That was a cold one!

​Dang nation, spring soccer can be really tough sometimes, I hear it is even tough for the players as well! Being the hardcore fans that we are, Steve and I suffered through the rain, sleet  and snow to see the Union come out on top of the New England Revolution 1-0. All I've got to say is that it's a good thing they won this one because if they hadn't I think Steve and I, along with a few other fans, would have taken the field and taught them a lesson! Luckily, most of the rain and sleet occurred before the game started and at half time. See photos of the day here. 

The Stroud Preserve , 15 March 2013

​Eastern Meadowlarks were in the area with the lighter colored grass. 

Today was a pretty good day for the Ides of March. Yesterday I mentioned how it was the first time I’ve ever seen Red-shouldered Hawk two days in a row and that I rarely see them at all. I must not have been holding my mouth right because today I saw three Red-shouldered Hawks. It was also the fourth day in a row for Rusty Blackbirds. I saw three along the banks of the Brandywine. I haven’t made mention of it, but all of the Rusty Blackbirds that I have seen have been males. Today one of the three was a female. I also added a new year-bird with a female American Kestrel.

But as exciting as all that was, I believe the best observation of the day would have to go to the flock of at least 16 Eastern Meadowlarks that were in the unmowed part of the field below “No Hang Glider” Hill. This was the first area I checked when I started this morning. I saw nothing of interest. Then before I left, I decided to walk a little further out into the field to see if I could flush up a Savannah Sparrow (which I didn’t). However, a group of birds took off and headed east, which at first glance I almost mistook as a flock of Starlings. But one look through my binoculars showed them to be meadowlarks. They flew over the trees and it looked as if they put down in the field adjacent to the preserve, but moments later they all streamed back to the high grass between the creek and Strasburg Road, sixteen in all. One they landed they all quickly disappeared. I looked hard to see how many I could see on the ground and all I could find were two. They were also silent, which makes me wonder if I have been overlooking these birds on past visits.

Earlier this week I commented that I saw a strangely out of place Swamp Sparrow that was about 30 feet up in a tree acting like a Brown Creeper. Today I had another equally strange observation. Most of the morning was clear, with many birds flying about. I noticed a large bird directly overhead that was just a speck with the naked eye. I put my glasses on it and was puzzled as to what it was. It was clearly a large bird with a very wide wingspan. It was not dark like I would expect for an eagle, instead it seemed kind of pale. I could just make out that it had what looked like a long tail or streamers and not much head. At first thought “could that be a Frigatebird of some sort?” I dismissed that thought almost immediately as a Frigatebird would have pointed wings, these were rounded. Was it a crane? I strained to see if I could see a head sticking out. There wasn’t one. Then it hit me, this was a Great Blue Heron! It was so high up that it was a mere speck in the sky – barely recognizable at all. I tried to follow it for as long as I could but I eventually lost track of it as it rose higher and higher.

I have read that they will sometimes ride a thermal up high and then glide to distant foraging areas. This bird was so high up it could have glided to a foraging location in Maryland! It is interesting that after forty years of birding you can still see unusual things in the common species you seen every day.

Start time: 8:55

End time: 12:20

Temp: 30-39°

Wind: none to a bit gusty by noon

Skies: clear to begin, becoming overcast by noon

Species Total: 44

• Great Blue Heron – 2, one high and one low.
• Black Vulture – approximately 15
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 35
• Snow Goose – approximately 450
• Canada Goose – approximately 500
• Mallard – 18
• Common Merganser – 2
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2 adults
• Red-shouldered Hawk – 3 adults
• Red-tailed Hawk – 4 adults
• American Kestrel – 1 adult female, FOY
• Killdeer – 1, heard only
• Wilson's Snipe – 1, flushed from the creek below “No Hang Glide” hill
• Ring-billed Gull – 2
• Mourning Dove – approximately 10
• Belted Kingfisher – 1
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – 2
• Hairy Woodpecker – 1
• Northern Flicker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 5
• American Crow – approximately 50
• Fish Crow – 2
• Tree Swallow – approximately 12
• Carolina Chickadee – 4
• Tufted Titmouse – 5
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Winter Wren – 1
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 30
• American Robin – approximately 200, increasing at a great rate
• Northern Mockingbird – 3
• European Starling – approximately 100
• Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
• Song Sparrow – approximately 50
• Swamp Sparrow – 2
• White-throated Sparrow – 3
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 50
• Eastern Meadowlark – 16, Bird of the Day!
• Rusty Blackbird – 3, 2 males, 1 female
• Common Grackle – approximately 10
• Brown-headed Cowbird – approximately 10. 2 males and a female engaged in their very interesting “head down” courtship display.
• House Finch – 2

The Stroud Preserve, 14 March 2013

Dag-gone-it…if you thought winter was done with us, you should have been out this morning! Cold and windy. This dip back to wintertime was reflected in the birdlife. Yesterday, birds were flying left and right. Today the skies were nearly empty of birds with the exception of vultures. Also, to make the cold fell a little colder, today was the first day since January 25th that I have not recorded Great Horned Owl on my daily walks.

