September 25, 2009

This morning's migration bird walk turned up a number of surprises. You never can know just what to expect! A Winter Wren heard singing from near the community gardens was a first find directly on our property despite the fact that they breed nearby in Hubbard and North Branch River Parks. Other notable sightings include an flyover accipiter (possibly Cooper's Hawk), an immature Bald Eagle, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a White-crowned Sparrow. A complete list is shown below:

Canada Goose
Mallard
Accipiter sp. (Cooper's Hawk?)
Bald Eagle
Rock Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
White-thoated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
American Goldfinch

September 23, 2009

Anyone who has been paying attention to butterflies this fall has surely noticed the staggering absence of Monarchs this year. We had one "fly over" mid-day, but haven't managed to tag a Monarch the past three weeks during our Wednesday public tagging days. This has not, however, stopped Monarchs from getting their coverage in the press. You may have seen part 1 of WCAX's "Monarch Moments" (see news for September 10). You can now view part 2 and part 3 of this series which highlights NBNC's tagging efforts. We will hold our last public tagging session on 9/30.

September 11, 2009

Two participants took part in this mornings birds walk on a cool, misty morning. There was an amazing abundance of Cedar Waxwings, but the big surprise was an American Bittern! This sighting marks only the second time a bittern has been observed on the property. A complete list can be found below:

American Bittern
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Robin
Gray Catbird

September 10, 2009

Yesterday's Monarch tagging session was, again, failing to turn up the Monarch butterflies which have been sparse this season. Only one Monarch was tagged. The absence of Monarchs hasn't kept them from getting attention from the news media: The tagging demonstration of 9/2 was featured on WCAX! We invite you to view the news story and join us at a future Monarch tagging session.

In some avian-related news, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird has still been seen regularly (including today) feeding at the butterfly garden. A pair of Common Mergansers was also seen flying overhead towards the North Branch.

September 4, 2009

Eight participants joined our first fall migration bird walk. A thick layer of fog sat in the valley of the North Branch River, but that didn't stop the group from observing a great number of birds. Robins and Waxwings were seen in huge numbers and a nice variety of species overall, including:


Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker*
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
House Wren
Veery
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
American Goldfinch

*The Red-bellied Woodpecker was heard from a distance. Although uncommon at NBNC, they regularly visit some feeders further down Elm Street, so we are somewhat confident of this identification. Also seen, seperately from the AM bird walk, was an American Woodcock which was flushed from an area near the river.

September 2, 2009

During our Monarch tagging demonstration, only one Monarch (caught earlier in the day) was tagged and none were seen during the 3:30 - 5:00 window of the program. We did, however, find other butterfly species during our seach for the ellusive Monarchs. Our list included Cabbage White, Clouded Sulphur, Atlantis Fritillary, Common Ringlet and Viceroy (the Monarch look-alike pictured on the right).

September 1, 2009

Today's bizarre sighting was that of four pheasants walking up the path from the parking lot. They walked down the path, within feet of NBNC staff, passed the main building, past the education barn, and down the path by the field towards the river. We presumed that these were escapees. Broad-winged Hawk was hear/seen again today, as well as the very vocal Pileated Woodpecker.