Nesting chickadees

We've had a birdhouse up for years now.  One of the kids made it at some point, and with a few modifications, it's been up ever since.  But this is the first year that it's actually been used by anything.  In the past, I've seen chickadees check it out, but it didn't seem like it was to their liking.  This year, though, we've finally got a pair nesting there.  The eggs must have just hatched, because yesterday I saw one of the parents carting off what could only have been a bit of eggshell.

All the other local birds seemed to have fledged their young by now.  The juvenile cardinals and robins have been more or less on their own for weeks now.  It seemed like a particularly successful year for the cardinals.  As to the catbirds, I can't be sure.  I saw the two of them collecting nesting material at one point, but never could pinpoint the nest.  I still see the adults around, but as to any offspring, I couldn't say.

Migrant wrapup

This yellow-bellied flycatcher showed up today, shagging flies outside the window through which this picture was taken.  It might well be the last of the migrants; but I was surprised to see it, since I hadn't seen any migrants for weeks.  The last of the warblers appeared on Saturday, May 19th, and after that, nada.

Overall, the migratory season was abrupt, and not that fruitful.  The catbirds and swifts came back and set up shop as usual, but the transitory migrants seemed fewer to me than usual.  I didn't see any woodpeckers, nor any hummingbirds, nor many of the songbirds I've seen in recent years.  Warbler numbers were down, both as to individuals and species.  Here's what I counted:

Palm warbler: 1
Northern parula: 4-5?
Wilson's warbler: 2
Magnolia warbler: 5
Blackpoll warbler: 1
Black-and-white warbler: 5
Redstart: 1
Common yellowthroat: 2
Black-throated blue warbler: 1

I guess after the strange weather this spring, my hopes were sort of low, so in that sense, I should be content.

More warblers

Today first thing I went out and immediately saw a couple of birds, making me think it was going to be a red-letter day.  It wasn't, of course, but even so, I did see a couple of warblers I could identify, and a couple I couldn't.  This first one there was no mistaking -- a black-and-white warbler that managed to snag a nice caterpillar, for the avian equivalent of the lumberjack's breakfast.

This next one I saw hunting among the flowers of the black cherry.  I puzzled for a long while over what it could be, before deciding it must be a female blackpoll.  And until someone tells me differently, a blackpoll is what it is.

And just to clear off one I had on my camera from the other day, here's a black-throated blue.

Meanwhile, the chimney swifts, which I thought were lost and gone forever, have shown up in some numbers, so I'm happy about that.  But if there's a harder bird to get a picture of, I don't know what it is.

Mr. Wilson's Warbler

Warblers haven't been especially numerous yet, but today, walking through Somerville, I heard and saw several.  There was a black-and-white on the bike path near Davis Square, then another warbler singing from a tree in a yard on Prospect Hill. Then later from my own yard I saw the Wilson's warbler above, and the magnolia warbler below.

I'd also been surprised in the last week to see a couple hermit thrushes, who by my reckoning were weeks late.  But maybe they were something else.  The one below is Swainson's:

It was being relentlessly bullied by the local robins, in a disheartening display of thrush-on-thrush violence.

Then there was this one:

Is this a veery?  Looks like it, though the photo is poor -- but it could also be the same thrush shown above, seen at a different time and in a different light.

Redstart

I was excited to see this natty redstart early this evening.  Unfortunately, the light was poor, and so is the picture.  I also caught a glimpse of a magnolia warbler, so maybe the warblers are starting to come through in heavier numbers.

Also, good news for the catbird:  it found a friend.

And while I was standing there looking for warblers, a skein of cormorants went over.  I thought they were Canada geese, until I looked at the photo.

Catbird

Catbird's back, but is it sitting in the catbird seat?  Hard to say.  The surroundings seem pretty good for them, but they've had some bad luck here.  A couple years ago, the neighbors told me a cat got the local nesting pair, and then last year, the catbird we had sang and sang, but never seemed to find a mate.  So here's wishing it luck this year.

I've seen a few black-and-white warblers, but not much else.  However, it's early yet.  I wouldn't expect any great variety of warblers for a week or so.  White-throated sparrows have been pretty numerous.  There was a little flock on my yard the other day.  The chimney swifts, meanwhile, seem to have deserted our neighborhood.  I know they're back, because I saw a few in Cambridge this evening.  I'll miss them in summer if they're truly gone.

First warblers

On a very hot Patriots Day, the first warbler showed up -- the palm warbler (?) above, and then this kinglet:

And, in addition to the hermit thrushes, who are pretty numerous, we've also had a number of white-throated sparrows about: