August already?!

No, I wasn't away for a summer vacation, but the bird activity on campus has been pretty low, and I was uninspired to blog. Recent birdy news:

- the Canada Geese have returned to campus after a spring-early summer hiatus
- the Willow Flycatcher was seen perched in the volleyball net in the courtyard
- the young Red-tailed Hawk reported on earlier became a casualty

And, here's the bird list, as best we could reconstruct it, for the past two or three weeks:

Wild Turkey
Canada Goose
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Willow Flycatcher
Blue Jay
American Crow

European Starling
Barn Swallow
American Robin
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow

And in case you haven't heard, there has been a White-tailed Kite visiting our area for the past week or so - a first record for the state of Connecticut, and only the second time this bird has been seen in New England in ONE HUNDRED years. It's hanging out in a fairly restricted range between Milford Point and Stratford Point. Go to Connecticut Audubon's blog to read all about it and see some fantastic photos of this beautiful bird of prey.


Southward migration of shorebirds is underway along the coast, but it would be difficult to add those birds to our list at West Campus unless we're outside watching for strays at all hours of the night and day. Between mid-July and early October sandpipers and plovers leave their breeding grounds in arctic Canada and head for South America.

The Semi-palmated Sandpipers I watched at Stratford Point last week will continue to fatten up on invertebrates then take off over the water, not stopping until they reach landfall on the easternmost Caribbean islands or the coasts of Guiana, Suriname and French Guyana. The earliest arrivals are known to refuel then continue south to the coast of Maranhao, Brazil. The later arrivals may overwinter in the Guianas.

And one final note - the blackberry vines have been producing enough fruit for the avian residents to eat their fill and human transients to do plenty of blackberry-based cuisine.
I have made blackberry ice cream, blackberry pie, blackberry cream pie, blackberry cheesecake tarts and put many blackberries in yogurt and vanilla icecream.
Many noon-time walkers pick hand-fulls to nosh on while walking and the entomologists have set their insect traps nearby, so they come back inside with purple stains and scratches on their arms from those "labors"!


Okay, NOW I'm inspired to go out birding at lunchtime this week - not to say I didn't have my binoculars with me every time I went out berry picking!!
ciao
Sue

Nesting activity

Left American Robin nest (Turdus migratorius) photo S. Hochgraf, right Mourning Dove on nest (Zenaida macroura), photo L. Jones

Back in May I mentioned seeing young robins and doves out of the nest, and now, halfway through July, we are clearly into round two for some of the species.  Earlier this week Lynn photographed a few of the more visible nests, and of course there are many concealed nests we'd love to find!

 Left (or upper), Cedar Waxwing nest, right (or lower), young waxwing, which was first seen July 9th, still in the nest. (Bombycilla cedrorum)  July 12th, photos L. Jones

For example - all of those goldfinches - where are they nesting?  And today, for the first time, I saw not one, but two Willow Flycatchers - do they have a nest full of young?  It's easiest to locate a nest when the parents are constantly back and forth bringing food, however the adult birds have a routine to deceive you (the perceived predator).  Quiet patience is the key.

Left, thistles growing on a slope under White Pines, right, close-up of what is probably Canada Thistle.  photos S. Hochgraf

Goldfinches usually begin nesting when the thistle flowers go to seed - the birds use the silky plant fibers for nest lining material and feed regurgitated thistle seeds to the nestlings.  They are one of the few passerine birds to feed a largely plant-based diet to the young.

On a more somber note, there has been a rash of window strikes lately.  Since last Friday, we've picked up four young birds below the glass corridors.  Three of them dead - dove, robin and flicker, and one is on its way to a rehab center - a young Red-tailed Hawk.  This morning the adult hawks were low over the parking lot, calling.  We'll see how the little guy fares...

Okay, to wrap up this week of birding west campus:
How about a color code for nesting activity?
green = evidence of breeding: either adults bringing food or young birds out and about
purple = probably nesting, but we haven't seen the evidence yet

Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo

Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus

Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis

Sharp-shinned Hawk, Accipiter striatus
Double-crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
Rock Pigeon, Columba livia

Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura

Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens

Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus

Chimney Swift, Chaetura pelagica

A rather yellow Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) on Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense), photo S. Hochgraf

Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii

American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos

Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum

American Robin, Turdus migratorius

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos

Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis

Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus

House Wren, Troglodytes aedon

Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica

Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis

European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris 

Yellow Warbler, Dendroica petechia

Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia

Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina

Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis

American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis

House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Twenty nine species for the week.

And below, I checked out the blackberry patch Monday afternoon and found a few ripe berries - and many already gone.  Wednesday I checked again and found some of our turkeys reaching up to pluck the ripened fruit.  I myself ate only three!

 There is no blackberry pie in my future.

Water Drip

I usually appreciate a good project, and if it involves recycled materials - even better.
So, during these hot days I noticed that the birds around our parking lot were panting. With a little scrounging I pulled together materials to make a water drip for the thirsty birds.

Here's the finished project - juice jug hung by scrap of rope from plant hanger with food storage container below.

I placed the planter stand out of the way of the lawnmowers, but let's face it, the grass ain't exactly leaping out of the ground when it's this dry!

