Today was the day that my American Warbler curse finally broke, but more on that later on. The day dawned hot and humid as per usual but with one twist it was actually going to rain. I set about going out in the garden for about half an hour with weather warnings constantly being sent to my phone for the up coming storm with 3 Tornado Warnings, 2 Flood Warnings and a Severe Thunderstorm Warning all in effect at the same time. Whilst I was in the garden I had the usual House Sparrows, 5 American Goldfinch, the 2 Downy Woodpecker, 4 Common Grackle, 4 Mourning Dove, 5 House Finch including a new Juvenile bird which had some rather fluffy ears, 2 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 Song Sparrow and 3 Cardinal. Just before I headed in side as the first drops of rain were falling a flock of Chimney Swift flew through being rather oddly pursued by a Red-tailed Hawk. Above: Chipmunk, House Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch Below: Rabbit Above: House Finch Below: Chipmunk Above: Red Cardinal That was the end of any outside activity so we decided to head to Burlington Mall and see Ant Man and the Wasp at an a state of the art cinema with reclining seats. After lunch with the skies clearing my Dad and I decided to head back to Beaver Brook Reservation for another look at the wetland area. Just as we were approaching the Wetlands area I spotted a Juvenile American Robin on the path ahead and a flock of Chickadees were in the tree above. Something in and amongst that flock caught my attention as it had a smaller body and much longer tail. I could then see that is was a sort of Blue Grey colour all over. A female Blue-grey Gnatcatcher And my first of what is an absolutely smashing bird. I watched it for a bit of time until it disappeared into some dense vegetation. Above: American Robin Below: Blue Grey Gnatcatcher Onto the wetland area where my dad had been for quite sometime and he pointed to a spot where he had seen a ‘small’ bird running in and out of cover on the mud. Eventually not just one but five Bobbing Spotted Sandpipers appeared out on the mud where he had pointed to. Not one of them was in summer plumage though which was thoroughly disappointing. Off in the dead trees to the right hand side of the pool 2 Willow Flycatchers were flycatching and eventually not just one, but three Killdeer showed themselves up right at the back of the pools where a Great Blue Heron had been previously. As for the Ducks today there were only 19 Mallard and 3 Wood Duck which was actually somewhat disappointing. Above: Spotted Sandpiper Below: American Wood Duck Above: 3 Killdeer The flies started to get the better of us again so we headed back to where I had the Chickadee Flock. A quick scan through the flock saw 5 Tufted Titmouse joining the day list and then I got the Jackpot. A Warbler. It was a Warbler with a Yellow head and a darker body with wing bars. It was a Female Pine Warbler and finally breaks the deadlock with American Warblers. Just before I left the Pine Warbler showed very well in the canopy above my head. A flock of American Robins then landed in the trees beside me and a taller, slimmer bird with a rather spotty front caught my attention. It was a Brown Thrasher and for some reason was a bird not even on my radar when I started this trip but a very good addition. With the sound of Distant thunder and the sky turning a concerning colour of Black my Dad and I decided to call it a day and headed back to my Uncles house for an oriental dinner. Above: Pine Warbler Below: Brown Thrasher Day 13: A warm Muggy day saw temperatures into the mid 30s and was unpleasant to say the least. The usual species were in my Uncles garden, however I did find a new bird for his garden list in the Grey Catbird that came to visit whilst I was watching the feeders from his kitchen. Above: Grey Catbird We eventually trundled to Shoppers World to get some lunch and to have a play with the tech in Best Buy. Honestly I should just do more car park birding as when we were in the car park at Shoppers World a Northern Mockingbird flew in and sat on a lamppost next to me which was my first of the trip. After lunch My Dad, my Brother and I dropped my mum off at Natick shopping Mall and headed for the Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Reservation. Upon arrival Chimney Swift were all over the place and I was also very impressed with the eco visitor centre although not so with the ‘eco’ toilet. We left the air conditioned visitor centre and made our way round the shady trails. From the first section of Board walk we had a great selection of Dragonflies and also around 15 Basking Terrapins. In fact there were Terrapins literally everywhere and so I am not too surprised that since my last visit the number of species on the water has decreased. Admittedly though the high temperatures did not help with this at all. Above: Not entirely sure but i think it is one of the pond hawks Below: Blue Fronted Dancer Above: Terrapins Moving further on a stunning Male Red Winged Blackbird was up in the trees with 2 females around as well. A Male Eastern Kingbird Sung from the trees as a Northern Rough-winged Swallow flew over. Out on the water a Great Blue Heron fished and a Mourning Dove sat just up and to the right of it in a dead tree. Above: Red-winged Blackbird Below: Great Blue Heron Above: Eastern Kingbird Moving on in to the woodland a large flock of at least 8 Tufted Titmouse were feeding on some berry bushes and it just felt as though that flock should have had something in it, however neither of us could find anything amongst the Tufteds. We then moved on to where another Red-winged Blackbird