Thursday, June 18, 2009

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp outing part 3, New Hampshire

Howdee all,

We had a great time birding and chatting our way through Plum Island, but we were way off schedule and needed to get to NH.

After yummy Roast beef sandwiches at the Courtyard restaurant in Newburyport we left for New Hampshire.

Lowie from the Worn Field Guide is doing a big year in NH and was our guide for part of this trip.

She took us to Newmarket to see the nesting Mississippi Kites.(read about the 2008 sightings and history of these birds At Picus blog) We saw mom on the nest….her head and tail..

Waited a bit hoping dad would fly in..but he didn't..

I didn't take a photo of the Kite on the nest but John from Birding in Maine did!

Ok..use your imagination the nest is in the one of those trees to the left of the telephone pole…or go to Johns blog for the real thing!

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_111 After seeing the nesting Kite. We went on to Chapmans landing to see the Saltmarsh and the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_129Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_114We walked thru these amazing grasses which aren't the grasses that you see in the above photo..but ones that blended in with the grasses in the photo below..as we walked on the grass it emitted a wonderful fragrant odor reminiscent of cilantro! I wanted to bottle it. I forget what type of grass Lowie said they were…Lowie??? Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_117Lowie was determined to get both Sparrows for us! Thanks Lowie, You rock!Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_118 We saw many Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows and a few quick and not so cooperative looks at Nelsons.

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_119

Christopher or Steve will probably know what type of Dragon fly this is.Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_121Red-winged blackbird ….the black box upper right..is used in Green fly control, according to Sharon, from A New England Life.. Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_120Lowie left us to go farther north in NH…to add more birds to her big year.

Christopher our fearless leader took over and we listened to a Virginia Rail about ten feet from us..but it never showed itself.

Nice hat Steve!

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_126 it was in the shrubs and grasses to the left of our shadows. Do you see me taking the photo?Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_127Christopher then took us to Pease air force base to look for Upland Sandpipers. We saw Upland dots…small far away looks. So I didn't count it as a life bird..bummer..

Great looks of a Raven Mom and her young on tall dirt piles..

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_130Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_131It was a long day and the sun was setting! We went to another area of Pease to see if we could get better looks of the Uplands.Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_135 But officer…I am not taking photos for anti government espionage!…Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_136 Never did get good looks of the Uplands..will save that until our next visit..

We had a wonderful time with some great people!

I would love to continue these outings for Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp..and encourage all of you to have outings as well.

You may purchase buttons for your BwBTC outings at Zazzle..or just wait until I come to your area and set up a get together…

I give them as a gift because…

I like to.

Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp_20090613_132

Thanks again To Christopher who did a marvelous job planning and Leading us.

Thanks Lowie for staying longer that you should have…

Thanks to my Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp friends for coming..It was so nice to meet all of you from blogs that I already know and love..and to meet others who's blogs are new to me.

See you all in Cyberspace…until we meet again!

21 comments:

  1. Love the shadow pictures Dawn. So glad you could get at least a glimpse of the Mississippi Kite! It sounds as if you all had an eventful day. Great job putting it all together w/ Christopher.

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  2. it must have been very cool to meet up with such a group of interesting birdie people!

    John has some great photos of the day - especially one of a Yellow Warbler. stunning.

    Happy birding
    Dale Forbes

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  3. Interesting set of posts on your recent birding adventures. Each geographical area has its own unique mix of birds.

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  4. Love your reports and photos Dawn! I was at the first part of this story, but missed the rest. That's the only bummer with living so far away, had to get home.

    BTW, thanks Dale!

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  5. Triglochin maritima aka seaside arrowgrass smells nice. Like a freshly pressed and ironed shirt with a little sprig of cilantro.


    I warned Chris about security at Pease!!! Did you get Grasshopper Sparrow or do you need to come back so I can be your hero. I promise you they were there!

    Sigh... I love New Hampshire.

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  6. if I ever get over to the northeast of the states, there are lots of cool bloggers there that I would love to meet up with!

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  7. Nice post Dawn, I am sorry i missed that part of it.

    dan

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  8. Dowan, you've really done a spectacular job blogging the trip!!! What a great day, and you captured the essence of it wonderfully well. Thanks for being a driving force in this. I think we should definitely plan to do thies every time you are in town (and I'll probably do a few without you)

    Anybody else out there reading these posts & comments - look into doing on of these days yourself - and definintely with Dawn & Jeff when they come your way!

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  9. I love your dragonfly! And your shadows are absolutely marvelous!!

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  10. Another great day birding in a beautiful green setting. Nice dragonfly.

