MA - yard Winter Wren - 10/10

Eastern Phoebe - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2011. One of at least three lingering in the yard until at least October 10th.


First bird of the morning was an Eastern Winter Wren giving hard chip notes from the undergrowth below our kitchen window. Certainly a 'yard bird', though there's at least one breeding pair less than a half mile up-river along Darby Brook. Post breeding dispersal perhaps?

Another very foggy dawn was breaking when I was surprised but pleased to hear a Swainson's Thrush actually singing (rather than just calling) from a neighbors yard. Yesterday I was similarly impressed to hear a couple of White-crowned Sparrows in song just across the street from our yard. Perhaps the prolonged warm spell, with daytime temperatures often reaching the eighties, is encouraging otherwise furtive migrants to periodically burst into song. The local pair of Great Horned Owls have been in good voice too, both birds of the pair calling close to house on the evening of the 9th.

Along Main Road in Gill, both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets have been common migrants in the woods and gardens, often with Yellow-rumped, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and a few Blue-headed Vireos in tow.

Dark-eyed Juncos first appeared in the yard on October 5th and will likely feature throughout the fall and winter.

Dark-eyed Junco - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2011.

JPS