Backyard Visitors

It may be that I pushed myself too hard yesterday, because today I was sick as a dog and couldn't work and had no energy to do anything.  As a result, the only photos today were taken all at the same time from the railing of my deck.  It was a beautiful spring day, sunny and high 60s.  I only wish I would have felt well enough to enjoy it!

 Downy Woodpecker

 Mourning Cloak

Gray Squirrel

Eastern Comma Butterfly

I was not feeling too much better today, but I forced myself to get outside before another week sitting at a desk all day.  It was a gorgeous spring day, in the high 60s and sunny.   Humans came out of hibernation today:  they were bicycling, kayaking, motor boating, riding motorcycles, walking and just enjoying the great outdoors!

I started the day in Westboro, first at the Westboro Wildlife Management Area, where I enjoyed Wood Ducks, Common Mergansers, Ring-Necked Ducks, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, and Bufflehead.  Model airplane hobbyists soon showed up with their planes, and I got out of there, not wanting to try to cross the field once they started flying.



I stopped at Heirloom Harvest CSA next, where I enjoyed tons of Tree Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Mockingbirds, Killdeer, Song Sparrows, a Red-Tailed Hawk and an American Kestrel.  The tree swallows were checking out all the nesting boxes.

 Tree Swallow

Hopkinton State Park

After a lunch/rest break I took an afternoon walk at Tower Hill Botanic Garden where I happily discovered two species of spring-flying butterflies in the woods and some pretty spring blooms in the gardens.

American Robin

White-Breasted Nuthatch

 first Garter Snake of the year

 Eastern Comma

I first saw this butterfly right in the path, but it took off and flew deep into the woods before I could snap a photo.  Then, I continued walking and flushed another one in a sunny patch on the path.  This one, which I presumed to be the same individual, returned again and again to the same sunny area, so I was able to sit right down and take as many photos as I wanted.  I had to accept whatever position it was in when it landed, though, because if I moved at all, it would take flight.

This view allows you to see the white "comma" marking on the outside of its wing, from which it gets its name.

 Mourning Cloak

Both the Eastern Comma and the Mourning Cloak butterflies over-winter in Massachusetts in adult butterfly form.  They tuck away in a crack or crevice of bark, or sometimes under the eave of a house or shed.  That is why they are the earliest to be seen come a warm spring day.

 Birch Polypore

(underside)

Thanks!  I'll take another day just like this one please, only with a clear head!

Another Drizzly Cold Warm Day

My back feels better, but now I'm fighting a cold.  The weather was wet and miserable and cold this morning, followed by wet and miserable and warm the rest of the day.  Come on, sunshine!  We need you!

I went back to the Westboro WMA for my lunch break.  After work, I visited Hopkinton State Park and then Parkerville Road in Southboro.  Here are all the highlights and lowlights:

Song Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Tagged, and legible, but not in a format that is reportable.  Weird.

Melt, already!

Ducks and more Ducks

Which ones deserve the title?  Northern Shoveler?  Green-Winged Teals?  Wood Ducks?  Ring-Necked Ducks?  I couldn't decide.  They were all exciting to see!

It was 37 degrees and drizzling.  Miserable weather for humans.  Great weather for ducks!

Before I even got down to the water's edge, I spied an Osprey flying towards the water and then hovering, in the awesome way they do, over a fish it must have spied from above.  Pretty awesome predator, also known as a fish eagle.

Osprey

hovering

Northern Shoveler (male)

The Northern Shoveler is a very cool bird, not often seen by me.  It is named for its wide, long bill which has tons of filters in it for straining food from the water.  Fun fact I just read about this duck.  If the female is flushed from her nest, she will often defecate on her eggs.  The thought is that this will deter predators.  Well, it must work, or they wouldn't keep doing it, right?

Green-Winged Teals

Wood Ducks (sigh)

another shot with a better look at the female

Ring-Necked Ducks (female in front)

Curious little guy
Doesn't he look like he's had his head squeezed in a vise?

I was hiding in the trees and taking photos through a small opening in the branches.  These ducks swam closer to me, in their little flock of 9, and this one gave me a good long look.  Usually ducks are extremely skittish and fly off, making a lot of racket as they go.  Not this group.  Doesn't bode well for their survival, if you ask me.  It is a very handsome duck, but the only way you can see the ring on its neck is if it raises its head very high.  Then you can see rusty-colored feathers for which it is named.  It's another one of those bird names that makes no sense when you are only birding with binoculars, but whoever named them probably had a close look at a dead bird.

There were also Canada geese, gulls, Common Mergansers, Song Sparrows, a Northern Mockingbird, Blue Jays, and Tree Swallows.  Lots of activity at this area!  And at least with drizzle, I can still risk getting my camera out because all those birds aren't half as fun without the proof!

Amazing how many varieties of ducks I saw in a short time and how pretty and unique they each are.