4.28.14 - Bird Nerd Moment - My friend Sylvia's garage

Yarmouthport, MA

 

It's good to know so many bird nerds, and thankfully I get to call many friends, and they share their bird stories with me.  My friend Sylvia let me know that some friendly & trusting Carolina Wrens had built a nest in her garage.  I was SHOCKED when I saw the size of this elaborate nest!  "THEY BUILT THAT?!", was my initial reaction.  Tiny birds with big voices, can build BIG nests!  I know that wrens can be quite opportunistic about nest locations.  I've seen their nests in wreaths on doors.  How did they get into the garage? There is a small hole where the garage door meets the cement that the birds use to get in and out.  It's a brilliant nest placement for shelter and warmth since we've had such a chilly spring.  I took a picture of the nest next to a bike helmet for scale.  We did see the parents for a few seconds, but they startled and took off while I snapped a few photos.  Carolina Wren babies are altricial, meaning naked, eyes closed, basically helpless.  These babies are waiting for Mom & Dad to come back with supper.

(click photos to enlarge)

 

Looks as though Sylvia will have to wait a few weeks to hang her flag.

One tiny beak

 

Three tiny beaks

Waiting for Mom & Dad

 

Hungry!

 

 

Being a baby bird is...

...exhausting.

 

Next opportunity for a bird walk is Tuesday Tweets - May 6th at 9:30am at the Cape Cod Museum Of Natural History in Brewster.  $2Members/$4Non-members

Happy Birding!

4.27.14 - Cape Cod Museum Of Natural History - PBS Nature Documentary Showing
"A Murder Of Crows" - Brewster, MA

Today I was asked to introduce and discuss a fantastic PBS Nature Documentary:
"A Murder Of Crows".  There was a nice sized crowd on this raw April day on the Cape.  Some questions were asked at the end of the program when the room was open for discussion, including my own wacky crow experiences - so if you happened to be there, thanks for humoring me!  Some of the questions had to do with crows being territorial and at what age do they mate.  I decided to post a link to the excellent on-line FREE resource at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology... here it is:

Crow Life History/AllAboutBirds.org
(scroll to the lower half of the page for crow life history & behavior)


For those of us who opt to call crows our friends in nature - I am with you and I appreciate that perspective.  I hope those you encounter who happen to feel alternatively may be swayed if you simply alert them to such a program. 

To me, it's not just that they're intelligent and beautiful, opportunistic and crafty... it's that they share a goal of good parenting while they exist in this ever changing world, so very successfully.

Happy Crow Sighting!

4.22.14 - Cape Cod Museum of Natural History - Tuesday Tweets 
John Wing Trail - Brewster, MA                                                                     

Birds are magical to me in a way and I talk about that in my presentation 'Birdwatching For Beginners'. ..what I mean is that it's amazing how easily they can, unintentionally of course, snap me out of a mood or re-focus my energies.  It's especially the case when I see a bird I cannot identify by sight or sound.  Sometimes I simply do not have TIME to figure it out, which is frustrating and challenging all at once.  I'm always excited for spring bird walks, because it's almost a guarantee that you'll see and/or hear migrants that have recently returned to the area, and that was the case on this beautiful Cape Cod morning in Brewster.  The Osprey have laid 3 eggs on the nest which can be observed through ospreycam. 
As we marched across the marsh checking out the Osprey from a distance, pretty soon we were treated to Tree Swallows (first sighting for me 2014!) darting acrobatically overhead like they do, munching on insects.  The melodious Pine Warbler paid us a special visit as did the Eastern Towhee - just as I had hoped.  There was also more bird magic when one of the Osprey soared right over our heads, only about 20 feet up.  Tuesday Tweets is such a TREAT, and the birds get all the credit!  My photos from this morning are less than spectacular...there was SO much going on and all fairly quickly.  One hour does not give me much time for great photos - but below you can see the few that I did get.
(Double click on photos to enlarge)

Our List:
Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
Blue Jay
Song Sparrow
Herring Gull
Osprey
Tree Swallow
Pine Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Towhee
American Goldfinch
Downy Woodpecker
Brown-headed Cowbird

Tree Swallow

 

Osprey

Eastern Towhee

American Crow

Brown-headed Cowbird (female)

Nest along the trail

 

Next opportunity for Tuesday Tweets is 5.6.14 at 9:30am at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Brewster, MA  ($2Member, $4Non-member)

Happy Birding!

4.20.14 - Barlow's Landing Beach - Bird Nerd Moment 

Pocasset, MA

 

After Easter dinner, some outdoor time was absolutely necessary, it was SUCH a beautiful day!  So a walk on the beach near my in-laws' seemed like a good place to bring along my camera.  There sure are a lot of Osprey lovers on Cape Cod and it seems that about half of the views here have a platform available for a nest to be either built or refurbished with fancy branches.  I believe we saw about six Osprey either flying over us with a fish in its talons, or sitting in the marsh, or perching on their nest.  A mallard couple was wading about checking out the vegetation having their own Sunday dinner.  There was a small flock of Red-breasted Mergansers that flew in and they started gliding through the shallow water like dolphins, like a feeding frenzy!  Several Herring Gulls swooped in with quahogs and oysters in their beaks, ready to drop them on the landing so they'd smash open... it seemed that everyone was eating something.  We even got to watch a solitary Greater Yellowlegs wade through the shore line fishing away.  It was a nice switch to be observing birds just before dusk as opposed to a few hours after dawn.