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  11. Security #1 to Chris,"HALT or I'll shoot!" BANG!
    Security #2, "Lucky for you he halted!" :)

    BTW, thanks for the button.

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  12. Darned it all Dawn I wish you had my cell #! From Chapmans Landing you can almost see my house!!! I was literally just a few minutes away. This spring I actually did a couple posts about the landing when the ice was going out. Did you see the Osprey?

    They flagged you down at Pease, huh? Did you go to the wildlife preserve, or hang out of the fringes of the runway? That's what it looks like since the fence is right there. Wow, you guys were on a birding frenzy!

    Great shadow and cloud pictures too! Oh, and the black boxes in the marsh are actually used to control the ever nasty Greenhead flies! Those suckers bite!

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  13. Getting caught up on the blogs - glad you mentioned the kite. I saw it last year, hope to get over again this year, but not for a few weeks. Off to CM for a family visit, then Maine. Then J-A I'm ready to go chasing when something needs chasing.

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  14. I am loving the reports from the blogger get-together! Brilliant.

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  15. Oh, dear, I don't now diddly about dragon flies. I'm going to sandbag and see if Chris comes to the rescue.

    Now Greenheads, I have an English friend that jokes with me and says that is the real reason the British left New England! For those that are not from the area, Greenheads are like horse flies or deer flies with big green eyes that come out of the salt marshes in July and August. They are biters. It is believed that these dark boxes in the salt marsh help keep the populations down.

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  16. Kallen305
    Thanks Kim! It was a fun time..we are also planning one in the next month in Ct. if you might be interested. I know you are a busy animal activist recently..good luck saving the grasshopper sparrows!

    Dale Forbes
    Thanks Dale ..we had a super time! Johns photos always amaze me!

    Ruth
    Yes..thats whats so fun about birding..different areas to see while looking for birds.

    MaineBirder
    Yeah ..I can understand..you really traveled a long way..Glad you and Sharon came!

    Lowie
    I love seaside arrowgrass and want to bottle it as perfume..make candles and incense out of it..
    We did not get the grasshopper sparrow..So yes we need to come back...But you are my hero anyway for being such and intense birder.You are that Green heron!

    Sigh..I love NH too...but I love so many other places..I cant keep still..

    Dale Forbes
    Just let us know..we will plan something, if you are visiting and we are nearby.

    forestal
    Yes sorry you missed that part of the trip to...but you had poor sick baby..glad he is well.

    Christopher
    Thanks Christopher..We will contact you the next time we are in Ma..in the meantime..Ct..would love to have you join us! So glad you plan to keep on doing these get togethers..

    bobbie
    Thanks bobbie...but you are the queen of shadow shots!

    Gaelyn
    Thanks..I still dont know what kind of dragonfly it is..must do some research when i have time.

    Andy
    hee hee..actually the fellow was quite nice to him.

    A New England Life
    yeah..i wish I knew you were that close too..oh well
    Yeah ..the fellow at pease didnt seem to annoyed..thank goodness!..
    thanks for the info on the greeflies..I changed the blog post!

    Chris Petrak
    ok..what is CM and J-A? where are u going?

    Mike
    Thanks mike..hope you can join us sometime!

    flowers
    Yeah flowers are nice..but I usually just pick a few wild ones and put in a vase..

    Steve B
    Oh darn..Chris didnt respond..so guess he doesnt know either..I will have to do my own research i guess.
    Yeah those greenflies are nasty..they take out chunks of skin!

    Thank you all for commenting...you make the blog worthwile!

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  17. Dawn-
    Just remembered this from Saturday. Remember standing in the Visitor Center Parking Lot and suddenly hearing a Willet?? A few of us kind of started looking around before we realized it was Chris's phone! :-P hehe

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  18. That grass looks so soft and inviting. I bet I'd change my tune after taking a roll in it though.

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  19. Look at that marsh grass! All the pics are so beautiful, but the grasses are so plush it makes everything more beautiful.... (teehee... I just saw the comment above me...very true, very true. Those marshy grasses have teeth in the back of their blades!)

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  20. OK, I've done a little bit of searching, and I think think that the dragonfly is a female Seaside Dragonlet. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back on this - I like them, just not very good at ID'ing them quickly.

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  21. Damn..had a few comments i neglected to comment back on...sorry.

    birdsonthebrain
    Yes! I do remember that! I must get a cooler ringtone!

    Earl Cootie
    The grass was damp..but smelled delightful..I should have rolled in it myself!

    jayedized
    Oh they have teeth?? never mind..glad I didnt roll in it!

    Christopher
    Thanks so much for the dragonfly ID!!

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ok what do you really think?????