was and also got a better view of the Great Blue Heron. Above: Tufted Titmouse Below: Red-winged Blackbird Above: Great Blue Heron Below: Terrapin We then moved on and back into the woodland. We found a little water fall which was flowing quite rapidly for the time of year. Upon closer inspection I found four Ebony Jewelwing which are effectively the American Demosille. These Fellas were more hypnotic to watch as they have full black wings that fly in a helicopter pattern it was just truly magical. We moved on and then head out into a clearing in the trees. I had a quick scan here which brought up a new species for both me and the trip a group of at least 4 Tree Swallows were flying just over our heads hawking Insects from the canopy and chattering to one another. Most of the birds seen were juveniles, however there was at least one adult about with them. We then headed into quote a dense area of Pine Woodland and once here the constant ‘Pewee' of a nearby Eastern Wood-pewee could be heard echoing through the trees. I then spotted a Warbler picking insects off the trees right up in the canopy. I have to admit that the photo I have isn’t going to help me with Identification, but from what I could see in the field it was most likely another Pine Warbler. I must have spent about 20 minutes looking at the bird and when I finally stopped looking up at the canopy right in front of my face on a branch which was he must a few meters away from me was an absolutely stunning Eastern Bluebird. It did however fly off very quickly as it wasn’t happy with the fact that I had spotted it. Above: Ebony Jewelwing Below: Grasshopper sp Above: Pine Warbler I then moved on and caught up with the others that had moved on ahead. The next bit of Woodland held two more Eastern Wood-pewee, 2 Flocks of Black-capped Chickadee one of which held a Willow Flycatcher, 2 Tufted Titmouse, and a mixed flock of birds which held 15 or more American Robins, 2 Blue Jays and several Brown Thrasher. Another bird that has been frustrating me this trip is the White-breasted Nuthatch and although I didn’t see one in this section I did hear one calling from the trees which at least proves to me that they haven’t gone extinct. We were nearly back at the visitor centre when an open area of grassland produced the goods. 2 Cedar Waxwings were feeding on insects at the top of a large tree in the middle of the field along with a Redwing Blackbird and what I though was a rather odd locking Monarch Butterfly is actually two. A Red-tailed Hawk also circled miles up and just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better another life literally flew into view and sat next to me for a couple of minutes. It was a Juvenile Brown Headed Cowbird and although not the prettiest of birds they do have that sort of swagger about them that others don't. Above: Brown Thrasher Below: Monarchs Above: Brown-headed Cowbird Below: Red-tailed Hawk After this encounter we headed back towards Natick Mall to Collect my Mum. We hadn’t gone to far when we encountered rural traffic. In this part of the state apparently 9 Wild Turkey crossing the road seems to lead to a bit of a hold up. After collecting my mum we all headed back to my Uncles house where we settled down for the night and I watched as the Song Sparrow brought his youngster into the garden to feed for the first time and also a rather odd increase in Goldfinch numbers to a balmy 11 or more birds. Today was yet another great day and so far this holiday I have managed to add at least one new species per day, however I feel that tomorrow I may not be so lucky as there is a weather alert suggesting that temperatures could teach the 100f mark which I think is around 40c. If this is the case birding will be very limited, but I do have hope for perhaps a warbler or two! Day 14: It was already 25 degrees when my dad and I headed out at just after 8am to go to Prospect Hill Park. There were a couple of target species that I wanted from here. We actually walked up a country lane which is hardly used at all so is perfect for woodland birding. The current drought in this area meant that the Little Stream that we passed was full of birds. There were at least 40 Common Grackle, 4 American Robins and e Northern Flicker all drinking from this stream. The trees surrounding the trees were also full of life and one of my target species was soon spotted by my dad. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was literally just meters away from us and was also on the same trunk as a Downy Woodpecker. The first mixed flock of Titmouse and Chickadee was searched through, but nothing out of the ordinary way picked out. Above: Red-bellied Woodpecker Below: American Robin We then headed up to a trail which was called the dinosaur trial. From here I went a little way down to find another mixed Chickadee and Titmouse flock. This time I found two other species amongst this flock. One was a Chipping Sparrow and the other a ‘Pewee'ing, Eastern Wood-pewee. Above: Black-capped Chickadee We then headed up to the sunset lookout and here we had a few American Robins searching the ground next to us along with 2 Brown Thrasher. I could hear a White-breasted Nuthatch and eventually I picked two out amongst a Titmouse, Chickadee Flock. This flock also held another Downy Woodpecker at quite a close proximity to where we were standing. Above: Brown Thrasher Below: White-breasted Nuthatch Above: Tufted Titmouse Below: Chipmunk We then headed back and kept in the shade as it was now way to hot to stay out in the sun for any length of time. Along the way I re-checked all the flocks that we had found along the way with the Dinosaur Trail one