Tag Archives: Newburyport Birders

The Amazing Buffleheads

A wonderful guest post by Sue McGrath …
I’ve been watching a small flotilla of Buffleheads on Plum Island this week.

It’s Butterballs’ diving that forces me to stop and linger, to observe for understanding. I watch the thrusts, leaps, propulsion and buoyancy. Their plumage is pulled tight into their body; then, with a thrust of power and a slight, forward, nearly upward leap, they plunge. Their pink legs and feet force this propulsion. Upon surfacing, they bob cork-like on the surface like a tiny toy used to lure a reluctant toddler to its evening bath.

They’re the smallest of the diving ducks native to North America. They are sexually dimorphic both in plumage and in size. Drakes just exceed a pound in weight, and the hen, even smaller, weighs in at three-quarters of a pound. They’re agile swimmers and divers. On land, they’re awkward because their legs are set well back on their bodies.

I’ll never tire of watching these buoyant, petite ducks that fly low over water and then higher over land. These black and white ducks are fast in flight with rapid wing beats without even a whistle. They are one the fastest waterfowl and are easily recognized by their small size, large head and flight cadence.

photo by Mike Baird

While a flock is diving for food, there’s almost always at least one sentinel on the surface alert to danger. I see them divide their time between shallow dives and rest periods on the surface. I’ve timed their dives – they stay under 10 – 14 seconds. After the dive, they surface, and their bills are prey-less since they consume their prey while underwater. On freshwater, they eat mostly insects, and in waters of salinity, they feed predominantly on crustaceans and mollusks. Aquatic plants and fish eggs are often on the menu too. Once during the shorter, harsher days of winter, I saw some foraging even after dark.

On the water, when lighting permits, Buffleheads create stunning reflections of symmetrical beauty. They have dark-chocolate, brown eyes. Drakes are white with a black back, and their black head has a greenish to purple iridescence and a large, white patch from behind the eye to the top and back of the head. The dark hen sports a single, almond-shaped, white patch behind the eye.

Buffleheads have a woodpecker and boreal forest connection. Buffleheads nest almost exclusively in cavities excavated by Northern Flickers and Pileated Woodpeckers. The breeding range of the Bufflehead is restricted to the woodlands of North America. The vast majority of Buffleheads breed in boreal forests and substrates studded with aspen.

The Bufflehead is shy and mostly monogamous, often remaining with the same mate for several years – an admirable trait in today’s world of short-term commitments. The hen lays eggs at a slower interval than most other ducks, commonly with intervals of two or three days between eggs.

I think of the importance of the Northern Flicker and the Pileated Woodpecker and their skills as excavators as I study Buffleheads in local rivers, sheltered waters of Ipswich Bay or the Plum Island estuary area.

The intertwined threads in nature continue to amaze me. When one pulls one thread, others unravel…

Sue McGrath
Newburyport Birders
Newburyport, MA 01950 USA
www.newburyportbirders.com

Tips For Watching & Photographing Wildlife

A Guest Post by Sue McGrath

Study wildlife identification on your own before going out into the field. Learn about the most abundant species in the area, focusing on their physical markings and common behaviors. Even just familiarizing yourself with the sections of your identification book will be an enormous help in the field as you try to find information while keeping track of an animal on the move.

Develop your wildlife viewing techniques: scan bushes, trees and shrubs for subtle movement; cup your hands around your ears to help amplify sound.

Find wildlife with your eyes first, then focus in with your binoculars. Look for nearby landmarks and objects to help direct others to your sighting.

Look for wildlife signs. Scat, tracks, whitewash and buck rubs are just a few of the signs that tell you wildlife is nearby.

Wear clothing that blends with your surroundings /except/ during hunting season when bright colors are advisable. Earth tones and drab colors work best and help you blend into the background.

Your vehicle makes an excellent wildlife blind. Animals are often used to vehicles and will pass close by. Turn off your engine and sit quietly. Wildlife may come right to you.

Most animals have very strong senses of sight, sound and smell. Move slowly and quietly to avoid attracting their attention.

An upright human figure stands out in the landscape. To disguise your shape, try crouching down.

Crouch down when possible to avoid startling wildlife. photo by Seven Bedard

Crouch down when possible to avoid startling wildlife. photo by Seven Bedard

Animals may be startled by staring human eyes. Try wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade and hide your eyes.

