Among the blackbirds in South Holyoke

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

Here’s a confession: until last Sunday, I’d never seen a female Red-winged Blackbird.

But then, driving along the canal in the city’s South Holyoke neighborhood, I saw a male perched on a chain link fence. I pulled over, hoping to snap a photo. The bird flew away. And then it started to rain.

I waited.

Several more males landed on utility wires overhead. When they flew away, they flew down toward the canal, out of sight over the steep bank. When the rain died down, I scurried under a fence to see where they were going.

At the water’s edge was a band of reeds and cattails, and two female Red-winged Blackbirds were busy snatching insects and tending to their well-camoflaged nests.

Some of the photos below may make this spot look like a bucolic marsh, but looks are deceiving. Across the canal is a row of factories. Back up the bank and across the street is a tire store.

It’s a world inside a world, and it’s one I’m glad to have discovered.

Here’s a slideshow of photos from the outing:

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Flicker near a factory, warblers near the flats

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

I found the Northern Flicker above hanging around near the same factory where the American Kestrels have their nest, and near the spot on one of the canals where the Canada Geese nest.

I’d actually gone out looking for the Kestrels when I ran across this bird — a good reminder to keep your eyes and ears open and to be ready for anything, even when you think you know what you’re looking for.

But speaking of trying to find specific birds: during Bird-a-thon I noticed that a strip of an old canal bed near the Flats neighborhood had attracted a number of Yellow Warblers. I went back the other day to see if I could get a few more shots of them, and they were still out in numbers. I saw about a half dozen along a short stretch of Canal Street over a period of 25 minutes or so. Here’s one of them:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

Birdathon 2013: Pictures from 24 hours of birding in Holyoke

Last weekend marked MassAudubon’s 30th-annual ‘Bird-a-thon‘ fundraiser. The idea: log as many species as possible within a 24-hour period. The event runs from 6 p.m. Friday through 6 p.m. Saturday.

I set a goal of logging 50 species within walking distance of Holyoke’s downtown neighborhoods. Friday evening and Saturday morning were promising — but despite the good weather, new sightings slowed down Saturday afternoon. My little team, which also included Holyoke resident and fellow blogger Sonia Barrera, ended up logging a total of 45 species. Not bad, considering most of the habitat we surveyed included urban parks and industrial tracts.

A few highlights included my first-ever Yellow Warblers in Holyoke; a Killdeer (also a Holyoke first for me) that landed near my feet by an electrical substation on Water Street; a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that paid a visit as dozens of shad fishermen tended to their hobby nearby; and an Eastern Kingbird, seen at a distance, that briefly confounded us until Sonia nailed the ID.

In addition to a multitude of Yellow Warblers, we spotted a Black-and-white Warbler, a few Yellow-rumped Warblers and an American Redstart. There were a number of Warbling Vireos out, too, as well as a male and female Baltimore Oriole out behind the paper mills near the river.

Missing from the list were the woodpeckers (mostly Downy and Red-bellied) that I often see, as well as the Belted Kingfisher that’s almost always a sure bet out near the river.

While we didn’t hit my 50-species goal, sticking so close to home reinforced the idea that you don’t have to go anywhere fancy to see really interesting birds. At one point, a Yellow Warbler perched on a utility line right by Water Street. Any kid living in the Flats could see that bird, and that’s awesome.

Below, a slideshow of photos I shot during our time in the field. I’ll post the full list in the days ahead.

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Yellow-rumped Warblers in Holyoke

I wrote yesterday that with so many Yellow-rumped Warblers at Arcadia, one could probably find them in Holyoke, too.

I was right: I found three behind the Crocker Mill this afternoon, near the Connecticut River. They were very high in the trees:

A Downy Woodpecker was foraging nearby:

And I saw at least two different Eastern Phoebes, including this one:

Sunday sightings: Palm Warbler, Red-winged Blackbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet and more

This gallery contains 11 photos.

While I do most of my birding in the heart of Holyoke, I find it helpful to take regular trips to more traditional birding hotspots around the Pioneer Valley. Checking in at places like Arcadia, where the bird populations tend to be a bit more robust and varied, helps me keep tabs on when migratory …

Sunday morning sightings: Cardinal, Blue Jay in Heritage State Park

A few common birds that I don’t see too often in Heritage State Park were hanging around this morning.

I saw the female Cardinal only; she spent a lot of time singing, but no male showed up while I watched her. I’ve seen a male Cardinal somewhat regularly near a vacant lot on Race Street, but I believe this is the first time I’ve seen either a male or female in the park.

A handful of Blue Jays have also been making appearances over the last few days:

And, in addition to the pair of Canada Geese nesting along one of the canals, I’ve seen a lot of geese using the canals as a sort of flyway. Here’s one half of a pair that flew through the city this morning:

Checking in with old friends as Holyoke settles into spring

On some days birding in Holyoke feels like catching up with old friends.

The Canada geese are back at the nest they chose last year, and it looks like they have eggs. I believe the eggs were laid this week — I’ve been checking the site regularly, and this morning was the first time I saw one of them actually sitting on the nest:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

A Mallard paddled in the canal nearby, drawing the ire of the male goose when it got a little too close to the nest:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

The Eastern phoebe is still hanging around in Heritage State Park:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

And, it may only be a week or so before we see this year’s brood of Red-tailed Hawks. I caught the adults switching off incubating duties this afternoon:

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

Phoebe in Heritage State Park; woodpecker in Lyman Terrace

Holyoke’s latest spring arrival appears to be an Eastern Phoebe that I’ve seen flitting around Heritage State Park the past two mornings:

I’ve also been hearing a woodpecker in the neighborhood, and this morning I finally tracked it down — it was a Downy, bashing away at a tree in Lyman Terrace:

Below, audio of the woodpecker:

Chickadees in Heritage State Park

Black-capped Chickadees present an interesting question. I’ve only observed them in Heritage State Park twice over the past year or so — but does that actually mean they’re infrequent visitors?

More likely, their periods of high activity haven’t coincided with my visits, or they’ve been out and about in one corner of the park while I’ve been distracted in another.

The one above was among a group of three last Sunday.

Also present were a few regulars: House Sparrows and a pair of Northern Mockingbirds:

Sunday sighting: Golden-crowned Kinglets in Holyoke

(c) Greg Saulmon 2013

A small group of Golden-crowned Kinglets brought a little color to an otherwise gloomy day. I photographed the one above behind the factory that was once home to the Gill division of American Writing Paper, between Water Street and the Connecticut River.

The tiny birds — weighing about as much as two pennies — are one of the miracles of animal survival. Somehow, they can withstand the freezing winter nights of the north, huddling together in conifers.

What else do they do to survive? From an episode of BirdNote:

Bernd Heinrich, a biologist at the University of Maine, tried to answer that question. He found that the kinglets move through the forest in small flocks and feed constantly, at almost one peck per second, throughout the short day. By this activity, they take in enough tiny caterpillars to keep their bodies going. [“Kinglets in Winter,” Dennis Paulson]

Heinrich’s 2003 book, Winter World, explores how a number of species weather the winter. Kinglets, it turns out, stick out the season of scarce food by relying on a species of moth larvae that spends the winter on tree branches instead of underground.

For more on Golden-crowned Kinglets, see Vermont blogger Chris Patrick’s excellent post on the species.