goldfinches, outdoor, songbirds, nest containers, raptors, rodents, shearwaters, fishing

By Mark Blazis
| correspondent

Since most of our songbirds have finished nesting, our spectacular goldfinches are only just beginning. It is now 24-carat pure goldfinch time.

Goldfinches are different wonders of nature. In contrast to all of our other songbirds, which feed their babies almost exclusively on protein- and fat-rich caterpillars and other insects, goldfinches have to feed their babies exclusively from special seeds that are not yet ripe when all the other songbirds nest. Goldfinches are most noticeable now – and territorial too. The fact that they came into their spectacular plumage early with other songbirds only indicates that they formed their pair bond particularly early.

From mid-July to September they nest in overgrown fields of weeds with wooded edges of bushes and saplings. Surprisingly, the male will only defend his territory until the female has built her nest, usually in less than a week. She does this all alone, using roots and plant fibers lined with fluffy materials from flowers such as thistle, dandelion, and milkweed that bloom late, and holding the fibers together with the sticky threads of spider webs and caterpillar nests of dropworms. Unlike other birds, the female goldfinch often takes a week or two after building a nest before she actually lays her eggs in it.

As soon as the eggs hatch, the father helps feed the young with partially digested thistle, aster, alder, birch and milkweed seeds, which are vomited up. Any parasitic cow bird egg that is placed in a goldfinch nest will not survive this strictly vegetarian diet.

The goldfinch eggs take two weeks to hatch and the young spend about two weeks in the nest before they fledge. The first large group leaves the nest around August 15th. At this point, the male takes most of the feeding outside of the nest for several weeks. During this time the female often builds a second nest to lay a second clutch. On September 28th, nestlings were observed in Massachusetts, the goldfinches by far make our newest songbird nests.

Weather-affected nest boxes

Some of the reports from bird watchers setting up nesting boxes for swallows have not been very good this spring as the weather events on Memorial Day and July 4th took their toll. In one report, 52 eggs were laid in boxes, 26 of which had hatched, but only 6 fledged. Too many died in the nest, and wrens were one of the culprits. But bad, wet weather was most responsible.

Update on birds of prey, rodents

Leading local birds of prey authority, Paul Roberts interfered in some anecdotal observations of the population. “An unusual number of redtail hawks failed to nest or raised only one chick, reflecting food availability from January to March. Seeing just one chick in a redtail nest is a heartbreaking feeling for me because redtail chicks are very sociable, curious, and inquisitive, and the lonely chicks look so bored and lonely and miss most of the educational benefits of playing with a sibling. “

Roberts also commented on the availability of rodents. “There is a tremendous amount of construction going on within the Rte. 128/95 belts for condominium, water and sewerage works, and green line expansions that typically drive thousands of rats from their homes and that have contributed to a bumper crop of redtail in many locations over the past year. But I see no signs of the expected rat explosion this year and wonder if second generation rodenticides are being used. There was also the factor that so many restaurants closed during the pandemic, which resulted in fewer rats. “

Shearwaters fly after storm after

As expected, the passing tropical storm had a major impact on our seabird life. Just as the morning mist cleared, bird watchers anticipating the phenomenon and looking east of Race Point Beach off Provincetown saw a constant and truly amazing flight of shearwaters, about 120 per minute, passing Peaked Hill.

These large, fish-eating seabirds are impressive even in small numbers and are commonly seen with feeding whales or schools of tuna. Sometimes they eat so much that their bellies are too heavy to fly away from an approaching boat. Other spectacular birds that churned up our shoreline included a king tern, hundreds of petrels, and gannets.

Beware of bears when driving

The young bear, which migrated over much of southeast Massachusetts, was killed in a collision with an ambulance on the Rte. I-195 in Marion on June 24th. The bear was not finally recovered until July 6th because it was hiding in thick bushes. This bear was not an isolated incident.

We can expect 30 to 40 bears to be killed on our Massachusetts roads and highways in an average year. This bear that excited and delighted hundreds of viewers was nicknamed Boo Boo.

Rare chipmunks spotted

If you’ve seen a chipmunk you might think you saw them all. But T&G readers Patricia Joubert sent a photo of an unusual all black chipmunk. It’ll be interesting when we next year – assuming the chipmunk isn’t hawk or coyote food – we’ll see the recessive melanistic gene spreading further in the local population.

