Lost Pond / Kennard Park, and finally Newton City Hall.  When I pulled into a parking spot at the overlook for Hammond Pond, a bird flushed from the grass by the inlet and I was surprised to see a Green Heron. (I later learned this is only the 2nd eBird record for Green Herons in MA this spring!) Usually I think of Green Herons as skittish and shy, but this bird only flew a few feet before landing. I hadn't even gotten out of the car yet and I was busy watching him with my binoculars. When he disappeared from view behind a bush. I slowly opened the door, and using the car for cover, crept around the side. There was no sign of a green heron, so I stopped being careful and approached the water's edge looking at for waterfowl. Just when I had forgotten about the heron, he leapt up from right in front of me, a testament to their camouflage, and landed in the adjacent bush. I immediately crouched and froze, starting a staring contest at a distance of 4 meters.

He eventually decided I wasn't interesting and began to use slow and calculating movement to make his way to the outer branches that overhung the water. I'd seen this look before, this was a master hunter on the prowl, creeping up on his prey. Eventually he was poised right above the water and leaning so far forward that I thought he must fall over.

Green Heron with Fish

At about this time, the Red-winged Blackbirds had taken notice of me and were scolding while Wood Ducks and Common Mergansers swam past. Then the familiar rattle of a Belted Kingfisher greeted my ears. I glanced up to observe the kingfisher flying towards me, catching sight of me, then turning back around to find another hunting perch, all the while giving her rattling cry.

Splash! I whipped my head around and the Green Heron was in the water. He had fallen in, as I feared he must, but wait - there was small fish clamped tightly in his bill! He made an awkward leap and returned to the branches, crest raised, to enjoy his meal. Now if only that darn kingfisher hadn't chosen that moment to fly by, I'd have seen the strike. But its hard not to look at a kingfisher. At this point the heron looked up and seemed to notice me as if for the first time and for posterity's sake, decided it was time to wander off into the grass surrounding the pond.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

What a site to witness. But it was time to see what the rest of the pond had to offer. When I entered the woods, exuberant Ruby-crowned Kinglet song greeted me. Further along the trail I was pleased to find an Eastern Phoebe and my first warbler of the year with a bright yellow Palm Warbler. The high wheezy call notes of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher guided my eyes to find several of these mini-mockers scattered through the woods. At the back of the woods I was lucky to see a Hairy Woodpecker chasing a Downy Woodpecker, it was great to compare them side-by-side and see how different their bill shapes are.

Back in Houghton Gardens (checklist), I found more of the usual, including another Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. I was hoping that a Pine Warbler might be gracing the gardens, but I did not hear any. I did manage to finally see a Ruby-crowned Kinglet though.

Next I headed over to Lost Pond and Kennard Park (checklist) hoping that the larger area of evergreens might hold a Pine Warbler. I really enjoy the Lost Pond area, though it isn't quite as bird-y as other Newton birding locations. This morning the pond held a few Mallards and a female Wood Duck. And while looking for ducks, this Ruby-crowned Kinglet started to sing near by and came even closer so that we had great views of each other (I was really excited to see that this picture turned out so well).

Pine Warbler

Further down the path there was another Gnatcatcher but once I got into the pines of Kennard Park I started to hear some musical trills. I thought to myself that it was likely a Pine Warbler, but I have a hard time identifying the trills by ear. It took some doing, but eventually I found a songster close to the trail and was able to follow his loud song back to a bright yellow Warbler. Finally a Pine Warbler. I sometimes have a hard time with Pine Warblers as they migrate on the early side, aren't as abundant in fall, and true to their name much prefer habitat with pine trees.

Then at the end of the day, I stopped by Newton City Hall (checklist) and picked up Chipping Sparrow, another Palm Warbler, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Now I had hit the trifecta of the common early Warbler migrants.



P.S. As a side note, Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Warbler Guide are offering free downloads of warbler quick finder guides that look useful. Just visit All About Birds and sign up to get the download.

