Maplewood: September 25th 2009

I was able to find the time to visit Maplewood Conservation Area this Friday evening. The bird feeders in the fenced off maintenance/gardening area near the entrance had been stocked full of seed so there was a fair bit of activity occurring. Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and a few Spotted Towhees were, of course, present. A male and juvenile Downy Woodpecker was also there feeding on peanuts. This is the first time I’ve seen a juvenile Downy Woodpecker at Maplewood this year. I wonder if it is the offspring of a resident pair? This seems likely as young birds will remain within their parent’s territory for several weeks and adults are known to drive young other than their own form their territory (Lawrence 1967). Also present near the entrance were several Yellow-rumped Warblers (all in first winter plumage), Ruby-crowned Kinglets, juvenile Cedar Waxwings and American Robins, as well as a Red-breasted Sapsucker.

I didn’t have enough time to walk the paths on the western side of the property so instead I made my way to the mudflats. Northern Pintail, American Widgeon, Mallard, and Canada Goose were all accounted for.

References:

Lawrence, L. de K. 1967. A comparative life-history study of four species of woodpeckers. Ornithol. Monogr. 5: 1–156.

Maplewood: September 19th 2009

I was at Maplewood Conservation area for about two hours during the evening and just like last weekend there wasn’t much happening.

The best bird of the day was a group of four Yellow-rumped Warblers; all in first winter plumage. They were busy gleaning insects off of the branches and leaves of several trees near the shoreline approximately 25m west along the path once you’re across the bridge. I am particularly pleased with this sighting as I was able to identify them from their call (“a dry, husky chwit with slightly rising inflection” according to Sibley’s) before they came closer to the path and visual observation could be made. This has personally reaffirmed my commitment towards studying bird songs (I use the “Stokes Filed Guide to Bird Songs-Western Region” as well as Cornell’s “Bird’s of North America”) in addition to reviewing the field guide. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any pictures as the birds could not sit still long enough for me to line up my camera with my binoculars.

Nearby where I sighted the warblers this deer, a common occurrence at Maplewood, was busy grazing close to the waterline:

It was high tide when I checked out the mudflats and once again there was a group of American Widgeon, Northern Pintail, and some Mallard out on the water. Most appeared to be resting and a few were preening.

An Osprey was also present on one of the pylons busy eating a fish.

All in all it was a pleasant evening.