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

Spying on the Backyard Birds

Robin

 While I wasn't out and about birding in June, I was trying harder than ever to spy on the birds in the backyard. Instead of sitting on the back steps while eating breakfast, I employed the Audubon BirdCam, which I had received as a gift. It is a motion activated camera that is supposed to be designed for monitoring a feeder or nest box. While I have neither of these, that didn't stop me of strapping it to trees to see what birds and other wildlife I could find.

Catbird

So far it has captured a mourning dove, catbird, chipmunk, rabbits, grackles, a group of starlings, and a family of robins. While the pictures can't compete with my dSLR, the idea of getting regular "reports" on backyard bird life without active participation is quite exciting. I'm still trying to get the hang of it and learn the best settings and I would love
to find a nest to monitor. So hopefully I'll have occasional BirdCam updates too. I'm also hoping that one of the sporadic neighborhood turkeys will cross its path. Speaking of, I had better go put the memory card back in the camera.



P.S. With the cool and pleasant air Friday night, we had lots of windows open and I was lucky enough to hear the hoots of a Great Horned Owl drifting in the open windows!

Fieldnotes from Oregon

Rufous Hummingbird

 June is typically a month where I don't bird much following my May migration birding binge. To make up for my lack birding and posting this past month, I'll share some birds from a recent trip to Portland, Oregon.

While in Portland for a short trip two weeks ago, I was able to get away one morning into the hills around the city. This was my first time birding outside of the Eastern US (I have to remind myself that the Midwest is still eastern when it comes to birds) and so when I started my walk, I was overwhelmed by how different the woods were and by so many new bird songs. I normally can identify most birds by song, or can at least recognize that a song is familiar. That way I know to pay closer attention to a song I'm not familiar with. But in Oregon, every where I turned the bird songs and calls were new! Even the familiar Black-capped Chickadees sing a different song than the typical "phoebe" that I am so accustomed to.

Spotted Towhee

When I first started to get my head wrapped around the bird sounds, I started to pick out familiar birds like American Robin and the beautiful song of a Swainson's Thrush. Then I recognized a Wilson's Warbler's song and was able to spot this bright yellow bird with black cap (fortunately I had just encountered one this spring to help me learn the song). But soon I was able to make out other songs and calls and follow them to an empidonax flycatcher that I was later to ID, with help of a recording and spectrogram, as a Pacific-slope Flycatcher. Then the Spotted Towhees and "Oregon" Juncos started to reveal themselves to me.

Band-tailed Pigeon

Walking along I was able to find a family of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, a Stellar's Jay, a couple of Band-tailed Pigeons, and a distant "quick three beers!" call of an Olive-sided Flycatcher. At this point in time I was lucky enough to run into a local birder who quickly started to ID some more Pacific-slope Flycatcher call notes and two resident hummingbirds. The male Rufous Hummingbirds already headed south, while the usual male Anna's Hummingbird was conspicuously absent (or so I'm told). Fortunately there was a female/juvenile bird of each still around to enjoy. While I would have loved to have seen the flashy males, these two hummingbirds were zipping about chasing each other, chasing off crows, investigating the birders, and generally giving quite a spectacle.

Anna's Hummingbird

Black-headed Grosbeak

We then went hunting for a Black-headed Grosbeak that we could hear singing (his song is very similar to that of our Rose-breasted Grosbeak). Eventually we were able to track him down and were able to watch him singing high in a tree. The drumming and calls of a Red-breasted Sapsucker were sporadically evident, but again perseverance and luck allowed us to find one and watch him as he performed a territorial drumming on a old snag. The Red-breasted Sapsucker's voice is similar to that of our Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and they both also share an irregular drumming (movie below).

Black-throated Gray Warbler

My West Coast birding friends keep telling me how much they miss East Coast warblers, so I didn't have high hopes on finding many warblers, especially as migration was completed.  But the Wilson's warblers were quite vocal and active and fairly ubiquitous, I was able to get a few good views of them. Additionally, I was lucky enough to spot a Black-throated Gray Warbler high up on a branch in the woods. And last but not least, just as I was concluding my briding, I left the path and was back onto the street when a bright Orange-crowned Warber landed in a ornamental tree right in front of me to sing his trilled song.

