New Friends, New Post, New Bird!

 On Friday, May 3rd, Yale affiliated folks joined an official West Campus Bird Walk led by Peabody Museum and colleagues in conjunction with Yale West Campus Administration's program, Belonging Plan. Around 20 individuals gathered at the conference center and after quick introductions by the birding team, we set out across campus, winding our way to the West Campus Barn.

Making our way through the common areas and parking lots, we tallied many year-round residents on campus before making it to the nature trails and our first migrants.   Black-throated Green Warbler and Northern Parula (warbler) were singing from the tree tops.  As we moved along the trail, one of the Black-throated Greens came down low and close enough to give many participants very nice looks. 

Black-throated Green Warbler (photo credit: Cody Limber)

Heading closer to the barn, we experienced a nice push of lower canopy dwellers.  These are birds that usually nest within 15 feet of the ground, including Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, and Swamp Sparrow.  Tom Parlapiano of the Peabody had the entire group stop and just listen at one point, trying to count how many different birds they could hear singing all at once.  Almost everyone could hear about 10 different bird species and multiple individuals. 

Birding along the trail (photo credit: Lynn Jones)

Once we made it to the barn and had some lovely refreshments, Alex Lin-Moore (Yale Graduate Student, 2023), informed us of a very nice bird.  He had just spotted a White-eye Vireo, a new species for our West Campus list (number 137)!!!  White-eyed Vireos have recently been found in higher numbers throughout the state, with several individuals being spotted, but are a more southern species.  Again this bird was quite vocal and made a number of appearances so that many participants were able to see it. 

White-eyed Vireo (photo credit: Cody Limber)

Thank you to everyone who came out to participate and especially to those who spread their bird knowledge around.  We tallied 39 species for our walk (see species below)!

Trying to spot warblers (photo credit: Tom Parlapiano)

Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Herring Gull, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, White-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Carolina Wren, European Starling, Gray Catbird, American Robin, House Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Northern Cardinal

January Variations

Birding equipment

Weather this month has been varied with early month temperature being fairly mild, a reallly cold cold snap and now some snow and cold to bring the month to a close.  Still the birds have been on campus finding whatever food they can to survive through the winter.

January weather- wunderground.com

This morning I donned my new Christmas present and took a walk around the trails by the farm to see what birds would be around.  The first birds I saw was a group of White-throated Sparrows that were feeding on seeds of various plants.  Then, I heard a Song Sparrow attempting to sing it's song.  I guess they are already beginning to practice for spring.  A Carolina Wren quickly scolded me from a viny hiding place before another sang from across the way.

White-throated Sparrow  (image by Jerry Jourdan)

There were lots of small rodent tracks and deer tracks in the snow, visually following a set of the latter I looked to find a deer peering at me.  A Northern Cardinal started to call as I walked further down the trail to some remaining bittersweet berries.  As expected, a Northern Mockingbird has been able to survive by fiercely protecting these from other birds and me.  The back edge of the open area was fairly quiet, a few Black-capped Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers could be heard in the distance. 

Me- wishing it were warmer

 Walking back toward the car gave me good light to search through the sparrows in hopes of something good but with no luck.  A calling Common Raven did fly over, the first of the year for campus!  Below is the full list of birds for the year so far.  What I want to know is...  where are the juncos??

1. Canada Goose
2. Turkey Vulture
3. Sharp-shinned Hawk
4. Cooper's Hawk
5. Red-tailed Hawk
6. Ring-billed Gull
7. Herring Gull
8. Rock Pigeon
9. Mourning Dove
10. Peregrine Falcon
11. Downy Woodpecker
12. American Crow
13. Fish Crow
14. Common Raven
15. Black-capped Chickadee
16. Tufted Titmouse
17. Carolina Wren
18. American Robin
19. European Starling
20. Song Sparrow
21. White-throated Sparrow
22. Northern Cardinal
23. House Finch
24. American Goldfinch
25. House Sparrow

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

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

Hawks Landing... almost

The weather has turned beautiful in Connecticut with highs at or a little above 80F but the real story is the low humidity (at least by our standards).  It's taken away any excuses to not spend break times outside enjoying West Campus, avoiding the construction workers and shuttle buses.  With Sue being on break I felt I needed to step up and get a good species count in for the week since it was on my shoulders alone. 

So I sat in our courtyard at breaks and tried to be outside during lunchtime too, in an effort to spot any birds pushing through while migrating south.  Not everyone is migrating though, the American Goldfinch above is likely still in the process of raising young and I believe their nest is in the pine next to this one. 

The hawks however did make a little push last week, and I was able to enjoy some great views of a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting in a tree about 50 yards away (no camera at the time).  I spooked it enough that it finally took off showing the crescent-shaped windows in the wing used to identify it.  Also, two early Broad-winged Hawks took a look around campus.  They flew in low enough that I was able to get a couple of ok images. 

The diagnostic feature of these small Buteos is the dark wing tips and black trailing edge of the wing.  When this genus of hawk is flying higher in the sky you have to use wing-shape and tail length to help distinguish them also.  One lunchtime push of 'raptors' included 5 migrating Osprey, 4 migrating Red-tailed Hawks, the Red-shouldered Hawk, and one lone Sharp-shinned Hawk.  With the potential for some northerly winds tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday, I'll be keeping my eyes to the skies.  

Species total this week was spectacular,  38 in total. 

