More on the FL Ivory-bill Sightings

Auburn University's web site has a press release that details the reports of new Ivory-billed Woodpecker sightings in Florida. The team, led by AU professor Geoff Hill, documented 14 sightings of the bird as well as a wealth of audio evidence. They also found 20 nest cavities that were consistent with size range for the birds.

The press release also links to a more extensive page on the Auburn University web site. This site details more of the investigation and even has pictures of the nesting cavities and the river. It also has a link to a researcher's site which has the audio recordings for anyone who's interested in hearing them.

The full report, along with an editorial, has been published in the scientific journal Avian Conservation and Ecology.

These new sightings couldn't have come at a better time. Just when the naysayers have started to gain steam due to the lack of any new sightings from Arkansas, we get this report containing substantial data. And, mark my words, this won't be the last you hear about this species. Someone will get a photo or video of the bird, probably in the next two years. Because it IS out there. And now people know about it and are looking.

And this is all thanks to the team behind last year's "rediscovery": Gene Sparling, Tim Gallagher, and Bobby Harrison. Gene found the bird and Tim and Bobby substantiated his report. Without Bobby and Tim following up on the sighting, it certainly wouldn't have gotten the attention that it deserved. The dedication of these two guys is unbelievable. Their love of the mystery, the chase, and the species itself makes them tireless explorers.

And they may have made the greatest contribution to the effort by breaking the "taboo" of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Before them, ANY report of the bird was almost casually dismissed by those who should have been investigating them. Now there is no longer a stigma involved with reporting this bird. Serious researchers are looking. Birders are looking. Even people who had never heard of the species are looking. The tide is changing. Its just a matter of time.

Northampton, MA (9/24)

On Sunday I attended a Massachusetts Butterfly Club field trip to Northhampton. We started at the Northampton Community Gardens where Tom Gagnon, one of the trip leaders, has a couple plots that are planted entirely with a single species of butterfly attracting plant (I can't remember the name). When we got to the gardens it was pretty overcast and before long the skies opened up and everyone had to take shelter from the rain. But, the worst of the weather only lasted 10 minutes or so and as soon as it stopped everyone was back in the garden.

I'd never been to the gardens before and it certainly was a treat. Each plot had something different. Some were planted with vegetables like tomatoes, green beans, peppers, and even brussel sprouts. There were others overrun with raspberry bushes.

But, not everyone devoted their portion of the garden to food. Some of the plots were filled with cultivated flowers and others had native plants like Smooth Aster, New England Aster, etc. Finally, some members created a zen style garden with stone paths, small plants, and Buddha statues. It was a blast looking at them all.

And, even though it was another dreary day, we did find a good number of butterflies. Cabbage Whites, Sulphurs, Pearl Crescents, and ET Blues were all prevalent. We even found a Wild Indigo Duskywing, a Delaware Skipper, and a few Variegated fritillaries. The garden was filled with Monarchs and the group actually caught and tagged a few of them.

Strange, but there weren't many birds at the gardens other than Chipping Sparrows and Song Sparrows. We did have a flock of Cedar Waxwings in a nearby berry tree and I found a Palm Warbler searching for food in one of the plots.

After finishing up with the gardens, we headed over to Mass Audubon's Arcadia sanctuary. In the fields there we found several Common Buckeyes as well as a Common Wood Nymph and an American Copper. The sanctuary isn't far from the Connecticut River so we were lucky enough to spot an Osprey circling above. Just before we left the site, an American Kestrel flew into view. As we watched it hovered over the field looking for something to eat.

Here's a tally of the butterfly species curtsey of the trip co-leader Bill Benner:

Gardens:
Black Swallowtail 1
Cabbage White 30+
Clouded Sulphur 6
Orange Sulphur 5
Eastern Tailed-Blue 11
Variegated Fritillary 3 (2 in tandem at one point)
Great Spangled Fritillary 3
Pearl Crescent 5
Viceroy 3
Monarch 30+
Silver-spotted Skipper 2
Wild Indigo Duskywing 2
Least Skipper 2
Delaware Skipper 1 well marked male

Arcadia area:
Cabbage White 3
Clouded Sulphur 75+
Orange Sulphur 50+
American Copper 1
Eastern Tailed-Blue 25+
Pearl Crescent 15+
Common Buckeye 7
Common Wood-Nymph 1

Ivory-billed Woodpecker Sighted in Florida

Auburn University ornithologists have reported new sightings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker... this time in Florida. While they didn't get any photos of the birds, this adds to the wealth of empirical evidence that the species has survived extinction.

