Tag Archives: birds

The Harvard Square Turkey

A wild turkey has been spotted around Harvard Square for at least a couple of years now. Probably the same bird making an appearance on Universal Hub back in 2012, it has also been written up in Spare Change News last year and the Boston Globe this year. The Harvard College Naturalists Club posted recently about a few sightings.

This turkey was not difficult to spot. I found her dawdling just outside Wadsworth House in Harvard Yard this week.

Harvard Yard Turkey

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Ward’s Pond: Signs of Spring

Yesterday, on a truly spring-like day with warm temperatures and bright sunshine, we took a walk around Ward’s Pond, a small pond in Boston’s Emerald Necklace. Signs of spring abounded.

Red maples were in bloom. And our migrant birds from the south were out and about. A very noisy flock of grackles was foraging in the leaf litter.

common grackle on a branch
Common grackle

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Bald Eagle on Jamaica Pond

Last weekend, as we were birding around Leverett Pond, we noticed a lot of commotion among the birds. Gulls took to the air and Canada geese and mallards walked off the ice into open water, huddling together. Soon afterward, we spotted a large dark bird flying overhead, our first bald eagle sighting in Boston.

Today, we noticed something similar on our walk around Jamaica Pond. This time, we spotted the bald eagle first as it approached the Pond. Then, we noticed that all of the gulls on the Pond had taken off and were flying helter-skelter.

Gulls scattering
Gulls scatter around Jamaica Pond in the presence of a bald eagle.

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The Coot is Back in Town

American coots migrate north for the summer. Their return is a sign of autumn. As of Sunday, at least one of them has returned.

American coot on Jamaica Pond
American coot on Jamaica Pond

The trees and shrubs around Jamaica Pond are slowly catching up to the coots, but remain green for the most part.

Waters and tree-line of Jamaica Pond
Waters and tree-line of Jamaica Pond

Pockets here and there, though, show clear signs of fall.

Fall color along Jamaica Pond
Fall color along Jamaica Pond
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Arboretum: Nesting Orioles and Fledgling Robins

After a few cold, cloudy, rainy days, we took advantage of today’s brilliant sunshine to walk through the Arboretum. We spotted a Baltimore oriole nest in the Meadow hanging on a silver maple branch. A female oriole perched next to it and watched us.

Female Baltimore oriole near nest
Female Baltimore oriole near nest

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Arboretum: Warblers and Wasps

Monday was a fine day for birding at the Arboretum. Spring migrants are everywhere to be found. I managed to see seven species of warblers alone!

I saw and heard a number of catbirds, many of them hiding inside bushes. The red underneath the tail feathers caught my attention for the first time.

Gray catbird with red under-tail feathers
Gray catbird in a redbud

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Arboretum: First Warbler of the Year

We walked the Arboretum yesterday in search of spring activity. Despite the gray skies, birds were in spring mode. We were lucky enough to see our first warbler of the year, a palm warbler, near the beech collection on Bussey Hill. The warbler migration has begun!

Early palm warbler
Early palm warbler

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Fenway Gardens: American Woodcock and Snowy Surprise

American woodcocks, a bird we had never seen, had been spotted in the Fenway Victory Gardens. So, on this sunny spring day, we went looking for them. About 45 minutes into our walk, we saw one fly right by us and land in one of the garden plots. It paced back and forth, bobbing its breast up and down.

American woodcock
American woodcock

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Arboretum: Signs of Spring and Red-Breasted Nuthatches

We have endured a colder-than-normal winter in Boston and so any sign of spring is much celebrated. On March 1, we counted over a hundred American robins near Meadow Road in the Arboretum. While the number might be unusual, robins in and of themselves are not a true sign of spring. Many overwinter in the area.

Today, however, we saw and heard our first male red-winged blackbirds. These birds are a more reliable indicator that winter is waning. Coincidentally, today was the nicest day we have had all year, with balmy temperatures and clear skies. The cold will soon return, but so will more of the red-winged blackbirds, and spring will win out.
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