Prattsville, conclusion

Ruby-Throated resting by the roadside

Sunday morning in Prattsville, my host and I took a long walk down a road toward Schoharie Creek, and on a gravel path branching off from that. Unfortunately, neither road came very close to the creek itself, but there was a fairly good variety of birds, like the male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird above and this American Redstart.

Redstart rockin' in the branches

There were interesting sights that weren't birds, as well.

why did the newt cross the road?

That's an Eastern (Red-Spotted) Newt who crossed the road in front of us, and on our return a butterfly settled down on the driveway

goodness gracious, Great Spangled Fritillary

I know little about butterflies, but I think this is a Great Spangled Fritillary.

Back in the meadow next to the house, the birds continued singing all day long, but mostly stayed out of sight. The Song Sparrows were the most visible.

sing! sing! sing!

The Common Yellowthroats and the Chipping Sparrows sang constantly, but I only had glimpses of them. This is the closest photo I had of either species:

Chipping Sparrow, momentarily out in the open

Other birds were in the vicinity as well--we had a glimpse of a Black-Billed Cuckoo and heard a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo sing several times. I never heard a Purple Finch singing, but they must be nesting nearby since I saw a small group of females.  This one stopped on a low branch for a minute until the others caught up; then they all flew away.

leading the way

Prattsville: Bobolinks and Blackbirds

dig that crazy-looking bird

The bird I was most excited to see was the Bobolink. I'd never seen fany before, and when very early on Sunday morning I saw a blackbird with yellow on the back of its head perched on a power wire over a hayfield at a crossroads, I couldn't work out what it was. I watched it drop down into the tall grass, then pop back up on the wire. Its only vocalization was a guttural chuck, not as metallic as a Red-Winged Blackbird.

I riffled through my field guide, ruling out a vagrant Yellow-Headed Blackbird--and somehow missing the illustration of the Bobolink; I amaze myself sometimes, I really do. I was convincing myself that it was a red-winged having a really weird molt when another showed up. They both went into the grass, but minutes later, three more flew up from a field across the road.

OK, so not just a single bird having a weird molt

It wasn't until I got back to the house and sat down with the field guide that I spotted the Bobolink picture. Oh!

I hope those fields aren't mowed until the fledglings are ready to fly out (end of July). Earlier mowing would be a disaster for the Bobolinks. I saw those fields on Labor Day weekend last year and there were round bales still sitting in those fields and the grass looked like only a few weeks' growth, so maybe it will turn out all right. Here's an interesting article from the Audubon Society about the problems Bobolinks have nesting these days. (Unfortunately, the Bobolink Project website is down now; it looks like it had a lot of good information. Update 6/30/2014 - the site is back up.)

One of the other two corners of the crossroads had a field that was closely mowed, and the last was also in tall grass, but wholly occupied by Red-Winged Blackbirds.

The funny thing was, I was out for a walk on Saturday afternoon, and I didn't see any Bobolinks, only the Red-Wingeds. One male was posted a a sentry on a power line. He was giving repeated metallic chack calls, until I got within twenty yards, when he started giving high pitched calls and shuffling back and forth down the wire.

he didn't like me one little bit

Once every minute or so, he'd fly off the wire and circle about 10-12 feet over my head, then return.

I think the Red-Winged young must be fairly well along, since I saw a few females coming out. Around here, at least, that doesn't happen until they're near fledging.

Mama needs a break

Prattsville trip, part one

We had a lovely weekend at our friend's place in Prattsville NY. I was up before 6am each day, which has left me needing a rest, but was quite fun.

The meadow in front of the house was full of singing Common Yellowthroats and Chipping Sparrows. There were quite a number of Chestnut-sided Warblers as well, and in the trees at the east end of the meadow was this singing Prairie Warbler.

Sing it, baby!

I'll have more to say about the trip when I've caught up on my sleep--there were Bobolinks!--but for now I'll leave you with this pleasant scene of a Tree Swallow feeding its nestling.