The bird of the day was a Red-shouldered Hawk. This is the first time that I’ve ever seen one here two days in a row. Actually, they are uncommon here. Over the last year this would only be the 6th time I’ve seen one here. The reason this is the bird of the day is as I was watching it glide from one side of the preserve to the other I watched it land in the paulownia grove behind the old farm houses, thus making it the first Red-shouldered Hawk that I’ve actually seen attached to terra firma! All of the other five observations have been flyovers.

I’ve also determined that the second week of March is Rusty Blackbird season at the preserve. On Monday I saw one, then yesterday I saw eight, and today I saw two. It’s a real shame that I would be this excited over seeing a grand total of 11 Rusty Blackbirds, because in South Carolina in the 1970’s they were very common birds. But in the 35 years since, they have experienced one of the most dramatic declines in total population of just about any North American passerine. The reasons for their this decline is a mystery.

They have always been one of my favorite birds. I think it is because I really like their fresh fall plumage with those piercing white eyes. The last time I saw this many Rusty Blackbirds was in 1996 when I visited their nesting grounds in British Columbia and Alaska. I remember in particular a campground in Prince George, British Columbia, where there was one that would perch on top of my tent when I was more than five feet way from it. In contrast, to the south in Washington State, they are considered a vagrant with only one or two reports a year. I can only recall seeing 3 in nearly 20 years of living there.

Start time: 8:50

End time: 11:00

Temp: 30-34°

Wind: 18 mph from the northwest

Skies: mostly cloudy

Species Total: 36

• Black Vulture – approximately 14
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 35
• Canada Goose – approximately 200
• Wood Duck – 8
• Mallard – 6
• Bald Eagle – 1
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 2, adults,
• Red-shouldered Hawk – 1
• Red-tailed Hawk – 2 adults
• Mourning Dove – approximately10
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – 3
• Downy Woodpecker – 1
• Hairy Woodpecker – 1
• Northern Flicker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 10
• American Crow – approximately 50
• Fish Crow – 3
• Tree Swallow – approximately 25
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – 5
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Winter Wren – 1
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 20
• American Robin – approximately 100
• Northern Mockingbird – 3
• European Starling – approximately 100
• Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
• Song Sparrow – approximately 40
• Swamp Sparrow – 3
• White-throated Sparrow – 1! Boy are these clearing out fast! 
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 100
• Rusty Blackbird – 2
• Common Grackle – approximately 20
• Brown-headed Cowbird – 8

It's not easy out there

I went back the preserve this evening with my scope so I could better assess the status of the Great Horned Owl nest. As I had thought, it looked as if 80%​ of the nest was missing. I decided to take a look around the base of the nest tree to see if I could find anything and sure enough, I quickly found a dead chick on the ground along with the rest of the nest. 

Judging from the size of the dead chick, I doubt that there were any others. It certainly wasn't big enough to move around. Any other chicks certainly wouldn't have been old enough to survive outside of the nest. 

My guess is that the storm from the day before knocked the nest out of the tree. It was quite windy at my house, which is three miles away. I sure it was probably the same there. Also, looking at the nest material that was on the ground, I think the nest was quite old. Many of the sticks were decayed and very weak. I think it was just a structural failure in adverse weather. 

It's a sad ending for these owls this season. Since Great Horned Owls only produce one brood a year, these adults are free to roam. ​I'll certainly miss seeing them on my daily walks. 

The Stroud Preserve, 13 March 2013

​SKUNK-CABBAGE. Symplocarpus foetidus (L.) Salisb. ex Nutt. 13 March 2013. Stroud Preserve, West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Today was a great day for Icterids with 5 species in all. I checked the field where I saw the Eastern Meadowlark first and quickly found 6 birds! I then walked along the Brandywine where I flushed a male Rusty Blackbird that was working the banks of the creek. It got as close as 15’ from me. Which was pretty nice. Icterids were flying around all during my walk. Most of them were Red-winged Blackbirds or Common Grackles. However, at least 7 were Rusty Blackbirds. There may have been others as well, but those were the only ones that I was sure of their identity. The fifth species of blackbird for the day were a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds.

 The Great Horned Owl has a major change in status today. When I looked at the nest it appeared as if part of the nest was missing! Even if the nest was still intact and functioning, the adult was certainly wasn’t on it. I decided to walk up closer and perhaps check the ground to see if anything fell from the tree. As I got to the edge of the woods, I flushed an adult owl from the understory. I decided to back off in case a nesting was on the ground or elsewhere. I’m no expert on owl nesting behavior, but my guess is that if the nestlings were missing, the adults would abandon the site. I’ll assume that as long as the adults are around, there must be young birds somewhere.

Another spring arrival was an Eastern Phoebe. It was feeding in the small trees on the right after you walk over the bridge at the entrance. Tree Swallows were numerous, but not quite in abundance.

As you can see from the banner, skunk cabbages are pushing up through the mud in the wet areas of the preserve.

Start time: 8:40

End time: 11:30

Temp: 34-40°

Wind: slight to none.

