BwBTC Bird Trustom Pond NWR

Howdee all,

After birding the mudflats and fun lunch stop at the Corner Deli in town,

we went to Trustom Pond NWR just a few miles south.

Which way do we go?

We followed the pathway to the left thru a large field.Jane showed us the caterpillar of the Monarch butterfly and the eggs.. Oh fun!

Thanks Jane! Isn't it beautiful?

Monarch Caterpillar on Milkweed

We stopped at the freshwater pond and checked out the wildlife, frogs, turtles, dragonflies and other critters.

Time to take the group photo…

hee hee..two second timer so it took a few tries before we got it right!

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We birded the grasses…  We birded the Salt water pond.. We birded the woodlands…

We saw a decent amount of birds..most of which I didn't capture on camera..

We caught a great burst of activity in the forest with warblers and vireos all over the place..it was very exciting and we didn't know which way to look first.

 

Here are a few birdie photos I did get..

Juvenile Ring-necked Pheasant

A juvenile Black-billed Cuckoo

    I had a terrific time birding, bugging, and enjoying nature with everyone.

Speaking of bugs…

Check out this funky bug that landed on Katie..  I forgot what Jane said it was…Jane?

I think its a weevil of some sort…

Thanks everyone for coming and making this a terrific day!

Check out these other accounts of our day!

Dans

Larrys

Johns

Cindys

 

Birds of the Afternoon

Canada Goose  
Mute Swan 
Wood Duck 
Mallard 
Ring-necked Pheasant 
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron 
Great Egret 
Snowy Egret       
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture 
Osprey 
Northern Harrier   
Caspian Tern
Black-billed Cuckoo 
Belted Kingfisher 
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe 
Eastern Kingbird 
White-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo 
Blue Jay 
American Crow 
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow 
Barn Swallow 
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
American Robin
Gray Catbird 
Northern Mockingbird 
European Starling 
Blue-winged Warbler 
Pine Warbler 
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart 
Common Yellowthroat
Eastern Towhee 
Song Sparrow 
Northern Cardinal 
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch 

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BwBTC bird the Charlestown Breachway

Howdee all,

This past Saturday a group of Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp

got together to bird two areas in Charlestown, RI.

First on our list was Charlestown Breachway.

We all knew there would be a wet crossing to the mud flats, so we prepared our gear so that it would stay dry.

We walked thru the RV campground to the boat ramp and followed the shoreline to the crossing area.

Stopping on the way to view a distant rookery

Dan and Cindy at the crossing..

A second small crossing..

Almost there Least SandpiperWe met a few other groups out birding the flats. It wasn't as birdie as the week before.

But..

We had great views of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (A life bird for Jeff and I and a few others on the trip)  

Other highlight birds Black bellied, Semipalmated,and Piping Plovers.

Western,White rumped,Spotted, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers and a questionable Bairds. I have to say, I really wish these little peeps were easier to ID.

  I am a lazy birder and try to soak in a little information each outing,I don't do home study very well.   

         Western Sandpiper A few White rumped sandpipers  We birded the flats all morning… It was time to have lunch..  So we followed local birders across the flats to a shallow crossingIt was lovely, the water warm and refreshing on a hot day. The grasses were full of mosquitoes..Ouch!

I really enjoy birding with my Blogger and Twitter friends, its great being with people that share similar interests.

People that enjoy being in Nature.

Who don't complain about getting wet..muddy...hot.or a few bug bites.

Stay tuned for the Part 2 BwBTC Trustum pond NWR

For other accounts of our Birding day Day read

Dans

Larrys 

Johns

 

            Birds of the Morning              

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron 

Great Egret 

Snowy Egret 
Green Heron

Turkey Vulture 
Osprey 

Cooper's Hawk 

Red-tailed Hawk

Black-bellied Plover

Semipalmated Plover

Piping Plover 

    Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

  Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper 

Western Sandpiper

  Least Sandpiper 

White-rumped Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper 

Laughing Gull 
 
Ring-billed Gull 

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Forster's Tern

Common Tern

Caspian Tern

BwBTC Charlestown, RI

Howdee all,

How many photos do you take before you get it right?

I have a two second timer on my Canon camera…I forgot to bring my wireless remote.

I knew I would never be able to make it back and pose for the photo in 2 seconds.

So my hubby Jeff volunteered.

The one below is one of about four that he didn't quite make it back in time.

    Finally a group photo.

From top left to right

Cindy from Living in Brooklyn and Longing for Maine

Cindy @gemswinc on twitter

Larry from the Brownstone Birding blog

Jane (waiting for her blog name)

John(Tucker)  from The Birdman of Bridgewater

Bottom left to right

Yours truly

Cathleen Ellis from Birdingirl blog

Dan @Docforestal on twitter/ Nature Observances by Forestal

Hubby Jeff

…………………………………………

Missing from the photo were

Susan from The Nature of Framingham her husband Tom and her son Pete who met us later in the day.

…………………………….

I will do another blog post about our outing…until then

Read Dan’s account of the Day

Attention BwBTC attendees (UPDATE)

Howdee all,

Just a few quick adds to tomorrows meet up.

Jeff and I went to the Breachway today to check out the crossing and see what birdies are around.

First of all The Meeting place is still in the parking lot of Flip Flops

The address is not 1 Charlestown Breachway road it is 1 Charlestown Beach Road.

If you are using GPS you can put the intersection of Charlestown Beach Road and Matunuck Schoolhouse Road.