All Faiths Cemetery, Worcester (9/23)

After the rain on Saturday I took a walk over at All Faiths Cemetery. Amongst the Mallards I found three Wood Ducks and one American Wigeon. Nothing else out of the ordinary.

Addendum: Allen's Pond

Since I've taken to not writing my sightings down I forgot about all of the great birds that we had at Allen's Pond. While walking thru the meadow, Erik spotted a pair of Palm Warblers flittering about in an evergreen tree. And the skies were filled with Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and my favorites... Northern Harriers working the fields.

Also, for those of you who are interested, here are the results of the count courtesy of Lauren Miller.


22 species
3 new for the list on Sunday
black swallowtail 5
spicebush swallowtail 1
cabbage white 68
orange sulfur 191
clouded sulfur 132
cloudless sulfur 6
american copper 9
white m hairstreak 9
gray hairstreak 1
eastern tailed blue 9
summer azure 3
variegated fritillary 1
pearl crescent 15
red admiral 3
red-spotted purple 1
american lady 2
monarch 39
viceroy 1
common buckeye 6
least skipper 4
tawny-edged skipper 1
eastern wood nymph 1

Walking Stick

At a group outing at my company's campus on Thursday we found a Walking Stick attached to the side of our cooler. I'd never seen one of these in New England so it was a real treat.

Allen's Pond MAS (9/17)

On Sunday I went out to Allen's Pond to participate in their annual butterfly count. We broke up in groups to cover the entire sanctuary. My group was pretty small... just me, Erik Nielsen, Ron Hamburger, and the sanctuary's grassland expert, Lauren Miller. Our area was the Allen Neck Trails. We carpooled to the property and started our search. Other than the Cabbage Whites and Sulphurs (which were prevalent) we saw Least Skipper, Monarchs, and Pearl Crescents. After hiking for a couple of minutes, Erik spotted out our target species, a White M Hairstreak. We actually lucky enough to find three of them during our walk.

The field was also filled with other insects. There were hundreds of Praying Mantises in the field. One was so big that when I spotted it in flight in the corner of my eye I thought that it was a bird. The mantises flew away from the path as we walked by. Unfortunately this wasn't the best choice for one individual. It got entangled in a spider's web and, as we watched, a Banded Argiope emerged from the grass and wrapped up the poor mantis. I took some cool shots of the action.

The end of the trail brought us to a large meadow. There we were able to add Black Swallowtail, Cloudless Sulphur, and Common Buckeye to our species list.

After finishing our count, we headed back to the sanctuary to meet up with the second group and have lunch. After eating everyone headed over to the nearby Sylvan Nursery. Even though the nursery was closed, they were gracious enough to let us in anyhow. All the plants and flowers were beautiful. I just wish that I could have bought some. As for the butterflies, they were actually pretty sparse. We did find one Red Admiral though.

We finished the day with some birding at Gooseberry Point. A raft of Common Eider and Double Creasted Cormorants we diving for food and we spotted an Osprey soaring over the water. But, the shorebirds were almost non-existant. Right before we headed for home we did stumble upon a small group of Ruddy Turnstones with a Semi-palmated Plover and Black-bellied Plover mixed in.

Barre Falls Dam/Rutland State Park (9/16)

On Saturday we spent the day exploring the area around Barre Falls Dam. On the road in to the dam, we spotted some friends, Mark Lynch and Sheila Carroll, who had stopped to check out a Praying Mantis. While everyone talked, I explored the area adjacent to the road and it was amazing what could be found. Several Peck's Skippers flitter about the grass along with a couple of Katydids. Just outside the mow line, Selfheal and Smooth Aster were prevalent.

Since it was a sunny but cool day I thought that I might be able to find some snakes so I started searching the brush cuts on each side of the road. After a couple of minutes of looking I spotted a Garter Snake who slithered into the woods. I followed it down a small offshoot path and discovered one of the strangest things I'd ever seen. On the ground were what appeared to be three dinosaur eggs. They were actually giant puffballs. I'd never seen them even half this big. The first two were pretty big but the third was at least as big as a bowling ball. I took a picture of it next to my water bottle to give a sense of the proper scale. It was immense.

Next we drove down to the open field below the hawk watch site and did a little butterflying. There was a lot of activity, mostly Clouded and Orange Sulphurs and Cabbage Whites. But there were also Viceroys, Monarchs, Common Wood Nymphs, and at least one Great Spangled Fritillary. We even spotted a couple of New England Buck Moths, one which let me get a good shot of it.