(Double click on photos to enlarge)

 

We saw:

Mallards

Osprey

Herring gull

Canada Goose

Greater Yellowlegs

Northern Cardinal

Red-breasted Merganser

Great Black-backed Gull

 

Canada Goose

Mallard (male & female)

Canada Goose

Greater Yellowlegs 

Greater Yellowlegs 

Greater Yellowlegs 

Herring Gull

Mallards (female & male)

 

 

 



 

4.18.14 - Home - Bird Nerd Moment

Yarmouth, MA

 

Just another spring morning... but I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos of the birds hanging out underneath our feeder.  I started hearing Pine Warblers return about a week ago - but they are tough to photograph when you're in a hurry.  Fast paced and bird photography do not mix, particularly with warblers.  THEY are fast paced and often too quick for my human hands to get a shot of.  I had also heard a Chipping Sparrow for the first time this year and fortunately for me, they are not nearly as camera-challenging as a Pine Warbler.  Below you'll see a Chipping Sparrow hanging out with a Dark-eyed Junco who's decided to hang out...still.  Junco, you're awfully adorable, but...please the cold weather is slowly fading... I appreciate you, but I am ready for some warming up!

(Double click photos to enlarge)

 

Chipping Sparrow & Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco's rump & Song Sparrow

 

Other species seen & heard in my yard this morning:

Northern Cardinal

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

House Sparrow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Pine Warbler

American Goldfinch

Mourning Dove

Blue Jay

House Finch

 

Next opportunity for Tuesday Tweets: 4.22 at 9:30-10:30am at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster $2Member, $4Non-member

Happy Birding 'til then!

4.14.14 - Various Points in Chatham - Birding with my Bird Nerd Mentor - Peter Trull

Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School - Bird & Nature Club

 

It's not just everyday you get to thank your mentors, but I am forever in debt to my pal Peter Trull  (the Original Bird Nerd, at least to my knowledge) for convincing me that being a Bird Nerd was a very cool thing.  I first heard "Bird Nerd" from him after all & eventually I just didn't want to be anything else.  Getting to share these natural spaces with the feathered friends who inhabit, hang out for several months or visit as a pit stop on their migrating way, is a gift.  When you add a bunch of middle school students who have their own talent & passion of birding at their age, well it makes for quite a special hour.  I was so happy to be a part of this Monday afternoon ritual and found myself wanting to be a club member.  Thanks for having me Trull!  My photos I'm certain will be put to shame by the fancy lenses that some of the students were sporting and using, but here are a few of the species we saw throughout our several stops.

 

Our List:

Snowy Egret

American Crow

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Loon

American Black Duck

Bufflehead

Common Eider

Osprey

American Robin (Black-headed Thrush - as Peter likes to call them!)

European Starling

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Oystercatcher

Common Grackle

Black-crowned Night Heron

Red-breasted Merganser

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

American Wigeon

(double click on photos to enlarge)

 



Snowy Egret

Brown-headed Cowbird (male)

European Starling

American Oystercatcher

American Oystercatcher

Common Grackle

Common Eider (1st spring male)

Black-crowned Night Heron

Red-breasted Merganser (female & male)

 

Thank you again fellow Bird Nerd!  It was an adventure with your students and I'm so appreciative to both you and Mr.Novak for inviting me along for the eventful and wild ride!

Happy Birding!

 



4.6.14 - Home - Bird Nerd Moment

Our Home - Yarmouth MA

 

Our daughter is fortunate to know so many sweet girls whom she calls "friend".  We love throwing parties, especially for our kids' birthdays, and this year I thought we'd have her pals paint nest boxes.  Luckily they were ALL into it!!!  I was so pleased!  

When you imagine gathering fifteen 9 and 10 year old girls together at a party, you might first imagine the noise.  Yes, of course, happy noise there was, but when they were intently painting their very own next box... they were quiet.  They were focused.  They were relaxed. They were having a good time!

I couldn't resist sharing some photos of their designs and smiling faces...

I happen to believe that part of our job as parents is creating happy memories for our kids to look back on.  I also like to believe that this day will be one of them for more than just our family. 

 

Thanks party-going girls for your thoughtful gifts, your creativity and your fantastic   friendship with our girl!!!  Thanks moms for agreeing to let me share this experience on my bird nerd blog!!!

 

Enjoy...



They were SO quiet!!!

 

I did ask for them to wear sweatshirts they could get paint on...

 

Bird Nerds for the day!