NH.Birds for Saturday, June 28, 2008

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   Black-backed Woodpeckers continue at Pondicherry   David Govatski   11:51am   GCF Nestlings   sayoung   6:28pm

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Subject: Black-backed Woodpeckers continue at Pondicherry
From: "David Govatski" <pondicherry(AT)wildblue.net>
Date: 28 Jun 2008 11:51am

The family of Black-backed Woodpeckers continues to be active as of Saturday
morning 28 June. The location is Little Cherry Pond at the Pondicherry
National Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson. The viewing site is at the end of the
Little Cherry Pond Trail approximately 2.5 miles in from the trailhead on
Airport road in Whitefield. The actual nest cavity is inaccessible but you
can view it from a bench about 400 feet away at a bearing of 255 degrees.
The adults are actively feeding the young and making repeated feeding trips
every few minutes. Based on the size of the birds I estimate that they will
fledge and leave the nest cavity by Monday. Several out of state birders
have enjoyed views of the birds. The walk in is buggy but the blood loss is
ordinarily less than what you would donate at a blood drive. The carnivorous
pitcher plants are in full bloom and enjoying their rich diet of bugs and
you should feel free to add bugs into the pitchers along the trail. 

 

Nine young Great Blue Herons are visible in nests about 900 feet below the
outlet of Cherry Pond and visible from the railroad bridge. A bench is at
the site for viewers. These birds were flapping their wings and will likely
fledge some time next week. This nest site is also inaccessible but readily
viewable. Normally we do not report nest site locations but both of these
can be safely observed from a distance. A loon chick is present on Cherry
Pond and several young cedar waxwing fledglings have been seen near the
pond. At Whitefield Airport, bobolinks are being seen in the field beside
the runway. Do not walk on or near the runways. A merlin was hunting near
the edge of Airport Marsh and a Brown Thrasher was also present.

 

The New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau has a nice brochure with map on
the Pondicherry area and it can be downloaded from their web site at:
http://www.dred.state.nh.us/divisions/forestandlands/bureaus/naturalheritage
/documents/Pondicherrybrochure_000.pdf 

 

David Govatski

Jefferson, NH


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Subject: GCF Nestlings
From: "sayoung" <sayoung(AT)metrocast.net>
Date: 28 Jun 2008 6:28pm

The yard is a riot today of fledglings doing some of the silliest antics and
harried adults. Its comical watching a WBN trying to land on a leaf or a young
Goldfinch being scolded and chased from an exposed perch. Yesterday I was in a
flock of tufted titmice and decided to pish. The next thing I had one trying
to land on me with an adult on its heals scolding it into the bushes today
when I got home I was listening to the GCF box and thinking there had to be
more than 3 in there. suddenly a Broadwing Hawk landed on the front of the box
by one foot and proceeded to insert the other into the box while stabilizing
itself with wings on the roof. I yelled at it and started waving my hands. I
ended up 40 feet from the bird when it jumped up to the roof and stared at me
as if I were a bother. Where's a rock when you need one-after all these are MY
birds. Go eat a Modo or a chipmunk or cat.
    I improvised a new roof out of some fencing with a much broader overhang
and got to peer in and see 5 nestlings huddled in the far corner silent. NICE.
Last year but one fledged and 2 the year before. So I may have the culprit.
The parents were hesitant at first and have had to change their approach, but
so far its working. The BWH came thru an hour ago, checked out the box a bit
and kept moving. For Now. There's a pile of rocks on the porch.

Scott Young/Strafford