Tag Archives: birds

Spectacle Island Birds: Tree Swallows and Laughing Gulls

by sicloot Posted on September 22, 2013

We saw quite a few birds last Monday on our trip to Spectacle Island, including a species of gull for the first time. We counted 45 double-crested cormorants near the island’s shores.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, Boston, boston harbor, crabs, double-crested cormorant, European starling, herring gull, laughing gull, Massachusetts, spectacle island, tree swallow | Comments Off

Arboretum: Beggarticks and its Pollinators

by sicloot Posted on September 12, 2013

Aside from the aphids, I spotted a number of other creatures in the Arboretum last week. An American bullfrog was spread out lazily in the marsh waters.

American bullfrog lounging in water — American bullfrog

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Posted in Nature | Tagged American bullfrog, amphibians, Arnold Arboretum, asters, bees, bidens connata, birds, Boston, dragonflies, frogs, hoverflies, insects, Massachusetts, meadowhawk dragonfly, planthoppers, plants, red-tailed hawk, rhus chinensis, sumacs, trees | Comments Off

Arboretum: Bussey Hill Trees and Insects

by sicloot Posted on August 19, 2013

Late last week, I went to the Explorers’ Garden on Bussey Hill on a pleasant, sunny day. A few butterflies passed me by but did not perch. The eastern kingbird below paused at a the top of a crabapple tree. In about a month, this kingbird will probably make its way to South America for the winter.

Eastern kingbird in a crabapple — Eastern kingbird

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Posted in Nature | Tagged Arnold Arboretum, birds, blue dasher dragonfly, Boston, clover looper, Corylus tibetica, dragonflies, eastern kingbird, harvestmen, hazels, insects, leafhoppers, Massachusetts, moths, Phytolacca americana, plants, pokeweeds, Poliothyrsis sinensis, trees | Comments Off

Arboretum: Cup Plants and Caterpillars

by sicloot Posted on August 11, 2013

I found this white-dotted prominent caterpillar (Nadata gibbosa) crawling across Meadow Road yesterday. A green caterpillar with an opaque, lighter green face, it is covered with white dots. This one had two brown patches on it, perhaps some sort of infection?

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Posted in Nature | Tagged american goldfinch, Arnold Arboretum, asters, birds, Boston, Clethra alnifolia, clethra family, eastern chipmunk, insects, legumes, mammals, Massachusetts, moths, oaks, plants, shrubs, Silphium perfoliatum, Styphnolobium japonicum, trees, white-dotted prominent | Comments Off

Birds of the Jones River Salt Marsh

by sicloot Posted on August 7, 2013

We went camping in Gloucester at the Cape Ann campsite this past weekend. On a sunny evening, we walked across the road to the Jones River Salt Marsh to look for birds. The tide had come in and the larger birds that we hadn’t seen at low tide had returned.

We saw a snowy egret with its snow-white feathers, dark bill, and yellow feet. I had seen this bird on a California beach but this was my first time seeing it in Massachusetts.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, great blue heron, great egret, lesser yellowlegs, Massachusetts, north shore, semipalmated plover, semipalmated sandpiper, snowy egret | Comments Off

Ward’s Pond: Robins and Robber flies

by sicloot Posted on July 31, 2013

On my walk around Ward’s Pond last week, I saw a pair of hungry baby robins eagerly awaiting food from their parents.

Baby robins in nest — A pair of baby robins

The Pond’s boardwalk, which had been shut down for years, has been re-opened. According to the July 22 edition of Boston’s City Record, the 250-foot boardwalk was damaged by storms in 2010. Its restoration by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, to the tune of $111,000, was funded through FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Assistance Fund and the Mayor’s Capital Plan.
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Posted in Nature | Tagged american robin, aquatic plants, birds, Boston, common pondhawk dragonfly, damselflies, dragonflies, eastern amberwing dragonfly, eastern forktail damselfly, forget-me-not family, impatiens, impatiens capensis, insects, jamaica plain, Massachusetts, Myosotis scorpioides, Nymphaea odorata, plants, robber flies, sawflies, slaty skimmer dragonfly, ward's pond, wasps, water lilies | Comments Off

Baby Mourning Doves

by sicloot Posted on July 28, 2013

I hear the cooing of mourning doves almost every morning at my place in Jamaica Plain. The birds, often in a pair, can be found within a hundred feet of the house. That pair has had babies! Yesterday, we saw the two young mourning doves in a Norway maple.

Fledgling mourning doves on a branch
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Posted in Nature | Tagged birds, Boston, jamaica plain, Massachusetts, mourning dove | Comments Off

Boston Harbor: Spectacle Island

by sicloot Posted on July 20, 2013

On Monday, when Boston’s current heat wave was in its infancy, we took a ferry from Long Wharf to Spectacle Island, one of the many Boston Harbor Islands. Spectacle Island has gracefully taken Boston’s garbage and, recently, much of the dirt from the Big Dig. The flora is now re-establishing itself. The island features a visitor center, a sea kayak program, and a small swimming beach.

Visitor center and beach on Spectacle Island

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Posted in Nature, Travel | Tagged american goldfinch, birds, black swallowtail butterfly, Boston, boston harbor, butterflies, double-crested cormorant, great black-backed gull, insects, Massachusetts, red admiral butterfly, red-winged blackbird, spectacle island | Comments Off

Biking Cape Cod Part 2

by sicloot Posted on July 18, 2013

After our longer-than-expected bike ride to Truro, we spent the night at the Hostelling International (HI) hostel in Truro ($42 a person).

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Posted in Nature, Travel | Tagged Achillea millefolium, american copper butterfly, Ammophila breviligulata, ants, bicycling, birds, bugs, butterflies, cacti, cape cod, double-crested cormorant, flies, grasses, hoverflies, insects, Massachusetts, moths, northern pine sphinx moth, Opuntia humifusa, orange-tipped oakworm, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, pines, pinus rigida, piping plover, plants, Rosa rugosa, roses, vines | Comments Off

Giant Black Beetles at Jamaica Pond

by sicloot Posted on July 12, 2013

We came across two large black beetles yesterday just off the path around Jamaica Pond. The beetles were possibly engaged in the act of mating. If so, the female beetle was much larger than the male and her orange belly was showing.

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Posted in Nature | Tagged American coot, bees, beetles, birds, Boston, Campanula rapunculoides, eastern chipmunk, insects, jamaica plain, jamaica pond, Koelreuteria paniculata, Lythrum salicaria, mallard duck, mammals, Massachusetts, Monotropa uniflora, mulberries, plants, red-eared slider, reptiles, Solanum dulcamara, trees, turtles, white-breasted nuthatch | Comments Off

Tag Archives: birds

Spectacle Island Birds: Tree Swallows and Laughing Gulls

Arboretum: Beggarticks and its Pollinators

Arboretum: Bussey Hill Trees and Insects

Arboretum: Cup Plants and Caterpillars

Birds of the Jones River Salt Marsh

Ward’s Pond: Robins and Robber flies

Baby Mourning Doves

Boston Harbor: Spectacle Island

Biking Cape Cod Part 2

Giant Black Beetles at Jamaica Pond

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