Skies: clear

Species Total: 42

• Black Vulture – approximately 12
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 30
• Canada Goose – approximately 50
• Mallard – 8
• Common Merganser – 3
• Bald Eagle – 2, adults
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1, adult
• Red-shouldered Hawk – 1, adult
• Red-tailed Hawk – 3, 2 adults, 1 immature
• Mourning Dove – approximately 15
• Great Horned Owl – 1
• Belted Kingfisher – 2
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 5, heard only!
• Downy Woodpecker – 1
• Hairy Woodpecker – 2
• Eastern Phoebe – 1
• Blue Jay – 4
• American Crow – approximately 30
• Fish Crow – 3
• Tree Swallow – approximately 50
• Carolina Chickadee – 6
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 12
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 5
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• American Robin – approximately 100
• Northern Mockingbird – 2
• European Starling – approximately 50
• Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
• Savannah Sparrow – 2
• Song Sparrow – approximately 50
• Swamp Sparrow – 1, this bird was about 30’ up in a tree. At first glance I thought I had a Brown Creeper. It clung to the side of the trunk for a moment then dropped like a rock to the brush below.
• White-throated Sparrow – 4
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 20
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 200
• Eastern Meadowlark – 6
• Rusty Blackbird – 8
• Common Grackle – approximately 100
• Brown-headed Cowbird – 2
• House Finch – 1, heard only
• American Goldfinch – 2

The Stroud Preserve, 11 March 2013

What a great day with five new birds for the 2013 preserve’s year list, which is now up to 69. By far the best bird of the day, in my humble opinion, was an alternate plumaged male Rusty Blackbird that was foraging in the muddy areas of the old farm pond bed. I got to watch it at a fairly close range (40 feet or so) for about 20 minutes.

Runner up for bird of the day was another Icterid, a lone Eastern Meadowlark that was in the field at the base of “No Hang Glider” Hill. This is another species that I would expect would be very common at a place like the Stroud Preserve, however, this is only my 7th observation of this species. I did not note any during the breeding in the area last summer. My guess is that the grasses in the fields are cut to low for suitable nesting habitat.

The third runner up for bird of the day was a gobbling Wild Turkey. I heard it on the west side of the preserve along Lucky Hill Road. It sounded fairly close but my efforts to actually see it were not successful. It wouldn't be the first time that I've searched in vain for a turkey that I heard. This in only the third time I have heard a Wild Turkey at the preserve (I’ve never actually seen one there!).

I can hereby declare that spring has officially arrived with the presence of seven Tree Swallows! I looked at every bird on the wing today to see if it was a swallow, but it wasn’t until nearly the end of my walk that I saw these birds over the parking area as I was about to get in my car. The last new year-bird was a pair of Wood Ducks on the Brandywine. Other signs of spring were singing Field Sparrows and a Downy and Red-bellied Woodpecker with nest cavities big enough for the birds to fit into completely. They sky’s were full of groups of birds moving around. I’d say about 97 % of them were Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and American Robins.

The winner of the oddest aerial observation today goes to 6 migrating Gas Hawks in formation. There was one very large one, which I’m guessing was a 747, and following behind it were 5 fighter planes of some sort or another. My I didn’t get a good look at the 747 to see if it was painted in the presidential color scheme. Whoever was on the plane must have been important.

Start time: 8:50

End time: 12:15

Temp: 37-49°

Wind: slight from the east

Skies: heavy foggy to overcast

Species Total: 45

• Great Blue Heron – 2
• Black Vulture – approximately 12
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 25
• Snow Goose – 23
• Canada Goose – approximately 400. I heard several very large flocks flying over head above the fog.
• Wood Duck – 2
• American Black Duck – 1
• Mallard – 6
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1
• Red-tailed Hawk – 2
• Wild Turkey – 1, heard only
• Killdeer – 4
• Mourning Dove – approximately 50
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Belted Kingfisher – 1, heard only
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1, heard only
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Hairy Woodpecker – 3
• Northern Flicker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 10
• American Crow – approximately 100
• Fish Crow – 5
• Tree Swallow – 7
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 20
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 20
• Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
• Carolina Wren – 5
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• American Robin – approximately 250
• Northern Mockingbird – 1
• European Starling – approximately 100
• Eastern Towhee – 4
• Field Sparrow – 6, two singing
• Song Sparrow – approximately 50
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 75
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 200
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 20
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 1000 (probably a low estimate)
• Eastern Meadowlark – 1
• Rusty Blackbird – 1, Bird of the Day!
• Common Grackle – approximately 1000 (probably a low estimate)
• House Finch – 5
• American Goldfinch – 2

The Stroud Preserve, 10 March 2013

Like last Sunday, I took an evening walk around the preserve today. I started out a little earlier to insure I actually saw some birds. What a difference a week makes! Last Sunday, it was cold and windy and I saw zero birds. Today the starting temperature was a balmy 57°, the highest so far this year. Plus, there was no wind, so hearing birds was much more of a possibility.

Despite the favorable conditions, I did not hear any owls or woodcocks. Geese, however, were on the move. I estimate that at least 4000 geese flew over the preserve, in groups of a few to approximately 500 birds, all heading north. Plus, another 500 were on the ground. All of these approximately 4500 geese were Canada Geese with exception of 3 Snow geese that were mixed in with one flock. Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were the other species that were on the move.