Searching for Newton's Eurasian Green-winged Teal

As I mentioned in the last post, there was an eBird report from Ryan M. from this past Monday indicating that a drake Eurasian Teal was found at Newton City Hall. Because Green-winged Teal (American) and Green-winged Teal (Eurasian) are clunky names for the purpose of writing, I'll just refer to the later as the Eurasian Teal (known as the Common Teal to the rest of the english speaking world). See the post from last year about the recurring Eurasian Teal for background, pictures, and discussion on identifying the different Green-winged Teals.

Hooded Merganser Pair at Newton City Hall

Ok enough with semantics. A Eurasian Teal was seen and I wanted to find it. So in between cooking yesterday, I went to Newton City Hall to go searching. I got excited when I saw a pair of Mallards and a pair of Hooded Mergansers (phone and binocular pic), but my spirits dropped as I slowly began to realize that there were no teals, nor did Bullough's Pond have any birds on the water in my quick glance. Fortunately, a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets was quite entertaining to watch (full checklist here). I was starting to get really worried that the recent dredging had turned the marshy, weedy, birdy City Hall ponds into the poor habitat reflecting pools they were intended to be by Fredrick Olmsted (who also designed the Emerald Necklace). Green-winged Teals love marshy habitat that is now absent from City Hall and I was worried that we had improved away the Teals.

Hermit Thrush in Cold Spring Park

On my way home I even drove through Newton Cemetery to scan the ponds, but again just turned up Canada Geese, Mallards, and Hooded Mergansers.

I couldn't give up yet. So this morning I headed to Cold Spring Park and at 8:45 this morning it was quite cold. And so most of the ponds were frozen. I did manage to track down a flock of 12 Mallards in one of the streams, but no teals were to be found. I did hear a Brown Creeper and saw a Hermit Thrush, but interestingly, there was another thrush, that didn't have as much red on the tail as I was expecting. But given the time of year, that is the most likely option still (let me know if you have any ID thoughts and full checklist here)

After Cold Spring Park I just couldn't give up on the Eurasian Teal yet. With ice on the ponds, I thought that the ponds at Newton City Hall might just have enough current to keep them open. So I headed back there and was so disappointed when the grounds crew had leaf blowers cleaning up the park. No way any duck in their right mind would still be around. I walked up to one of the foot bridges and heard lots of junco call notes while movement on the water caught my eye. Ducks - teals - horizontal white stripe - Eurasian Teal! I couldn't tell if his lady friend was an American or Eurasian type, it might be possible to tell females apart, but it is still very challenging. I kept my eyes on the pair before a native Green-winged Teal drake joined them. They all headed to the farthest North pool nearer the leaf blowers before they disappeared. I don't think they flew off, so I wonder if they were hiding in the outflow culvert that leads to Bullough's Pond.

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian) at Newton City Hall

I was relieved to think that the pond dredging hadn't completely put off the Eurasian Teal, though I wonder if he will stick around the same amount without the marsh. And I am calling this The Eurasian Teal, because I'm increasingly convinced that all of the sightings within the area are probably the same individual. His primary haunt is Newton, and has been seen every Winter (Nov-March) since he was first sighted in Cold Spring Park in 2009. So this is the 5th consecutive year that there has been a Eurasian teal seen between Concord and Newton with only one year where he wasn't seen in Newton. But at no point in time have there been two Eurasian teal sightings on the same day at different locations. In fact there are times when he disappears from his usual Newton location for a few days and has a brief sighting elsewhere. Here is a quick list of eBird sightings for Eurasian Teals within at 15 mile radius.

2009 January. A Eurasian Teal sighted at Cold Spring Park.
2009 March 13. A sighting in Sudbury
2009 March 16 - April 4. Repeated sighting at Cold Spring Park. (There were also 5 days were he was absent in March which corresponds with a single sighting at Great Meadows NWR on March 25.) There was also an article in the Newton Tab about the bird.

2010 Jan-Feb: Repeated sightings at Newton City Hall
2010 March. Several sightings at Nine Acre Corner in Concord.

2011 March: Several sightings at Nine Acre Corner in Concord. If I remember this was a particularly harsh winter and all the local water was frozen, so its not too surprising that he wasn't seen in Newton or earlier in the year.

