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Showing posts from January, 2022

January 2022

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January 2   Went on a bird walk with the Brookline Bird Club at the Arboretum this morning.  Around 30 birders, looking a lot more carefully than I usually do, we found a couple of less common birds for this area: a  red-breasted nuthatch and a  golden-crowned kinglet .  Both tiny birds: the nuthatch weighs about 1/3 of an ounce (10g) and the kinglet, a little less than 1/4 ounce (6 grams).  I like to think of bird weights in comparison to the tablespoon markings on a 4 ounce stick of butter: the kinglet weighs the same as half a tablespoon of butter.  But, even at its small size, it is not to be underestimated: this little bundle of energy migrates from its breeding grounds in northern latitudes, from British Columbia to Quebec, to winter as far south as northern Mexico. The other highlight: four  red-tailed hawks .  A juvenile near the entrance to the Arb, flying across the road where we stood to perch in a tree, then flying back over the ...