Boston Mass birds

As I mentioned in the previous post I had to go to Boston on Family business. While I saw a beautiful red-tailed hawk along one of the highways, I couldn't get a photo of it. Nor did I get a shot of the many gulls.

However, I did get a shot of some robins, who apparently summer up here.



I'm not posting the shoot of Starlings and house sparrows, since they are plentiful enough here right now. I didn't think I could say this, but they may have 10 times the starlings we have. I saw a flock of about 500 hundred at one time. Pretty amazing.

Chimney Swifts Revisited

Man, I apologize for the long, long layoff. Got super busy with video editing and a trip to Boston, Ma. But better later than never. On July 20, my kitty, Tortuga was staring at my fireplace. Since I had heard lots of twittering from the chimney in the last week, that could mean only one thing. Chimney swifts in the fireplace again.

Unfortunately, a nest had come down with the newborns. See the pix.




I scooped them all up and placed them on the ledge above the fireplace in hopes the parents would attend to them. They have in the past, so I thought I'd try it again.

Sure enough, the parents did attend. However, they have this tendency to come below the ledge, and aren't smart enough to go back up. Then I have to let them out the front door. Check the parent I had to let out.


This happened are few more times over the last few days. Some of the little guys didn't make it, but I think at least 2 did. Nature is a cruel master/mistress depending on your point of view.

Lesser Goldfinch

As reported earlier, my Sunflower fields have attracted 3 to 4 pairs of lesser goldfinch to the yard. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten great shots. Here's the least blurry.

Digest: Sunflowers to Orioles

The sunflowers I've been encouraging in the backyard have paid off. Though I haven't yet gotten a picture of them, I saw a male and female lesser goldfinches picking through the flower heads for seeds. Will put a Thistle feeder back there to see if they'll feed on that too.

Here are photos of the 4.5 inch birds from the Cornell site:



Besides the goldfinches, house finches are visiting too, and the monk parakeets.

Friends who live a few blocks down had what they thought was a Robin nesting in a Mulberry tree in their backyard. So I went over to take a few pix. I mean these birds don't nest here. We usually only see them during the spring migration.

So I found the nest, where Amy told me it would be, and took a few snaps.

I heard the parents calling to the chicks, so I looked around for movement and finally saw a bird, dark on top and red on the belly calling and rotating in jerking movements on every call. I took a few snaps, but I couldn't get one when it went to the nest. It only stayed a second to deliver its worm and flying off. I can only attribute it's nervousness to our presence.

When I got home and looked at the pix, I only then realized it wasn't a Robin, but and Orchard Oriole. Check out the pix.


Here's what the female looks like, from the Cornell site.