On this Saturday before Easter; the weather finally lent itself to my first decent birding opportunity. I could have gone to Lake Park to attend the first warbler walk of the new season, but instead I chose one of my favorite avian haunts; Havenwoods State Forest. I arrived at around 9:00 AM and parked in the lot. There were two other vehicles there, but no humans in sight as I strapped on all my gear. Sure a person can go bird watching with little to no "gear," however I am not that person...I love gear. Two binoculars (one for close viewing and another for long viewing, my camo fanny pack that has my guides in it, my snazzy patch-ensembled birding vest, and my always reliable Fuji Finepix digital camera.) I always wear a brimmed hat (most often a ball cap) and my trusty hiking boots for the oft-muddy conditions.
Almost as soon as I walked away from the WPT, I heard several Black-capped chickadees singing their spring "hey-sweetie" song. That is a sound that I dearly love to hear each year. The next birds I saw were a pair of FOYs (first of year) Brown-headed cowbird males. Their bubbly "tinkling" vocalizations are another welcome sound. I began walking north around the community garden (like I always do) when I "thought" I heard the faint double sounds of a Brown thrasher. Having seen them at Havenwoods in the past; I decided to walk in that direction to see if I could see one. With the deciduous trees completely leafless; it's always a tremendous opportunity to be able to see an elusive thrasher.
While I walked along, I heard and saw numerous other species. It appeared as though the Red-winged blackbird male's long wait for female company had finally born fruit as I saw several near their male suitors. Still; they looked as though they were acting aloof and coy by sitting off to one side in the branches, enjoying the attention being payed to them. One bonafide "pair" did seem to have come a mutual agreement and hopped from branch to branch together as I watched. That's when I heard the thrasher very clearly. It must have situated itself in a tree it fancied and decided to begin its song, or should I say "songs." Brown thrashers are a larger bird (11-1/2" long) and belong to the same family as mockingbirds, but unlike the mockingbird sing their songs in stanzas of two. Thrashers have been known to have over 1,100 songs in their repertoire. The oldest known Brown thrasher was nearly 12 years old when it died. These birds are so darned amazing to listen to that one can stand for many minutes, completely enthralled at their incredible ability.
Another interesting thing happened when I spotted a "snake board" lying on the grass. I carefully lifted it to see if there may be a snake lying just underneath and to my surprise; I discovered three woolly bear caterpillars that must have overwintered there. A pair of opportunistic Tree swallows decided to perform an early-bird check-in at one of the bluebird houses next to the large pond. I figured it wouldn't be long until someone connected with monitoring the trail evicted them unceremoniously. A Belted kingfisher clattered by and a trio of Rough-winged swallows skimmed the water's surface looking for an early hatch of flying insects.
A took a walk to the far north of the forest along the train tracks and discovered the remains of a white tail or two. I surmised that the animal must have been struck by the train and summarily dismembered and eaten by Havenwoods many coyotes. I also wandered into what looked like an illegal pot growing operation that was now abandoned. The ancient infrastructure of a bisecting train trestle quietly rusted overhead as I inspected the colorful graffiti below on the concrete abutments. My eyes were also drawn to a curious sight in the surrounding trees. This was something that might have escaped the casual onlooker's notice, however these objects were not merely hanging from branches; two rubber automobile tires were suspended some twenty feet above the ground as if they had been "ringed" over small emerging saplings in the distant past.
These two trees are tired
Oh Deer!
Woolly Bear all curled up in a ball for warmth
This guy's nobody's sucker...just a bit sappy
I finished my two and a half hour walk totaling thirty species. I was completely impressed and satisfied with the variety I had encountered, this early in the spring:
On this Saturday before Easter; the weather finally lent itself to my first decent birding opportunity. I could have gone to Lake Park to attend the first warbler walk of the new season, but instead I chose one of my favorite avian haunts; Havenwoods State Forest. I arrived at around 9:00 AM and parked in the lot. There were two other vehicles there, but no humans in sight as I strapped on all my gear. Sure a person can go bird watching with little to no "gear," however I am not that person...I love gear. Two binoculars (one for close viewing and another for long viewing, my camo fanny pack that has my guides in it, my snazzy patch-ensembled birding vest, and my always reliable Fuji Finepix digital camera.) I always wear a brimmed hat (most often a ball cap) and my trusty hiking boots for the oft-muddy conditions.
Almost as soon as I walked away from the WPT, I heard several Black-capped chickadees singing their spring "hey-sweetie" song. That is a sound that I dearly love to hear each year. The next birds I saw were a pair of FOYs (first of year) Brown-headed cowbird males. Their bubbly "tinkling" vocalizations are another welcome sound. I began walking north around the community garden (like I always do) when I "thought" I heard the faint double sounds of a Brown thrasher. Having seen them at Havenwoods in the past; I decided to walk in that direction to see if I could see one. With the deciduous trees completely leafless; it's always a tremendous opportunity to be able to see an elusive thrasher.
Another interesting thing happened when I spotted a "snake board" lying on the grass. I carefully lifted it to see if there may be a snake lying just underneath and to my surprise; I discovered three woolly bear caterpillars that must have overwintered there. A pair of opportunistic Tree swallows decided to perform an early-bird check-in at one of the bluebird houses next to the large pond. I figured it wouldn't be long until someone connected with monitoring the trail evicted them unceremoniously. A Belted kingfisher clattered by and a trio of Rough-winged swallows skimmed the water's surface looking for an early hatch of flying insects.
A took a walk to the far north of the forest along the train tracks and discovered the remains of a white tail or two. I surmised that the animal must have been struck by the train and summarily dismembered and eaten by Havenwoods many coyotes. I also wandered into what looked like an illegal pot growing operation that was now abandoned. The ancient infrastructure of a bisecting train trestle quietly rusted overhead as I inspected the colorful graffiti below on the concrete abutments. My eyes were also drawn to a curious sight in the surrounding trees. This was something that might have escaped the casual onlooker's notice, however these objects were not merely hanging from branches; two rubber automobile tires were suspended some twenty feet above the ground as if they had been "ringed" over small emerging saplings in the distant past.
I finished my two and a half hour walk totaling thirty species. I was completely impressed and satisfied with the variety I had encountered, this early in the spring:
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