OCEAN STATE BIRD CLUB
  • Home
  • About
    • OSBC Leadership Team
    • OSBC By-laws
    • OSBC Newsletters
    • Walk Guidelines
    • Birding Ethics
    • What do I bring on a pelagic?
  • Become a Member
    • December Membership Renewal
  • Birding Locations
    • Greater Providence Area
    • East Bay
    • Aquidneck Island
    • Jamestown
    • Warwick Area
  • Future Events
  • Past Events
    • January 2021
    • February 2021
    • March 2021
    • April 2021
    • August 2021
    • October 2021
    • 2020 Events
    • 2019 Events
    • 2018 Events
    • 2017 Events
    • 2016 Events
    • 2015 Events
    • 2014 Events
  • In the Media
  • Past Trip Reports
  • Birding SE New England
  • Test Your Birding Skills
    • Backyard Birds
    • Warblers
    • Vireos
    • Winter Ducks
  • Lands' End Store Front
  • OSBC Hat Order Form
  • Live Bird Cams
  • Video Resources
  • Blog

7/5/15 Raymond Marr's Purple Martin Talk at Tillingahst Farm, RISD

7/7/2015

4 Comments

 
15 people joined Ray Marr at Tillinghast Farm on Sunday July 5 to learn about Purple Martins.  We had a wonderful time with Ray, who is passionate and exuberant about his 21 years work and experiences building the Purple Martin colonies in RI.  He shared his extensive knowledge about Purple Martin behaviors, nesting preferences, habitats, predator protection and much more while we watched adult Martins feeding chicks at the nesting boxes.  While Ray had hoped to be able to lower the box so we could observe the chicks inside, the timing was not right.  The chicks were too mature and he was concerned if the box was lower the chicks might jump out and the adults would be very distressed.  Egg laying and hatching happened a little earlier this year than expected.  Timing is not totally  predictable.  We also visited the gourd nesting colony on Barrington Land Trust property on Washington Ave for observation and more explanation from Ray about why gourds (natural and manufactured) are preferable to the “houses” that have been used for many years.  Then we walked out through the phragmites marsh to a single nesting house Ray had moved there being occupied by a single pair of yearlings since, because they had nested a bit later than others, he was able to lower the box to look inside.  The single nest inside, beautifully made and lined with green leaves (which Martins habitually use for nesting) held three eggs and sadly the expired female.

 Pictures have been posted on the new OSBC facebook page.

 A trip will be scheduled for next year with Ray for  the end of June.  Anyone wishing to communicated with him about Purple Martins, nesting boxes, etc is free to contact him at rmarr2@cox.net  

 Here’s Ray’s report from 7/5 on Martin Colony's in Barrington: …. are doing just excellent. There was over 100 pairs but some have just expired and So the numbers have dropped to 96 pairs total for Barrington.  The town can support up to 136 pairs.

The weather just perfect for bug supply for many of the chicks that will take flight within the next month. Its all balance with weather conditions for this species to much rain chicks fail not enough rain chicks go hungry no bugs.    The young and old return at dusk to roost so it will be a great show to see many of them return before they leave for South America. 

These are not totals this is where we stand to date.   Totals fledged in September:  

Tillingahst Farm, RISD                  14 pairs   units  16     
Nayatt Avenue

Barrington Landtrust,                     32 pairs    units   56
Washington  St

Rhode Island Country Club            27 pairs   units   28   
Nayatt Avenue

Dr John Moakler                            23 pairs    units    36 
(private residence)       
County road        



4 Comments

6/20/15 Charleston Area Walk

7/7/2015

0 Comments

 
June 20, 2015
Charlestown Area (Card’s Pond Rd, Matunuck Schoolhouse Rd, Trustom Pond NWR, Moonstone Beach, Succotash Marsh)
Leader: Dan Berard
Number of participants: 6
Species Record - 81
Notes – Beautiful weather and lots of unexpected species made for a fantastic day of birding!!

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
GADWALL
Mallard
American Black Duck
Common Eider
CORY’S SHEARWATER
Double-crested Cormorant
LEAST BITTERN
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Virginia Rail
Piping Plover (with chicks!)
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Least Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Marsh Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat



Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

0 Comments

    Postings by Month

    March 2018
    June 2017
    May 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Events
    Talks
    Trip Reports