2014 Wrap-up

Sue and Lynn on the Christmas Count

With only a few days left in the month of January, I figure it's time to put a wrap on 2014 with a quick synopsis of birding throughout the year.  This year was a bit of an anolamy from past as Sue, one of our best birders, was working in New Haven.  Not only does Sue see lots of birds but she helps to get me motivated to go out and we seem to have lost some of our oomph.  Even with all that we didn't do too bad and we managed to see a few good birds.

Spring Migration Week List

The preliminary tally for birds this year was 90 species seen on campus, still waiting for a few other people to get back to me.  I kept a running list going and added mentions in the blog and also emails from birders on campus.  As a refresher our total list of species is about 133, so this year we saw about two thirds of the full list.  In contrast, in 2012 we saw about 103 although campus this year was much busier with people. 

Yellow Warbler- Common nester on campus

Probably the best bird of the year for me and the only new bird for campus, was spotted near the end of the year.  After hearing rumors that the shuttle bus drivers had seen owls perched on the roof of the conference center, I walked out to my car in the dark on November 25th and quickly heard the hooting of a Great Horned Owl.  I was able to spot the bird sitting on top of the Collections Study Center thanks to the light from the moon. 

Great Horned Owl- record shot

Great Horned Owl- photo heavily edited

New Years resolutions for 2015: submit a bird list to Ebird at least once a week (maybe when it's warmer), post at least one blog post a month, and try to get more impromptu bird walks going throughout the year.  Don't forget to check out the nature walks with Tom Parlapiano on campus; they are list in the West Campus weekly.  Check back here for more birds and send me your bird sightings!

2014 Christmas Bird Count - WC-Style

We scheduled our annual West Campus winter bird count during the holiday break, and, except for the assorted contractors and construction workers, had the campus to ourselves.
December 31st was bright and sunny, but cold and windy. Tom, Lynn and I walked West Campus and birded from 7am to noon with one warm-up break halfway through. The species count was a little on the low side we thought, and the numbers were on the low side as well, but hey, that was the day that was.
Highlights for me were our two Purple Finches, a Merlin fly-by and a Cooper's Hawk passing overhead.
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The day's birders: Tom, Lynn, Sue
The day's list for Wednesday December 31, 2014.

24  Canada Goose

8    Wild Turkey

1    Cooper's Hawk

2    Red-tailed Hawk

8    Ring-billed Gull

3    Herring Gull

11  Mourning Dove

1    Red-bellied Woodpecker

7    Downy Woodpecker

1    Northern Flicker

1    Merlin

8    Blue Jay

55  crow sp.

6    Black-capped Chickadee

1    Tufted Titmouse

1    White-breasted Nuthatch

2    Carolina Wren

1    Hermit Thrush

10  American Robin

1    Northern Mockingbird

33  European Starling

6    Song Sparrow

47  White-throated Sparrow

3    Dark-eyed Junco

17  Northern Cardinal

3    House Finch

2    Purple Finch

26  American Goldfinch

51  House Sparrow

Tom's Sighting #1

People may say that they 'like birds' but almost all people like raptors.  What's even better than just any old hawk (other people's opinion not mine)?  A falcon!  Here in Connecticut we have three regular falcon species.  Peregrine Falcon is the largest and can be found nesting on cliff edges like West Rock and Sleeping Giant.  In some cities the birds can even be found nesting on building ledges; in fact the Peabody Museum is trying to encourage a pair to nest on Klein Biology Tower.  American Kestrel is the smallest falcon found in Connecticut.  This grassland specialist is found throughout the migration periods and breeds in select locations.  Habitat loss is having a major impact on the breeding population.  Kestrels feed on small prey; one of their favorite is dragonflies!

The third species of falcon is just a bit larger than a kestrel and is a migratory and winter species in the state.  It's a Merlin!  Last Friday Tom, from the Peabody's West Campus Education Center, was lucky enough to have this falcon land long enough to grab this snapshot.  Merlins specialize on small birds and rodents but won't pass up an opportunity to eat a dragonfly snack either.  Keep your eyes open because at this time of year we might have any one of the three falcons on campus.  

MERLIN:  picture taken by Tom P. 17 Oct 2014

It's good to be back...

