Baltimore Orioles Work on Their Nest

It was gray and cool this morning but I went out birding anyway, since it's such a great time of year.  I stopped at Gryncel Park and found a pair of Baltimore Orioles that were preparing a nest.  The male was singing his encouragement to the female.  The female was stripping long thin strips of green branches, which she then gathered and carried up to a high point in the treetops where she started weaving them into what will eventually be a hanging round basket nest.  Click here for a photo of a completed Baltimore Oriole nest.

I put out orange slices in my backyard yesterday, hoping to lure some of these beauties to my own yard.  Hope it works!

Baltimore Oriole (female)

Gathering Fibers for Nest

Baltimore Oriole (male)

Weaving of the Fibers at the Chosen Nest Site

If you see a Baltimore Oriole in Massachusetts, Mass Audubon wants to know about it.  Report your sightings here.  Citizen scientists provide valuable data!  I'm reporting!  Hope you do, too!

Birds seen:

Baltimore Oriole

Canada Goose

European Starling

Gray Catbird

Northern Cardinal

Red-Winged Blackbird

Wild Turkey

It's a great time of year, even when the skies are gray (although I prefer the sunshine)!

At lunchtime it was misting, but I headed over to Beals Preserve anyway to see what I might find there.  A Northern Flicker was calling on the opposite side of Ice Pond.  Looked like there may be a nest hole there.  At the intersection of Lone Wolf Trail and the main trail, there was  Great Crested Flycatcher calling (my first of 2014).

Great Crested Flycatcher

(lousy record shot)

The channel had a lot of active Tree, Barn and Northern Rough-Winged Swallows.

Barn Swallow

(the only swallow with a forked tail)

Birds seen:

American Crow

American Robin

Barn Swallow

Black-Capped Chickadee

Eastern Phoebe

Mourning Dove (calling only)

Northern Flicker

Northern Rough-Winged Swallow
Red-Winged Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Yellow Warbler

Misty days are a great day to spend in the garden....I would have loved to visit Tower Hill Botanic Garden today.  I love water droplets on beautiful blossoms!  Here's a few from my own front yard.

 House Wren (shaking the drops out of its feathers)

 Gray Catbird

 The last of the peach blossoms

(yesterday it was snowing pink blossoms!)