I began the month with yet another visit to Lake Wallace before I headed up the west side of Quabbin before finally making it onto the Prescott Peninsula to do some late season bird surveys. I ran across multiple Red Crossbills in the my travels as well as lots of evidence of breeding species with loads of juveniles around and adults carrying food. The weather continued to be hot and humid throughout the period with some near record highs in the 90's. I was not able to get out much due to work on the 2nd and 4th beyond brief stops on my way to work.
On my in between day of work on Wednesday I made a stop at Great Pond where I had at least two Marsh Wrens continuing to sing but no sign of the Least Bittern. There were a few shorebirds around at various spots during the morning but nothing unusual among them.
After getting out of work this morning I decided to make the hike up to the summit at Skinner SP to track down some forest birds for the month plus to see if any Cerulean Warblers were still around. It was a hot, sweaty hike to the top but worth the effort with at least one Cerulean Warbler still present and possibly two. Other highlights included several Blue gray Gnatcatchers, Dark eyed Juncos (including a juvenile) and numerous juvenile birds and adults carrying food.
I also discovered that a pair of House Wrens somehow managed to building a nest in the exhaust area of a bathroom vent on the house. I was outside several days ago and could hear some chirping and eventually I saw a House Wren fly up to the vent with food. An odd spot to have a nest for sure. It was neat to see that one of the adults was a bird banded in the yard last year. I think the young fledged today.
I've hiked up there a few times too. The rocks next to the house often have milksnakes under them.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great hike for sure...have not gone looking for Milk Snakes but perhaps I should.
Delete