Mount Auburn Cemetery, Boston, Oct 2013

Mount Auburn Cemetery was looking exquisite today. A blush of autumn colour complimented a slight chill in the early morning air. It could have been perfect were it not for the grass-cutting and hedge-shredding that seemed to go on all day. I guess it is necessary to keep the cemetery from getting overgrown, but in surroundings that would otherwise have been so tranquil and calm, it seemed like a terrible intrusion. After reminding myself that I was in fact the intruder, I set off along the ridge that starts to the left of the gate.

I was hoping to find “birds of passage”, flying south seeking “warmer climes” and coincidentally found the first Blackpoll Warbler by Wordsworth’s tomb. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilled into a juicy trunk and an American Robin sat for an autumnally themed picture.

A stand of Rhododendron bushes on a slope by Auburn Lake held Common Yellowthroat and White-throated Sparrows. A Great Blue Heron had caught a frog and was trying to swallow it. The frog was still kicking. I took one picture and moved on, a little squeamish.

The Northern Cardinals looked a little tatty today so the less seen of them amongst the leaves, the better.

A Yew bush and taller adjacent tree provided some exciting warbler watching and I spent half an hour with Betsy Neagles (1787 – 1871), trying to get a fix on the south-bound plumage. I had come without a field guide. Someone please tell me why I would do that in fall warbler season?

Actually, these ones were easy enough with Black and White Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Black-throated Green Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler. I should have thought to bring a guide though, in case of anything a bit more tricky.

I had seen the Red-tailed Hawks a number of times today, but suspect that it was the same juvenile bird each time. It allowed me a close look as it landed on a horizontal branch before flying across to the gravestone of Walter Scott Fitz and alighting there.

Rain had been threatening all morning and eventually the clouds could hold it no longer and let it all out in a rush. 

The shower was heavy, but short-lived, but by this time  I had made the decision to head home. A small flock of Golden-crowned Kinglets with a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Red-eyed Vireo stopped me for a short damp moment on the way out.

Birds seen; 33

Wild Turkey 1, Great Blue Heron 5, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Herring Gull 4, Mourning Dove 1, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1, Downy Woodpecker 6, Northern Flicker 5, Red-eyed Vireo 4, Blue Jay 20, Black-caped Chickadee 10, Tufted Titmouse 3, Red-breasted Nuthatch 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 6, Brown Creeper 1, Carolina Wren 1, Golden-crowned Kinglet 15, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2, Hermit Thrush 1, American Robin 120, Grey Catbird 1, European Starling 40, Black and White Warbler 5, Common Yellowthroat 3, Blackpoll Warbler 8, Yellow-rumped Warbler 8, Black-throated Green Warbler 2, Song Sparrow 2, Swamp Sparrow 2, White-throated Sparrow 8, Northern Cardinal 8, Common Grackle 30, Brown-headed Cowbird 20

Harvard Square Station is on the Red Line of the subway, heading out of Boston towards Alewife. Bus nos. 71 and 73 leave from the station and take less than 10 minutes to reach the cemetery. There is a stop close to the cemetery gates and between them there should be a bus twice every 15 minutes.

For previous posts from Mount Auburn, see the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/operation-autumn-colour.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/mount-auburn-cemetery-boston-april-2011.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/mount-auburn-cemetery-boston-june-2011.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from Boston including; Back Bay Fens, Pleasure Beach and Whale watchingfrom the New England Aquarium.

Back Bay Fens, Boston, October 2013

Boston’s famed fall spectacle was underway on this first week of October at Back Bay fens. The show has not yet reached its peak, but there were plenty of colours to enjoy on a breezy evening. It was a busy time with local students heading home, climbing trees and smoking amongst the bushes. Even with a brisk breeze, the atmosphere was filled with pungent smoke and made for a very relaxing walk. 

I was hoping to find a few wood warblers heading south and a couple of Blackpoll Warblers brought a feeling of anticipation and livened me up a bit.

A hot spot by the lake brought more Blackpoll Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Downy Woodpecker and an autumnal Wood Thrush.

Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and Red-eyed Vireo were seen in the trees down by the sports area with American Black Duck and a Great Blue Heron on the water. 

Birds seen; 21

Canada Goose 200, American Black Duck 30, Mallard 80, Great Blue Heron 2, Herring Gull 5, Downy Woodpecker 2, Red-eyed Vireo 1, Blue Jay 12, Black-capped Chickadee 3, Tufted Titmouse 5, Hermit Thrush 1, Wood Thrush 1, American Robin 7, Northern Mockingbird 3, European Starling 2, Blackpoll Warbler 6, Yellow-rumped Warbler 2, Swamp Sparrow 1, Red-winged Blackbird 1, Common Grackle 4, Brown-headed Cowbird 3.

You can find more posts from Boston Back Bay Fens at the links below;

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2010/09/boston-back-bay-fens-and-mount-auburn.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.com/2011/05/back-bay-fens-in-boston-april-2011.html

http://redgannet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/bye-bye-boston.html

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from Boston including, Whale-watching, Mount Auburn and Pleasure Bay.

