We have enjoyed the energy and singing of our House Wrens and wondered about their offspring, which they been feeding pretty continually the last week or two. It was only yesterday when I saw faces at the bird house entrance and I spent some time quietly watching them yesterday afternoon.
The youngsters were waiting, noisily, for lunch.I saw one of the parents gathering a snack for them.It was pretty noisy when food arrived. There were three fledglings.They leaned out more each time food arrived and I saw some tentative moves toward leaving.
I left them alone and I think they left in shortly afterward. Last evening, I could hear the adults and some begging sounds but the fledglings were buried in the thick foliage. This morning, I saw this proud parent on the woodpile.
Ovenbirds are loud in the woods, their “teacher, teacher, teacher” call resonating loudly but they themselves tough to spot. Yesterday I saw a number of them, chipping at me as the dog and I walked along the trail. I’m not sure if they were youngsters upset with the intrusion or adults distracting us from nearby ground nests. In any case, they were the first I’ve seen this year.
Chipping, not singingWatching us as we watched the Ovenbirds
Bird walks in the woods these days seem to feature persistent calls from two birds that are tough to see: Red-eyed Vireo and Ovenbird. And these shots from the last couple of outings don’t include them. However, in spite of heavy foliage there are other birds, often young ones, moving about. Here are a few starting with one of our most common, Song Sparrows. Lots of young ones around.
Common Yellowthroats are also pretty common but hard to photograph — always moving. This one faked me out at first but my friend Rich wrote: “I think we can safely say that this is a male Geothlypis trichas trichas, too, or at least in that grouping on eBird, as it lacks a yellow border to the black mask, has a white-ish belly, and an extensive yellow throat.”
Lastly, one of the most persistent singers are Chestnut-sided Warblers, but again, often buried in the leaves these days.
As I write this, I can hear a Black & White Warbler in the woods just across the busy street. This is “birding by ear” time and that sure beats “frozen fingers on the binoculars” time. Be safe and enjoy the birds of summer.
This Spring we have many birds nesting right here in our backyard. House Wrens are on their second batch while we know there are other nesters like Song Sparrows, Common Yellowthroats, woodpeckers, and Grey Catbirds. Yesterday, we added Cedar Waxing to the list.
I’ve yet to find nests but hear a lot of feeding activity — the thick brambles and foliage are perfect for them. I’d just as soon just leave them alone and wait for the youngsters.
For several weeks, we have enjoyed seeing a pair of Canada Geese rear a young family on the river right out back. We seen them teaching the goslings to bathe themselves and get started on learning to fly. Some days they are right out back, other times they are up to a half-mile upriver. The youngster count has stayed at six for several weeks. Here they are on an outing yesterday:
While foliage covers up some of the birds this time of year, we enjoy the wildflowers and critters that we see on our walks. Ginger has a fetish about squirrels and today, several crossed our path.
This Red Squirrel was just above Ginger’s sight line and waited for us to pass by.A Grey Squirrel hunkered down, staying out of sight.Well, not exactly
Late in the walk, I saw something I’d not seen before. There was a wake on the river and I thought it was a River Otter but …..
This Chipmunk was motoring along, and casually departed onto the sandy shore. The dog was none the wiser.
We also saw and heard a number of birds so we’ll share some images next post. Great time to be out and about in Vermont.
It’s a great time for birding here: birds are back and singing and flirting, foliage is just starting to pop, and it’s getting a little warmer. Here are some photos I took in the last two days.
Several Spotted Sandpipers are on a marshy area just a quarter mile from the house.Black and White Warblers are noisy with the creaky wheel song.Chestnut-sided Warblers are back and vocalizing.This is a long-range shot of a pair of Wood Ducks and their chaperone turtle.Two Grey Catbirds out back this morning.Eastern KingbirdAmerican Redstart.
Birds provide a wonderful respite anytime but especially now. Good birding and good health to you.
Last week I came across several singing Winter Wrens on a nearby preserve and grabbed this shot of one, in spite of the dog tugging at the leash.
Yesterday, several House Wrens showed up in our back yard and seemed to be interested in our one bird house.
They’ve been checking things out and bringing in some nesting material — we’ll see.
Here are some more shots — it’s wonderful to hear their singing and chattering.
We’ve had a nice variety of new visitors in our back yard this week including a Ruby-throated Hummer, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Gray Catbird, Black & White Warbler, and a Spotted Sandpiper. Still waiting for the Great Blue Heron.
Many winters ago in Texas I met a Canadian birder who had an interesting side hobby: she collected birding vanity license plates. So for a while, one of the things I did as I traveled the country was to keep an eye open for vanity license plates and snap a photo of each one. I tried to get a little info on the owner but sometimes the vehicle was unoccupied. It did led to some interesting stories and some interesting people.
However, the project slid as I started to do less traveling — until a couple of weeks ago. In the midst of the Covid-19 homestay I got an email from a Michigan birder who is an avid collector of license plate images. He suggested that we trade a few of his for a few of mine. Thus, another initiative gets underway for this period of waiting. I arranged my images into a gallery and hope to start up my collecting again this summer. Here is the image Don sent me to pique my interest.
photo courtesy of Don Chalfant
Here’s what Don told me about the plate — “My own SCREECH is quite popular, as it raises questions from non-birders. One man from Maine asked me about it, and asked if I was from Newfoundland. I asked why he might think so, and he responded that screech is the name of a local moonshine made in Newfoundland! Certainly not what I had intended.”
I’m going to put up Don’s images in a gallery soon. In the meantime, do you have an interesting plate or know someone who does? Why not take your phone a grab a photo of it and send it to me: vtbirder at gmail.com.
This morning on a dog walk at the airport, I heard and then saw Killdeer — a neat sign of spring and a diversion from the terrible news around us. The striking plumage, frenetic feeding, and noisy chatter are a nice tonic.
Yep, we’re back.
Birds are bringing us a special bit of joy during this tough period of our lives.