 Puncture the bottom of jug with a sharp object - the hole should be pretty small!

 Tie rope around neck of the bottle in a secure fashion.

 I filled the jug with water from our dehumidifier - now there's recycling.

 Jug hanging from planter with container below to catch the drips and hold a small quantity of water.

With the cap screwed on tightly, no water will drip.  Loosen the cap incrementally until an occasional drip falls to the pan below.

 Perfect!  It's the motion of the splashing water that attracts the birds.

Clumps of sod left by the landscapers were useful to push up against the tub, and an additional rock makes a stable perch to enable smaller birds to reach the water.  Ideally, a larger, shallower pan, with perhaps a rock island would have been best, but as I said, these were all materials at hand!

I hung this device Wednesday lunchtime.  By the end of the work day all of the water had dripped from the jug (too rapid a flow).  This morning (Friday) I observed a robin drinking from the tub - couldn't get my camera out in time to capture it.  But then the robin stayed around, and was clearly pulling worms from the soil around the tub - the overflow of water had dampened the soil enough to encourage underground activity!

Quiet days of summer

The birds have been pretty quiet these days, but truth be told, we haven't been out birding much - just one long walk through the nature preserve then back to work. When the birds aren't about, though, we tend to notice other animals.

This green and golden spider was tending a web in the Rhododendron shrub near our building.




I'll have to find an arachnologist to help with the identification, since I know very little about arthropods. In class Arachnida there are eleven orders, if this is an 'orb weaver spider' then it's in the order Araneae, which comprises three suborders, and I should probably stop here, since I'm really showing my ignorance.

Okay, I think it's time for a bird list here.

Wild Turkey
Killdeer
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Willow Flycatcher
Blue Jay
American Crow
Cedar Waxwing

European Starling
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Yellow Warbler
Northern Cardinal

American Goldfinch
House Finch
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Eastern Kingbird - Lynn saw it as she was leaving work Friday afternoon.

That's it - twenty seven species for the week.


Orange Daylily, Hemerocallis fulva, in front of A-21

Daylilies are blooming in many a garden now. The petals are edible, a sweet and succulent addition to a salad - try one! But please make sure you don't pick a Tiger Lily - it's not the same plant.

And, it's been quite a while since I mentioned the World Cup - but I've been following all of the games. Brazil just LOST to the Netherlands. Uruguay plays Ghana later this afternoon. Tomorrow's games - Argentina vs Germany and Spain vs Paraguay promise to be just as tough as the one just played. By next Friday afternoon, I'll be reporting who has made the final - but it likely won't be news to anyone!

ciao, and have a great weekend - here in Connecticut it's supposed to be a beautiful one - high summer, with dry air and temperatures in the 80's to low 90's.
Sue

Summer!

Footbridge reflected in Oyster River, photo S. Hochgraf

So, yes - summer has arrived with a bang! Hot weather, afternoon thunderstorms - and even a tornado. Yesterday afternoon a fast-moving storm blew through the northeast, causing severe damage in Bridgeport, fifteen miles from West Campus. The rain came down in such a torrent that looking out from our building you couldn't see the other side of the parking lot 30 meters away.


Bee balm (Monarda) and Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum) in the Butterfly Garden established by Bayer employees many years ago

Bee balm with bumblebee, both photos S. Hochgraf

Birds tend to be pretty quiet in the heat of the day, with a few notable exceptions - the Song Sparrows and House Wrens never stop singing. Our Yellow Warblers have been so quiet that instead of seeing them pop up everywhere, we now have to go looking for them. Raptors float lazily overhead, using warm thermal currents and the turkeys head for the shade.


Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. These boys were checking out their reflections in the glass when I disturbed them for a photo.

Birds for the week:

Wild Turkey
Red-tailed Hawk
Osprey
Great Egret
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Eastern Kingbird
Willow Flycatcher
European Starling


Still no hummingbirds, but I moved the feeder to another location

Cedar Waxwing
Barn Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
American Crow
Blue Jay
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Carolina Wren
House Wren

American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat - feeding nestlings!
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle

Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow

Thirty-two species for the week.


Blackberries ripening along a sunny edge - I'll have to remember to revisit these in a few weeks!

Willow Flycatcher still around

In the last two days, we've seen our Willow Flycatcher again. This time calling just quietly, with an occasional zhree-ew, rather than the typical, and oft-repeated, fitz bew call. The photo below is from the Friends of Sherwood Island web page which has an annotated gallery of excellent bird photos by A. J. Hand


Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii, photo by A. J. Hand

It was a straight-forward week of birding here at West Campus as we approach the end of June.
I think we had nothing new last week, just our usual breeding birds and passers-by. We haven't made the time to get out for a long walk in quite a while, but end up listing what we see while passing through campus, or enjoying lunch outside.

Wild Turkey
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker

Chimney Swift
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Cedar Waxwing
American Robin


European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Brown-headed Cowbird

Common Grackle
House Sparrow

Thirty two species for the week.


