The Stroud Preserve, 29 November 2012

On my last visit to the preserve I thought about Winter Wrens as I started and sure enough I saw my first Winter Wrens for the preserve. Today, I thought about American Pipits and sure enough, I saw a flock of about 30 in the Bobolink fields! 145 for me, and 163 for the preserve. On my next visit I’m going to think about Ivory-billed Woodpeckers.

To be honest, I think about American Pipits nearly every time I visit the preserve. I am really quite surprised that I haven’t seen one before now. I find this to be a little odd as more than half the preserve is prime pipit habitat of open or plowed fields. Actually, pipits are not the only open country bird that I miss. I’ve seen Horned Larks only once, Eastern Meadowlarks only 6 times as spring migrants, and Killdeer only four times (three times as a distant vocalization and once as a flyover. I would think all of these birds would be more common here.

It’s only been a little over one year since I’ve been back on the east coast and it could just be that my perception as to what birds should and should not be around has changed over the past twenty years or, perhaps my perception of their status from twenty years ago is correct but their status has changed. Either way, one of the rewards of picking a local place to bird and visiting it often is think about and figure out small mysteries such as this.

Of course, I’ll keep you posted as I figure things out. Here is the rest of the bird list for today. As you can see from the frost on the grass, it was a little chilly!

Stat time: 9:35
End time: 12:30
Temp: 32-39
Wind: slight from the west.
Skies: clear
Species Total: 33
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approx. 100! There is a dead deer carcass down by the Brandywine. About 30 were on the ground feeding on it.
Turkey Vulture – approx. 20
Canada Goose – approx. 400
Mallard – 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 immature
Red-tailed Hawk – 7 adults
Herring Gull – 2, only my third observation
Rock Dove – 4
Mourning Dove – approx. 100, mostly in two large flocks
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 2
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 500
Fish Crow – 2, heard only amongst the crowd
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 10
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 20
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 5
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1, heard only
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 15
Northern Mockingbird – 2
European Starling – approx. 30

American Pipit – approx. 30, Bird of the Day!

Song Sparrow – approx. 10
Swamp Sparrow – 2, heard only
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 20
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 10
Northern Cardinal – approx. 10
Red-winged Blackbird – 3
House Finch – approx. 30
American Goldfinch – approx. 10
 

The Stroud Preserve, 26 November 2012

When I headed out for today’s walk I had in the back of my mind that it was high time that a Winter Wren showed up. Approximately 10 minutes into the walk, a tiny fluff ball flew across a brush patch. Well that was easy, number 144 for me, and 162 for the Preserve. It took me about five minutes of spishing, but I finally managed to coax it out of the brush into full view. I even got it to sing! This was a the first east coast Winter Wren that I have seen in over twenty years, it was also the first one that I seen since the “Winter Wren” complex was split into three species; the Eurasian Wren, the Pacific Wren and the Winter Wren.

In Washington State, we had the Pacific Wren. Visually it is quite different being a warmer rusty color compared to the Winter Wren. After hearing the Winter Wren today, I’d say the song is of greater difference. You can’t miss the Pacific Wren’s song. It is extremely loud and carries for a great distance. The Winter Wren song I heard today was very muted in comparison.

There were few people at the preserve today as well. The only ones I saw were up in trees with guns waiting for deer to stroll past. I did see three deer, which were nowhere near the people with guns.

Stat time: 10:00
End time: 12:30
Temp: 39-45
Wind: slight from the north.
Skies: clear
Species Total: 31
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approx. 70!
Turkey Vulture – approx. 25
Canada Goose – approx. 350
Cackling Goose – 1
Mallard – 3
Red-tailed Hawk – 2 adults
Mourning Dove – approx. 10
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 2
Northern Flicker – 2
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 500!
Fish Crow – 2, heard only
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 10
Tufted Titmouse – 4
White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
Carolina Wren – approx. 6
Winter Wren – 1, Bird of the Day! New to the Preserve list.
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
Eastern Bluebird – 5
Northern Mockingbird – 7
European Starling – approx. 10
Eastern Towhee – approx. 5
Song Sparrow – approx. 25
Swamp Sparrow – 2
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 50
Dark-eyed Junco – 1
Northern Cardinal – approx. 20
House Finch – approx. 10
American Goldfinch – approx. 15