Watching and listening are the two keys to identifying wildlife warning signals. Animals communicate distress in subtle ways.Learning these signals is important for your safety and the animal’s welfare.

 Sue McGrath

www.newburyportbirders.com

Common Redpolls

Here is a wonderful article by Sue McGrath of the Newburyport (MA) Birders:

When I see Common Redpolls, I immediately think of the low-Arctic tundra, the land with short, dwarf-like shrubs that includes willow, alder, birch all of which support the Common Redpoll. These abundant, boreal and taiga region breeders share this habitat with foraging Willow Ptarmigan and patrolling Parasitic Jaegers.

Common Redpolls feed often upside down, hanging on small branches, using their feet to hold food items. As winter visitors to our area, they’re interested in our thistle feeders too. They are social birds that are associated with catkin-bearing trees in brushy and weedy areas. Redpolls are rotund and fluffy, sporting a tiny,  yellow bill. Their characteristic features include dark lores, a black throat and chin and a red forecrown. The dark brown of the wings and tail along with the brown streaking of the nape, back, breast and flanks are offset by the whitish belly.

Characteristic features of Redpolls include dark lores, a black throat and chin and a red forecrown.

Redpolls have been observed on twigs, feeding each other by passing seed from conical bill to conical bill. The sexes are discernible ~ the male has pink on the chest and is less streaked; the female lacks that rosy hue and is heavily streaked. Their tails are forked, and in flight, the wingspan is 7 – 9 inches. They weigh 0.46 of an ounce.

Pete Dunne refers to this bird as “…effervescent pipsqueak of a finch with a small red beret and a black goatee.” What a clever way to remember their field marks!

Recently, I reread Kathleen S. Anderson’s article on Cumberland Farms in a 1996 issue of “Bird Observer” that has Barry W. Van Dusen’s illustration of Common Redpolls on the cover. In that issue, I found in W. E. Davis Jr.’s account of Common Redpolls that their have a specialized “pocket” in the neck area known as an esophageal diverticulum. A diverticulum is a sac or pouch arising from a tubular organ; crossbills also have this storage ability. This is like having an in-flight cupboard for storing seeds. This seed stockroom and the specialized winter-feeding behavior enable this songbird to survive colder  temperatures. “The Birder’s Handbook” by Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye [page 641] refers to this partially bi-lobed pocket as analogous to the crop of gallinaceous birds.

Thermal regulation is also key to their survival. When in a sheltered area, redpolls fluff up their feathers to maximize heat retention. Frank Gill’s “Ornithology” states that Common Redpolls sleep in snow tunnels during the long Arctic night to conserve body heat. These winter visitors will feel more at home in New England when we’ve snow cover; they can insulate themselves against the cold, air temperatures.

Sue McGrath leads bird walks with the Essex County area — contact her if you are looking for a small group experience led by a good teacher/birder.

Bird Larders – storing up for winter

I’ve been watching birds cache food this week. The days are shorter, and the birds are preparing for the next season. The nuthatches prefer the hulled sunflower, and they’re choosing the heavier seeds as those are the ones higher in fat content. Their activity begins very early in the day. The titmice are taking one seed at a time and seem to cache higher in the trees than the nuthatches. The chickadees are caching in the middle of the day, and their pantry of seeds is in a knothole in a maple.

This caching behavior has its advantages. They’ll retrieve the larder of seed on days when the weather isn’t suitable for them to for forage. Their warehouses are available when the long winter settles upon them and other sources are no longer abundant, and yes, their memories are sharp!

(written by Sue McGrath of Newburyport Birders)

Beyond a Murder of Crows

Most birders know some of the collective names of birds such as a murder of crows, a skein of Canada Geese, a charm of goldfinches.  Sue McGrath, who leads bird walks in the Newburyport, MA area, recently published a humorous listing of some of the terms she uses in the field:

A hood of robins

A litter of catbirds

A tanning of bronzed cowbirds

A lamentation of mourning warblers

A lettering of scarlet tanagers

An oxidation of rusty blackbirds

A chain of bobolinks

A ridicule of mockingbirds

An alphabet of jays

A maniac of ravens

A Ulysses of brant

An 8×10 of glossy ibis.