I also heard American Robins singing for the first time this evening. Another first for the spring were peeping spring peepers. The Great Horned Owl was still on the nest, but again, it was sitting quite upright. No chicks were noted.

Start time: 6:15 PM

End time: 8:05

Temp: 57-50°

Wind: none

Skies: mostly clear

Species Total: 26

• Black Vulture – 3
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 10
• Snow Goose – 3
• Canada Goose –  approximately 4500
• Common Merganser – 2
• Red-tailed Hawk – 1
• Killdeer – 1
• Mourning Dove – 4
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Belted Kingfisher – 1
• Downy Woodpecker – 1, heard only
• Blue Jay – 1
• American Crow – approximately 10
• Carolina Chickadee – 1
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 1, heard only
• Carolina Wren – 2, heard only
• Eastern Bluebird – 2
• American Robin – 4
• Northern Mockingbird – 2
• European Starling – approximately 150
• Eastern Towhee – 2, heard only
• Song Sparrow – approximately 20
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 10
• Northern Cardinal – 2
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 400
• Common Grackle – approximately 400

The Stroud Preserve, 7 March 2013

Today was just like Tuesday, but without a Peregrine Falcon. I now have empirical evidence as to the difference a single bird can have on the mood of the observer. I hereby conclude that the presence of such a bird has a positive effect.

While I had no surprises on the composition of my daily list, I did have one of the birds give me quite a surprise. As I walked along the trail on the southwest corner of the preserve a Turkey Vulture spring up from the brush about 30 feet in front of me. It perched on a branch that was way to small for it about 6 feet off the ground and directly above a dead raccoon. I see Turkey Vultures nearly every day at the preserve, but rarely do I get to see one where I can see the wrinkles in the skin on their head and, in fact, what a strangely wonderful head they have! When I see the head of a Turkey Vulture this up close and personal I am always astounded at to just how much they really resemble storks. Which, in turn, sends me back 31 years in time. 

Back in 1982, when I was a freshman at Temple University, I quickly found my way to the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club (DVOC). I remember the speaker for one of the first DVOC meetings I attended was Dr. Charles Sibley. In case you are unfamiliar with him, he was an early pioneer of modern phylogenetic taxonomy in birds. In my notes from that talk I wrote “new world vultures are actually short legged, short necked storks!”

Wow. Did that changed my life forever. For me it all seemed to make perfect and sudden sense. I also wrote in my notes “corvids/shrikes/vireos” and “wrentit/new world babbler?” I remember many people at that meeting had a hard time wrapping their heads around such radical clams and more or less laughed them off. In 1990 Sibley and Monroe’s Distribution and Taxonomy of the Birds of the World was published, again to many raised eyebrows. Look at taxonomic order in your field guides now. It’s all Sibley.

Start time: 8:45

End time: 11:30

Temp: 34-40°

Wind: slight, from the east to start, from the north at the end

Skies: mostly over cast

Species Total: 32

• Black Vulture – approximately 15
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 20
• Canada Goose – approximately 400
• Mallard – 12
• Common Merganser – 2
• Red-tailed Hawk – 7, 6 adults, 1 immature
• Mourning Dove – 2
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1, heard only
• Downy Woodpecker – 2
• Hairy Woodpecker – 2
• Northern Flicker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 10
• American Crow – approximately 75
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 15
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 4
• Carolina Wren – approximately 8
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 30
• Northern Mockingbird – 4
• European Starling – approximately 80
• Eastern Towhee – 1
• Chipping Sparrow – 5
• Savannah Sparrow – 2
• Song Sparrow – approximately 30
• Swamp Sparrow – 2
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 20
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 30
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 100
• Common Grackle – approximately 40

The Stroud Preserve, 5 March 2013

What a beautiful day! As beautiful as the day was, it looked and sounded really lifeless. I figured it was literally the calm before the storm. I thought it would be another run of the mill late winter day at the preserve. There were a few things here and there, but not much to slow me down. Within a few minutes a Turkey Vulture appeared then a Black Vulture shortly thereafter. “Good. I knocked those off” I thought. At about 9:00 I saw a group of four Black Vultures circling overhead. Amongst them was another bird. I immediately knew it was a good one as it didn’t look like a Red-tailed Hawk or an accipiter. I quickly got it in my binoculars to see that it was an adult Peregrine Falcon! This was a long over due bird for the preserve (167 for the preserve, 151 for me, and 67 for the year).

The Great Horned Owl made another minor change in behavior. Today it was sitting nearly upright in the nest. I looked very hard for chicks but none could be seen. Otherwise, things were indeed pretty slow. Again, numbers of everything were down. Even Red-winged Blackbirds seemed to be few in numbers than the last week or so. The only other notable species were three Field Sparrows at the northwest corner of the preserve.

While I had a hard time finding birds today, one of the birds found me. I was walking along the path that runs west of the serpentine outcrop when I heard a woodpecker tapping. There are many trees there with many dead branches. I searched in vain for 10-15 minutes without any luck when all of the sudden something, larger and more substantial than a leaf, hit me on my head! I looked down to see a big piece of bark about 5 inches long and 2 wide, laying on the ground. I then looked up to see a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker pecking away at a dead branch about 30 feet up. Tapping mystery solved…the hard way. I didn’t need to be told twice to move out of the way.