Dinner with the Fozards

Over the summer and much of the year we have enjoyed many dinners with our neighbors Miranda, Damian, Isaac, and Louie Fozard. In case you haven’t met the Fozard family, they live just a few houses down from us on Franklin Street. If you have met them you would remember them as they talk funny. Yes, that is right, they talk funny. But it isn’t their fault as they are from the Isle of Man.

If you are a birdwatcher you will know the Isle of Man as there is a bird named after it, the Manx Shearwater. If you are a cyclist, you will know the Isle of Man as it is the home of Mark Cavendish, a.k.a. the Manx Missile. If you are not a birder or a cycling fan, you really have no reason to know of the Isle of Man unless your boat went adrift in the Caribbean Sea. The Isle of Man is where you are likely to end up. It is a small island in the middle of the Irish Sea between England and Ireland.

Dinner conversations sometimes need a translator as I speak with a southern speech impairment, Mary employs the Philadelphia lexicon, Miranda and Damian speak Mannish, and the kids, as far as we can tell, speak some form of Pigeon English that no one else understands at all. For example, we call the evening meal dinner. The Fozards call it tea, whether or not tea is actually served. Tea it is. 

We did plan one thing right. We managed our turns at dinner so that the Thanksgiving Dinner fell on the Americans. If it went the other way, we could have ended up with a fish pie on turkey day! As it was, we had the Fozards, the elder Fozards, Brian and Kate who were visiting for the holidays, our friend Lucy, and Kevin and Rico for our big Thanksgiving feast! See photos of our soirée here. 

The Stroud Preserve, 23 November 2012

I got another late start today, but being the day after Thanksgiving, a late start seemed appropriate. My major accomplishment for the day was a tie for the lowest species count for a visit. I was not the only person that thought that a warm walk through the country side would be a nice thing. While my bird species count was low, I don’t think I’ve ever seen more humans walking around the preserve! When I arrived there was only one parking spot left. When I returned to the car, there were about a dozen cars parked out on Creek Road. Something that I have never seen before.  

Stat time: 11:00
End time: 1:30
Temp: 49-56
Wind: none.
Skies: mostly clear.
Species Total: 24
 
Black Vulture – approx. 20
Turkey Vulture – approx. 20
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 adult
Red-tailed Hawk – 4 adults
Rock Dove – approx. 15
Mourning Dove – approx. 40
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – 3
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Blue Jay – heard only
American Crow – approx. 100
Carolina Chickadee – approx.10
Tufted Titmouse – 2
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 10
Carolina Wren – 6
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 15
European Starling – approx. 30
Chipping Sparrow – 1, Bird of the Day! I don’t know why these are so few and far between in the fall, but this was only my 4^th observation since the first of September.
Song Sparrow – approx. 25
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 50
Dark-eyed Junco – 1
Northern Cardinal – approx. 5
House Finch – approx. 10

The Stroud Preserve, 16 November 2012

I was able to get out a little earlier today than yesterday and the day before and took a longer walk around the preserve. Birdlife in general was up today as well. The Pine Siskins, Gold Finches and Purple Finches have for the most part disappeared. I have been hopping to see some of the other winters finches that have been reported widely throughout the region, such as Red Crossbill, White-winged Crossbill and Evening Grosbeak. I made a point to walk past all the pine trees on the preserve but no signs of them here.