It was morning that I will not soon forget.

Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid at Hammond Pond

Pink Lady's Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium Acaule)

 Ever since I got my National Audubon Society's Regional Field Guide (so far my only non-bird field guide) and learned of orchids native to the US, the idea of searching for these beauties has captured my mind. I assumed that such amazing plants and flowers as these orchids could only be in remote locations such that I would never be able to find them. Then I moved here and started reading Suzette's blog, Bird News of Nahanton Park, to learn that at least one native orchid, the Pink Lady's Slipper, can be found in our local Newton, MA parks. For some reason I was never free in the spring to explore the park while the orchids are blooming, so I was very excited when my neighbor had told me that she had just seen some orchids at Hammond Pond.

So last weekend, after some time at work, I dropped by Hammond Pond and Webster Woods and headed into the woods in search of orchids (and of course a few birds too) with my camera and tripod. Back in the woods, I was lucky enough to not only find two flowering plants, but also what I think was a third plant that did not have a flower spike. The flower is so amazing that it gives this orchid its name. Cypripeduium acaule, commonly known as the Pink Lady's Slipper or Moccasin Flower is named for the pink pouch (In the Cypripedium orchid sub-family, the labellum forms this pouch) that superficially resembles footwear (though I think other Lady Slipper Orchids have more of a slipper appearance).

Cypripedium acaule

I was inspired by my encounter with these Pink Lady's Slippers to read more about these amazing plants of our suburban wild lands. I think the coolest thing I learned about them was their method of pollination. On the front of the pouch, where it folds in, is actually a trap door (best seen on the top picture). Only strong species of bees are able to push their way into the pouch as they are drawn to the flower by its color and a faint sweet odor that the bees associate with nectar. But once the bee forces its way inside the pouch, he finds that there is no nectar or reward and he cannot exit the same way. Instead the pouch forces the bee to climb up the inside of the pouch towards the top. This top opening of the pouch is partially obscured by the column (which contains the stigma and pollinium) and the staminode (a more burgundy flap on the column). As is visible in the picture to the right, the column and staminode create two routes out of the pouch through which the bee can make his escape. As the bee exits, his back comes into contact with the yellow waxy ball of pollen (also visible in picture). Now this bee being a smart bee, will most likely have learned that the Pink Lady's Slipper flower has nothing he is interested in and traps him to boot. And thus the bee will not make the same mistake twice. But if we and the Pink Lady's Slippers are lucky, then this bee will be of the adventurous variety and will, against logic, visit a second Pink Lady's Slipper. While he navigates this trap and maze once more, this time the pollen already on his back will adhere to the stigma of this second flower just before he reaches the opening to have yet more pollen deposited on his back. (There is an excellent blog post here with a photograph labeled with the bee's route through the flower)

Cypripedium Acaule

Because most bees are likely to quickly learn to avoid Pink Lady's Slipper flowers, only about 5% of flowers are pollinated in a given year. This may actually be advantageous as seed production is very taxing to the plant. But to make up for this dismal pollination rate, Pink Lady's Slippers can live on average for about 20 years! Their low pollination rate, long life span, and very specific habitat requirements makes it very important to not disturb these orchids so that we can protect our native population.

I have to say that I look forward to observing these Pink Lady's Slipper orchids in the future and one day I'll have to venture forth in search of more of our wild orchids.


P.S. I did mention I was looking for birds too. Some of the best finds were Great Blue and Green Herons, Cedar Waxwings, Red-eyed Vireos, a Great Crested Flycatcher, and for a few seconds I had a great view of a stunning male Rose-breasted Grosbeak!

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

Warblers and Wild Flowers at Houghton Garden

White Trillium or Wake Robin (Trillium grandiflorum)

 In my second blog post when I visited Houghton Garden in the winter, I mentioned that it seemed like a good place for spring warblers. So yesterday morning I decided to visit on my way to work. While driving over I was listening to my Peterson field guide CDs "Birding by Ear" and trying to learn the waterthrush songs, which was very fortunate because the first song I heard when I got out of the car at 9am was the song right after the waterthrushes! It sounded like the two-parted song of the Nashville warbler which would be a first of year for me (more on this in a minute).

