Free Day Birds

When a Free Day falls during the peak of spring migration, it's time to get out there and go birding.  Saturday, May 14, 2016 also happened to be the "Global Big Day" organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and eBird, the digital database of bird sightings, so all species observed at Middlesex this morning were logged and uploaded for the world to see, while across the globe thousands of other birders did the same.  It was a banner day for campus birds, with an all time high of 76 species seen or heard on school grounds over the course of four hours.   A highlight was a calling pair of Virgina Rails, which aren't too rare but tend to be secretive.  They are more often heard than seen, and this pair was close enough for their duet of grunt calls to be recorded by an iPhone.  Listen here (pump up the volume) to the rails and a few Red-winged Blackbirds in the background.  Below is the full list, as generated by the eBird iPhone app.

Middlesex School, Middlesex, Massachusetts, US
May 14, 2016 4:29 AM - 8:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
Comments:    All birds observed on Middlesex School grounds, including Bateman's Pond, school property between Lowell Road and Spencer Brook, and the cross country trail through portions of Estabrook Woods near the east fields.  Excellent variety, record high daily species total for campus.
76 species

Canada Goose  6
Wood Duck  4
Mallard  3
Wild Turkey  1    Distant gobbling heard from near main entrance.
Double-crested Cormorant  2    Flyover
Great Blue Heron  4    1 on Bateman's, 3 flyover at Spencer Brook.
Green Heron  1    Flyover, Bateman's dock.
Turkey Vulture  1
Cooper's Hawk  2    1 imm. being harassed by crows on the circle; 1 adult in display flight over Estabrook.
Broad-winged Hawk  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Virginia Rail  2    Grunting duet in Bateman's marsh by main entrance.  Seen and recorded.
Killdeer  3
Spotted Sandpiper  1    Bateman's dock
Mourning Dove  8
Chimney Swift  8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  4
Downy Woodpecker  5
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1
Pileated Woodpecker  1    Heard only, across the pond
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Least Flycatcher  1
Eastern Phoebe  5
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
Eastern Kingbird  4
Warbling Vireo  6
Red-eyed Vireo  3
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  8
Barn Swallow  5
Black-capped Chickadee  12
Tufted Titmouse  8
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
House Wren  1
Carolina Wren  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  4
Eastern Bluebird  3    Lindsay Pond
Veery  5
Swainson's Thrush  1
Hermit Thrush  2
Wood Thrush  2
American Robin  14
Gray Catbird  13
European Starling  7
Cedar Waxwing  4
Ovenbird  8
Northern Waterthrush  1    Singing from NE Bateman's swamp, behind library.
Blue-winged Warbler  1
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  4
American Redstart  2
Northern Parula  5
Magnolia Warbler  3
Blackburnian Warbler  1
Yellow Warbler  6
Pine Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  1
Black-throated Green Warbler  2
Chipping Sparrow  9
Song Sparrow  10
Swamp Sparrow  5
Scarlet Tanager  3
Northern Cardinal  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  5
Indigo Bunting  1
Bobolink  2    Singing flyovers, Spencer Brook field.
Red-winged Blackbird  11
Common Grackle  18
Brown-headed Cowbird  5
Baltimore Oriole  8
House Finch  3
American Goldfinch  5
House Sparrow  3

Struggle for Existence

Trigger Warning: the following series of videos contains footage of Nature in Action, the struggle for survival on full display.  Note also the focal distance of the camera is not quite short enough, so the subjects in the foreground are slightly blurred. 

A dramatic scene was captured on the American Robin nest cam outside Clay Science yesterday afternoon.  At 4 pm, the male robin was diligently tending and defending the nest:


At 6:45, though, this happened:


An American Crow, one of the most voracious nest predators around, made quick and sloppy work of at least one egg and carried the other away to consume it in peace, away from the distraught robins.  Not long after, the male robin was back at the nest, apparently cleaning up the remains of the broken egg (and perhaps, one shudders to think, eating the scattered bits of yolk?).


Odds are the pair of robins will lay another clutch of eggs or build another nest, especially this early in the season.  But as you can see, it's an uphill battle to fend off the hungry, prowling hordes of crows, jays, weasels, raccoons, possums, cats, snakes, and yes, squirrels and chipmunks.

Red Red Robins, Bob Bob Bobbin', and Goslings!

Things are happening fast now that the raw April rains have come and gone, to be replaced by a deluge of May sunshine.  Trees are leafing out in profusion, insects are emerging, and the birds are already rearing offspring.  In the wetlands around Bateman's, several pairs of Canada Geese have set up residence, and the goslings are in their cutest, fluffiest, downy stage.  Special thanks to James Potter for these fabulous images of our goose neighbors!









Around campus, American Robins have chosen to build nests in some pretty high-profile locations, with one pair even using the play structure behind BP.






In such a high traffic area, it's not unlikely that the birds will abandon their efforts, but another pair, whose female is seen here attending three eggs just outside the Clay Science rotunda, has a better chance of fledging a brood.



On warm days, the eggs can sit for a while, unattended, but she'll incubate them anyway, panting in the heat of the day.