*migrants (species at this point is probably only migrating through),

#residents(spends summers [babies dispersed or in identical plummage] or winters here),

^residents with young (birds who have spent the summer here nesting)

Birds

American Robin^

Mourning Dove^

House Sparrow^

Song Sparrow^

American Goldfinch^ (probably the only species with young still in nests)

European Starling^

Common Grackle*

House Finch*, #

Northern Cardinal^

Killdeer^

Gray Catbird^

Barn Swallow*

Herring Gull# (winter residents)

Cedar Waxwings*, ^

Blue Jay#

Northern Flicker#

Chipping Sparrow^

Turkey Vulture#

Black-capped Chickadee#, *

Northern Mockingbird^

Brown-headed Cowbird (young beng raised by Song Sparrows)^

Downy Woodpecker#

Canada Goose# (winter residents)

Rock Pigeon#

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*

Empidonax sp. (flycatcher)*

Red-winged Blackbird*

Yellow Warbler*

Tree Swallow*

Chimney Swift*

Fish Crow#

Baltimore Oriole*

Black-and-White Warbler*

Red-tailed Hawk-4 (plus our two locals)*, #

Osprey-7*

Sharp-shinned Hawk-1*

Red-shouldered Hawk-2*

Broad-winged Hawk-2*

Fall Prep

Osprey- photo by Lynn Jones

It's a beautiful day out today (Monday) and it's really unfair to think ahead to Fall when the weather is being resonable after so much humidity but I can't help it.  I am not a HOT weather person and, since Sue is off for the day, I thought I would sneak in with a quick post, excited about the season to come.  For a birder the season to come is fall migration, in reality it's already here!  Shorebirds started moving south over a month ago, warblers are starting to trickle in to the area (highlighted by Sue's spotting of a Black-and-White Warbler last week), and the Hawks are coming, the Hawks are coming.

Red-tailed Hawk- photo by Lynn Jones

I love hawkwatches, you sit around staring at the sky on beautiful fall days until suddenly you have to jump up to get a good look at a bird heading quickly by.  Last year was the first fall that I spent a good deal of time out there at hawkwatches.  New Haven's Lighthouse Point Hawkwatch is probably the best known in our area, producing some amazing numbers.  I did spend a few weekend days there this past fall with Steve Mayo and company.  I also helped out Scott Kruitbosch at the hawkwatch in Stratford in Boothe Park, sometimes showing up by myself for a few hours. 

Me with bins to the sky- photo by Lynn Jones

Anyway, with bright blue skies today I thought I would get my eyes ready.  At afternoon break I headed out with my lawn chair and stared up the sky, squinting.  I guess I need to get my eyes into shape.  Not surprisingly there was almost nothing.  A few Herring Gulls flew by, Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, and Chimney Swifts seem to be gathering to head south, and as I was getting up to head inside I finally got a hawk or two.  Reasonably high were two Red-tailed Hawks (one adult and one juvenile), likely our residents just stretching their wings.... I'll take it. Want more info on Hawkwatches, check out Hawk Migration Association of North America, they even have a map to find a site near you!

Birds- Aug 6th -10th
Total = 26 species

American Robin, Mourning Dove, House Sparrow, Song Sparrow, American Goldfinch, European Starling, Common Grackle, Killdeer, Gray Catbird, Barn Swallow, House Wren, Blue Jay, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Rock Pigeon, Osprey, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, American Crow, Fish Crow, Canada Goose, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black-and-White Warbler, and Carolina Wren.

-Lynn

Turkeys, Hawks, and Eggs, Oh My!

I guess I (Lynn) will do a little text for our birding this week.  The story of the week was definitely the Turkeys!  On my way into work one morning a lawn mower chased me down...  He really did, one of the grounds crew wanted to show me something interesting.  He brought me over to a low stone wall and there sitting on top was this egg.


A Turkey egg!! laid directly on a stone wall.



I brought this cell phone picture back to Sue who agreed that it was a turkey egg.  I have seen a female hanging out near this area for a couple of days all by herself.  My guess is that she was a young (1st year) female who hadn't gotten the knack for being a Mom yet. 

Another morning I passed Sue and her sister Karen on my way up to the building and they said that a Red-tailed Hawk was making passes at a couple of turkeys.  By the time I made my way up there the female turkey had walked away a little but these two males near by were still strutting around.



Two Tom Turkeys trying to impress a female (out of sight just now).

When I glance in a tree behind all of this turkey action I caught sight of the hawk... or rather hawks.  Assumably this is a pair of red-tailed Hawks and the male was probably showing off for the female by taking a few swipes at the turkeys earlier.  Here the hawks are taking a rest and bonding.  So, which one is the male and which one is the female.....  you can make a guess using the info below.

Red-tailed Hawk pair, usually seen overhead, but Monday morning found in close proximity to each other, and to us!



"The red-tailed hawk averages 19 to 24 inches in length. There is sexual dimorphism in size: females are 25% larger than the males. Plumage ranges from light auburn to deep brown. The underbelly is distinctly lighter than the rest of the body, with a dark belly band across it. The cere, the soft skin at the base of the beak, the legs, and the feet are all yellow. The eye color of the hawk changes from yellowish gray when immature to dark brown in adults. " -Lake Milton Raptor Center 

Did you guess?  Based on this photo I would say the higher bird is the male although these two are very close in size.  So yes the female is usually larger but everything has variation and this pair is probably made up of a larger than usual male and a smaller than usual female making them relatively close to the same size.  This neighbor below was not too happy to have all this activity so close to his nest!

Northern Mockingbird in a maple.

All photos taken by Lynn!!

West Campus birds for the week of April 16 - 20, 2012:

Wild Turkey

Canada Goose

Mallard

Great Egret

Turkey Vulture

Red-tailed Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

10. Killdeer

Mourning Dove

Rock Pigeon

Northern Flicker

Eastern Phoebe
American Crow
Blue Jay
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
American Robin
20. European Starling
Northern Mockingbird
Barn Swallow
Tree Swallow
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow Warbler

Northern Cardinal
White-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

30. Song Sparrow

House Finch

American Goldfinch

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle

Brown-headed Cowbird

36. House Sparrow