The color for today's blog is a drawing I just finished for a juried show of songbirds of the northeast. It's a Blue-winged Warbler, done in colored pencil. I haven't done any artwork in a very long time, so it was fun to work on this drawing, even though my skills felt so rusty!

In other birding news, I spent this past weekend participating in my local club's annual breeding bird survey. This works exactly like a Christmas Count, but over 48-hour period instead of 24. We targeted four protected areas within our section of the count circle - two were town parks and two were state wildlife management areas.

Given a choice of three count areas, we chose the one which included our house - and happily counted birds in our own yard while enjoying an afternoon cookout with friends! Species total was 54 - including Ruffed Grouse, American Woodcock, Eastern Wood Pewee and first of the year Prairie Warblers.

June - sun and rain

This was a perfectly perfect June week - bright sun, breezy, cloudy, showery - all with very pleasant temperatures. And... we had two new birds at West Campus - both perhaps attracted to our new grassland habitat.

Seems like the groundskeepers have decided to let the grass grow on the slopes near our building - which is wonderful, because this is where we've always seen sparrows, and even the Meadowlark last fall. Clearly it's a tricky area to mow, so it's now growing free, with many grasses, flowering legumes and composites, in purples, yellows and whites. This has attracted insects and the birds who feed on them, which leads us to both of our new birds for the week.


Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, photo: S. Hochgraf

After a stormy Tuesday night, Wednesday morning was overcast and gray, but the air was warm and still. Lynn and Nate saw the Eastern Kingbird and called me over to have a look, and shortly after, I was distracted by another calling flycatcher. Fitz bew -- fitz bew -- fitz bew -- over and over again, so I knew it wasn't the local Mockingbird.

The Willow Flycatcher is more easily identified by this call than by other field marks. At lunchtime Lynn managed to get a photo, which when enlarged indeed showed a little Empidonax flycatcher. Both birds have been around for several days now.

Birds for the week of June 7-11:

Wild Turkey
Mallard
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
American Egret
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker


Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, photo S. Hochgraf

Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus
Willow Flycatcher, Empidonax traillii
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
House Wren
Cedar Waxwing

European Starling
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Northern Mockingbird
Gray Catbird
Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat

Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch
House Finch
House Sparrow

Thirty six species for the week. And here's a short video clip of our grasses waving in the June breezes.


Game two of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is about to begin - Uruguay vs France. Mexico and South Africa played to a 1-1 draw this morning. A full month of "the beautiful game" is ahead, until the championship game, July 11th. You can cheer for team USA against England on Saturday June 12th at 2:30pm EST. Watch it online ESPN-3 or on cable TV.

First week of June

We have had a stretch of beautiful warm sunny weather - punctuated by scattered showers and thunderstorms. Dragonflies are out in force, insect-eating birds are busy feeding youngsters and our local mammals have been noticeable too.


Eastern Striped Skunk, Mephitis mephitis, photo: T. Parlapiano

The many robin babies are in evidence - out of the nest, fluttering around after the parents and begging for earthworms. House Wrens, Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows and more can be heard singing on their territories.

One lunchtime I heard a distant vireo singing, pursued it and was quite puzzled by the song. Occasionally it threw in thrush-like notes and catbird-like notes but always with the clear strong voice of a vireo. Finally I got the binoculars on it, a Red-eyed Vireo - not new, but still a great bird to see - especially after I worked so hard to find it.

Glad to report this week that Tom sighted Tree Swallows, and hopefully they're investigating one of the many nest boxes. So that's a new bird for campus - yippee.

Bird wrap-up for the week:
with contributions by Tom, Nate, Maureen, Vinny, Debby and me

Wild Turkey
Red-tailed Hawk
Osprey
Ring-billed Gull
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow

Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor
Barn Swallow
Red-eyed Vireo
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling

Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird
House Sparrow

Twenty nine species for this week.

I'll leave you with this little movie I made one lunchtime, as I crossed the Oyster River on stepping-stones. Turn up your volume, the sound of the running water is better than the quality of the video image!


Have a great weekend.
Ciao,
Sue

Two new birds last week!

Again I'm getting last week's list posted a bit late - and especially since we had Monday off, so here goes. We seem to be settling into a bit of sameness, but then again we're still getting new species.

Wild Turkey
Ring-billed Gull
Killdeer
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Northern Flicker
Great-crested Flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus
Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvus

Click on the new birds above - and play the voice recording on the linked page. Both are birds you'll hear before you see, so it's good to be familiar with the songs. Vireos especially, are a challenge to find as they quietly hunt for insects at the ends of leafy branches. Warblers are more active feeders so are easier to spot, but those vireos are a secretive group - except that they're quite vocal.

Blue Jay
American Crow
Cedar Waxwing
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
American Robin
Barn Swallow
European Starling

Northern Cardinal
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
American Goldfinch
House Finch
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird

What I need now is to just get out more! Back in April I thought some of our first returning migrants would be the Eastern Phoebe and the Tree Swallow - and believe it or not we still haven't seen either of these birds. I know it's just a matter of "time in the field", so if I eat lunch faster I can add 50% more birding time - we're talking an increase from 30 to 45 minutes. Hey, every little bit helps!