Hey there West Campus birding fans - a voice from the past has returned - Sue is back... at least temporarily - back on the hilltop, working, lunching and hawk-watching with Lynn.
I have explored some of the trails cleared since I was last here, and lamented over some old places we used to go that are now overgrown and inaccessible.  The grassy slope where we saw the meadowlark in 2009 is nearly all grown up to shrubs and trees; the oak tree where we hung a nest box for kestrels in 2010 has filled out with branches, nearly obscuring the box; the little apple tree where we saw the Tennessee Warbler in 2011 is overrun with Russian olive; we found the Nashville Warbler in 2012 along a trail now overgrown with weeds; I missed all of 2013, when one of our favorite birdy haunts was cleared to create a groomed trail.
Now, lest you get the idea I'm only lamenting - the other day along one of those very groomed trails I picked up a new bird for the West Campus list.  I found a little patch of avian activity and spent a good 30 minutes tracking down all of the birds.

Tuesday September 30th, 2014
In the goldenrod area:
Song Sparrows
House Wrens
Common Yellowthroat
In the shrubs and tangles:
White-throated Sparrows
Carolina Wren
Black-capped Chickadee
Heard in the woods:
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Those neck-straining little tree-top flitters:
American Redstarts
Northern Parula
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Passing through the airspace:
Blue Jays
Common Grackles
European Starlings
Red-winged Blackbirds
Feeding in the treetops:
American Robins and with them my new bird...
VEERY - Lynn and I will have to look over the records she's been keeping these past two years to confirm this record - but at the very least, it's new for the 2014 year list.  Hooray!  This is the last of the common thrushes to be added to the West Campus list. We have always found a few Hermit Thrushes in late fall and winter, had Wood Thrushes singing in June, had the occasional Swainson's Thrush during migration, but the Veery has been stubbornly elusive.
Photos and voice recordings here.

Fall Birds and More

Silhouettes are often all that's
needed to ID a hawk.

Summer is slowly coming to a close; although, this weeks weather may well be some of the worst.  It's hard to think about fall when temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-80's all week.  But with a small storm predicted to come this weekend, what could follow is hawks, LOTS of hawks.


Hawk migration peaks in the months of September and October, most species picking a few weeks to move south.  Here in the Northeast, we are treated to something the West Coast never sees, the mass migration of Broad-winged Hawks. 

Red-tailed Hawk

You  can read past posts to see how our annual hawkwatches on campus have gone, the highlight being almost 2000 hawks flying by in one day.  No that isn't a typo, that day at other Connecticut sights the count was over 8000 birds.  This year our annual hawkwatch will be held in conjunction with one of the Peabody West Campus Community Education Center's nature walks.  On Friday, September 12th, educator Tom Parlapiano will lead a lunchtime hawkwatch program at the site of our annual hawkwatch.  Check out the West Campus weekly newsletter for more information.  Please Note: This progam is only open to Yale West Campus residents.

Osprey

If weather conditions are just right we may well have another spectacular flight like we did in 2011.  Either way, there should be a nice diversity of raptor species going by to learn some basic identification skills and see some unique interactions that only occur at this time of year. 

Species of raptor seen at past watches
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Harrier
Osprey

Say What?

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy for much of the staff at the Peabody.  Many of us recently went to Wales to participate in the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections Annual Meeting .  I have been a little behind on keeping the bird sighting board for West Campus up to date between preparing for my trip and work related moves. 

This is what happens when I go away and leave my markers out...

Now that would be a good week of birding!  Back to American Robins and Mourning Doves now. 

WC Community Noon Time Nature Walk: Spring Bird Walk

Walk participant finding a bird

The Peabody Museum's Community Education Center is now hosting Noon Time Nature Walks throughout the summer and fall for members of the West Campus Community.  Tom Parlapiano, the community education center coordinator, led a spring bird walk on Friday, May 2nd to kick off the series.  Check out the bottom of this blog for information on upcoming walks as well as how to sign up. 


Spring has sprung along the Oyster River

Four members of the west campus community joined Tom for a walk in the woods behind the nursing building in search of spring migrants.  Each day during the spring thousands of birds pass through Connecticut on their way north to breeding grounds and many of these stop at West Campus for a rest.

Walk participants with leader Tom Parlapiano

New birders were given a brief introduction on how to use the binoculars provided by Tom for the walk.  Luckily, American Goldfinches fighting for mates were willing to act as models for focusing lessons.  Once in the woods a Great-crested Flycatcher caught our attention.  The states largest flycatcher, the Great-crested is one of the earliest to arrive in Connecticut and while some continue north, many will remain in our area to breed. 

