West Yarmouth, MA
We had the sun on our side for my return visit to Cape Cod Gymnastics for another bird walk! I was greeted by some enthusiastic birdocular-wearing Bird Nerds! I noticed some familiar faces as well as new faces, and they all seemed excited to head outside in search of some feathered friends.
Again, almost immediately, we spotted a sparrow as soon as we were in the parking lot. House Sparrows, both male & female were right nearby and conveniently perching on fences so the kiddos could get accustomed to using their birdoculars and focusing on field marks so they could identify bird species from one another.
We heard Fish Crows pretty quickly once we ventured onto Summer Street, followed shortly thereafter by an American Crow. What's interesting about noticing these two closely related species together is that when they start making their vocalizations, you can absolutely hear the difference in their voices, which is the best method of distinguishing which species is which.
I have to believe each and every Bird Nerd on this walk will remember the song of the Eastern Towhee, "Drink your teeeaaaaa...". We were so lucky to get such great viewings of an Eastern Towhee male calling out this very distinct call. Once we headed back, I was distracted by what I originally thought was a grasshopper. Nope. It was a spider basically crossing the road and heading right TOWARDS US! Yes. I can be foolishly fearless when it comes to critters. I have worked with a long list of animals and I majored in Animal Science. Arachnids however, will send me into complete body goose bumps and my fight or flight, goes straight to flight. Yep. They all saw my phobic reaction to the spider (no photo available!) who seemed to not want us on his/her dirt road. I'm telling you, this thing was in ATTACK mode! I can laugh at myself, after my goosebumps settled! So I did!
I hope I get to see some of these gymnasts in the future to hear about the latest bird sighting they had! Thanks again Jen for having me! I really loved spending time with these sweet kids! (double click photos to enlarge)
Our List:
House Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Fish Crow
American Crow
Mourning Dove
Eastern Towhee
Great-crested Flycatcher
American Goldfinch
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| House Sparrow - female |
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| House Sparrow - female |
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| Mourning Dove |
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| Great-crested Flycatcher (not my best photo of one!) |
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| Fungus is not my specialty...these might be jack-o-lantern mushrooms...? |
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| Eastern Towhee - male |
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| Eastern Towhee - male He was singing up a storm for us! |
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| Eastern Towhee - male |
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| Excellent birdocular technique |
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| Comparing the bird seen to the birds in the guide |
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| Bird Nerds! |
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| Appreciating the wild flowers |
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| Mourning Dove |
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| Mourning Dove |
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