Veronica Hinds, a biologist at the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be in the Building 2 Cafeteria today, Wednesday, 4/26, from 11:30 to 1PM. Veronica is extremely knowledgable on local species and habitats.

Weather permitting, a 20-30 minute guided Bird Walk will commence at noon on the Raytheon grounds. Veronica has been instrumental in helping prepare the wildlife checklists and cataloging bird species on the property.

Please show your support by stopping by and saying hello and feel free to bring along your cube-mates.

Birdline Sunday, May 14:
With a beak full of grass, a tree sparrow entered the nest box across from Building 3. She poked her head out of the box, eying me and my tripod-mounted camera warily. I snapped a few shots, she flitted out. In the box, a Monk's cut of dried grass. Still work to do. Positioning myself closer, I prefocused on the nest hole, ready for action. Within minutes, two tree swallows alighted on the box, the male on top of the green pole trying to look ferrocious, his irridescent feathers electric blue. The female, having patched the spot, peered from the hole, another couple of snaps. Pictures coming soon!

Other items of note were the spotting of my First American Redstart and Cedar Waxwing. I added all the birds identified to the REWHC database.

Bill

Bird Survey With The Norman Bird Sanctuary
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Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be assisting with our bird survey on Thursday, August 3rd. Veronica is especially interested in birding our new Woodland Wander trail. Other areas where we also need data include the meadow fields and the eastern woodland.

We'll leave the lobby of building 1 at 7AM sharp and the walk will be approximately two hours. A small number of additional observers are welcomed, but must be limited to 2 or 3 in order not to scare the birds away. If your schedule is adjustable and you'd like to attend, send me an e-mail at webmaster@rewhc.org. This is a first-come-first-served event.

Bird Survey With the Norman Bird Sanctuary 8/17
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The Norman Bird Sanctuary's Own Veronica Hinds will be joining us at 7AM sharp on 17 August in front of building 1 and we'll proceed into the Western Woodland and some other zones for a bird survey. If you have a flexible schedule and are able to adjust your hours, you may like to join us. Please RSVP at webmaster@rewhc.org. We'll try to limit the number of additional attendees to two or three to avoid scaring off the birds.

Fitness Day Bird Walks 8/29/00
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Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be joining us during our festivities to lead one or more guided birdwalks on the REWHC trails. All are welcome. Veronica will also bring Norman Bird Sanctuary literature so that employees can find out more about this gem of a nature preserve on our island.

Fitness Day Bird Walks 8/29/00
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Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be joining us during our festivities to lead one or more guided birdwalks on the REWHC trails. All are welcome. Veronica will also bring Norman Bird Sanctuary literature so that employees can find out more about this gem of a nature preserve on our island.

Bird Survey 9/7/00 at 7AM
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Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be on-site supporting our Bird Survey on Thursday Morning at 7AM. If you're able to rearrange your hours and join us, you'd sure be welcome. We'll be leaving from in front of the Building 1 Lobby at 7AM sharp and the duration of the survey will be limited to 2 hours. As always, outside team-members are welcome and an RSVP to webmaster@rewhc.org would be appreciated.

Survey Results From 9/7
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Present were Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary, Pam Pannatoni, and I. We met in front of building 1 and headed toward the Meadow Fields, (zone 1). First action noted was a group of six or seven Killdeer in the grassy margin between the access road and the parking lot across from the meadow. The Killdeer were found running through the Meadow Fields as well. We circled the mowed field and wandered into the southmost leased meadow. It's overgrown by quite a selection of goldenrod and the mosquitos were alive and well. Veronica suggested we may benefit from beekeeping with all the goldenrod around. we identified Carolina Wrens, Black-capped Chickadees, Gray Catbirds, Crows, Cedar Waxwings, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, and a New England Cottontail, but it was mostly quiet.

Leaving the meadow, we walked up the powerline access route and found ourselves wading through large leaves of the knotwood plant that had overgrown the path. We kind of felt like croutons in a salad. Mosquitos were out in force, birds quiet, and rather than become West Nile Virus test indicators, we high-tailed it out of there and walked alongside the Eastern Woodland margin.
Some Gray Catbirds, Robins, and Black Capped Chickadees around. We also noted some interesting cabbage-like fungus and a dead vole which most likely lost out to a lawn mower.

We then crossed over to the Western Woodland. A lot more activity across from building three near the birdhouse. Cedar Waxwings, Crows, Goldfinches, House Finches, Starlings, Mockingbirds, and Catbirds present.