A shishkebab of skuas

A drift of snow geese

A timber of wood ducks

An outfield of flycatchers

A glimmer of Northern flickers

A wave of surf scoters

An asylum of common loons

A brass of horned grebes

A tart of American bitterns

An illusion of merlins

An applause of clapper rails

A dune of sandhill cranes

A haze of purple sandpipers

A garage sale of juncos

A w.c. fielding of chickadees

A pilot of palm warblers

A range of ovenbirds

A paddling of red-tails

A hangover of red-eyed vireos

A derby of Kentucky warblers

A fifth of wild turkeys…

Brown Thrasher – Undercover Expert


Brown Thrasher – Undercover Expert by Sue McGrath 

The Brown Thrasher is an actor, robed in reddish hue, not in the distinguished gray like the catbird or the mockingbird.  As noted in Chris Leahy’s information packed and engaging resource,  The Birdwatchers’ Companion, the Brown Thrasher doesn’t beat or thrash with its long tail and doesn’t thresh with its long, curved blade of a bill.  The bill allows it to forage deep in thickets and last season’s leaf litter by sweeping the detritus and soil away and then pecking, probing and seeking insects, snails, toads, frogs, seed, beetles, fruits and nuts.   

I watch them intently as they pass in jerky flight along the vegetated edges roadside and take cover.  The ruddy hue makes them difficult to see undercover. 

I smile when I hear their smack call which I liken to a loud kiss ~ that “tcheh” call note of this mimic.  I regularly focus on Brown Thrashers as they cross low over the road at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.  My concern for them heightens when the beach-goers stream to the Refuge’s and Sandy Point’s beaches.  I’ve studied them for hours as they fly in and out of the shadbush, serviceberry, shadblow, viburnam and beach plum thickets at this important and renowned birding area. They appear unsettled and uncomfortable in the open; they’re in their element when undercover. 

The Brown Thrasher has several monikers: Brown Thrush, Eastern Roadrunner, Sandy 
Mocker, Ferruginous Mockingbird, Planting Bird and Red Mavis. 

The Brown Thrasher has a slender bill, and the lower mandible has yellow at the base.  Its face is gray; its eyes are yellow.  Those white wing bars and yellow legs are easy to discern and focus on. Its tail is long, rounded and keel-like.  It’s known as a large, boldly patterned, long-tailed skulker that loves the thickets.  Both sexes are rich,bright rufous with buff to white underparts with black streaking.  The Brown Thrashers are conspicuous due to their large size  [9-12 inches].  With a wingspan of 11-13 inches, they are seen well as they dart low, barely undulating, in front of my car.  I’ve invested time watching them dust bathe roadside when I’m heading to Sandy Point. 

The male Brown Thrasher’s rich, musical and varied song is one of duplicity,   a series of long phrases separated by pauses. This mimic has a large song repertoire and is the only thrasher routinely seen in the northeast. 

By the second or third week in April, the males arrive.  Once on territory, the vain male will perch high vertically and announce the breeding season.  The male is on territory ahead of the female, and often his song is delayed for a few days. When the female arrives, the male’s song of doubleness begins.  Once a mate is secured, the pair limit their movements and begin nest building.   The mated male sings a softer song.  The female shapes the nest, and both male and female bring in the nest 
construction supplies – twigs, grapevine, rootlets, grass and dry leaves.  The nest is a hefty, dense parfait with many tiers – often four –  first twigs, then dry leaves, grapevine and paper compose the second tier; the third tier is stems, twig roots with soil, and the fourth tier is rootlets without any dirt attached.  I’ve watched them beat the roots on the hot, black pavement and shake them to remove the dirt. The nest’s outside diameter measures 12 inches; the inside diameter is 3 – 4 inches; the inside depth is 1 inch. 

Often the nests are in thorny shrubs below 12 feet; but most often they are at  2 – 7 feet.  I found an active nest on the ground once.  2 – 6 eggs are laid that are white to pale blue with faint to heavy speckles and muddy brown markings. The Brown Thrasher is aggressive around the nest like a highly-skilled defenseman on the “Atlanta Thrashers”… 

The nestlings are helpless with downy tufts; they fledge between 10 to 14 days, earlier than Gray Catbirds and Northern Mockingbirds.  The male has charge of the fledglings, affording the female the opportunity to produce 2 – 3 clutches.  If there isn’t a second or third brood, the pair divide the care of the fledglings, sometimes moving the young to separate areas. 



Article is from the June Newburyport Birders Newsletter
Image by ibm4381