Amongst the butterflies Mark spotted an unique sulphur. It was only about half the size of the other individuals in the field. We thought that it might have been a rarity so I took some pictures. But it turns out that it was just a small Clouded Sulphur. But his size wasn't holding him back. As we watched, he tried to mate with several of his species.

After a short lunch we headed back up to the hawk watch site and met up with Bart Kamp and the rest of the "hardcore" hawk watchers. Right when we got there I spotted a Cooper's Hawk and a Sharp-shinned Hawk in flight above the treeline. But, after a while of searching the skies I got bored and decided to take a walk around the area. In the clear cut area above the parking lot I found a small group of Eastern Phoebes. Back in the field, I saw a few Monarchs who seemed to be in migration. When I got back to the parking lot, Bart and the group had begun to find small groups of Broad-winged Hawks kettling before peeling off and heading south.

Unfortunately we couldn't stay for too long because we wanted to take the long way home thru Rutland State Park. We drove slowly thru the park looking for anything interesting. Our first stop was at a small pond where we were surprised to see that some of the maples had already started to turn red.

We continued thru the forest and before stopping at one of the best fields on the property. It was full of Goldenrod in bloom which made it look particularly spectacular. The fruit trees that bordered the field were packed with Cedar Waxwings and we had a great time observing them. Then we took one final walk along the pond opposite of the field to see if we could locate anything interesting. The water was absolutely still which allowed for a perfect surface for getting a reflection of the clouds above.

At the edge of the water several Milkweed plants were in bloom. One of the seed pods was covered with these strange bugs. We spotted a Monarch caterpillar on another plant. The area was also filled with butterflies including a Viceroy and a Mourning Cloak. As we turned to head back to the car, my father almost stepped on a Brown Snake that was crossing the road.

Before we left the park, I had to make one more stop. Mark and Sheila had told us of a patch of Bottle Gentian that was in bloom. After a short walk, I finally located the plants and took about 100 photos of them. I got a couple nice shots of the plant and a good one of the flower. It was a great way to end the day.

The Animals Will Miss You, Steve!

As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin died on Labor Day. While filming some footage in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Steve was killed when he unknowingly swam over a stingray and the frightened animal stung him in the chest.

This truly is a horrible loss for any lover of nature. Steve was a world reknown star whose show reached over 200 million viewers. I always will think of him as the Jane Goodall of crocodiles. His detractors will say that his his "aggressive" attitude towards the animals he filmed was the wrong approach. They would say that this stressed the animals out while attracting more viewers who wanted to see daredevil antics than those interested in nature.

In principle, these criticisms are right. But, anyone who watched more than a couple of episodes of the show has to realize that this was a man with a passion for animals and conservation. I remember an episode, I believe it was on elephants, where Steve got so emotional that he broke down on camera. This stuff just can't be faked. He truly cared deeply, down to his very soul, about these animals. And he was able to channel this passion and harness it for good. He brought the natural world into everyone's living room. He introduced people of all ages, but especially children, to the animal world. And (I'm paraphrasing a quote that I can't place)

We conserve what we love.
We love what we understand.
We understand what were are taught.

Steve was an educator with unconventional methods. But, the world is a much sadder place without him. My deepest condolences to Terri, Bindy, Bob and the rest of the Irwin family.

Worcester Cemeteries (9/10)

On Sunday we didn't feel like traveling so we walked around the cemeteries near my parents house in Auburn. We started at All Faiths Cemetery. The pond was filled with Mallards but we did find a Great Blue Heron, some Wood Ducks, and what we think were Blue-winged Teal.

Next was Notre Dame Cemetery. There wasn't much there except for one Great Egret hunting for lunch. We finished up with a short hike thru Hadwen Park. Along the trail there, we heard a White-breasted Nuthatch in the trees and saw a Belted Kingfisher as it flew up the brook.

All thru the forest, the Wood Aster was in bloom and along the road I found what I think is Canada Hawkweed. Not a fantastic day, but fun anyhow.

Wachusett Reservoir (9/9)

After lunch on Saturday I headed over to Tower Hill Botanical Garden to see what their plant sale had to offer. Everything was great but I decided on Obedient Plant... Then I headed to the reservoir for a short hike. There were a few birds on the water and they were all congregating in one area. The "flock" consisted of Double Crested Cormorants, Great Egrets, Mallards, and a single Great Blue Heron.

Greenbriar Park : Oxford, MA (9/9)

On Saturday morning I headed over to Greenbriar Park for a short hike. It was a typical early Fall day, sunny but a bit cold. I parked over by the ball field and headed down the path that skirts the pond. The beginning of the path was surrounded with Jewelweed. Some of it was perfectly lit for a picture.