We agreed to meet again in two weeks.

Norman Bird Sanctuary Sunday Morning Birdwalk Held at Raytheon
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Jay Manning of the Norman Bird Sanctuary holds free birdwalks each Sunday starting from their parking lot in Middletown. While walks are usually on the Sanctuary property, field trips to other local areas are also considered. At 8AM, and with a small group of 4, I suggested Raytheon might be a new experience for the group. My motives included getting a group of experienced birdwatchers to help in our survey. They agreed and we signed in at the guard's station and took the Tower Trail to the Woodland Wander down to the treatment plant. Not many birds at first, but the sun's early rays cutting through the Red Cedars was quite a sight. All were impressed with the quantity and size of the Cedars. Jay mentioned that the Norman Bird Sanctuary would like to host an Owl Prowl (after dark owl walk) on the trail in the Fall. Major Bird activity found at the waste treatment plant and upward through the Birchway Trail. Fifteen new species added including: Coopers Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Osprey, Snowy Egret, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Brown Thrasher, Northern Flicker, Rock Dove, and Yellow Rumped Warbler. Many old favorites were also viewed such as Robins, Catbirds, House Finches, Goldfinches, Cedar Waxwings, Rufus-sided Towhee, Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves, Song Sparrows, and a Tufted Titmouse.

We then walked up and into the Meadow Fields. Jay remarked that it was a perfect Savannah Sparrow environment and definitely worth another look in Fall when the fields go fallow.

All-in-all, a great birding morning!

Bird Survey 9/21/00 at 7AM
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Veronica Hinds of the Norman Bird Sanctuary will be on-site supporting our Bird Survey on Thursday Morning at 7AM. If you're able to rearrange your hours and join us, you'd sure be welcome. We'll be leaving from in front of the Building 1 Lobby at 7AM sharp and the duration of the survey will be limited to 2 hours. As always, outside team-members are welcome and an RSVP to webmaster@rewhc.org would be appreciated.

Team Raytheon won the Fall Birding Challenge on Aquidneck Island, edging out the Norman Bird Sanctuary Team by just 8 bird species! The Raytheon team worked hard, putting in 14 hours in the field on Saturday and an additional 8 hours in the field on Sunday. Over 110 miles were clocked on the car's odometer, just on Aquidneck Island, as we wrung out each conceivable location for birds. An estimated 20 miles was walked, each carrying tripod, scope, and binoculars.

The bird list follows.


Norman Bird Sanctuary's Fall Birding Challenge:
Team Raytheon: 94 Species on Aquidneck Island
Winner of Aquidneck Island Category

Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Blue-winged Teal
American Wigeon
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Eider
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Ruddy Duck
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Laughing Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Tree Swallow
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Cedar Waxwing
European Starling
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Nashville Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Rufous-sided Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Salt Marsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Black Throated Green Warbler
Monk Parakeet

Hi All:

Today I'll be starting to take the bird boxes down
to bring them to Ed Rizy and him and the Boy Scout s are going to start modifying/repairing the existing new design boxes so that the doors close a little better, re-nailing, etc. They will also be making new boxes to replace the old style boxes (qty. 5) that were placed originally with the newer design because it gives us better access for the bird monitoring season. We are also plannning to add about 5 new boxes this year during Earth Day and hang the rest of the boxes on that day as well.
I am planning to start with the first 10 boxes, starting with box #1 and moving along to box #11. If anybody has a little bit of extra time today (and it looks like is going to be a beatiful day for this task) and wants to Join me, please feel free. I'll be starting at 11:00 A.M. to avoid lunch traffic because I'll have to park my car along the road to put the boxes in the trunk.
I'll be bringing them to the Ed Rizy tomorrow so his troop can work on them this weekend.

Earth Day Bird Walk - Tomorrow! (Tuesday, 4/18)
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Grab your binoculars, sturdy shoes and meet me at the Nimitz Main entrance for a guided spring bird walk. It's a busy time of year, with birds staking out territory and finding mates. We'll discuss the behaviors of our feathered friends while listening, viewing, and identifying birds along the Tower, Woodland Wander, and Poor Farm Ramble trails.

We'll be leaving at 7AM, the prime time for morning birding, and have you back to Nimitz by 8AM to start your day refreshed and invigorated.

The rain dates for this walk are Wednesday and Thursday.