Jeff and I did the crossing with no issues today….we also left the breachway after 12pm with no issues.

We met other birders who do the crossing all the time..they never check tides as they feel it is not an issue.

If some of our group do not want to do the crossing you can also see many birds from the area right before the crossing.

We both were wet to about our waist in the afternoon crossing. So best not to have anything in pockets..I had a gear bag and Jeff had a back pack and scope. We lifted our gear above our waists and crossed.

No swift currents. The water was beautiful. Not too muddy..mostly sandy bottom.

Some mosquitoes in the AM…bring bug spray. We had no bug spray and we were fine..just a few bites.

We both wore long quick dry pants. The other birders we met had quick dry shorts or bathing shorts.

I suggest a change of shorts for later in the day..and of course don't forget your water shoes.

We saw Bairds, White rumped, Semi-palmated and Least Sandpipers.

Piping,Semi-palmated and Black Bellied plovers.

Willets, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Green, Great-blue Herons

Great and Snowy Egrets

Black Backed, Laughing and Herring Gulls

Common Terns

Peregrine falcon, Coopers Hawk, Osprey

and more..

The peeps let us get very close.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Jeff and I will arrive around 7:30 for coffee and muffin at the Bakery across the street from Flip Flops.

----------------------------------

If anyone is joining us for dinner..Flip Flops is a BYOB establishment.

So don't forget your favorite bottle!

Wordless Wednesday

   

BwBTC Birding Charlestown, RI

Howdee all,

There's still time to join us for a fun filled day of Birding…just comment below or send me an email to Nobbiecat@gmail.com

 Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp Charlestown, RI

Come Bird with us, let's bird, let's bird away
If you can use some exotic Birds
There's a bird in Charlestown Bay
Come Bird with us, let's bird, let's bird away

BwBTC Charlestown, Rhode Island~Saturday August 28th.

Click on the map below to see details of the meeting area.

View Charlestown Breachway BwBTC in a larger map

Meet at the Flip Flops restaurant parking lot, 1 Charlestown

Beach Rd.

I thought we should be ready to go at 8am sharp.

Let me know if the time doesn't work for you..or if you prefer to start earlier..majority rules here…If I don't hear from any of you we will be ready to rock and roll at 8am.

You can arrive a bit earlier and grab a coffee and breakfast treat at The Bakery across the street from Flip Flops…I checked it out.they open at 5:30 for early birds...they have nice Organic coffee and awesome looking pastries and muffins. Click on the link above to see a sample of what might be there.

We will start the morning by Birding the Breachway. We will carpool from Flip Flops parking lot. Parking at the Breachway is 14 dollars a car.

Expect to get wet knee deep..I spoke to a local birder/photographer..all gear can be carried safely above the waist. If you are worried about your gear bring waterproof bags.

Wear water shoes…and bring a change of clothes,just in case.

There are restrooms in the campsite area that we can use to change in.

Click the Map below to read about the Breachway and the Birds we may see there.

After the breachway, we can stop for lunch at The Corner Deli, which is next to The Bakery.

Then onto birding Trustom Pond NWR

View Trustom Pond in a larger map

 

After Trustom, if time, we can bird other places in the area.

We plan on having dinner at Flip Flops, around 7:30 or so….Check out the link to look at the menu.

If you want to join us for dinner,let me know. I need to make reservations, if we have a large group.

Also let me know what time you prefer for dinner.

The menu looks good…Jeff and I had dinner there a few weeks ago and had a nice meal…though, portions are on the small side.

 

That's all for now…If anyone has anything to add you can comment below or email me at

Nobbiecat@gmail.com

 

Some links

Birding on the net..area birds being seen.

Bird Checklist you might want to print this out.

RI Birding link

 

  Cast of Characters 

Jeff and Dawn @DawnFine on twitter/Dawns Bloggy Blog

Christopher @Picusblog on twitter/ Picus Blog

Dan @Docforestal on twitter/ Nature Observances by Forestal

Larry from the Brownstone Birding blog

Cindy Cage from Living in Brooklyn and Longing for Maine

Cathleen Ellis from Birdingirl blog

John(Tucker)  from The Birdman of Bridgewater

and his sister who knows the area well.

Lowie @lakras on twitter/ A Worn Field Guide

Susan from The Nature of Framingham and Cathleen's cousin

Cindy @gemswinc on twitter

Sunday Sunflowers

Howdee all,

This past week we celebrated Jeff's Moms 90th birthday. She wanted to go to Heritage gardens in Sandwich, Ma.

While there I took these sunflower photos.

Bees love sunflowers…

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       Beautiful sunflower just opening..This sunflower below reminded me of a hat..so I decided to try it on..

I checked first for bees.. Does anyone know if these are Sunflower bees? I didn't think the wings were narrow enough to be sunflower bees. 

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Happy Sunny Sunflower Sunday to you all!

Face Plates and Esther's 90th Birthday dinner

Howdee all,

For the past few years when on the cape we go out to dinner at Pisces to celebrate Jeff's moms birthday.

This year we celebrated her 90th birthday.

After dinner it is our tradition to play with our food…and create…

Face Plates

Please Help choose a winner….

Plate 1

Plate 2

Plate 3

Plate 4Plate 5Plate 6 Plate 7 Plate 8 Plate 9Another diner got in on the act..

plate 10Jeff brought along his cheating plate… Esther 90 years youngThe artists