After walking through the woods, the path breaks out into a small clearing. Some birders were already there and they had located a Scarlet Tananger which they graciously pointed out to me. The birder's had been out earlier in the morning and had seen an American Bittern and a Sharp-shinned Hawk but not much else. Their report foreshadowed my morning. I was able to locate a few birds here and there but they were mostly our year round residents (American Robins, Downy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees).

But, when you get outside, there's always SOMETHING to see. While talking to the birders, I spotted a plant that I'd never seen before. Using the Connecticut Botanical Society's fantastic web site I was able to identify it as Bluecurls (what a cool name!). Along the water's edge was what I think was Pickerelweed.

The mushrooms were also out at Greenbriar. I found a few of the toadstool variety and one futuristic looking puffball.

But, the sighting of the day happened on the way back to the car. I just about stumbled into a Garter Snake who was sunning himself on a bush. His color was absolutely unbelievable. The stripes were dark and his skin was unblemished. I have to believe that he just recently shed his skin (I just learned that snakes do this on average six times a year). Anyhow, the conditions were perfect for photos and I got a few nice ones of his entire body and a ton of great closeup shots. What a great find!

Plum Island (9/4)

On Labor Day my parents and I celebrated by getting up early and heading out to Plum Island. Its a long drive but we still got to the island before 9:00. It was a beautifully clear morning and the view of the rolling dunes from the boardwalk was unbelievable.

But, being the start of September, the birding was a bit spotty. The ducks are just starting to congregate as they fly south for the winter. We were able to pick out a few nice ones including several Green Wing Teal and at least one Gadwall.

For raptors, we had one quick glance at a Peregrin Falcon and several long looks at a few Northern Harriers.

Birds: Eastern Towhee, American Redstart, Black-bellied Plover, Semi-palmated Plover, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird, Northern Harrier, Great Egret, Snowey Egret, Turkey Vulture, Canada Goose, Mallard, Green Wing Teal, Black Duck, Gadwall, Great Blue Heron, Herring Gull, Mourning Dove, Double-crested Cormorant, Tree Swallow, American Crow, Greater Black-backed Gull, Peregrin Falcon, Osprey, American Goldfinch, Least Sandpiper, Gray Catbird, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowager, Sanderling, Ring Bill Gull

Delaney WMA: Stow, MA (9/2)

Last Saturday was another gloomy day but I decided to venture outside anyway. This time my destination was Delaney WMA in Stow/Bolton/Harvard. I started my hike at the back of the property (the side away from the boat launch). After parking I started to hike thru the woody area which surrounds one of the ponds. The forest was deathly quiet. The only calling birds were a small flock of Chickadees. The only other sound that broke the silence was a loud chainsaw in the distance.

I hiked for a short distance without seeing much other than mushrooms. They were everywhere. The entire path was covered with them. I found a large Chicken Mushroom, a few different toadstool species, and one trio with red caps. You could really tell that they were taking full advantage of the wet summer we've had.

I hiked until the path opened up to provide a nice view of the pond. My arrival spooked a Great Blue Heron who took off in search of a better hideout. Amongst the reeds and blooming Arrowroot, I was able to coax a response from a Virginia Rail.

At this point I decided to retrace my steps and head towards the boatlaunch. I crossed the street and entered the woods again. This trail bordered a larger pond which was actually pretty busy. A few Wood Ducks flew from the center of the pond into more sheltered areas in preparation for the impending storm. A Belted Kingfisher flew across the pond and I spotted a Green Heron along the shoreline. But the strangest sight was a Killdeer who was walking over the lillypads searching for bugs. I'd never seen this behavior before and it was really fun to watch.

Before the weather got any worse, I decided to continue the hike. Along the path I found this bizarre caterpillar which arched its back in some weird defense mechanism. Further down the trail I crossed paths with a large American Toad and was able to get one shot of it before it hopped into the grass.

I walked until I got to one of the best butterfly fields on the property. Even though it was cold and overcast I was still able to find Common Wood Nymphs, Cabbage Whites, Eastern Tailed-blues, and Sulphurs. Nothing special but nice anyhow.

After exploring the field I headed back to the car. Just before the parking lot I notice Wooly Aphids on a Hawthorne bush. These guys are the prey for the only carnivorous caterpillar in our area, the Harvester. But try as I would, I couldn't find a caterpillar.

