Here are a few more shots of the Louisiana waterthrush I saw the other day. Waterthrushes look like thrushes and even have thrush in their name, but they are actually warblers.
More Louisiana waterthrush
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For the Birds: Strong kick off to spring migration
Note: This article was originally published in early May and the story is based on a walk taken on April 29.
It was one of those “quick walks” that ended up being a three-hour birding journey.
I hit the trail shortly after sunrise and was immediately greeted by the awesome cacophony of bird sounds that can only happen during spring migration. The loud voices of cardinals, robins, and Carolina wrens were the dominant sounds. American crows cawed in the distance and red-winged blackbirds belted out their “conk-a-ree” songs from a nearby field. That was all good stuff, of course, but the real auditory treats came from birds with less conspicuous songs.
The softer calls of field sparrows and savannah sparrows emanated from the field, and a high-pitched, nearly inaudible, song came from the top of a maple tree near the parking lot.
It was a warbler, but which one? Since it was the beginning of spring migration and my warbler song identification skills are rusty, it took me a few seconds to realize it was a prairie warbler singing up there.
I hadn’t even gotten out of the parking lot yet, and my excitement for the walk grew. I took the immediate warbler sighting as a sign that the previous night had been a good one for migration, and it was going to be a bird-filled walk. Fast forward about three hours into my “quick walk,” and my gut feeling turned out to be right. It wasn’t necessarily a warbler-fest, but the variety of birds I saw made it one of those walks that I will remember for a long time.
Sparrows are quickly becoming one of my favorite bird families to watch and this walk featured several of these fascinating birds. White-throated sparrows remain the dominant species. I always enjoy seeing white-throated sparrows in the spring when they are in their bright, fresh breeding plumage. The white on their throats and heads and their yellow lores (area between bill and eye on side of head) really pop this time of year.
Field sparrows have a certain understated elegance about them as they are not flashy, but still attractive birds. Savannah sparrows, similar to white-throated sparrows, are particularly vibrant in the spring and the yellow stripes above their eyes really shine this time of year. Later in the walk, as I approached a pond and adjoining swamp, I noticed a shy swamp sparrow lurking in its namesake habitat. I also saw a chipping sparrow collecting straw for a nest during the walk.
I wrote a few weeks ago about the joys of spring vernal pools and highlighted the frogs and other such critters that may be found there. This walk took me past a shallow vernal pool that had two Louisiana waterthrushes bopping around looking for morsels to pull out of the muck. Louisiana waterthrushes are really warblers, even though they look like thrushes and don’t act like your “typical warbler.” They may be found on the ground near shallow pools or even streams scuttling around and making birders wonder whether they are looking at a Louisiana waterthrush or a northern waterthrush. Those species each migrate through New England and look nearly identical with a few subtle differences to tell them apart.
Some of the larger songbirds had returned overnight as well. I heard and then eventually spotted a Baltimore oriole among the treetops near the swamp. It always amazes me that a bird as big and bright as a Baltimore oriole could be so difficult to find among the leaves at the top of trees.
While on a trail with thick brush on either side, I heard the long, varying song of the rose-breasted grosbeak. That same trail also featured several blue-winged warblers. They gave away their whereabouts with their insect-like song before popping up out of the brush to offer a look at their yellow plumage and black, bandit-like eye stripe.
At the end of the walk, I had more than 40 species on my eBird list. It was a great day to kick off the full-blown spring migration period, and I look forward to more “quick walks” as the season progresses.
For the Birds: Brown thrasher spices up early spring walk
The Merlin app really came through this time.
I have written about the smartphone application that identifies birds by their songs and calls a few times before. I always stress, and I’m sure the app creators would agree, to confirm identifications by sight if you can find the bird.
The other day I was walking at a park, and the app showed that a brown thrasher was singing nearby. The app included a red dot by the species name, signifying that it is a rare bird to be seen where I was walking.
My immediate reaction, as a skeptic, was to not believe the app and assume it was a mockingbird instead. I have seen mockingbirds where I was walking several times. Brown thrashers are mimics like mockingbirds, so the misidentification would be understandable.
It took a minute or two to find the bird in question. Indeed, it was a brown thrasher. It was singing from the top of a deciduous tree that was starting to leaf out, which is why it took some time to find the bird. Usually, brown thrashers lurk in thick brush, but when they are singing, they often find a high perch.
After training my binoculars on the handsome bird, there was no question it was a brown thrasher. Its endless song continued as I stopped on the trail and watched and listened to the impressive songster.
The thrasher flew from treetop to treetop, never stopping its impressive singing. I recognized a few of the birds it was imitating, which is always fun to do with thrashers and mockingbirds.
