Let the Spring migration commence!

Spring migration seems to be getting underway. Already the first reports have come in of Great Egrets and Ospreys (the latter of which I believe I saw yesterday). Blackbirds seem to be back in full numbers and now we are seeing them everywhere. Though some do winter here they are mainly migratory.

A couple of days ago I saw my first flycatcher of the year; an Eastern Pheobe at the John H. Chafee Preserve (and we recently saw Lincoln Chafee, the son of the namesake of the preserve getting a pizza in Kingston). Along with the pheobe we counted 61 Harbor Seals relaxing on the rocks (the seals were not migrating yet, it was the largest number of seals I have ever seen at one time). The phoebe presumably had just arrived seeing that they usually appear in mid March-after having spent the winter months sun bathing on the beaches of Florida and generally having a good time in the Southern states and Central America. Tree Swallows are another species that have just recently arrived though I have not yet found any-soon though!

Birding's getting better!!

Sorry for not having posted in so long. Our new dog Theo is restricting us from going to some of the better birding hot spots, the National Wildlife Refuges and Audubon Societies "NO DOGS ALLOWED" policies have severely limited our intake of bird species.

A Marvelous 30 Seconds

We had been checking the tree for a few days finally on the third day we saw it!

There was a pair of Great Horned Owls being seen quite reliably at Swan Point Cemetery (the famed Rhode Island Spring migration oasis). Most of the sightings of them were in a small pine tree in the woods which we had visited twice already hoping for the owl/owls but we had no luck on either occasion. We did find pellets one of which appeared to contain a Screech Owl (or some other small raptor talon) and white wash (a name for owl droppings).

Finally our luck changed.

We parked near the water and walked down the path in direction of the pine tree. As we neared it a large shadowy form took off from the pine and vanished into the forest. We went after it but it in the woods. We walked on in hopes of seeing it again. Then somewhere up ahead we heard the first caw of a crow which was quickly joined by another and then another. Seconds later there were a dozen black crows madly cawing. We sped up. Then a Red-tailed Hawk shrieked and out of a tree came two big forms pursued by the marauding American Crows! One was a Red-tailed Hawk the other was was a Great-horned Owl! The owls wings were rounded, its belly was striped with black and gold which faded into the white throat. They soared over head and just as quickly were gone. We walked back happily back to the car. On the way back we passed the Red-tailed Hawk, which had been mobbed by the crows along with the owl, and the successful mob of crows returned noisily to where ever they call home.

It was a GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Feb 22, 2011 12-1pm sunny 34` Bold Point, East providence, RI

I spotted the Redpolls almost instantly. They were flitting about on the other side of the weedy, industrial field which overlooks the tip of Narragansett Bay then they landed and I lost sight of them. I noted down the regular birds as we walked towards them: a Mockingbird there, some Mallards and Canada Geese over there, Red-breasted Mergansers, Greater Scaup, Hooded Mergansers, American Wigeons, a Gadwall and some Mute Swans on the water and the general assortment of gulls.

There they were again; chittering madly, reminding me of the twittering of Budgies which are commonly reported in display boxes at PetCo. Streaked backs, red caps and black chins, the males had a pinkish tinge on their pale slightly streaked breasts. They were unmistakably Common Redpolls! We followed them back and forth, photographing wildly. They were incredibly active barely staying thirty seconds on any one perch. sometimes they would land only ten feet from us though they preferred to keep their distance. They were presumably feeding off of the seeds of the bushes and Goldenrod. Though I have been searching for Common Redpolls for years today was the first day I have ever had any luck!

Hopefully we will see them here more often as they are known to occur at Bold Point. I am though, unaware at the moment how just how frequently they are seen.

Purdy - our Dirty Birdy

We Found her on a Friday (Nov 19, 2010). Swan Point was fairly limited for species; a few gulls and swans on the water, a Red-tailed Hawk in a tree, a crow flying lazily by. It was an ordinary day for winter birding. But then we saw her, a miserable writhing heap of dirty feathers. It was an American Goldfinch, her neck was twisted a weird angle making her left eye look to the ground.

Picking her up we rushed home where we fed her and gave her water. We set up a temporary home for her in an old mouse cage and named her Purdy after a cartoon character (you can see the cartoon here). She could barely move when we first found her. We thought she wouldn't last the night but she did. Day after day she got better and better.

Visiting our grandparents pet lovebird made her happy and stronger. She was almost fully recovered (flying about easily with her head just barely twisted) and then she had her first crash! One day we woke up to find her looking like she did the first day we found her. But once again, within days, she made a remarkable come back.

Then a week later it happened again. But as always she survived. I want to mention at this point how tame she was. We could hand feed her if we pleased though she preferred the seed bowl where she enjoyed munching on homemade suet, apples, clementines and niger seeds. Every day when we reached into her bird cage (by this time we had replaced the mouse cage with a bird cage) to fill up her water and seed bowl she would watch unfazed from inches away.