Great-crested Flycatcher

In the tangles along the river, Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows, and even a Chipping Sparrow all made an appearance.  At one point a Red-tailed Hawk came flying by at tree-top height, either looking for a meal or trying to figure out what we were doing.  Along the river, we were able to find an American Robin's nest, although there were no eggs inside yet, the adult kept scolding until we had walked away. 

American Robin nest

Totals for the walk included, about 20 different birds seen with 18 identified to species.  A blackbird (probably a Brown-headed Cowbird) and a crow (either a Fish Crow or Common Crow) were not positively ID'ed.  Those totals are actually pretty impressive considering that noontime is when birds are least active during the day.  Birds are most active during the early morning hours when they fly to different spots in their territory and sing.  Highlights not already mentioned include: Double-crested Cormorants (flying over), Osprey (flying over), Barn Swallow (WC nesters), and Mallard Ducks. 

As our time wrapped up we did get one non-avian highlight.  This six-spotted tiger beetle came out onto the sidewalk for a quick view.

six-spotted green tiger beetle

 

 

Upcoming Walks

Friday, June 13th- Non-Native Invasive Plant ID Walk

Friday, September 12th- West Campus Hawk Watch

Friday, October 10th- Fall Tree Identification Walk

Friday, November 14th- Fall Bird Walk

 

Let Tom know you want to participate by registering HERE

 



Early Spring Walk

**CAUTION** Content at end of blog may be disturbing for some readers.

Thursday looked to be a nice day starting off with a mild morning, so I planned on getting into work to take a quick walk around the new trails.   Robins were out in abundance, calm in the early morning before normal territorial disputes that would unveil themselves later in the day. 

American Robin

 Almost as soon as I entered the lower field area, I was treated to a great surprise.  Our first of the year Osprey showed itself on a fly over, probably wondering what I was doing.

Osprey- FOY

Birds were all chorusing their songs, practicing after getting rusty over the winter.  I love hearing Song Sparrows trying out their voices for the first time in spring.  It's usually only bits and pieces of their song before getting back into the swing.

Song Sparrow

Another sparrow, the White-throated Sparrow is only a winter resident in this part of Connecticut but they have also begun to practice their songs.  Once they make their way north to breeding territories they will be ready to go. 

White-throated Sparrow

 

 

Audio- White-throated Sparrow song

I was also treated to the early morning arising of a Red-tailed Hawk.  This one seemed ready to go and find itself some breakfast.   Red-tailed Hawks seem to be taking advantage of disturbed areas and human activity where rodents are easier to catch.  This is the number one 'huge hawk' seen sitting on light posts along highways. 

Red-tailed Hawk

And now the *CAUTION* part of the post.  Mourning Doves are one of those birds that we all like.  They aren't all that smart but they are really pretty .  They are also one of the birds that doesn't stand a chance with a window that is good for window strikes.  While sitting in my office yesterday, I heard the tell tale thud of a large bird flying into the window.  I went out to investigate and sure enough, there was a morning dove in the ground vegetation that had died.  I decided that I would go get it in a bit, after a quick break.  Shortly there after, I walked by again and saw something I hadn't seen before.  I was grossed out a bit but not really surprised to see a cute little fluffy squirrel eating the dove head off the body.

Gray Squirrel eating a Mourning Dove

I've found dead headless birds before and new something had eaten it off.  I know rodents are advantageous and will get a meal whenever.  A nice brain-packed high caloric skull is a treat that a rodent won't turn up.  I know that there are about 5 or 6 different squirrels that occasionally raid my bird feeders in the courtyard and I'm fairly certain this is a female with babies back at home in her nest.  One less dove for the Peabody collections. 

Close-up of nature

5th annual YWC Christmas Bird Count

A voice from the past returning briefly to the Birding West Campus blog...

