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Posts Tagged ‘purple sandpiper’
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
 Palm warbler. If you know me well, you know my love of wood-warblers. Just something about their diminutive size, big voices, colorful plumage, and elusive nature has wholly captivated me since I began birding seriously exactly three decades ago this year. For me, May is the month of warblers. But a few early birds show up on the 44th parallel in April—and today was my first 2010 ID.
 Isolated thundershower. These past two-three days I’ve thought I detected warblers. But the distinctively strident, declarative notes I’ve heard have come from tiny birds in flight, migrating overhead. And I’m none too familiar with early-warbler voices anyway. Perhaps I’ve heard a few yellow-rumps in overflight. And who knows what-all else. But identification has been beyond me—until today.
In fact, as soon as dog and I jumped out of the pickup in the Beech Hill parking lot this late morning, I heard them. Two or three tiny birds flitting about the upper limbs of a conifer. I didn’t know their calls and couldn’t get a fix on ’em with my fieldglasses. But very shortly thereafter, coming up the trail’s first rise along the road, I got a good look—and a passable photo—of a palm warbler. It had a similar voice to the chipping sparrow calling from the other side of its tree, but I still don’t have it memorized. (I’ve listened to recordings, but recordings don’t register as purely as hearing a bird “in person.”) And right after I spotted the palm, I heard a field sparrow.
 Sky islands. Field sparrows have been nesting on Beech Hill for only a few years. They’re not an uncommon bird, but for a not uncommon bird, they’ve been in somewhat of a decline lately, so it’s been nice to hear their bouncy, musical calls on the hill. Yesterday I heard my first savannah sparrow (a Beech Hill mainstay), and today I heard my first field sparrow. In fact, today was a five-sparrow day: field, savannah, song, chipping, and white-throated. I also saw a raven, a kettle of five turkey vultures, and a pileated woodpecker in flight. I heard phoebes, chickadees, robins, goldfinches, house finches. Low in the bay floated banks of fog. We heard, dog and I, a clap of thunder from a tall cloud to the north. Detected something of a fickle breeze. Felt warmth from the sun.
 Double-crested cormorant. Elsewhere in my travels today I saw or heard: cardinal, starling, cowbird, titmouse, herring gull, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon. Then at about 6 p.m. we took a walk along the breakwater, where the tide was high and I listed eiders, d-c cormorants, r-b mergansers, a greater black-backed gull, napping spotted sandpipers, a couple loons. On the way home, in calm, brimming Clam Cove, floated a pair of buffleheads.
But what I’m remembering tonight (and hoping to see more of tomorrow) are wood-warblers—those jewel-like creatures of the woodland.
Today’s List
 Purple sandpipers. Northern cardinal
House sparrow
Song sparrow
House finch
Mourning dove
Eastern phoebe
American crow
Herring gull
American goldfinch
American robin
Palm warbler
Chipping sparrow
Field sparrow
White-throated sparrow
Savannah sparrow
Common raven
Black-capped chickadee
Turkey vulture
Northern flicker
European starling
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
Common eider
Great black-backed gull
Red-breasted merganser
Purple sandpiper
Common loon
Bufflehead
 Common eider.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, bufflehead, chipping sparrow, common eider, common raven, European starling, field sparrow, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, palm warbler, purple sandpiper, red-breasted merganser, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, turkey vulture, white-throated sparrow
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Saturday, April 17th, 2010
 Kite. The roads were damp, I noticed when I looked out the window first thing this morning. Not unexpected, considering the forecast of rain and/or snow. Checked the temperature: upper-30s (F). It occurred to me we’re in that crazy period when daffodils are bustin’ out like crazy—many, many of them in the little southern bed here this year—and chances are we might get an inch or two of snow.
 Eastern phoebe. We didn’t get any snow to speak of, but the air felt sort of wintry and wet. On the other hand, early on I heard the calls of a wild array of birds. Crow and song sparrow and robin and house finch, as usual, but also chipping sparrow and killdeer and brown-headed cowbird (again). Cardinal, dove.
It being Saturday, dog and I headed for Beech Hill early (after some errands). As soon as we hit the trail, sleet began to fall from the neutral gray sky. I heard a few chickadees and somewhere a song sparrow, but no other birds made themselves known. I figured we wouldn’t see a damn thing in weather like this. Not that it was bad or particularly uncomfortable weather, just that I couldn’t imagine any self-respecting birds being out in it. Of course, that was just my expectations talking.
 Osprey with fish. Still, the only birds I saw on the way up the hill were a pair of phoebes calling in the brush over by the old well. Didn’t even see the resident song sparrows. Sleet fell intermittently, vaguely obscuring the view of the islands.
As we rounded the final curve, we noticed a father and his little boy flying a kite at the summit. Oddly, it was a good kite day—a fine offshore breeze, not too strong, and really it wasn’t overly cold—and they were clearly enjoying themselves. Vicariously, I enjoyed myself also, remembering certain old kite-flying days. But before we reached them, I noticed a big bird soaring over from the north. Right away I saw that it was an osprey (finally!) carrying a fish. The old carrying-a-fish display. It didn’t cry as I’m used to them doing right about this time of April, but I love the fish-carrying thing. It soared over rather mistily, obscured by slight sleet and snow.