Back at the parking lot, I usually take a short walk down along the fence that goes beside Creek Road where I can reliably flush up a hand full of Savannah Sparrows, which is usually my final species of the day. I walked down the road and flushed up nothing. Calling it a day I then turned around and walked back along the same path that I covered just seconds before flushing up no less than 10 Savannah Sparrows. That left me scratching my head. As I stood there scratching a flock of over 100 American Pipits flew over, circled, and finally landed in the short grassy area over near the “Shrek” Barn down the road. And with that, I did call it a day.

I did note three more flowering plants, all introduced weeds; Thyme-leaved sandwort (Arenaria serpyllifolia), hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta​), and Creeping speedwell (Veronica filiformis​). 

Start time: 8:40

End time: 12:05

Temp: 32-40°

Wind: slight from the east

Skies: clear

Species Total: 33

• Black Vulture – approximately 20
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 20
• Canada Goose – approximately 300
• Mallard – 12
• Red-tailed Hawk – 8, as is becoming usual, 6 apparently paired adults, and 2 immature
• Peregrine Falcon – 1, adult! Bird of the Day!
• Great Horned Owl – at least 1, same bird, same place
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
• Downy Woodpecker – 2
• Hairy Woodpecker – approximately 8
• Northern Flicker – 2
• Blue Jay – 2
• American Crow – 10
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
• Carolina Wren – approximately 5
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 30
• American Robin – 1
• Northern Mockingbird – 4
• European Starling – approximately 50
• American Pipit – approximately 100
• Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
• Field Sparrow – 3
• Savannah Sparrow – approximately 10
• Song Sparrow – approximately 40
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 20
• Dark-eyed Junco – 1
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 15
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 25
• Common Grackle – 1
• House Finch – 7

The Stroud Preserve, 4 March 2013

Today started of with an unknown. I got out of the car and immediately heard a high pitched and loud “ki-ki-ki” call that reminded me of a Northern Goshawk. I looked for the bird but was not able to find anything that I could identify as the source. Sometimes, that is the way it goes.

Otherwise, it was cold and windy. Even a hardy jogger that I see regularly at the preserve commented about what a pain the wind was. As with other walks in the past couple of weeks, individual numbers were down, and it seemed that each species on the list was hard fought for. Crow numbers were way down again. Only 1 Fish Crow which is way down from Friday’s walk.

The Great Horned Owl was again sitting in a very elevated position. Today nearly the entire bird could be seen. It watched me as I walked around the field in front of it. I still did not see any signs of nestlings. Also, as a side note, I managed to get out and walk around the preserve at dusk and early evening last night in hopes of hearing American Woodcocks or other owls. However, I heard absolutely nothing. Sometimes, that is the way it goes.

​Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

I did manage to find another flowering plant. This one was actually just off the preserve along Creek Road. It is called winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)​, and is another introduced plant from Europe. It is a member of the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) and is the only member of it's genus found here, which is nice. If you have ever tried to key out a member of the Ranunculus genus then you know what I am talking about. It blooms from February to late April.  As a biologist and ecologist that has spent most of my career dealing with invasive and nuisance species, I'd rather not be giving any attention to introduced plants, but it is what's blooming out there at the moment. That said, early blooming is the type of advantage that give introduced plants the upper hand in finding a foot hold in new environments. My non-native bias aside, it is really a nice looking plant and I was quite excited to find it!

​Start time: 9:00

End time: 11:30

Temp: 27-34°

Wind: brisk and steady and cold, out of the north

Skies: clear to scattered high clouds

Species Total: 35

• Black Vulture – 6
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 20
• Canada Goose – approximately 300
• Mallard – approximately 15
• Common Merganser – 4
• Bald Eagle – 1, adult
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1, adult
• Red-tailed Hawk – 8, 6 adults, 2 immature
• Killdeer – 1, heard only
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 5
• Hairy Woodpecker – 2, heard only
• Northern Flicker – 2
• Blue Jay – 2
• American Crow – approximately 10
• Fish Crow – 1
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
• Carolina Wren – 2, heard only
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• American Robin – 6
• Northern Mockingbird – 4
• European Starling – approximately 125
• Eastern Towhee – 5
• Field Sparrow – 1
• Savannah Sparrow – 4
• Fox Sparrow – 1
• Song Sparrow – approximately 75
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 25
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 75
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 20
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 50
• Common Grackle – 3

Life with the Boys

Paddy, William, Steve and I have been living it up lately. This past weekend,  Steve and I were especially excited because it was the start of the MLS season! We also have new seats where we are actually allowed to sit down (we use to be in the supporters section where you had to stand the entire game and shout obscenities at the opposing team, and sometimes we shouted obscenities at he home team. It is Philly after all). The first game of the year was with Sporting KC (Kansas City). We started off great with a goal in the 17th minute from recently reacquired Sebastian Le Toux. Then memories of the last season came flooding back with Sporting KC made three unanswered goals. Oh well, the boys in blue will do better next time. Check out photos of us all here. 

