As you are reading this, spring migration should be in full swing.
The first birds to return to our feeders (March 14) were a few hardy red-winged blackbirds and some grackles, while a lone turkey vulture floated around. Four days later we heard the song sparrow, and shortly thereafter Pam spotted a brown creeper on the oak tree not 10 feet from our window. This was an unusual sighting, as the oak tree stands alone on the terrace. Brown creepers are usually seen deeper in the woods, creeping up and around tree trunks. Nuthatches, on the other hand, creep down and are seen daily on our oak.
Eastern towhee. (Photos by David Durrant)
Before the ice was out, a pair of mallards found a little patch of water on the otherwise frozen pond where the stream enters, and two days later, pairs of gorgeous wood ducks and hooded mergansers took advantage of the pond, which was then ice free. We see these ducks every year and wonder if they are the same from year to year.
On April 17 we heard what some people consider the sound of the north woods: a white-throated sparrow with its distinctive song “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody.” This is one of the most colorful sparrows, with black-and-white-striped head, white throat, and bright yellow lores (the area in front of the eyes). He may continue north to his breeding grounds in the boreal forests of northern Maine and Canada, or there is a chance he could hang around here. On the same day, a northern flicker arrived, gathering food at the base of our feeders and, like many American robins, looking for grubs in the grass. We do not use chemical herbicides or insecticides on our pastures or grass, so as not to harm the birds and other wildlife (as well as ourselves). Later we heard the familiar call of the phoebe, which sometimes nests in the outbuildings.
Red-shouldered hawk.
A single tree swallow arrived April 17 and checked out the boxes; several days later a few more arrived. Our barn swallows arrived two days later, swooping over the fields and winging in and out of the barn, checking out their old nest sites. Due to habitat loss, these birds are declining, as are many others. In this case it is the disappearance of old barns. In the last 40 years or so we can recall the demolition of at least eight barns in Harvard, all of which, we are sure, were home to dozens of barn swallows. We would again urge people not to spray for mosquitoes as they are the main food source for the swallows, eating by some estimates up to 3,000 a day.
One of our smallest sparrows, the chipping sparrow, which can be identified by its smaller size and distinctive rusty cap, arrived at our feeder April 19 and will stay through the summer. Surprisingly, on the same day, we had a pine siskin feeding on the sunflower pieces. This northern species was expected this winter because of an expected irruption* from their usual wintering grounds, but we never saw the quantities that we have seen in past irruptive years. We assumed this one continued north to northern Canada where they nest.
*An irruption is characterized by a shift in the birds’ typical winter range, with many birds appearing well outside the normal boundaries of their winter homes. This can be caused by lack of normal food source or extremely bad weather. Depending on the species, irruptions may occur in cycles from 2-10 years, or they may be much more unpredictable. Snowy owls, pine grosbeaks, and redpolls are also prone to this behavior.
Robins, hummingbirds, and orioles
Recently we heard the distinctive call of the eastern towhee before we saw it, but knowing they like to scratch around in the underbrush, we kept an eye on the ground around the feeder and soon saw this rufous, black, and white bird about the size of an American robin.
A common cracle.
We have kept a log to record the arrival of spring migrants for the past 10 years. We also note any unusual sightings. After consulting our log, we put out the hummingbird feeders a week ago in anticipation of their arrival, usually around the end of April. Sure enough, our first hummingbird of the season arrived at the feeder April 27, and we have just put out orange halves for the Baltimore orioles. They typically arrive the first week of May and nest in one of our old sugar maples.
The Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge is an excellent site for spring migrants, and one is always bound to meet fellow birders who enthusiastically share their sightings. On a recent early morning visit we encountered almost knee-high water on some of the trails, so we birded around the parking lot, canoe launch, and down the tracks. It was very quiet at that time although someone had recorded, on the chalkboard at the parking lot, sightings of palm, pine, and yellow-rumped warblers; kinglets; and blue-gray gnatcatchers. We will take many more trips back there in hopes of catching the full array of spring migrants.
Other areas for viewing
Other local areas we like to check out in the spring are the Delaney Wildlife Management Area, Bolton Flats, and Horse Meadow Knoll. Delaney is excellent in late March for early waterfowl. We always see flocks of ring-necked ducks and wood ducks, especially on the ponds on the north side of Eldridge Road. Bolton Flats is known for unusual birds that are attracted to the flooded cornfields. Sandhill cranes were spotted here in early April. The pond at Horse Meadow Knoll attracts wood ducks and great blue herons that nest on top of the white pines. If you are lucky you can usually spot a scarlet tanager at Horse Meadow Knoll.
Invariably we get back to the farm and encounter more birds here than at the more popular birding spots. That is what happened after the trip to Oxbow. We counted at least 18 species here that morning. We are blessed with a variety of habitats: fields, hedgerows, woods, brushy areas, wetlands, and a pond, all attracting different species of birds.
Chipping sparrow (left) and white-throated sparrow.
For more information
For those interested in tracking migrants, here are a number of sources that we use:
The Wind Map. We first saw this as a piece of art at MOMA in New York City. It is a map showing wind speed and direction. Checking it, one can see if there are favorable winds that could push migrating birds northward to New England.
hint.fm/wind/
BirdCast. Real-time analysis maps show intensities of actual bird migration as detected by the U.S. weather surveillance radar network. birdcast.info/live-migration-maps/
Cornell Lab of Ornithology. A wealth of information where one can explore what birds have been seen where, check migration maps, and much more. www.birds.cornell.edu/home/
Hummingbird Migration. Spring 2019 hummingbird migration map and sightings. www.hummingbirdcentral.com/humming bird-migration-spring-2019-map.htm
David and Pamela Durrant live on East Bare Hill Road at Micheldever Farm, where they watch their own peacocks and chickens as well as visiting wild birds.