 Kestrel and redtail. On the way down, I heard a white-thoated sparrow sing. That was nice. Not much else happening, though.
That is, until we began driving home, when I noticed a kestrel in the branches of a roadside tree. I pulled over to take a photo, but as soon as I focused, the little falcon flew—damn it—and then I saw the reason it flew. A large buteo had circled into view, and the kestrel took offense. It rose, calling killy-killy-killy and began to charge the red-tail. I hopped out of the truck and took as many photos as I could, but focusing was a problem. Didn’t get anything overly dramatic, but it was a fun moment.
In town, curiously, I saw all three common local gulls: herring, ring-billed, great black-backed. Also rock pigeons. Then the sun actually peeked out a few times, and I took advantage of the break in the weather to mow the law. (Crazy that it needs it so early.) And after that, dog and I headed for the breakwater.
We saw a grackle en route. The only species that showed up on the breakwater itself: common eider, double-crested cormorant, herring gull, purple sandpiper. That was all we saw. Then again, with such an ominous gray, wispy sky full of what I like to call elephant clouds (a line of gray clouds that marches along the southern horizon) and hints of storms to come, who could blame the birds for hiding out for a while.
 Purple sandpipers. Regardless, it felt like a good, full day. And you won’t hear me complaining.
Today’s List
American crow
Song sparrow
Chipping sparrow
American robin
Killdeer
Brown-headed cowbird
House finch
Downy woodpecker
Northern cardinal
Mourning dove
Herring gull
Eastern phoebe
Osprey
Black-capped chickadee
White-throated sparrow
American kestrel
Red-tailed hawk
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
Great black-backed gull
Common grackle
Common eider
Double-crested cormorant
Purple sandpiper
 Rockland Harbor.
Tags: American crow, American kestrel, American robin, black-capped chickadee, brown-headed cowbird, chipping sparrow, common eider, common grackle, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house finch, killdeer, mourning dove, northern cardinal, osprey, purple sandpiper, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, song sparrow, white-throated sparrow
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Sunday, April 11th, 2010
 Purple sandpiper. Woke up. Got out of bed. Saw blue sky up overhead. The temperature, though, seemed pretty chilly—somewhere in the low 50s (F)—and I noticed a bit of wind playing around in the naked upper branches of the oaks. I also noticed the song of the cardinal, the fee-bee of the phoebe, the caw of the crow. Particularly noteworthy were the calls of a number of goldfinches—bunches of them out there this morning, for some reason. New arrivals, perhaps?
 Purple sandpipers. It being Sunday, dog and I headed to Beech Hill for church. Lumpy blankets of clouds had moved in, interspersed with patches of blue, making it a partly sunny day. Great fields of sunlit landscape scraped across the inland hills. There were no ravens on the hill. There were no hawks. A solitary song sparrow flitted out of a thicket of brush. I heard a herring gull, a titmouse, and (again) quite a few goldfinches. I heaven heard the gobble of a turkey from down near South Street somewhere. I sort of had hopes of spotting an osprey—several of my friends have seen their first of 2010—but no dice. That’s what I get for having expectations.
 Napping purple sandpiper. Then again, returning home, I heard out the window the percussive call of a chipping sparrow. By golly, my first of the year.
A few hours later, I figured it was about time to walk the breakwater. Sunday bunches of other people and dogs were there. So were great rafts of common eiders, a few black ducks, a pair of red-breasted mergansers, black-backed gulls—and a double-crested cormorant in flight. Another first-of-year bird.
No loons in the harbor. Nor any long-tailed ducks. But there did suddenly come a flurry of chattering on the island side about two-thirds of the way out: purple sandpipers. Dozens of them. Scores of them. While stopping to snap a mess of photos (my red heeler is such a patient dog), I couldn’t help but imagine these were migrating birds simply making a quick stop-off en route to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra. On our return trip to shore, I saw a flock in crazy veering flight low over the waves, making sharp, seemingly random changes-of-direction. These ended up on a nearby, seaweed-covered stretch of rip-rap farther down the breakwater. Just catching a breather on their way to a far-northern latitude.
Tonight, from the deck, I stopped to listen for a while. I heard no woodcocks, as I usually do at this season. I wonder where, this year, migration has taken them.
 Sandpiper flock. Today’s List
Northern cardinal
Eastern phoebe
American goldfinch
Song sparrow
House finch
American crow
American robin
Herring gull
Black-capped chickadee
Mourning dove
Tufted titmouse
Wild turkey
Chipping sparrow
Northern flicker
European starling
Common eider
Great black-backed gull
Black duck
Red-breasted merganser
Double-crested cormorant
Purple sandpiper
 Beech Hill view.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black duck, black-capped chickadee, common eider, eastern phoebe, European starling, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, purple sandpiper, red-breasted merganser, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, wild turkey
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
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| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
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