April 2021

Thursday, April 1.  The front yard is starting to burst with spring: a hyacinth blooming and the forsythia just starting to pop out in yellow.   Saw the red-bellied woodpecker in the woods by Leverett Pond.

Saturday, April 3.  Critter tracks on the boardwalk at Ward's Pond.  Saw the red-bellied woodpecker again yesterday and today.

Sunday, April 4.  As I got out of the car at the parking lot at Ward's Pond, heard the red-bellied woodpecker but couldn't find it in the trees. Did see a downy woodpecker pecking away near the top of a dead branch. At Leverett Pond, a pied-billed grebe, with its head tucked in, just floating, looking like a wood stump poking out of the water. But then it began to slowly swim and briefly swivelled its neck to look where it was going, then tucked its head back in again.  The Canada geese are mostly paired up now, some claiming nesting sites on little islands in Leverett Pond.  Drove to the Chestnut Hill pond and found two pairs of common mergansers and a couple of ring-necked ducks.  Parked near a willow, the leaves just coming out giving it that misty green look.  Red-winged blackbird singing from a high branch.  A pair of Canada geese hunkered down on some flattened grasses by the edge of the pond, preening. 

After lunch, walking Maddie at the end of my street, she paused to smell something in the grass in a neighbor's yard.  As I was standing there, just staring at nothing, a hawk suddenly took off right in front of me, maybe 15' away, holding a rat by its shoulders in its talons, skinny rat tail dangling straight down.  

And in the evening, went to the Arb to see the scilla coming out in carpets of blue, over a hillside and beneath the trees.

 

Saturday, April 10.  Beautiful light on the trees at the pond at sunrise as I walked Maddie. 

After breakfast, on my walk through the woods around Ward's Pond, noticed this carved stump for the first time.  It's so weathered it must have been there for some time, yet I had never noticed it before.   There's always new stuff to see.

At the pond, a pair of tree swallows perched on top of one of the wood duck nesting boxes, taking turns flying out low over the pond, darting around, going after insects, their deep, iridescent blue backs contrasting with their white bellies. The first I've seen this spring. Also a great blue heron fishing near one of the little islands. And a hairy woodpecker in the woods.

Sunday, April 11.  Flowers in a neighbour's garden this morning, lovely with the yellow daffodils against the blue scilla.

This morning, there was a female red-bellied woodpecker's head at the opening of the nest I found in a tree by Leverett Pond a couple of weeks ago; I've seen it poking out of the opening a few times now. And I see red-bellied woodpeckers flitting around the trees in the nearby woods pretty much every time I walk there.

A couple of weeks ago, the DCR trimmed the trees on the Arborway near my house. When they took off a branch of one tree, it was all rotted inside, leaving a south-facing oval hole which a grey  screech owl has now moved into, sunning itself on fine days.  One of my neighbours, Sue, pointed it out to me on Tuesday and I've seen it there every day since.  

Monday, April 12.  Fantastic sunrise, seen from my study, 6:01am.

Wednesday, April 14.  On the way back from my morning grocery run, saw a couple of turkeys crossing busy Beacon St. in Brookline.  At least they were in the crosswalk.  But going against the traffic light.  A nearby cop ran over to assist.  Make Way for Turkeys...

Thursday, April 15.  Went over to the Arb to see the great carpets of scilla, more than I've ever seen before.

While walking there, saw this tree fungus and liked its swirls against those of the bark.

Later on in the day, drove to Wellesley and Natick, west of Boston. Across from the Hunnewell farm on Route 16, a field of daffodils.

Stopped at the Mass Audubon Broadmoor sanctuary and went for a short walk.  From the parking lot, saw a red-tailed hawk circling over the fields.  Tree swallows darting around in the field with the bluebird nesting boxes.    Walking down the winding gravel path to the marsh and boardwalk, I saw a towhee, with its black hooded head, chestnut sides and white belly, perched in the bare branches of a bush,

Friday, April 16.   And after days of mild and even warm spring weather, today rain turning to (I can't believe it) snow.