Knowing the bird was a thrasher at this point, its song had a raspier quality to it than that of a mockingbird. Curious, I did an internet search when I got home on the differences between a mockingbird’s and brown thrasher’s song. It turns out, as similar as they are, there are some differences.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, All About Birds, includes the following about the brown thrasher’s song: “Brown Thrashers, like catbirds and mockingbirds, are mimics with extremely varied repertoires consisting of more than 1,100 song types. The male sings a loud, long series of doubled phrases with no definite beginning or end, described by some people as “plant a seed, plant a seed, bury it, bury it, cover it up, cover it up, let it grow, let it grow, pull it up, pull it up, eat it, eat it.” While mockingbirds tend to repeat phrases three or more times, Brown Thrashers typically sing phrases only twice before moving on. They include somewhat crude imitations of other species in their songs.”
I find it noteworthy that they say the mockingbird sings a phrase three or more times, while a brown thrasher repeats it twice. Also, who am I to disagree with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but I contest the notion that brown thrashers’ imitations are “somewhat crude.” They sound pretty darn good to me.
Knowing these differences will give me an advantage the next time I hear a mockingbird or thrasher singing nearby. Hopefully, I will retain the information and be able to tell which species is singing without the assistance of Merlin. Obviously, I do not want to come to rely on the app as I work on improving my birding-by-ear skills, but, in my opinion, for a machine to be able to differentiate by song a mockingbird from a brown thrasher is pretty impressive.
A few birds from this morning’s walk
Judging from my own experience this morning and several posts on birding community websites, last night was a good night for migration with many of the long-awaited warblers and other songbirds arriving this morning. I had 43 species on my eBird list, including a few warblers, rose-breasted grosbeak, Louisiana waterthrush, Baltimore oriole, and American woodcock.
Here are a few shots from the day.
For the Birds: Warbler time has come
I saw a yellow-rumped warbler, a few pine warblers and several palm warblers on my last bird walk. That can only mean one thing: time for my annual spring warbler column.
The aforementioned warblers are the earliest to arrive in New England in the spring. The rest will follow shortly.
But first, what is a warbler? A warbler is a small Neotropical songbird. Many are colorful but not all of them. Yellow is a common color among warblers, but white, black, orange, brown and tan are also found frequently on warblers. While some spend their winters in the southern part of the U.S., most migrate farther to Central or South America, or the islands south of the U.S. A few stragglers may be spotted in New England during the winter, but it’s not common.
Warblers breed throughout the U.S., mostly in the northern states and into Canada. By late September and into October, warblers do their southward migration. In April and May, they pass through the area again — this time in their fresh spring plumage.
Many warblers will remain in New England to raise families, and others will head farther north. Yellow warblers and common yellowthroats, for me anyway, are the species most commonly seen during the summer raising their families. I’ve also found the breeding spots of American redstart, ovenbird, pine warbler and a few other species.
Warblers are best known in New England for their spring migration. In their best breeding plumage, dozens of species of warblers pass through New England in April and May with the peak being the first two weeks in May. This also coincides with the return of other colorful songbirds such as rose-breasted grosbeak, scarlet tanager, indigo bunting and Baltimore oriole.
Watching warblers can be incredibly rewarding and frustrating at the same time. With a few exceptions, warblers do not visit birdfeeders, meaning they must be found “in the wild.” Sometimes they are easy to find, but usually they are flitting among the leaves and hard to pinpoint. The typical size of a warbler is about five inches, so it’s not like trying to find a blue jay or robin.
Their songs are usually sung softly, so it takes a good ear to find them that way too. Also, there are dozens of warbler species and learning their songs, while infinitely valuable when in the field, is not the easiest task. Try the Merlin app to help identify warblers by song. Remember, though, while the app is extremely helpful and accurate, it is not 100 percent accurate. It’s best to “get eyes” on the birds in addition to having Merlin ID it by sound.
Some of the most common species to look for include the yellow warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, American redstart, common yellowthroat, northern parula, chestnut-sided warbler, blue-winged warbler, black-and-white warbler, black-throated green warbler, black-throated blue warbler and magnolia warbler. Ovenbirds, whose loud “teacher, teacher, teacher” song if often heard in the New England woods in the spring, are also warblers.
As I mentioned, there are dozens of other warbler species that pass through or breed in New England. A good field guide, whether an app on a smartphone or an old-fashioned paper book, is a must for identifying warblers. I wish I could describe each warbler in detail here, but obviously, that’s not feasible.
The spring warbler migration is a highlight of the year for many birdwatchers, myself included. There will be a dizzying assortment of birds to find in the coming weeks. Let me know your highlights.
It wouldn’t be April without a few towhee shots
Well, it’s April and that means we are awaiting the arrival of warblers. It also means taking lots of photos of eastern towhees while we wait. Here are a few of this year’s shots. Their large size and awesome coloration belie the fact that towhees are members of the sparrow family.
For the Birds: Rain, rain go away – or not
The weather icons on my iPhone showed rain starting at 8 a.m. I figured that would give me about an hour of dry weather to look for some early spring migrating birds.
No such luck. The rain started even before sunrise so my hour of dry weather wasn’t going to happen. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep (a very tempting option) or mindlessly scrolling through social media, I decided to head out into the rain anyway. OK, I did take a few minutes to do Wordle quickly before heading out.
