Birds of the Lakes Region

[Rattlesnake Gal]

What species of birds are being seen around the lakes?
Back in April we saw three brown Eagle-like birds. I thought at the time they were Hawks, but they definitely were not. If they were Eagles, they were immature. I have been told it is possible they were Northern Harriers. They were too far away for me to snap a good picture or identify them properly. Either way it was just incredible. Did anyone else see these three? We saw them soaring around over the peninsula on Rattlesnake Island.

[Zee]

More then likely the three were turkey vultures. They typically do very little flapping of wings but rather "drift" on the thermals. Usually they are identified by the V pattern to the wing and the slight dipping from side to side. The underside of the wings are usually brownish grey but sometimes this is not discernible from a distance. They are very common around the lake and can be found as early as late winter in some parts of New England. My first observation this year was in March in central Mass. They were likely not hawks as hawks do not "kettle" together during the spring. This is a behaviour most common in the early Fall when they start their migration.

As far as other birds seen, I have a fondness for woodpeckers and have been treated so far this year to pileated, yellow bellied sapsuckers, northern flickers, downey wp, hairy wp, red and white breasted nuthatches, red-bellied wp. Also possible, but rare, are the ladder-backed and 3-toed wp.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

I really do not think they were turkey vultures. Wrong silhouette. I remember them looking like an Eagle. That is why a friend sugested a Harrier. I would have to say this photo looks very close to what we saw.
Northern Harrier
Raptor Silhouettes

[wolfegirl]

The bird in title can look very much like a young eagle or a golden eagle. One visited our backyard (in Needham, MA) back in Feb./March, sat on a branch for about 10 minutes and flew off. Our identification fit with not only the characteristics of the bird, but also for its range, season and reported sightings that week in Eastern MA. A Peterson's field guide is a great tool for correct identification.

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Gal

What species of birds are being seen around the lakes?
Back in April we saw three brown Eagle-like birds. I thought at the time they were Hawks, but they definitely were not. If they were Eagles, they were immature. I have been told it is possible they were Northern Harriers...

There were two Northern Harriers flying together low over my dock two weeks ago. Formerly known as "Marsh Hawks", they were a mottled brown with a prominent white area near their tails. At 24" tall, and a 42" wingspan, they are a pretty big bird -- Osprey-sized -- but with less wingspan. They were being harrassed by a pair of our many Kingbirds, who usually can be seen pecking at the heads of crows -- while riding on their backs!

Last year, my family and I were sitting around and I pointed out that the woods were "in a dither". The wood's best alarmists -- chipmunks, blue jays, and robins -- were raising a major fuss.

We moved as a group to the sounds, and were greeted by a high-pitched whistle. (As loud and as high as one can make a single-note whistle will duplicate it).

It was a harrier sitting on a low branch and our forest robins -- no shrinking violets either, unlike our lawn robins -- were dive-bombing it. It flew away after five minutes of dodging robin attacks.

(In nesting season, a hawk gets no respect).

[Scott]

On the subject of birds...it seems like this year in particular has been great for me in terms of spotting or hearing birds that are new to me. I have no idea what they are so I've been given them descriptive names.

1. Plummeters
2. Black Diamonds
3. Squealers
4. Trumpet Birds
5. Four-O-Clock-in-the-morning birds

Someday, I'll find out what they are.

[madrasahs]

Your "black diamonds" may be grackles . A grackle looks like a little crow with yellow eyes. Bigger [11-17"] than a Robin [at 10"].

Your "Four-O-Clock-in-the-morning" bird could be the Song Sparrow. Song sparrows have a dark spot in the center of its breast. (Morning light starts at 3:30AM nowadays -- time for a male song sparrow to sing for a mate).

It's song has been described as "Madge-Madge-Madge, put on your kettle-ettle-ettle".

Behavior ("dives on Crows, searches shoreline for food, catches fish"), size ("Robin-sized, Crow-sized") and song (trills, twitter, whistle, warble) are very helpful in identification . Color is less helpful for brown birds -- there are many phases of "browns". Patterning is good (streaked, spotted, stripe through eye).

Start the morning with a Robin -- the least musical member of the gifted Thrush family: "Cheer-up—Cheerily—Cheerio-Cheer-up". (A cheerier way to start a day at The Lake.)

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Check out this excellent site for eastern birds. I had a blast listening to the songs.
Eastern birds

[Lin]

Turkey Vultures are pretty big birds. We've had a pair nesting nearby us the last two years and have pretty much documented their life. Was the bird you describe perched, flying low or flying high. I know a lot of people have bad thoughts about the Turkey Vultures but they're not bad at all. Tvultures are a part of the cycle of life as a scavenger. There does seem to be a lot of hawks around the lake. Here's a photo of a Turkey Vulture I took last week leaving a telephone post.

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Thanks Lin for the great picture. Last Wednesday when we climbed Mt. Major we saw two Turkey Vultures. Your photo helped me to identify them one hundred percent. They seem to be very comical birds. Definitely are not the same species we saw back in April. You are right, Vultures do have a bad reputation and are not appreciated as much as they should be. I was very surprised to learn just how fussy they are. If their dinner has been expired for too long, they will not eat it.

[madrasahs]

Last season, our one, most-hard-working birdhouse produced four tree swallows.

It was surprising to see a chickadee take up residence this season. For all the nest-building, hatching, and caterpillar-feeding, they produced four more baby chickadees.

It wasn't without drama, though. The tree swallows returned, and started building a nest in the same box with the chickadees!

Urged to "DO...Something!", I checked the internet for the proper size entry for chickadees. (Inch and 1/8th).

I made one out of aluminum (squirrel chewing deterrent), then sandwiched it and a piece of plywood (One & 1/8th hole again) over the exisiting hole. It took an hour to get acclimated, but the hungry nestling's peeps coaxed the parents back in. (The tree swallows went away when they couldn't fit in the entry).

Whew.

During the hour that the nestlings fledged, the chickadees mated again! They are now feeding a second batch of nestlings. The only difference now is that the parent's feathers are truly ragged. (Advanced bird books show some colorful species in their late-summer -- labeled "worn" -- colors. Now I know what they mean).

The chickadees are ever-present, though. They have two calls: the usual "chickadee-dee-dee-dee" and a finely whistled "phoe--bee". (Not the call of the Phoebe, however, which is more like "fzee-bzee?...fzee-bzee!...fzee-bzee?...fzee-bzee!" -- Buzzy-sounding).

The Chickadee is Maine's -- and Massachusett's -- State Bird. The Purple Finch is NH's ('usually just hear them).