Lynn and Sue watching a distant Northern Flicker

With the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count scheduled for Saturday December 14th, the West Campus birders (Lynn, Tom and yours truly - Sue) chose a date within the count week (Dec. 11-17) for our fifth West Campus Christmas Bird Count.  We met at 7:15 Friday morning, December 13th, on a bright and cold day to take our annual census of the avian population at West Campus.

female Eastern Towhee, digiscoped by T. Parlapiano

Since our first count in 2009, there have been changes to the physical landscape of the 136-acre property (see Lynn's previous post). Will the clear-cutting of one of the most bird-friendly habitats on campus usher in changes in species diversity? in numbers of birds? It takes a dedicated group of birders to gather the data necessary to answer these questions.  Sure, we're out there birding because we love to do it, but also because we know WHY we're doing it.

As you've read in this blog every December since 2009, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count is the oldest citizen science survey in the nation - and now spreading around the world.  The data collected from this count informs environmental policy decision-making from the lowest to the highest levels of government.  So, Sue and Lynn and Tom, in this little patch of Connecticut, were out gathering data to add to the big picture of bird diversity in North America but also to inform the administration of Yale's West Campus.

Female Eastern Towhee eating sunflower seeds in the yard outside of the
Yale West Campus Education Center - on count day!

On to the statistics for the day and our bird list:
Friday December 13, 2013; 7:15am-12:15pm, 24F/-4C, high cloud cover, clearing by noon, moving water was open, still water was frozen. 3 participants, 5 daylight hours each.

1. Canada Goose ...................100
2. Turkey Vulture .................... 1
3. Red-tailed Hawk ................ 2
4. Herring Gull ........................ 8
5. Ring-billed Gull ...................13
6. Downy Woodpecker .......... 5
7. Red-bellied Woodpecker .... 2
8. Northern Flicker ................ 1
9. Rock Pigeon .......................27
10. Mourning Dove ................ 10
11. Cedar Waxwing ................ 8
12. American Crow ................15
13. Fish Crow ........................ ?
14. Blue Jay ........................... 7
15. European Starling ............. 83
16. American Robin .. ............ 30
17. Hermit Thrush ....................2
18. Northern Mockingbird ...... 1
19. Carolina Wren .................. 5
20. Black-capped Chickadee .. 4
21. Tufted Titmouse ...............  7
22. White-breasted Nuthatch... 4
23. Brown Creeper ...............  2
24. Northern Cardinal ........... 12
25. Dark-eyed Junco ............ 12
26. White-throated Sparrow .. 42
27. Song Sparrow ................. 1
28. Eastern Towhee ............... 1
29. American Goldfinch ......... 9
30. House Finch .................... 1
31. House Sparrow ............... 15

Past Christmas Count blog posts:
2009
2010
2011
2012

New Trails on West Campus

There have been quite a few changes around campus since the last blog post.  The nursing school has moved out to west campus and that has increased our population quite a bit.  Along with their appearance is the appearance of some new 'running' trails on the other side of campus. 

Approximate path of new trails (in part)

I took a walk around one of the trails the other day behind the garden, what we used to refer to as the leaf pile.  Things have drastically changed and I'm assuming they will still change more.  The fantastic thicket that was made up of golden rod and multiflora rose has been largely clear cut.  This thicket in the past has yielded some great birds including, Wilson's Warbler, Brown Thrasher, and other late lingerers.  Although multiflora rose is an invasive, it does provide some great cover and is an excellent food source for wildlife, especially during the winter. 



Area that was clear cut at base of gardens.

The pink is the path I took (heading clockwise), the brown blob
 is my guess of the clearcut as of my walk (27 November 2013)

I actually like the fact that there are trails down there and I think it's a nice addition to the available 'amenities' that make working at west campus so nice.  Hopefully, with time and a little lack of maintenance the thickets will recover some.  There's also a nice patch of Japanese knotweed in the back of this early successional field that should be removed.  With luck they will concentrate on some people and wildlife friendly sustainable upgrades for the future. 

Chickadee working on a rose hip from remaining thicket

The word sustainable is thrown around quite often and I for one wasn't sure of the definition.  Here is what the EPA says in part "Sustainability creates and maintains the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic and other requirements of present and future generations."

European Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds thrive in edge and disturbed habitat.
B-h Cowbirds are nest parasites that may be reducing certain songbird populations
due to increased nest access from habitat fragmentation. 

Here are the birds I did find while I was walking.

This Downy Woodpecker,
a bird most people associate
with trees, explores
a little thicket patch.

Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren
American Robin
European Starling
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch
Brown-headed Cowbird

American Robins like the easy snacks the clear cutting
has made available.