Little Blue Heron, Rare inland in MA!

Saw this Little Blue Heron at Horn Pond birding site inland in MA. Very unusual for this site and it thrilled all the birders who saw it. Little Blues are a rare nester in MA (mainly coastally).

Northern Yellow Warblers Have Returned!

 Here they come, Yellow Warblers (now called Northern Yellow Warbler) have arrived in MA! I hope to get out to see them soon. Such an exciting time of year!

Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbids are arriving!

Here they come! Eagerly waiting for the return of the orioles and hummingbirds! EBird maps show where they are now. Get out the oranges and hummer feeders soon! After this brutal winter, the return of these beauties seems even more welcome!

 

Purple Finch female on migration now!

 

Yay! Purple Finch female/imm. arrived at the feeder today! Likely just passing through on migration. Welcome! So happy to see one of my beloved finches! Make sure and check out the new Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada. All things finch and so much more!

FOY (first of season) Chipping Sparrow has arrived!

 

                                                         Hellebore

                                                      Eranthis

Yay, FOY Chipping Sparrow has returned yesterday, I have been waiting. Hellebore and Winter Aconite (Eranthis, supposedly critters don't eat it like they do crocus) are in bloom. Happiness is -it is starting to really feel like spring. Pause and enjoy the blooms and the birds.

Happy Spring Eastern Phoebes Have Arrived!

 

Happy spring! FOY (first of year) Eastern Phoebe arrived yesterday here in MA, I was so excited to hear its slighly raspy "fee-bee" song. Pansies proliferate at the garden centers, and mini-daffies can be planted. After this long, difficult winter, spring seems so much sweeter!

American Woodcocks Have Arrived "Peent"

FOY (first-of-year) American Woodcock recently, my target bird! Went out to a known area hoping the snow would be melted enough for woodcocks to have some open ground to display and it was. No sooner got there than 2 woodcocks flew in over my head. The craziest thing was my good friends and Big Year (a birding competition to see how many birds you can see in a year) birding legend record holders in the North America and AOU area Tammy McQuade and David McQuade called me to say hello at that moment, just as I was getting the bird I had come after. Perfect serendipity timing! One woodcock then landed, began "peenting" and launched into a display flight rising 200 ft. in the air and making a twittering sound with his wings, then spiraled down making a chirping sound. Females come to the display area, chose and mate with males then breed in a ground nest in the woods and raise the young themselves. Look for woodcocks now at dusk in open areas near woods and you may see (or hear as it is hard to see with binoculars in the dim light) this amazing ritual. A true sign of spring. I love woodcocks! Photo from another time.

Winter Bird Therapy: Beauty at your Bird Feeders!

Through the window, winter bird therapy: Symphony in blue, yay! the Carolina Wren is surviving, black on white, our winter "snowbirds." Hope you all who are stuck indoors and enduring the frigid temps, are feeding the birds. It's beauty, entertainment, engagement, and knowing you are helping these feathered spirits.

 

Red Squirrel Cuteness!!

Red Squirrel has a home under the now buried brush pile that was originally for the birds. It did not come out during the storm. Red Squirrels (unlike gray) are territorial and have territories averaging 2-5 acres. They have a main cache of food usually hidden in the ground, a stone wall, a burrow, or under a brush pile. They can make their nest in trees, or live under fallen logs, in stone walls, buildings, or underground tunnels they dig themselves. Ounce for ounce they are one of the feistiest critters out there but so cute!