Blueberries galore – if you know where to look

Our long line of uncomfortable weather didn’t bother the berry pickers. Low bush blueberries came out punctually around July 4th – especially around our power lines, while tall bush blueberries have appeared in abundance this week, especially in our swamps, many of which are flooding at record levels this month. My “secret” place on the West River is currently loaded, but not easily accessible without waders. If you are a wild blueberry cake lover, this is your time to fill your bucket and keep enjoying the abundance of nature.

Cohen’s walks are a must for local collectors

With all the rain, we can now expect edible mushrooms to appear. Black and yellow chanterelles are already appearing, both gourmet delicacies. Try to join experts on collecting. If you can join either of Russ Cohens popular and educational forays, take the opportunity. I don’t know anyone who is more knowledgeable about local edible species than him. His foraging book, Wild Plants I Have Known… and Eaten, is a treasure trove of information about the local harvest. He will be leading his next wild food walk in Tower Hill on Thursday, July 15th. Edible mushrooms are sure to come across. Call 508-869-6111 to join the foray. Russ can be contacted at eatwild@rcn.com or 781-646-7489.

Good news in recent legislation

Kudos to the Senator Mother Gobi, who just broke the good news that the language she had submitted to the Senate budget to reimburse free and discounted licenses from the General Fund has been included in the final conference committee report that has just passed the Senate and House of Representatives. Senator Gobi said that “the language will be left to the governor and I doubt he will veto”. But Gobi doesn’t stop there. She now explores Missouri’s hugely successful, sustainable, and inspiring conservation funding strategy as a potential future model for our own.

Sticky traps are a threat

It is obvious that we need informed, environmentally conscious politicians to protect our wildlife and our outdoor traditions. With the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal, France has just become the last country in the European Union to ban the hunt for songbirds with glue traps. The indiscriminate practice, which resulted in collateral damage to endangered species, also included songbirds singing in cages to attract the wild birds, especially the larger thrushes.

For centuries, French songbird hunters – especially in southern France – coated branches with glue for food. European Union laws had banned the barbaric practice since 1979, but France continued the practice, arguing that it could do so selectively with minimal impact on endangered species. That was a lie.

Many other species, some of which are endangered, have also been caught and killed. There was no way to selectively control the types and numbers that were accidentally killed. At a time when bird populations in Europe are in free fall, there was no justification for the sport. Meanwhile, puffin populations across the UK are plummeting as boats from Denmark and Norway overfish these waters. It will be interesting to see if politics will resolve this business dilemma as well. We have had our own battle here with commercial baitfish interests harvesting huge amounts of menhaden, which has affected our striped bass populations, not to mention the overfishing of our once legendary cod populations.

Where the fish bite

On the saltwater front, before the seas became treacherous with the passing tropical storm, bluefin tuna fisheries at Coxes Ledge and The Claw continued to be exceptional, with remarkable numbers ranging from 35 to 50 inch fish being caught. Some giants have also been reported from Stellwagen Bank and the normally productive waters east of Chatham.

Fluke fishing was best around Block Island. Fishing for strip fish on Plum Island at high tide and at the Merrimack Estuary at low tide has proven very rewarding, especially mackerel or eels on live feed, although some fishermen get along very well with Scup. However, an 800-pound tuna that was commercially harpooned in just 40 feet of water off Plum Island caused the greatest commotion.

Shark fishing is expected to grow in importance over the next week. Gloucester party boats regularly return with borders of haddock, redfish and pollock, while the sea bass is still hitting hard at Buzzards Bay.

Boats from Scituate go to the deeper rocky outcrops, where they cut well on strips. For mackerel, early morning fishing was most productive. Numerous schools of menhad just off the coast are responsible for large striped fish and tuna in the vicinity.

As the water warms, flounder fishing has declined off Quincy, as expected, but fish can still be caught in cooler, deeper water.

While the channel fishermen found no action last week, the bay from Barnstable to Sandy Neck has been very productive for strip fishermen. With so many menhaden, boats get entangled and use them as their main bait, even though the mackerel on live food take their share of the keepers.

If you are a scup angler it is hard to hit the Vineyard Sound now, which is where many 2 pounders are reported.

Large blue fish – some up to 15 pounds – have been reported from Osterville to Falmouth.

Contact Mark Blazis at markblazissafaris@gmail.com.