Upon entering this small piece of habitat I was able to find black-and-white warblers, yellow-rumps, and an American redstart (the picture is from earlier this week in Boston) were the only warblers that I was able to see. Up in the trees were plenty of black-throated blue and northern parula song, though they stayed up in the canopy and never decided to show themselves. And down in the bushes a skulking common yellowthroat sounded off. Then while standing by the little damn

American Redstart

that keeps the pond full I heard another song I had only just listened to, the 3-parted song of a Tennessee warbler. Now this was a lifer for me. I tried in vain to see the Tennessee but had no such luck. While I was excited to add the Tennessee warbler to my life list, I later noted that it isn't a common bird around Newton. Pete and Haynes both have most of the ebird sightings which primarily come from Cold Spring Park and Nahanton. In addition to warblers, I was also excited to see and hear a stunning Baltimore Oriole.

May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum)

While many of the birds refused to be seen, Houghton Garden's flora was earning its keep. The ferns are all coming up with a wide variety of foliage forms (one day I'll figure out how to identify them) and many woodland flowers were evident. I was particularly impressed with the trillium specimen, but later learned that trillium (and especially trillium grandiflorum ) are victims of their own popularity with gardeners. They have become threatened as most (if not all) plants available were harvested from the wild. I took pictures of some in hope that I might be able to identify the flowers (Do you know what the flowers below are?).

When I got home last night I listened to recordings of the Tennessee and Nashville warblers and am no longer sure about the Nashville's ID. When I have time later I'll another post with recordings and spectrograms.

Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Warbling Vireo  1
Blue Jay  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2Tufted Titmouse  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
American Robin  10
Gray Catbird  3
Black-and-white Warbler  1  
Tennessee Warbler  1
Nashville Warbler  ?
Common Yellowthroat  1
American Redstart  1
Northern Parula  3
Black-throated Blue Warbler  2  
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Common Grackle  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Baltimore Oriole  1
American Goldfinch  2
House Sparrow  5

Warbler Fallout!

Black-and-white Warbler

 This was quite the morning. I ate my breakfast on the back steps and enjoyed the morning bird song chorus. So far this spring, I've only had palm warblers and yellow-rumps, so imagine my surprise when I heard northern parulas and black-and-white warblers singing up a storm in the backyard and neighborhood (The black-and-white picture is here from Newton). All of last spring I only had 3 warbler species total for the yard, so finding 2 in one morning was quite a treat. Both of these were also firsts for the yard. I continued to hear parulas and black-and-whites all the way into Newton Center. Its hard to imagine how many warblers this must have been.

American Redstart

Then I very briefly stopped at Riverway, off of the T in Boston, and was immediately assaulted by warbler song. Black-throated green and black-and-white warblers popped up first and I just enjoyed them as I left my camera at home. But as I started finding more and more warblers, yellows and common yellowthroats, I started wanting to take pictures so I pulled out my phone to line them up through my binoculars (at least you can tell which warbler is which). I kept hearing songs that sounded like parulas and black-throated blues (I love the color of the BT-Blue) so i thought I was just confused until I realized

Black-throated Blue Warbler

that they were both present. As I kept scanning the trees I also turned up a veery, an American redstart and an ovenbird! I regularly hear ovenbirds in the spring, but this was only my second time seeing one. The trees were full of our little gems of wood warblers and there were even some yellow-rumps chasing each other around to round out the morning with 9 warbler species! There were a few warbler-like songs that I didn't hear well or recognize, so maybe there were a few more that I missed, but it was still one of my best warbler days so far. That doesn't even include the joy of seeing the veery and finding a singing Baltimore oriole. Of course there were many more of the usual suspects too.

Veery

Then I later read a Massbird email from Marshall Iliff indicating that there was a major coastal fallout of migrants today, making it probably one of the best birding days of the spring. I hope some of these will stick around for the weekend!