Then on the fifteenth of December, thirty minutes after feeding her breakfast, we found her shivering in her water bowl. We removed her from the cold water and put her in a cosy spot to hopefully recover. Twenty five minutes later she was dead.

I suspect that the Purdy got injured when a hawk flew by and and scared her head first into a tree.

At least this interesting little bird's last day's were spent in comfort and warmth.

Feburary 4, 2011 12:30am Lyons St, East Providence RI

We were dropping my sisters off at their friends house. My mother had gone in to say hello while my brother and I preferred to wait outside. Suddenly a weird rolling call best described as a "Grrrrrrrau-Grrrrrrrrau" caught my ear. I looked in the direction the noise had come from. There was a squirrel running along the ground. I knew that squirrels could make odd noises but I had never heard one say anything like this. Then on an impulse I looked up. Overhead flew a huge Corvus (Corvus is the name for the jay and crow family). It had a wedge shaped tail, was a rich black and emitted the odd noise. The instant I saw it I knew what it was-a Common Raven!

I watched excitedly as the bird flew steadily South and then disappeared into the distance. Although I am pretty sure that I have seen ravens in Massachusetts-I have never seen one in Rhode Island. In 1992 there had only been two records of ravens in Rhode Island but now ravens are growing increasingly common-and one pair is even nesting in South Kingstown. This is the first time I have ever positively identified a Common Raven.

On the same day that we saw the Common Raven we went and adopted a puppy. We are calling him "Sir Theodore Digby Chicken Ceaser" (Theo for short). We named him after a comedy (in which Sir Digby Chicken Ceaser is the main and funniest character). It's a very appropriate name because Sir Digbys side kick is called Ginger which is the same name as my grand parents dog. You can watch some episodes of it here.


Sir Theodore Digby Chicken Ceasar

Yesterday we went for a walk at Turner Reservoir with Theo. While we were there a man pointed out a Coyote watching us from the ice. Later when I looked for the coyote again I found that a second one had joined it! It was quite a sight.

January 29, 2011 2:30-4:30 pm 30` cloudy, Sachuest Point NWR, Middletown RI

A Red-tailed Hawk takes off


My brother, my parents,my grandfather and I (my sisters preferred to say home with our grandmother) were happily driving up the road to Sachuest and our first stop was the Second Beach campground to look for the Green-tailed Towhee. The two car parking lot was stuffed with cars so we were forced to park along the road. At least fifteen birders stood quietly next to the picnic table which we had sat on last time, all apparently waiting for the arrival of the towhee. Ironically the bird hadn't made an appearance all day and the birders were getting impatient. The ground was littered with countless American Tree-Sparrows (Sachuests most common winter sparrow), mixed in with the American Tree-Sparrows were Song, Savannah Sparrows and a few Black-capped Chickadees. The two highlights for the campground were two beautiful Fox Sparrows and an "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow. Both the "Ipswich" and the Fox Sparrows were quite tame, and happily posed for my camera. I have never seen an "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow. I have never found such tame Fox Sparrows. How odd it is that all these sparrows stay in one little section of the campground when they could be anywhere in the vicinity.


"Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow


Fox Sparrow

Up at the Sachuest parking lot we were greeted by a mixed flock of Northern Harriers, Birders and Short-eared Owls. The Short-eared Owls were amazing; swooping about and diving into the grass after scampering mice. They flew with slow, steady wing beats over us and every time one went overhead there would be thirty cameras raised to the bird. There were exactly four Northern Harriers, three Short-eared Owls and approximately 40+ birders. It was quite an occasion.


Short-eared Owl

On one instance we saw an owl tussle with a harrier but mostly the owls stuck to themselves. Every once in a while an owl would land in a tree or bush and cause an onslaught of camera wielding bird nerds to begin wildly snapping off photos with their 2 foot long camouflage lenses. What amazing birds these owls were.


Short-eared Owl

While scoping the bay I spied a speck of an owl flying lazily over the water towards Sachuest Point. The very first time I ever saw a Northern Harrier we were in Little Compton, directly across the bay from Sachuest. If harriers like it there then very likely owls do too (so maybe the owl was coming from there).

Once we saw an owl hover over the grass and snow and then slowly and quietly fall to the ground, you could just see some wings flapping and then suddenly the owl rose from the ground with a fat bundle of fur clutched in its talons.


Short-eared Owl


Short-eared Owl with a delicious fur ball

The only other highlight for the day was a mixed flock of sea ducks way out by some rocks in the middle of the bay. In the flock we found Surf, one (female) Black and White-winged Scoters, Common Eiders and Harlequin Ducks.

My only regret is that we were ignorant to the fact there was also a Barn Owl being seen a Sachuest.
All in all it was a great day, even with out the Barn Owl!

More on the mystery Mallard

A new theory for my mystery Mallard is far more reasonable. I believe now that it is an intersex Mallard; an elderly female which gradually looses its mottled plumage for the more splendid plumage of a male. You can see a photo of an intersex Mallard here. Intersex Mallards occur when a females estrogen decreases giving the appearance of a male.
Thanks to Warrech who suggested that it was a intersex.