Awwwwww

That nest box was in nearby Hobart, home of a half-dozen nice used bookstores.

The Jazz Singer

Here's the jazzy Orchard Oriole from Inwood Hill that I mentioned in an earlier post. Very cheerful.

I'm still sorting out video editing software. I wonder if there's any way to make a video less shaky after the fact. I'm not going to haul a tripod all over creation.

It's a hard life being a bird

It's a hard life, being a bird. On Saturday came the news that the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird nest near Oak Bridge had been raided and destroyed by a Baltimore Oriole.

Photographer Roman Brewka was there when it happened and photos are on his website at birdsofnewyork.com in the "Recent Photos" gallery. They may be a little disturbing (or I may be too tender-hearted towards small birds), but he's an excellent photographer and you should check out his other galleries at least.

On a cheerier note, the latest set of Pale Male's offspring has fledged and today the area around the Toy Boat Pond was full of the cries of the young Red-Tailed Hawks. One remained perched in one place, taking a lively interest in passing small dogs.

don't let your dog run off-leash, OK?

One of his siblings flew in and rested in the grass awhile.

hawks on the grass, alas

People passed by; some noticed, some didn't.

just another New Yorker

The third was calling frequently somewhere to the north, but eventually flew into another nearby tree.

this must be the place

I say this was "cheerier", but the squirrels, and especially the Grackles, didn't really agree. The Grackles especially were very unhappy about the hawks hanging around their nesting area.

In the Ramble, things were quiet. A strange thing happened while I watched this fledgling Blue Jay.

they grow up so fast

Once in a while an adult jay would come by and smack the youngster on the head. Is this parental affection among Blue Jays? Was the young bird too close to someone else's nest? It wasn't a mobbing--the adults weren't hanging around to harass the youngster, just coming around every couple of minutes, peck, off again.

Greene County trip planning

Friends of ours have a summer place in Prattsville NY (in Greene County in the Catskills), and they've kindly offered to take us up there for a couple of days soon.

We've been there twice before, once in mid-October and once in early September. It's a great place with a beautiful piece of land, given over to meadows and bordered by woods. The birding was a little sparse, although the first time we were greeted by a Ruffed Grouse as we pulled into the driveway

and there were a number of Bluebirds in the area.

In the September trip, we heard wild Turkeys--disturbed in the night by some predator, they went screaming past the house like the Wild Hunt--and also heard Great Horned Owls.

Since it will be nesting season this time, I'm wondering what else might be around. This is the western part of the county, out near the Delaware County line and fairly near Bearpen Mountain, though I don't think we'll make it over there. I wonder if there might be Pileated Woodpeckers in the area. Maybe some nesting warblers. All the eBird hotspots are in the east part of the county near the Hudson River, so that's no help.

Singers and nesters

My highlight for today was this female Cardinal singing at the Upper Lobe. I had no idea they ever sang.

Sorry for the unsteady (and unedited) video--I don't do video much, and I'm still working it out.

The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is still on her nest near Oak Bridge. There were singing Robins all over the Ramble.

At Turtle Pond, which last year was a very active nesting area, there seems to be very little activity. The biggest drop-off is the Red-Winged Blackbirds--there were at least six nests last year, belonging to four males. This year, I hear a single RWBB in the area, and I'm not entirely sure he has a mate. I think this is because the Conservancy removed the tall phragmities grasses and replace them with slower-growing grasses; I think the blackbirds did not like the lack of cover at the time they were deciding where to nest.

Other missing nesters are more predictable. Downy Woodpecker--I watched a nesting pair all last June--won't re-use a nest hole, and Turtle Pond doesn't have many suitable trees. The Kingbirds I think are nesting on the other side of Belvedere Castle this year. I am surprised that I don't know where any oriole nests are; they're around somewhere, but probably also in the Ramble.

Grackles are nesting in numbers, of course. Just try to stop 'em.

I heard what I believe is that Common Yellowthroat with the odd pizza pizza song. I think of him as Little Caesar.