The Stroud Preserve, 1 March 2013

The weather today started out great! A completely spring like day, then it began to get cloudy and breezy and colder. In fact, about 10 minutes after I left the preserve driving towards Exton, I ran into a brief snow squall! Not what I was expecting!

Despite the downturn in the weather, I did manage to 39 species for the day. The best among these was a flock of about 30 Northern Pintail flying north over the preserve. Fish Crows put in a good appearance (sorry Patty!). There were at least 15 and maybe as many as 30 or more. They were calling from all corners of the preserve today. One very vocal flock of 21 crows flew overhead with at least 5 calling fish crows at once and no calling American Crows. I suspect that they were all Fish Crows but there is no way to tell for sure. I ran into one sizable mixed flock of sparrows mostly consisting of Dark-eyed Juncos. Other than this flock, I saw no other juncos, and only a handful of White-throated Sparrows.

The Great Horned Owl was once again sitting high up on the nest. There was one bump on the nest that I haven’t noticed before, which could have been a chick. I normally don’t carry my scope with me on my daily walks, but I think I’ll bring it on my next visit to see if I can see any chicks.

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis)

I also came across my first flowering plant of the year. Galanthus nivalis, commonly called snowdrops. There is a large group of many hundreds of these blooming on the south side of the preserve along Lucky Hill Road. It is a member of the Onion Family (Alliaceae) and is native to Europe. It is also a new plant for my plant list for the preserve.

Start time: 8:45

End time: 12:00

Temp: 37-32°! Holy cow, it got more colder!

Wind: none to start becoming brisk from the NNE

Skies: partly cloudy to start, becoming overcast by noon

Species Total: 39

• Great Blue Heron – 1
• Black Vulture – approximately 10
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 25
• Canada Goose – approximately 150
• Mallard – 5
• Northern Pintail – approximately 30, bird of the day!
• Common Merganser – 3
• Bald Eagle – 1, adult
• Red-tailed Hawk – 7, 6 adults, 1 immature
• Killdeer – 1, heard only
• Ring-billed Gull – 3
• Mourning Dove – 3
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Belted Kingfisher – 1, heard only
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Hairy Woodpecker – 8!
• Northern Flicker – 3
• Blue Jay – approximately 10
• American Crow – approximately 100
• Fish Crow – at least 15, as many as 30!
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 8
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1, heard only
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• American Robin – 1
• Northern Mockingbird – 3
• European Starling – approximately 75
• Eastern Towhee – 1, heard only
• Savannah Sparrow – 4
• Song Sparrow – approximately 100
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 25
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 75
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 12
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 50
• House Finch – 1, heard only

The Stroud Preserve, 28 February 2013

The winter doldrums continue. But as with every passing day slight changes are abound. Today I observed Black Vultures exhibiting pair bonding activities over head. It does appear as if the winter residents are clearing out. I saw no Dark-eyed Juncos at all today and very few White-throated Sparrows. The only Canada Geese that I saw were a large flock high above the preserve heading north.

Eastern Towhee numbers are starting to climb. I’ve been surprised at how difficult towhees have been to detect over the winter. There have been many days where I didn’t see them at all. I’ve mostly only seen them in one spot all winter, which is in the brush below the high tension power lines. They have been largely absent from the rest of the preserve. Today I saw or heard them in many different areas.

The Great Horned Owl made a subtle change today. Up till now, I have only seen the head and a small portion of her back as she sat on the nest. Today she was sitting a lot higher. I could see perhaps 75% of her body. My guess is that the chicks are hatched and starting to move around a little. I’m looking forward to seeing the first little fluffy head pop up!

Start time: 10:15

End time: 12:00

Temp: 37-40°

Wind: slight from the west

Skies: overcast

Species Total: 32

• Black Vulture – 4
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 12
• Canada Goose – approximately 250
• Red-tailed Hawk – 5, 4 adults and 1 immature
• Ring-billed Gull – 1
• Mourning Dove – 2
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place
• Belted Kingfisher – 1
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 5
• Hairy Woodpecker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 12
• American Crow – approximately 50
• Fish Crow – 8
• Carolina Chickadee – 4
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – 5
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1, heard only
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• American Robin – 2
• Northern Mockingbird – 4
• European Starling – approximately 30
• American Pipit – 2
• Eastern Towhee – approximately 12
• Savannah Sparrow – 1
• Song Sparrow – approximately 30
• Swamp Sparrow – 1
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 20
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 12
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 100
• House Finch – 4

The Stroud Preserve, 27 February 2013

I thought about not heading out today because there was light rain at my house and it just seemed like a rotten day for birds. But then I thought about all those times when I felt this way, then forced myself to go out in the field and found something truly amazing. As it turned out, this wasn’t one of those days. It was rainy and the birding was slow. It might have had something to do with the diminished efforts of the observer having to constantly wipe off his glasses and binoculars combined with the fact that the observer had to leave early to take his child to the doctor, still I managed to eek out 35 species.