Busy Times

Busy times at home have been keeping me away from the blog. In case you thought that I had given up on it, here are a couple of shots from recent outings.

The Great Crested Grebe and the Migrant Hawker were from a visit to Monk Lakes.

The Chiffchaffs passed through the Silver Birch in my neighbours’ garden.

 

Riparian Reserve at Gilbert Water Ranch, Phoenix, AZ, Sept 2013

eBird has unveiled its new feature, the Hotspot Explorer. And what a wonderful feature it is for anyone venturing beyond their own back yard. It shows birding hotspots on a map-based interface and colour-codes the sites to show how productive they can be.

In preparation for a trip to Phoenix, I took a quick look at my normal stomping grounds there. The familiar sites showed as cool blue or tepid yellow flags on the map, but one site was glowing orange, vying for attention. I was shocked to find that the hottest spot in Phoenix was just a step away from where we stay and I was previously unaware of its existence. The Riparian Reserve at Gilbert Water Ranch can be seen at Google Earth ref; 33 21 51.87N 111 44 5.27W. I was not able to paste the name or coordinates into the Hotspot Explorer search box, but once this minor oversight is bested, Google Earth may become dispensable!

The Riparian Reserve shares a large block with the Gilbert’s Southeast Regional Library, a small astronomical observatory and a fishing lake. The gates are probably closed overnight, but were open early this morning. There is enough habitat around the fishing lake and observatory to keep birders busy if the gate-keeper is late.

I arrived by 06.30 and was greeted by a Northern Mockingbird. I slowly worked my way to the gate, noting McGillivray’s Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler and Belted Kingfisher near the observatory. What passes for a ploughed field in any other part of the world is called a lake in Phoenix. 

The appearance of the reserve on Google Earth and the map of the site were at odds to my experience in the second week of September. Pond 7 had shrunk to a tiny crescent. A Green Heron watched from the edge and a Neotropical Cormorant roosted a bit further back.

Pond 6 was similarly reduced to a smear of its former self. Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer stalked the margins while a trio of Mallard popped down to the water’s edge for a drink.

 In Pond 5, the water had given way to meadow. It looked as though it might be wet underfoot, but not too squishy to put off a couple of Coyotes that were making their early morning rounds. A small screen hide in the corner overlooked the enduring puddle in the corner where a couple of Pintail and Shoveler shared the water with the omnipresent Mallards.

A small patch of sunflowers near the screen attracted a flock of Lesser Goldfinch which allowed me my closest approach of the week.

I had found myself at the hub of the complex. With a little imagination it might be possible to picture oneself at the centre of a pinwheel with paths heading out in all directions. Ponds 1 and 2 held better concentrations of wading birds with Long-billed Dowitchers, Black-necked Stilts and Least Sandpipers.

The teals were proving a little tricky. I am not very accomplished at separating the Cinnamon Teal and Blue-winged Teal from each other. There were plenty of them around, but they were not sporting their distinctive colours, so I could only be certain about very few. A Green-winged Teal was very obliging.

Bell’s Vireo was seen quite frequently this morning. It shared the shrubs and bushes that line the banks with Abert’s Towhees and plenty of Verdins.

Say’s Phoebes and Black Phoebes shared the flycatching duties with a Gray Flycatcher. Where have they been all my life?

Birds seen;

Canada Goose 22, American Wigeon 2, Mallard 200, Northern Shoveler 8, Northern Pintail 7, Green-winged Teal 30, Pied-billed Grebe 2, Neotropic Cormorant 1, Great Egret 5, Snowy Egret 8, Green Heron 2, White-faced Ibis 4, Turkey Vulture 3, Osprey 1, Cooper’s Hawk 1, Killdeer 70, Black-necked Stilt 40, Spotted Sandpiper 2, Greater Yellowlegs 9, Western Sandpiper 1, Least Sandpiper 130, Long-billed Dowitcher 80, Eurasian Collared Dove 20, Mourning Dove 35, Inca Dove 8, Black-chinned Hummingbird 2, Anna’s Hummingbird 6, Belted Kingfisher 1, Gila Woodpecker 3, Gray Flycatcher 1, Black Phoebe 7, Say’s Phoebe 2, Bell’s Vireo 5, Barn Swallow 4, Verdin 15, Northern Mockingbird 20, Curve-billed Thrasher 12, European Starling 30,MacGillivray’s Warbler 1, Common Yellowthroat 3, Black-throated Gray Warbler 2, Wilson’s Warbler 2, Abert’s Towhee 12, Song Sparrow 2, White-crowned Sparrow 2, Red-winged Blackbird 15, Great-tailed Grackle 12, Brown-headed Cowbird 5, House Finch 6, Lesser Goldfinch 25, House Sparrow 6.

Curve-billed Thrasher 

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from Phoenix, including Phoenix Botanical Garden and Usery Mountain Park.

Madera Canyon, Tucson, AZ. Sept 2013

Madera Canyon is in the Santa Rita Mountains to the southeast of Tucson. The day was warming up and I was heading for the high ground in the hope that it would not prove to be too hot today. I will only make a very brief description of each stop rather than splitting them up into separate posts.

