Local 4/18--Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren

I had a couple of interesting finds this morning on my walk in the WMA. At the lake I inadvertently flushed 2 Wood Ducks from the same little cove that I flushed them last month. They don't seem to be there very often and they're not using the nest box in the middle of the lake--Tree Swallows seem to have made it their home. It's about 4 times bigger than a swallow box, so they're living large.

Later, walking the part of the trail that runs behind the Deerfield Clubhouse I came across my first House Wren of the year. Seemed an appropriate place to find it. I also saw a Pine Warbler on the ground by the lake, picking threads from a plant to use, presumably, as nesting material.

Whiting WMA
26 species
Canada Goose  2
Wood Duck  2
Mallard  2
Wild Turkey  X    heard gobbling in the woods
Turkey Vulture  1
Mourning Dove  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Blue Jay  4
American Crow  1
Fish Crow  2
Tree Swallow  6    Three on lake, three in third field
Carolina Chickadee  10
Tufted Titmouse  5
House Wren  1    On trail behind Deerfield Clubhouse
Eastern Bluebird  4
American Robin  12
Palm Warbler  1
Pine Warbler  2    One picking up nesting material near the lake
Eastern Towhee  10
Chipping Sparrow  22
Song Sparrow  2
Northern Cardinal  2
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
House Finch  2
American Goldfinch  2


Back at my desk, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk fly into the tree outside my window. All the other birds--and the squirrels--vanished immediately. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photos: Shari Zirlin

The most interesting spot today was the "slump" across the path from our house. Last night, for the 2nd  time this week, we heard an Eastern Whip-poor-will. It sounded like it was just inside the slump in the trees that surround the weedy, prickly pear filled field. Shari and I decided to check the leaf litter and low branches of the trees this afternoon, hoping to finally actually see a whip-poor-will. No luck there, but while searching Shari found our FOY Red-breasted Nuthatch.


Before I could see it, it flew. Looking around, Shari heard tapping, too soft to be a woodpecker. Then I saw it. Notice the hole behind the bird. The tapping was the nuthatch digging out the hole in the tree. It looks like we have a nesting nuthatch a hundred feet from the kitchen door.

I'll check the hole frequently to see if the bird is really ensconced there.


The theme of this post seems to be nests, so an update on our bluebird box is in order. Up until today, I hadn't seen any evidence of avian interest in the box, but this afternoon, when I opened the lid, I found a semi-circle of sticks at the bottom. Some bird is starting (or started and abandoned) building a nest. I have no idea if it is a bluebird, a wren, or a goddamn House Sparrow (2 of which I saw on our lawn this morning), but I'll be very interested to find out. I don't want to disturb the nest, now that I know there's something in it, though. 


Slump list, all birds on the outskirts of the field (we hadn't sprayed ourselves with insect repellent and the field is a perfect haven for deer ticks). 
"Slump" on Sunset Rd.
9 species
Turkey Vulture  1
Carolina Chickadee  1
Tufted Titmouse  1
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1    Going in & out of hole in dead tree.
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
American Robin  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Chipping Sparrow  1
Brown-headed Cowbird  2