New Feature: LIFELIST: June 2006

Now that my blog is on a roll I thought it's time I started to add some regular features. For this one, simply entitled LIFELIST, I'm going to compile lists of the notable wildlife seen in over the course of a month. As mentioned previously, birders often do this, keeping a life-list tracking all the new species they have seen. Perhaps it's not that interesting to read a list so I'll try to spice it up here and there with some pics, audio clips, or related anecdotes. In any case, this is more for my own personal gratification anyways. Try keeping a life-list of your own! It's kind of like keeping a collection and can be really fun.

Here goes.

Williamstown, MA
Seen/heard while hiking through Hopkins Forest.

Blackburnian Warbler:









American Redstart:






Ovenbird:




Stowe, VT
Seen/heard near the Trapp Family Lodge during our family's stay at a timeshare there.

Ruffed Grouse:









White-throated Sparrow:

Veery:


Killdeer (nesting next to the tennis courts!)

The killdeer gave us a quite show of its uncanny broken-wing behavior: If a suspected predator approaches the Killdeer's nest, the mother will act like it has a broken wing to lure the predator away from the eggs. An evolutionary masterpiece. From wikipedia:
"These birds will frequently use the "broken-wing act" to distract predators from their nests. This involves the bird walking away from its nesting area holding its wing in a position that simulates an injury and then flapping around on the ground emitting a distress call. The predators then think they have easy prey and are attracted to this seemingly injured bird and away from the nest. If the parent sees that a potential predator is not following them, they will move closer and get louder until they get the attention of the predator."


Princeton, NJ:

Chicken of the Woods (fungus)










Sharp-shinned Hawk