The approach runs through scrubby grasslands and I stopped at the 3 mile marker, shortly after the school on White House Canyon Road (Google Earth ref;31 49 36.48N 110 55 50.22W). A calling sparrow had attracted my attention as I passed and it proved to be the hoped-for Rufous-winged Sparrow.

As I stopped, a pair of Scott’s Orioles crossed the road and a Verdin chacked at me from the bushes.
An Empidonax flycatcher perched on the second wire of the fence and I had to make the call; try to identify the empid, add one bird to my day list and bake my brain into the bargain, or run away, pretend that I hadn’t seen it.

Mad dogs and all that…….actually, the heat had not built up too much yet. There would have been a few choices of empid to work through, but I got lucky and noticed that the little fella was pumping its tail. I am led to believe that this is a characteristic of the Gray Flycatcher, what luck!

Birds seen from mile 3 to mile 5;

Turkey Vulture 1, Mourning Dove 2, Gila Woodpecker 2, Gray Flycatcher 1, Loggerhead Shrike 1, Common Raven 3, Verdin 1, Phainopepla 3, Rufous-winged Sparrow 4, Scott’s Oriole 2

Just after the road takes a sharp right hand turn, a bridge crosses a (usually) dry wash (Google Earth ref;31 47 16.41N 110 53 3.40W). I parked up just before the bridge to explore the wash, heading what would have been upstream noting more Rufous-winged Sparrows and some Blue Grosbeaks.

I nearly passed over a small group of Towhees, assuming that they would be Abert’s Towhees, but I took a quick look to confirm and found that they were Green-tailed Towhees.

Note that this was the first bridge and the more popular Florida (Floh-ree-dah) Wash can be accessed from the third bridge.

Birds seen at Bridge 1 Wash;

Turkey Vulture 1, Mourning Dove 1, Green-tailed Towhee 5, Abert’s Towhee 3, Rufous-winged Sparrow 3. Blue Grosbeak 3.

A little further along the road is the Proctor Parking area (Google Earth ref; 31 44 28.41N 110 53 12.68W). A trail leads through the transition zone as grassland gives way to woodland. A Wilson’s Warbler was picked up almost immediately and was quickly followed by a Bewick’s Wren and a House Finch.

The large trees by the stream (when running) held Lesser Goldfinch, Western Tanager and a Painted Redstart.On the return another tail-pumping Gray Flycatcher sat for a moment just giving me enough time to take a shot.

Birds seen at Proctor Parking trail;

Turkey Vulture 3, Gray Flycatcher 1, Mexican Jay 3, Verdin 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Bewick’s Wren 1, Wilson’s Warbler 1, Painted Redstart 1, Western Tanager 2, House Finch 3, Lesser Goldfinch 8.

Santa Rita Lodge maintains feeders that attract hummingbirds and provides benches and a little shade for punters to watch from (Google Earth ref; 31 43 29.82N 110 52 49.25W). Most of the patrons were Black-chinned Hummingbirds with a few Broad-billed Hummingbirds and a couple of Anna’s Hummingbirds. Seed feeders brought in a few House Finches and Bridled Titmice.

An Acorn Woodpecker added to its winter larder in a telegraph pole.

Despite the high temperatures forecast for Phoenix, the slight elevation of the lodge in the Santa Rita mountains, made it seem quite bearable. The adjacent gift shop sells cold drinks and makes this a very pleasant spot to spend a while.

Birds seen at Santa Rita Lodge;

Wild Turkey 9, Turkey Vulture 1, Black-chinned Hummingbird 5, Anna’s Hummingbird 2, Broad-billed Hummingbird 4, Acorn Woodpecker 1, Red-naped Sapsucker 1, Bridled Titmouse 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Finch 5.

The road continues up the hill and eventually ends in a parking and picnic area (Google Earth ref; 31 42 44.48N 110 52 28.90W). I followed the path heading straight up. The birding had slowed as midday approached, but the temperature was bearable.

A small party of Yellow-eyed Junco fed from the ground while a Hepatic Tanager stayed high. A group of birds passed through with Wilson’s Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler and Brown Creeper all calling softly.

My tired and lazy brain almost settled for a Ruby-crested Kinglet, but a nagging doubt made me look closer to note the Hutton’s Vireo.

Another birder asked about the Elegant Trogons that nest here during the summer. I had assumed that they had already left and was surprised to hear that a few individuals now over-winter at the canyon. I was on my way back down by now and put the trogon down as a miss.

Mexican Jays were noisy and an Arizona Woodpecker gave itself away by pecking for food and dropping bark on the path ahead of me.

Birds seen above picnic area;

Red-tailed Hawk 1, Arizona Woodpecker 2, Northern Flicker 1, Hutton’s Vireo 3, Mexican Jay 7, Bridled Titmouse 4, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Brown Creeper 1, House Wren 1, Hermit Thrush 1, Black-throated Gray Warbler 1, Wilson’s Warbler 1, Painted Redstart 1, Yellow-eyed Junco 7, Hepatic Tanager.

Visit the dedicated USA and Canada page for more posts from the area.