Stat time: 9:25
End time: 12:40
Temp: 41-45
Wind: light wind from the northeast.
Skies: mostly overcast, high clouds
Species Total: 40
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approx. 30
Turkey Vulture – approx. 50
Snow Goose – 12, Bird of the Day! Mixed in with Canada Geese. My only other observation of these was of very high-flying flocks over the preserve last March. Nice to see these on the ground!
Canada Goose – approx. 300
Wood Duck – 2, male and female
Red-shouldered Hawk – 1, I’m still surprised as how often I don’t see these around here.
Red-tailed Hawk – 5, 4 adults and 1 imm.
Rock Dove – 6
Mourning Dove – approx. 25
Belted Kingfisher – 2, heard only
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1, heard only
Downy Woodpecker – approx. 15
Hairy Woodpecker – 2
Blue Jay – approx. 10
American Crow – approx. 300
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 30
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 25
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
White-breasted Nuthatch – approx. 15
Brown Creeper – 1
Carolina Wren – approx. 10
Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 100! These popped up over night.
American Robin – approx. 30
Northern Mockingbird – 2
European Starling – approx. 20
Cedar Waxwing – approx. 15
Eastern Towhee – approx. 5
Fox Sparrow – 2, Runner up bird of the day. First of the season!
Song Sparrow – approx. 50
Swamp Sparrow – 1
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 250
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 50
Northern Cardinal – 6
Red-winged Blackbird – approx. 600
Common Grackle – 6
House Finch – approx. 75
American Goldfinch – 5

The Stroud Preserve, 15 November 2012

I did slightly better with bird observations today than I did yesterday. I did have one odd observation. I was looking at some juncos and kinglets when I heard someone behind me calling my name and turned around to find our neighbor Barb on a large white horse named Toby! I don’t see that everyday! We both agreed that it was a nice day to be out of the house!

Stat time: 11:25
End time: 1:40
Temp: 43-46
Wind: none
Skies: high clouds
Species Total: 32
 
Great Blue Heron – 1
Black Vulture – approx. 15
Turkey Vulture – approx. 25
Mallard – 2
Bald Eagle – 1 adult
Red-tailed Hawk – 5
Golden Eagle –
Rock Dove – approx. 10
Mourning Dove – approx. 20
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Northern Flicker – 2
Blue Jay – approx. 5
American Crow – approx. 500
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 15
Tufted Titmouse – approx. 15
White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
Brown Creeper – 2, Bird of the day! My first observation for the preserve.
Carolina Wren – approx. 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet – approx. 20
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 20
American Robin – 2
Northern Mockingbird – 1
European Starling – approx. 15
Eastern Towhee – 2
Field Sparrow – 2
Song Sparrow – approx. 10
White-throated Sparrow – approx. 50
Dark-eyed Junco – approx. 15
Northern Cardinal – 4
American Goldfinch – 4

The Stroud Preserve, 14 November 2012

The last visit to the Stroud Preserve was way back on October 26^th just before Hurricane Sandy came to town. In the nineteen days between visits I can safely say that fall departed and winter arrived; all the leaves on the trees have fallen, all the weed that the Purple Finches and Goldfinches were feeding on were now lying prone on the ground; the land, for the most part, had that quiet packed away feel to it. Most of the birdlife has moved on to some other place. In fact, this was the lowest species count that I have recorded on all of my visits to the preserve, a whopping 24 species!

Stat time: 11:45
End time: 1:10
Temp: 43-45
Wind: none
Skies: clear
Species Total: 24 

Great Blue Heron – 1
Turkey Vulture – approx. 25
Bald Eagle – 2 adults
Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 adult
Cooper's Hawk – 1 adult
Red-tailed Hawk – 3 adults
Mourning Dove – approx. 15
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 2
Downy Woodpecker – 1
Hairy Woodpecker – 1
Blue Jay – 5
American Crow – approx. 500. Bird of the day due to their overwhelming numbers!
Carolina Chickadee – approx. 10
Tufted Titmouse – 4
White-breasted Nuthatch – 2
Carolina Wren – 2
Eastern Bluebird – approx. 10
Northern Mockingbird – 3
European Starling – 1
Eastern Towhee – 2
Song Sparrow – approx.10
White-throated Sparrow – heard only
Dark-eyed Junco – heard only
American Goldfinch – heard only