Redheads Return with Spring to Hammond Pond

Redhead Ducks

 Sunday afternoon I stopped by Hammond Pond to check out the birds while running errands, which also meant I didn't have my big camera. I didn't have high expectations as I didn't even know if the pond would be clear of ice. Fortunately it was. Upon pulling up I quickly made out an American black duck and a mallard pair, which were followed by numerous common and hooded mergansers. But I was totally surprised by three redhead ducks! One male and two females (at least I thought they were female redheads, though my duck ID is lacking). While redheads are rare here, Hammond Pond hosted five redheads in the fall before the pond froze. Also there have been a few redheads hanging around greater Boston all winter. While I don't know if these three were some of the same ones here in the fall, it is fun to think so anyway. I do hope they will stay with us for a little longer!

American Black Duck.

Red-winged blackbirds sang "conklaree"as the males tried to claim territory before the breeding season starts. I also noted a grackle, song sparrow, some starlings, and gulls. While I was watching the pond five Canada geese flew in to land and most of the common mergansers flew off to the southwest, they were truly a sight to see.  But my second treat of the day was a pair of wood ducks that flew in to the pond calling "jeet jeet jeet". Spring must really be here.



Update 3/11/2013 I just saw on eBird that the redheads were seen again this morning, so seeing that they spend the night, maybe they'll stick around for a little while

Winter Birds of the Emerald Necklace

Yellow-Breasted Chat

 With March here and our snow melting, I thought I'd better quickly share some winter  birding experiences and pictures from around the Emerald Necklace before spring gets to far underway.

This winter was quite good for warblers at the Fenway Victory Gardens. I was finally able to catch up with a yellow-breasted chat after many others have so narrowly eluded me! I'm talking about at least 3 chats within 20 feet of me and seen by several other birders. This includes one chat at Nahanton Park back in 2010. But the big warbler news from Fenway was a MacGillivray's warbler. For some odd reason a few MacGillivray's have now turned up at the Victory Gardens in various winters, now making this one of the best spots east of the Rockies to find one! While I was lucky enough to see this wind-blown vagrant, I didn't get a picture. Fortunately another birder was able to (picture here). The Victory Gardens also yielded a great view of a barred owl hunkered down in a tree, while further up the Fens there was a young red-headed woodpecker! I have seen quite a number out in the midwest, but finding one here was quite a treat. I wonder if this bird survived our big storm and if she will have the full vibrant red-head this spring?

Barred Owl

Juvenil Red-headed Woodpecker 

Silvery Mallard

Travelling further down the Emerald Necklace, I made a few stops at Riverway to try and see if any redpolls would show in the many birches that line the Muddy River. While I didn't find redpolls, I did find quite an odd duck. This silver or blond mallard female is probably the result of hybridization with domestic stock, though this duck could also just be a leucistic wild mallard. Regardless she is beautiful! In other Muddy River news, the section of river that flows underground by the Landmark Center is currently being restored to its original design. So it will be nice to have this expanded habitat!

White-winged Crossbill

My last birding stop in the Emerald Necklace was Arnold Arboretum. I had read report on massbird of some white-winged crossbills. After enjoy the crossbills at the JFK library in December, I was excited to get a chance to see them again. Of course the possibility of findig and recording a red crossbill again added to the sense of adventure. But it was still wonderful to spend time with the small flock of white-winged crossbills. I initially found them by listening for a cracking sound from the pines, something I've learned is an indication to there presence when they crack open pinecone scales to get at the seed. I wonder if I'll be able to find any more of our irruptive finches before they all head back to their normal ranges.

Birds in the News

All of my birding recently has been of the accidental variety, but the biggest change that I have noticed is that I am starting to hear bird songs. They must think spring is in the air. Over the last few weeks I have heard mating songs from, chickadees, cardinals, red-bellied woodpeckers, song sparrows, and house finches!

Even though I haven't been birding, I have noticed lots of bird related articles in the news and thought I should share some links if anyone is interested:

Tracking snowy owls at Logan Airport.

A dead snowy owl in Gloucester.

How many birds do cats kill?

The oldest living wild bird, an albatross, has a chick

The biology of how owls spin their heads

An article on wood-stork status in Florida

Snow snow snow

I hope everyone stays warm through our winter storm. There have already been some reports of power outages in Newton.

Though the birds haven't seemed to mind just yet, this morning I saw a pair of mallards mating. Just another reminder that even with the looming storm, spring is not too far off.

Hammond Pond and Boston Harbor

Common Goldeneye

 I stopped by Hammond Pond earlier this week and found it very quiet. The only activity consisted of a few ring-billed gulls out on the mostly frozen pond and then a handful of blue jays, starlings, juncos, song sparrows, and house sparrows. All the passerines were at the overlook eating bread crumbs.

With not much to report here, I thought it would be a great time to post some pictures from the sea wall of the JFK Library. When the local lakes freeze up, I enjoy checking out Boston Harbor for a change of scenery and the chance for some birds that love saltwater. Even though the crossbills were my main reason for heading to the JFK Library, the harbor was a big draw too. I found some fun birds including brant (its nice to remember that not all geese prefer golf courses), common eiders, white winged scoters, buffleheads, common goldeneyes, a common loon, horned grebes, and red-throated mergansers.

Common Loon

I was hoping that there might be some red-throated loons to help me practice my loon identification. And of course, whenever I head to the salt water in winter, I'm always hoping for razorbills, dovkies, or murres. But of course any alcid would do! One of these days I am determined to track some down.

Horned Greb

Cooper's Hawk in Newton Centre

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

 This morning while walking in Newton Center, I saw a hawk up in a tree by the T station. This exact same tree has previously held a red-tailed hawk. But I was excited as this bird was the wrong size, shape, and color for a red-tailed. This smaller bird had to be an accipiter and I hate narrowing them down to Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawks (Cornell Lab of Ornithology as a great page on this tricky ID). This bird however, made me think she was a Cooper's Hawk. She was remarkably big, about the size of a crow, had a rounded tail, and appeared to have the right body shape (large head with forward set eyes and torso that doesn't taper). It also helps that accipiters in our suburban area are more likely Cooper's than Sharpies. If you have any other thoughts on this identification let me know! Just as I was walking around to see her from the front, she disappeared when my head was turned.

Birding Crystal Lake

A few weeks ago, before the weather turned colder, I was driving by Crystal Lake, when I caught sight of a few ducks out of the corner of my eye. With my binoculars in the car, I decided to stop and see what could be found.

In the little park by the swimming beach there were song sparrows, chickadees, robins, and cardinals. As I was walking toward the lake I flushed a kingfisher who flew off to a new distant perch while giving his dry rattling call. On the water there were Canada geese, mallards, common mergansers, and hooded mergansers. and a single ring-billed gull flying overhead.

The mergansers and kingfisher certainly made it a worthwhile stop and it made me wonder why Crystal Lake isn't birded often. Then a week or so later, I returned to find that ice had formed and was making the eeriest sounds of squeezing as ice slid against ice. There was hardly a bird to be found except a lone nuthatch calling from the pines. So I assumed that the lake is either a hit or miss, but regardless I'm going to try and check out Crystal Lake more often!