Noah Bird Log - April 2015

We all agreed that even though spring seemed about two weeks behind this year due to a long winter, it was nevertheless progressing and the birds were slowly returning. In the parking lot we got a good view of a red-bellied woodpecker after following its distinctively loud and shrill “kwirr” call. We saw many of what Noah calls the “usual suspects” in the fields and woodlands at Bennett’s Pond, like black-capped chickadees, American robins, Eastern bluebirds, common crows, turkey vultures, blue jays, (was it a red or white-chested?) nuthatch, and what we called an “LBB” or “little brown bird,” but was probably a song sparrow.  For early returning migrants, we saw both red-winged blackbirds (picture - spotted last month at the Garden of Ideas), as well as the Eastern phoebe, a brownish-grey and white flycatcher that is familiar to many for its raspy “phoebe” call. We especially enjoyed seeing the waterfowl on the pond, such as pairs of shy wood ducks that took off when we got too close, mallards, ring-necked ducks (also seen last month) and the graceful mute swans.  Wood ducks are magnificent birds, with iridescent green crested heads with white stripes on the males and a chestnut breast.  The female wood ducks are rather fancy too, with their grey-brown coloring, crested head and white eye rings.  The wood ducks live in wooded swamps and nest in tree holes, taking advantage of nesting boxes like the ones we saw placed in the shallow water at Bennett’s Pond.  And perching on and flying out of those nesting boxes were tree swallows, looking more iridescent blue than green in the morning light.  We watched a bunch of these brilliant aerialists catching insects at the western edge of the pond, swooping gracefully with their long pointed wings and notched tails. Also perched on logs and grassy hummocks in the pond were numerous painted turtles soaking up the sun, an extra bonus although outside of the bird category. After receiving a tip from a fellow bird watcher, Noah was further rewarded for his perseverance by seeing some hooded mergansers in breeding plumage at one end of the pond after the rest of us left, and some palm warblers, the first returning warblers he had seen this year.  This rusty-capped small song bird has an unusual habit of wagging its tail, exposing the yellow underneath.  Spring is indeed unfolding right before our very eyes!