The walk started in a light rain, and a lot of birds were out singing. Immediately, I heard robins, cardinals, blue jays, song sparrows and a field sparrow in the distance. Field sparrows have a very distinctive song that sounds like a ping-pong ball bouncing on a table with the time between bounces getting progressively shorter, just like a real ball would do.
As soon as I committed to a trail leading me farther into the woods, the rain picked up. It never turned into a downpour, but it was a good, steady rain. Thankfully, the temperature was a very manageable 55 degrees, so I just got wet instead of wet and cold. I like birdwatching in all types of weather, but a cold rain is probably the worst. Heavy wind is not much fun either, but I would take it over a cold rain.
The walk progressed without any overly thrilling sightings. There were a few eastern phoebes, a handful of northern flickers and a fairly large group of red-winged blackbirds. I looked through the binoculars to see if there were any other blackbird species mixed in with the red-wings, but the dark gray sky, foggy aura and falling rain made it hard to pick out any details on the birds.
On the way back to the parking lot, I did hear and see a few nice early migrants: a lone gray catbird singing and skulking in the brush, and a few male eastern towhees in the bramble. One curious towhee popped up and showed me his handsome white, black, and rusty-red plumage.
Despite the rain, I ventured down to the pond for a little detour to see what might be on or around the water. The winter ducks such as mergansers and ring-necked ducks had all disappeared (they were there last time I visited), but a male wood duck swam across the surprisingly calm water and an unseen kingfisher rattled in the trees somewhere along the pond’s edge.
The rest of the walk back was uneventful until I got within half a football field’s length away from the car. There, I noticed a pileated woodpecker working the top of a dead tree. When I walked a few more steps and changed my angle, I noticed a northern flicker sharing the same tree a few yards farther down the trunk. I’m pretty sure it was the first time I had seen a pileated woodpecker and northern flicker in the same tree.
While there are some obvious disadvantages to birding in the rain, such as poor photography conditions and getting soaked, one of the great advantages is that you are almost guaranteed to have the area to yourself. I did cross paths with one hardy jogger, but that was it in terms of other human beings. Not that this park is usually crowded, but there are typically a decent amount of people enjoying their various hobbies.
It wasn’t a long walk or a particularly successful walk in terms of bird species, but it was refreshing and much more invigorating than lounging in bed all morning. In fact, after the long winter, the warm rain felt quite nice.
A few early spring photos
Just a few random shots of birds I saw last month. Spring migration is upon us and gaining speed every day. Be sure to be out there to enjoy the show.
For the Birds: Winter wrens not just another little brown bird
The average person most likely would not understand my excitement. Anyone who has more than a casual appreciation of nature, including everyone who is reading this I’m sure, will get where I’m coming from.
From an outsider’s perspective, a winter wren is not much to get excited about. It’s a small brown bird – even smaller and more nondescript than a sparrow. Big deal.
Well, winter wrens are a pretty big deal, to me anyway. That’s why I went out of my way to try to photograph one the other day. I ventured off the trail, tromped through brush that was probably tick-infested and patiently waited for this little brown bird to take a perch and start singing.
Winter wrens, like so many other birds, are not easy to photograph. They are shy and don’t like to sit still. I’ve been unsuccessful in many attempts to photograph these birds. This time my patience paid off. The photos I got will never end up in National Geographic, but for me, I’m happy with what I got.
Winter wrens are northern birds. They breed in the northern New England forests and well into Canada. In winter, they migrate as far as northern Florida.
A major part of what makes them so special is that they are not seen as often as the other wrens. House wrens are fairly common throughout the spring, summer and fall, and Carolina wrens are now a solid year-round resident throughout much of New England. Carolina wrens and house wrens are fairly loud and conspicuous, particularly Carolina wrens, which have a booming voice that belies their small stature. Winter wrens, on the other hand, usually stay hidden in the brush or understory and do not like to be seen as much as their cousins.
Winter wrens do have interesting vocalizations that are fun to listen to when you are lucky enough to find one. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the winter wren’s song as “A cascading, bubbly song that lasts about 5-10 seconds. Each song is made up of dozens of bell-like notes that they combine and change up from time to time.”
Winter wrens are usually found on or near the ground. Fallen logs and rock walls are where I usually find them. When spotted, they are good at doing a disappearing act. I’ve watched them hop all over a fallen log looking for food and, whenever I take one step closer, they are gone without a trace. I don’t see or hear them fly off, but they are nowhere to be found.
Earlier, I described them as nondescript little brown birds. Well, that is true for the most part, but a closer look reveals interesting barring patterns on their wings, belly and tail – similar to the other wrens. The winter wren is the smallest of the wrens found in New England, being about an inch smaller than a house wren. The thin, short tail is perhaps its most distinguishing feature.
It was a fun day finding and photographing the winter wren. To some, I may have looked silly tromping through the woods to photograph a tiny brown bird. To others, my fascination is completely understandable. The latter are my kind of people.
Song sparrow doing his thing
It may not be the most technically sound bird photo (none of mine are really), but I kind of like the composition. Song sparrow.
Birds of New England.com 