now holding 4 possibly 5 Chipping Sparrow including some Juveniles and a pair of Downy Woodpecker as well. Just as we were approaching the stream section a pair of Blue Jays cannoned out of cover and in doing so flushed a little warbler up into the tree beside me. The Warbler was in fact a Red-eyed Vireo and it was unfortunately way too nimble for my camera (and also I only realised after but I may have also had my camera on the wrong setting). A watched it for a bit of time before moving on. The final flock didn’t told anything unusual in at all which was a shame and so with only one target species seen and Temperatures now into the mid 30s we headed back to my Uncles house. Above: Chipping Sparrow Below: Downy Woodpecker Above: Chipping Sparrow Below: Eastern Wood Pewee Above: Downy Woodpecker After this we headed to a Bowling alley in Burlington where we played three games which I lost, won emphatically (with four strikes) and lost again, which meant that I came second overall. Lunch was then had and just as we were waiting at the traffic lights to head back onto the I95 I spotted what looked like a small Heron flying just of the right hand side of the car. Thankfully it did the correct thing and flew across the road directly in front of the car for everyone to see and confirm my suspicion that it was a Green Heron a species that I had been trying to see all trip. We then headed back to my Uncles house to headed into the world of air conditioning as it was way to hot to be outside with the temperature at around 40 degrees centigrade and just 3 degrees F off the all time record high for this area. Eventually once it had cooled down a little bit at around 6pm i decided to head back to the Beaver Brook Reservation. Along the way I passed a flock of 20 Canada Geese and some very active Chimney Swifts. Once I got into the reservation I got all my equipment out and just as I was heading past the first bit of Reeds I noticed some movement. When I peered in I could see a Brown backed Warbler with a bright yellow throat. It was a Female Common Yellowthroat and adds to my now growing Warbler list. Unfortunately as per most warblers it was way to fast for my camera, but it was still awesome to see. I then continued into the woodland and just before the viewing point for the marsh land I checked the Chickadee, Titmouse flock that had produced the goods the other day. After a while I eventually picked out not one but 7 Blue-grey Gnatcatcher from this one flock which was quite a sight to behold in itself, however all the birds were either Juvenile or females. They kind of remind me of a Long-tailed Tit the way they search for food through the branches and use their long tails to help them balance. A pair of Cedar Waxwings did fly in whilst I was watching the flock but with nothing else I moved into the wetland area. What a difference two days had made to the wetland area for since the rain on Saturday this area had dried up a lot and has now gone back to the puddle and some mud that we saw on the first day. It was still attracting some interesting species though with 12 Wood Duck , 24 Mallard, a Great Blue Heron, and a Spotted Sandpiper. Above: Great Blue Heron Above: Blue Grey Gnatcatcher Below: Wood Ducks Above: Wood Ducks and Mallards Below: Spotted Sandpiper Since it was still unbearably hot and the flies were starting to get the better of me I headed back to the entry road. The last little section of the entry road just before the traffic lights was full of activity. A mass of Dragonflies had defended here and There for attracted a large amount of Chimney Swifts that were feeding on them. One Bush held 7 Grey Catbird which were getting ready to roost while another held several Blue Jay and some American Robins. A Song Sparrow foraged along side some American Goldfinch on the grass verges as well. Just when I was about to put my stuff away and leave two Cedar Waxwings flew into the tree beside me and glowed in the almost perfect light giving off their full Punky Glory, while not one but 4 immature/female Baltimore Oriole flew into a tree above only to be chased away by an American Robin almost as soon as they landed. And so I headed back to my Uncles house for dinner and to pack for our 4am wake up call to head to the airport tomorrow and so I can now look back on what has been an amazing trip with both family and birding and I have started to patch up my North American Birding list. Some of the birds i have seen on this trip have been spectacular and I hope I can revisit these areas again in the hopefully not to distant future! See you tomorrow London. Above: Cedar Waxwing Below: Song Sparrow Day 15: And so at just before 5am we headed off to the airport to catch our flight back to Heathrow. Just before we took off to head back to the UK House Sparrows were seen inside the airport feeding in the food court and American Herring Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants could be seen alongside the runway along with a murmuration of Starlings leaving their overnight roost. And so this ended a wonderful trip with some incredible wildlife encounters such as the Bald Eagle nearly taking our heads off and the plentiful Ospreys. America is a truly special place for me and I hope to return very soon. I will now leave you with some photo's from Landing in a parched England and also the trip list with the amount of lifers and species seen. I would also like to say thank you to everyone who hosted us and it was great to see everyone again!
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AuthorI have been a birder since I was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 18. ArchivesCategories |