I did observe a pair of Red-tailed Hawks copulating. I haven’t seen any nest building activities yet but that is certainly forthcoming. The large number of Red-winged Blackbirds was mostly due to several larger flocks passing by overhead. I also saw a single Common Grackle perched in the top of a tree making the strangest assortment of sounds imaginable. While it was sitting there a Red-tailed Hawk landed in a nearby tree. Most of the birds nearby fled immediately. The Grackle however, dropped down the next branch, then the next and the next like a pachinko ball bouncing down the board. I made it to the last branch and then dropped to the ground and disappeared in the brush. I think they are still one of my favorite birds! Notable absentees were Black Vulture and Fish Crow.

Start time: 8:50

End time: 10:30

Temp: 32-40°

Wind: none

Skies: overcast with occasional drizzle

Species Total: 35

• Great Blue Heron – 1
• Turkey Vulture – 1
• Canada Goose – approximately 60
• Mallard – approximately 80
• Red-tailed Hawk – 4, 3 adults 1 immature
• Ring-billed Gull – 5
• Mourning Dove – 3
• Great Horned Owl – 1, still on the nest
• Belted Kingfisher – 1
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 8
• Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 1
• Downy Woodpecker – 3
• Hairy Woodpecker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 10
• American Crow – approximately 15
• Carolina Chickadee – 6
• Tufted Titmouse – 3
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 5
• Carolina Wren – approximately 8
• Winter Wren – 1, heard only
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 10
• Northern Mockingbird – 4
• European Starling – approximately 50
• Eastern Towhee – 5
• Savannah Sparrow – 5
• Fox Sparrow – 3
• Song Sparrow – approximately 30
• Swamp Sparrow – 1, heard only
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 40
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 10
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 15
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 400
• Common Grackle – 3, Bird of the day!
• House Finch – 2

The Stroud Preserve, 25 February 2013

With each passing day, the present one few minutes longer than the last, more and more signs of spring steadily appear, at least with the avifauna. Today there was a change in the sparrow population. Song sparrows were more distributed across the preserve all the while constantly singing. White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Junco’s were nearly absent. Other birds (Carolina Wren, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, and Eastern Towhee) were much more vocal than they have been. I am expecting the first swallows any day now.

The Great Horned Owls was still on her nest. I have seen no signs of nestlings yet, however, it shouldn’t be too much longer before they pop up. The crows are still harassing her endlessly. There were at least 10 Fish Crows in the mix today. It will be interesting to see if they stay in the area for nesting.

Start time: 9:00

End time: 11:30

Temp: 32-40°

Wind: slight from the east

Skies: Clear

Species Total: 35

• Black Vulture – approximately 40
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 30
• Canada Goose – approximately 300
• Mallard – approximately 15
• Northern Harrier – 2, immature or female
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 adult, probably a female
• Red-tailed Hawk – approximately 10, 3 immature, the rest adults
• Mourning Dove – 1, first one in several weeks
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same spot
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 5, heard only
• Hairy Woodpecker – 2
• Northern Flicker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 12
• American Crow – approximately 50
• Fish Crow – approximately 10
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 5
• Carolina Wren – approximately 12
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 25
• Northern Mockingbird – 5
• European Starling – approximately 20
• American Pipit – approximately 20, I saw one group of 5 birds, there were three other groups that I heard only and couldn’t be picked out the great expanse of blue overhead.
• Eastern Towhee – 5
• Savannah Sparrow – 3
• Song Sparrow – approximately 50
• Swamp Sparrow – 1, first one in several weeks
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 20!
• Dark-eyed Junco – 1!
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 12
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 70
• Common Grackle – 3
• House Finch – 2

The Chrysler Building

William has completed yet another paper architecture project. This one is the Chrysler Building in NYC. William wrote this short note about it.  ​

This Chrysler Building ​is the first successful paper model I have made that required a lot of glue. The White House and the US Capitol required some glue, but only four pieces total for both. The Chrysler Building required almost 208 pieces that needed glue. 

​What his is not telling you is that this is his second attempt at making this building. The first tempt was back in the fall and it didn't go so well. Most of the projects from his paper building book are glueless, but this one and a few others have a number of steps that require glue. William is great with his X-acto knife, but glueing things is a tough task for him. I worked with him on some ways to improve his glueing technique. What we came up with was putting the Elmer's glue in a can and then brushing it where  needed with a small brush. This improved things greatly. He is especially excited as to the height of this project, 26 inches tall!

I put photos of this project in the same gallery as the other paper buildings. Scroll to the bottom to see the Chrysler Building. ​See them here. 

Are you wondering what the next project will be? It will look something like this. ​

Steve and Russell Visit the Land of Pork

Last November my great friend from my days in art school, Gerry Bannan and his lovely wife Betsy, honored me by having a solo show of my paintings in their studio/gallery in Roanoke, Virginia. ​I'm still impressed that they arranged to have Bill Clinton visit Roanoke while I was there. See the details of that visit here.