2012 Nov-Dec. Repeated sightings at Newton City Hall. (Again there was a stretch of time the bird was absent while a few sightings turned up on the Charles River by Norumbega Park which, if my memory serves, corresponded to a cold snap and ice on local ponds.)

2013 (so far) Nov. Two Newton City Hall sightings.

Green-winged Teals (European Drake and unknown female)
Newton City Hall

Now that I feel good saying that this is indeed the same individual, The Newton Eurasian Teal. I just looked up Green-winged Teal lifespan and see that 20 years is the average lifespan, so it is certainly possible that the Newton Teal could keep returning to us for a while. We will just have to keep looking for him. If he has any breeding success then we should also think about the possibility of hybrid Teals. Hopefully I'll get a chance to go see him again this winter and we'll be able to find him in the coming years.

Recurring Eurasian Green-winged Teals at Newton City Hall

Green-winged Teal (American)

 Yesterday I headed over to Newton City Hall for a little birding of its small habitat. At just under 4 acres, the stream and trees make up probably the most productive small habitat for birding in Newton. In the summer the little mudflats are a really good bet for solitary sandpipers and slightly less frequently spotted sandpipers. In the winter the mudflats are flooded and are popular with waterfowl that love shallow muddy habitats, like hooded mergansers.

This visit though was inspired by ebird reports of an Eurasian green-winged teal and a few of its American cousins. While the Eurasian and the American green-winged teals were once two separate species, they are currently considered subtypes. Even still, the allure of seeing the rare Eurasian counterpart drew me to city hall.

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian)

The first finds were song and white-throated sparrows, then as I crossed one of the little footbridges, I saw a mallard pair that dwarfed a nearby group of teals. This was a strong reminder that the green-winged teal is our smallest dabbling duck. I quickly searched the 8 ducks looking for the vertical or horizontal white stripes that are the best discerning feature for the American and Eurasian subtypes. I was a little disappointed to see that all of the males had the vertical line of the American type. But I was quickly seeing the silver lining with the closest views I've had to date with green-winged teals. The males (and the females) were even showing off for me by flashing their namesake iridescent green wing patches as they swam, fed, and preened.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Soon I decided I needed to keep searching the area for other residents.  A red-breasted nuthatch was working a tree right by the path, but was so fast I could hardly keep the manual focus of the camera on her. I kept working my way around the ponds keeping an eye out for the Eurasian. In the mean time I found a flock of turkeys, cardinals, house sparrows, house finches, chickadees, a white-breasted nuthatch, a mockingbird, and a red-tail floating lazily overhead.

By the time I made a complete circuit of the area, I saw a lone teal. And this one did not have the vertical white stripe! Finally the Eurasian teal revealed. He must have been hiding my first time around. I snapped some pictures before I realized that this teal did not have a horizontal stripe either. I kept following watching him only to later see that the feathers that make up the white stripe were just hiding, but they were there (second photo). Interestingly, the entire time I watched him, he never associated with the American type teals.

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian)

After getting home I was reading about distinguishing between the American and Eurasian (also known as the common teal in Europe) types from a great article from David Sibley. This Eurasian demonstrated some of these features, having bolder white lines on the face and a grayer less buffy breast. But what really has me stumped is the ebird sightings. Most Eurasian green-winged teals are rare and do not reoccur. Not this bird, or this spot. Between Newton City Hall, Newton Cemetery, and Cold Spring Park, a Eurasian green-winged teal has been seen regularly. Sightings were from Spring 2009 at Cold Spring Park, Winter 2010 at Newton City Hall (There was a blog post from Scott at this time), and now again this Fall 2012 at Newton City Hall. This seems totally strange that Newton should be ground zero for Eurasian green-winged teals. Is this the same bird that is now living here in the US and regularly returns to a favorite spot? Or are we seeing multiple individuals that have all independently decided to grace us with their presence? Most ebird sightings that I see have Eurasian teals that were seen for a month or two in a given spot. And that is it. To have such regular sightings seems the exception, where we are seeing (the?) Eurasian teals for 1-2 months over 3 of the last 4 years. Will he return next year?

Northern Mockingbird

I have no idea, but this is certainly going to make our winters more interesting and make Newton City Hall a definite spot to check out more regularly. Who knows how long this might continue!