May 31, 2008 by OrientSee.

Today the wind was fierce and unrelenting. Most of the birds were invisible, even the Redwings. The Ospreys were active around the platform and a lone Snowy Egret was being blown from one puddle to another. A few Terns were fishing in the creek while the Mallards all hunkered down for a nap. So the plants were the attraction today. This proto-cone was on a tree next to the Suffolk Downs station.

A yellow Iris was nearly hidden by grass right by the margin of the marsh on Palermo St.

By Rosie’s Pond in a shady glade, these delightful flowers wave in the breeze. I’m not an expert birder but I feel even more inadequate to identify all the plants that I find in a walk. I think that a spieces count of  plants would be in the thousands just along my daily path. This diversity happens because Belle Isle is really a collision of habitats and that means edges. Edges are where the action is as each habitat struggles for dominion over another.  Out on the flats of the marsh or in the reed beds, there is less diversity.  (That doesn’t mean the phragmites stands are dull. There is just less action.)  Watching the borders is very interesting.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 29, 2008 by OrientSee.

I have been busy and so today I remembered lush. So far this year the marsh has been mostly straw colored with the dry grass and reeds. Today out in the flats, green is now the dominant color and soon it will become the deep lush color of summer everywhere. Busy plants, busy birds and busy busy busy. Healthy burgeoning growth like this flower.

It was a bright clear day but filled with blustery wind that I especially noticed on my bike earlier out at Deer Island. The wind and dropping tide meant that there weren’t many birds out and about. A Snowy Egret was behind the train yard at Rosie’s Pond and an Osprey was up on the platform. The Mourning Doves seemed more active than usual and of course the Redwings were everywhere. Unfortunately no Orioles today. Just as I was leaving the park, a spot of yellow called from a tree. It was this Yellow Warbler.

So today’s theme was yellow.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 26, 2008 by OrientSee.

Very warm and windy. I started my walk and this was my first sight. A Great Egret, a Snowy Egret and 4 Glossy Ibis. They were all feeding together in Rosie’s Pond very close to the train yard. It always surprises me to find different species feeding together. The snowies in particular seem to like mixed crowds.

The Osprey are still on the platform and active. A Peregrine flew by and casually intimidated a crow as if for the fun of it. The Long Thicket had a Yellow Warbler and the usually loud crew of red-wings, grackles and cat birds. A Baltimore Oriole passed quickly by. The Overlook had a few mallards and a Willet.  The Boardwalk provided this picture of an Ibis feeding in the middle of an algae bloom.

Then the park had a Kestrel and two Bobolinks. It was a treat to be out today and see all these birds.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 24, 2008 by OrientSee.

For a moment I thought that I had stumbled on the thigh bone of an ancient dinosaur but of course I was wrong. What I found was “ancient” trash. It’s been quite a while since I last saw one of these.

It certainly is an old vacuum tube probably from a tv set. You can still look up the relevant numbers on the tube and find out what it was used for. All I felt was amazement, first because it was still there whole and unbroken and secondly as a reminder of how long dumping has been going on at Belle Isle. I fully expect to find a colonial cow bell some day since this area was used mainly as pasturage for a long time after the founding of Boston. Everyone has always felt free to dump their stuff in the marsh.

The better part of the day was the free concert that this Baltimore Oriole gave out in the thicket. It was just great to watch and listen. It certainly made my day.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 22, 2008 by OrientSee.

Today was a day of missed opportunities or maybe not. An American Bittern leaped out of the Phragmites from right beside me near the corner of Lawn and Leverett Avenues. The camera was hanging from my neck. Further along a Baltimore Oriole flitted from tree to tree but there was too much vegetation to get a clear shot. Close to the Overlook, I startled something making the most horrible kinds of noise until it flew into view. It was a Black-crown Night Heron and of course the camera was dangling from its strap. Out at the Overlook, a solitary Great Egret took one look at me and flew off. Two Bobolinks were here and there on the mound in the park but not very close. I began to realize that the pictures didn’t mean that much. I did get to see these birds and enjoy them and that was more than good enough. After all I did get to catch this ladybug.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 21, 2008 by OrientSee.