Broad Meadow Brook: Worcester, MA (8/27)

Sunday morning was cool, dark, and gloomy... not the best day for a butterfly walk. But my Mom was signed up to lead a trip at Broad Meadow Brook and we did have one club member who was interested in giving it a try.

We got to BMB around 10:00 and started by looking around the butterfly garden. Nothing was moving but I did find a bumblebee resting on the Joe-Pye-Weed. I don't know if bees sleep, but if they do, that's what this guys was doing. I know that if I was his size, this flower would be a very comfortable place to spend the night.

Other than the Joe-Pye-Weed, the garden was filled with late blooming flowers including New England Aster, Butterfly Bush, and even a Sunflower or two.

After waiting for a few minutes for any last second stragglers, we left the visitor's center and drove down to Dunkirk Ave. We hiked down the stretch and over the brook to the wet meadow. Absolutely nothing was flying, butterfly or bird. So, we continued up to the Powerlines. As we hiked thru the woods, we noticed a plant covering the ground and climbing all over any structure it could. I had identified this plant last year, but I had to look it up again. Turns out it was Hog-Peanut.

When we got to the powerlines, we found that they were just as quiet as the rest of the sanctuary. But, when you get outside you never know what you'll find. Along the the road I spotted the remains of turtle nest. The eggs had apparently been found and eaten by a scavenger. I was surprised to see how far the nest was from the water. I've hiked from the brook to the powerlines thru the woods and it is not easy. I can only imagine the challenge it is for a small turtle.

Not seeing anything flying, we decided to try to scare something up by walking thru the field. Not far from the road we found a group of 5 or 6 Black and Yellow Argiopes. They were all pretty large and I was even able to find an egg sac. As I tried to get out of the field I stumbled on a cool caterpillar. I'm not entirely sure what species it was, but I'm guessing that it was a moth caterpillar.

We didn't get totally "skunked" on out butterfly trip but it was pretty close. We were able to scare up a Common Ringlet and an Eastern Tailed-blue, but that was it. So, we gave up and headed back down to Trioano Brookside Trail. There we found that at least some birds had braved the inclement weather. I spotted a Green Heron along the stream and a couple Tree Swallows circled the water. But the highlight was the American Goldfinches. They were everywhere picking seeds off the flowers that rimmed the brook. I'd never seen this species in such great numbers. There must be a pretty good foodsource at BMB to attract them.

Nighthawks: Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester (8/26)

On Saturday night (8/26) my Dad and I went over to Notre Dame Cemetery to check for migrating Nighthawks. We got over there around 6:30 and started scanning the skies for the birds. Soon after we arrived, we ran into a birding friend, Fran McMenemy. Fran had gotten to the cemetery earlier than us but hadn't seen a bird yet. As we talked, I watched a few Chimney Swifts hunting above us. When it got to be 7:15 or so and we still hadn't seen a Nighthawk, Fran decided to head over to Rt. 56 to see if the situation was any better over there. But we decided to stay a bit longer.

And we were rewarded for our patience. Around 7:30 we spotted our first Nighthawk... then another... and another. All the birds seems to be heading south and only strayed from this path to catch the random bug. In total we counted 18. It wasn't spectacular but it was the best that I've seen this year.

But, the real show was on Wednesday. My parents went back to the cemetery and had a great night. They counted over 600 birds. And this experience was mirrored at other sites in Central Massachusetts. You can read some of the reports at Rick Quimby's site.

Westboro WMA (8/26)

So, I'm a bit behind again (due to all the pictures from the Cape that I needed to process) but I hope to catch up soon. Anyhow, Back a couple of Saturdays ago I spent the morning at Westboro WMA. The sun was out but it was a bit cool. I parked outside one of the lower gates and made my way to the small pond. All around the water, Jewelweed (Touch-me-not) was in full bloom. A pair of Eastern Phoebes rested on the Wood Duck boxes before swooping down over the water to catch insects.

After enjoying the water for a few minutes, started my hike down the main road. The area was as green as I can ever remember it. The field was full of blooming Goldenrod, Joe-Pye-weed, and Evening Primrose. Hedge Bindweed wove its way into the mix and Purple Loosestrife poked up wherever the field was sufficiently wet. I even located a couple more flowers that I didn't know and have yet to identify (#1, #2).

Unfortunately, for the most part, this beautiful field was pretty calm. I spotte a couple Eastern Kingbirds in the trees and heard the distinctive call of Cedar Waxwings from the bushes but the bird activity was low. The butterflies were pretty standard too. My list included the basics (Monarch, Sulphurs, Cabbage White) but a Black Swallowtail was a nice find.