This morning, the screech owl hunkered down in its tree cavity, looking out at the dismal weather.  I'm still seeing it every day as I pass by.

Sunday, April  18,  Westerly, Rhode Island.  Here visiting my friends Di and Linda.  Sunday morning just as we stopped at a harbour to enjoy croissants and coffee, an osprey flew by, along the river right in front of us.  A hawk high up on an antenna structure.  A kingfisher hitting the water then flying up to a branch across the river.  Later on in the morning, walking at Trustom National Wildlife Refuge, a yellow-rumped warbler, a towhee, a hairy woodpecker and I think a ruddy duck.  We're a bit late in the spring to still see the array of ducks that pass through during migration or winter over.

 

Monday, April 19.  My friends Nancy and Dinny came over to go birding with me. We started with the screech owl in the hole in the tree on the Arborway, at the edge of the hole, sunning itself.  Then on for my usual walk around Ward's Pond and through the woods to Leverett Pond.  We stop to see the red-bellied woodpecker nest - no birds there, but we check out the nest as well as older nests near it that they've made.  Then, one of the woodpeckers zooms in and lands next to the nest.  The head of the one in the nest appears at the opening and then pops out; for a moment, they're both perched on the tree trunk next to the nest.  Then they switch places: the one who flew in scoots into the nest and the one that was in the nest flies off.  I'm sure they must have eggs.

Just as we're glowing with satisfaction at seeing the pair of woodpeckers, we spot a bald eagle circling over the pond and woods, continuing for several minutes, giving us great views.  Wonderful.  And then, as we're turning to head back, we see another bald eagle - this one with a white head but a dingy tail, not yet  at the pristine white stage, so probably less than 4 years old.  What an outing!

Monday, April 26.  Walking Maddie early in the morning, saw a cormorant surface with a 6" long, wide bodied fish, maybe a sunfish, in its beak.  It brought its neck way up out of the water, did a twirling manoeuvre and swallowed the fish whole.  Impressive!  Walking by Leverett Pond, saw a pair of red-tailed hawks were circling over and over again, barely flapping a wing, going higher and higher, rising on a thermal, over the nearby field.  At the pond, a pair of wood ducks paddling about.  Later in the day, checked on the screech owl in its hole in the sawn off tree branch along the Arborway.

Tuesday, April 27.  Grey, chilly morning, perfect for a quiet walk in the Arb (which has been busier than ever on the many fine days we've had this spring).  Trillium, the symbol of Ontario, out along the path through the oaks.  

And the old (left) and new (right) (aka three men in a hot tub) Government of Ontario symbol.

Later in the day, walking Maddie around the neighbourhood, lilacs out on a bush and bleeding hearts blossoming.

 

 

 

Thursday, April 29.  Walking Maddie early this morning, thought I saw some chimney swifts flitting about at the end of my street, first of the spring.  A little later on, went for a walk around Jamaica Pond to look for them, as they're sometimes over the water hunting insects. Didn't see any chimney swifts, but lots of  tree swallows and one barn swallow.  As I got to the far side of the pond, by Perkins St., saw a muskrat swimming away from me, dive and then head right towards me.  Then I noticed another one a little behind it.  As each one got near the bank, it dove again, I assume to some nest/lodge it has that it accesses underwater.  This website has this on muskrat lodges:

"The muskrat burrows into the banks along ditches, creeks, ponds and rivers to create their earthen lodge. The muskrat may burrow as far as 15 feet into the bank raising up above the waterline and ending in a dry chamber where they can huddle in numbers during the cold winters. The chamber is used as a nursery for their young during the warm months.

Although muskrats are more active at night and are considered nocturnal, they can be seen at all times of the day, busily feeding on an aquatic plant or bringing some fresh greens home to the den for their young."

A little further on, I saw a huge dark bird flying over the pond, then realized it was a bald eagle!  It flew over the pond for a bit, reaching the far side and then I lost it. But as I walked on further, I saw two women stopped on the path staring at something high up in a tree and there it was again, looking very regal.  So amazing to see eagles twice in less than 2 weeks!

 And the screech owl still at the same hole in the tree on the Arborway every day.