The unexpected photo. I often take pictures so that I can figure out what I saw out in the marsh. My lens isn’t the greatest and so these shots often are unremarkable. I was watching two sparrows and took a photo. Back home on Photoshop out came this. I have caught a few herons and egrets like this but never a sparrow. I wish that I could say that it was my technique but it wasn’t. It was just luck. So the best part of my walk today happened on a screen. Still I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that a Baltimore Oriole is still a thrill to see and my walk did include that as well.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 17, 2008 by OrientSee.

I finally got to see this Black-crowned Night Heron. I’m fairly certain that I have disturbed it roosting in a tree at the end of the Long Thicket but I never got a good look. Today out at the Overlook panne, there he was feeding and he generously posed for a portrait.  The first part of my walk was dreary. The rain had only recently stopped and there wasn’t much activity. The Ospreys are still on the platform but Rosie’s Pond was empty and so was the thicket. Long Thicket out to the Overlook was very, very quiet except for the redwings and catbirds. As I left the Overlook, I flushed what was either a woodcock or a snipe and then I was treated to a dramatic overflight by one of the Osprey who was chasing off another intruding Osprey. The Boardwalk panne had five Snowy Egrets, a few Mallards and a flock of 40 Brant. The Brant are surprising me because I expected them to be long gone by now but they are still hanging around. I got a glimpse of a Great Cormorant in the creek and a Bobolink was on the mound in the park.  No Orioles today but it was a nice walk for an overcast dreary day.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 14, 2008 by OrientSee.

Today two barroom thugs were banging around the south flats. Two Great Black-back Gulls were harassing the Osprey who was busy eating a fish. The gulls kept edging closer and closer until finally the Osprey took off, turned mid-air and flew back with those enormous talons flashing. The gulls finally got the message and then moved on. They then decided to bother a Snowy Egret who just ignored them and descended into one of the ditches. These gulls had serious chutzpah but got no meal. It was a finer day when a little later I saw this Baltimore Oriole.  It hard to do anything but smile when an oriole is around. I saw a Yellow Warbler again but no photo. It’s a great bird. The Brant have moved on or gotten sick of the dogs.  A few Snowy Egrets were moving about but it was very quiet around the park. There was less wind and it was slightly warmer.  Warmth by the ocean is a scarce commodity right now.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 13, 2008 by OrientSee.

Elegance is a very subjective term. Greyhounds, Grace Kelly and seagulls are elegant but Italian Greyhounds, Audrey Hepburn and Terns are even more elegant. This is a Common Tern swooping down for a fish in Belle Isle Creek. It is slim and acrobatic. A seagull can certainly fly and soar but a tern simply outclasses a gull. I admit to being biased but they are such appealing birds. I don’t see terns that often at Belle Isle. They are not rare or unusual visitors but they aren’t around all the time. That makes them a delight when they hover over the creek and pannes looking for fish. A Belle Isle Osprey appeared absolutely elephantine when I saw a tern nearby today. The Brant are still around in large numbers. They were feeding in the grass at the Beachmont School this morning. The wind was ferocious and so the small birds were not so evident today. One Snowy Egret was so hunched over in the face of the wind that I first mistook it for a plastic bag. If the wind had been just a bit less fierce this would have been a first class day. As it was, it was merely terrific.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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May 12, 2008 by OrientSee.

Today felt like November with a very strong north wind, overcast skies and a May cool 48° temp. A Great Egret was stalking around Rosie’s Pond while a pigeon was looking like a shorebird as it browsed on the water’s edge right next to a Kildeer. No warblers to speak of but lots of catbirds like this one feeding off Sumac fruit. The large flock of Brant is still feeding on the flats east of the Boardwalk. I have twice startled some sort of night heron but haven’t gotten a good positive look. By the front of the park, a mallard sat puttering on the grass until I stopped less than 15 feet away from him. The fruit trees are still in glorious bloom but I have been surprised to realize that the flowers don’t always smell very nice. I haven’t noticed any of the big hawks around lately. Do the Osprey intimidate them all just by being there? I wonder what is going on.

Ciao!
-Jorge

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