The show in Roanoke was up for November and December. For most people that would be enough. But not for Gerry. He then moved the show to the Patrick Henry Community College where he teaches. So, for January through the 19th of February, folks in the town of Martinville VA got to see (put up with) my work. On the 19th Gerry invited me to come and talk to his students about my work. ​

The first trip down in November I went by myself. For this trip I managed to talk Steve Garr into coming with me! Now, I have had success with this in the past, because I there were at least two other times I talked Steve in to crossing the Mason Dixon Line to head deep in the the land of boundless slow cooked pork. Once with his brother Mike and once with the legendary Jim Reed. ​

This trip, much to my regret, was way to short. Unlike the good ole days where we could roam at will, I had to be back in West Chester to make sure the kids were off to school and such. We left at 7:00 AM on President's Day and returned the next day at around 10:30 PM! A whorl wind tour but fun nonetheless! Check out photos of our trip here. 

Amberlee

​William and Amberlee, 30 January 2013. 

William lost a special friend today. For the past several months he has been walking Amberlee for our neighbor Dot. Amberlee had a disease of her endocrine system that finally caught up with her today. We don't know how old she was but it was between 12 and 15 years. Pretty good for a beagle. Here is the note that William wanted posted;  ​

Amberlee was a special dog. She was so cute and old. I loved her so much. But it was best to put her down as she was in pain. ​

​Our heart goes out to Dot. 

The Stroud Preserve, 22 February 2013

With little to no wind, the day ranked as stellar in my book. I noticed today that Turkey Vultures were doing pair bonding rituals. There were several pairs that were flying in unison in tight circles and diving back and forth at each other. I enjoyed watching them interacting so much that I hear by declare them bird of the day! Black Vultures, in contrast, were almost absent as I saw only one. A nice runner up to bird of the day were several singing Fox Sparrows.

The staff at the preserve mowed some of the areas around the former farm pond. My first thought upon seeing it was that the birds would be elsewhere. But I would be wrong as most of the song birds that I observed today were in the mowed areas!

Some of the winter regulars are dwindling down to next to nothing or completely absent. House Sparrow and Gold Finch are becoming difficult to find on my daily walks and Swamp Sparrows and Morning Doves haven’t been seen in the past week at all.

Start time: 8:45

End time: 11:35

Temp: 27-32°

Wind: none to slight from the south

Skies: mostly overcast

Species Total: 36

• Great Blue Heron – 1
• Black Vulture – 1
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 20, Bird of the Day!
• Canada Goose – approximately 450
• Mallard – 5
• Northern Harrier – 1, immature or female
• Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1
• Red-tailed Hawk – approximately 6, 5 adults and 1 immature
• Great Horned Owl – 1, same bird, same place.
• Belted Kingfisher – 1
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 10
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 5
• Hairy Woodpecker – 1
• Blue Jay – approximately 20
• American Crow – approximately 30
• Fish Crow – 5
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
• Brown Creeper – 1
• Carolina Wren – approximately 10
• Winter Wren – 1
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 1
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 50
• American Robin – 11
• Northern Mockingbird – 2
• European Starling – approximately 100
• American Tree Sparrow – 1
• Savannah Sparrow – 6, new high count
• Fox Sparrow – 5, at lest 2 were singing
• Song Sparrow – approximately 50
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 50
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 12
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 50
• Common Grackle – 1
• House Finch – at least 2, heard only
• American Goldfinch – 2

The Stroud Preserve, 20 February 2013

There may have been a lot of birds out today but if there were I couldn’t see them because my head was buried down in my coat trying to keep warm. The wind was challenging today. I’m sure I missed some species that I might have otherwise heard but were drowned out by the wind. Still, I managed to eek out a 35 species including 6 species of sparrows. The best of which was Field Sparrow (I last saw one on 14 January). As best as I can tell, the owl is still incubating her eggs. She does switch positions every once in a while and face the other way. 

I have noticed that White-tailed Deer are getting easier to see. Back during most of January there was hunting going on. I would only catch a glimpse of one or two, which were usually were the hunters were not. My last couple of visits I have seen groups of 6 or 7 deer.

Start time: 9:05

End time: 11:15

Temp: 28-30°

Wind: Very strong from the northwest

Skies: mostly clear

Species Total: 35

• Great Blue Heron – 1
• Black Vulture – approximately 20
• Turkey Vulture – approximately 20
• Canada Goose – approximately 150
• Mallard – 12
• Common Merganser – 2
• Bald Eagle – 1 juv
• Red-tailed Hawk – 8, 5 adults, 3 immature
• Great Horned Owl – 1, usual bird in the usual spot
• Red-bellied Woodpecker – approximately 12
• Downy Woodpecker – approximately 8
• Blue Jay – approximately 5
• American Crow – approximately 10
• Fish Crow – 1
• Carolina Chickadee – approximately 10
• Tufted Titmouse – approximately 10
• White-breasted Nuthatch – approximately 10
• Carolina Wren – 3
• Golden-crowned Kinglet – 2
• Eastern Bluebird – approximately 30
• American Robin – 5
• Northern Mockingbird – 3
• European Starling – approximately 50
• Eastern Towhee – 4
• Chipping Sparrow – 2
• Field Sparrow – 3
• Savannah Sparrow – 5
• Fox Sparrow – 1
• Song Sparrow – approximately 30
• White-throated Sparrow – approximately 50
• Dark-eyed Junco – approximately 25
• Northern Cardinal – approximately 10
• Red-winged Blackbird – approximately 100
• Common Grackle – 1
• American Goldfinch – 1