{"id":12652,"date":"2019-05-06T06:30:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T10:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=12652"},"modified":"2019-05-01T16:40:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T20:40:29","slug":"take-5-towhee-takeover","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-towhee-takeover\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Towhee Takeover"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s an exciting time of year! More and more migratory birds are returning to Massachusetts each week, including the strikingly patterned Eastern Towhee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With its bold black throat, head, back, and tail, reddish-brown sides, and white belly, this large sparrow cuts a handsome figure\u2014if you can spot one. They spend a lot of time in thick underbrush or rummaging around in leaf litter for forage so you may hear them more than you see them, but they can be enticed to visit your bird feeder, especially during the breeding season and if your yard’s edges are overgrown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The classic mnemonic for the male towhee’s mating song is drink-your-tea!<\/em> with the “tea” dragging out in a musical trill, while both sexes will employ a rising chewink<\/em> call. Listen for both along forest edges with dense thickets and tangles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about what to look for in nature this time of year in the Outdoor Almanac<\/a> and enjoy these five photo contest submissions of Eastern Towhees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eastern
Eastern Towhee \u00a9 Amy Martin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Eastern
Eastern Towhee \u00a9 Susan Wellington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Eastern
Eastern Towhee \u00a9 Evan Lipton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Eastern
Eastern Towhee \u00a9 Mike Duffy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Eastern
Eastern Towhee \u00a9 Matt Filosa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s an exciting time of year! More and more migratory birds are returning to Massachusetts each week, including the strikingly patterned Eastern Towhee. With its bold black throat, head, back, and tail, reddish-brown sides, and white belly, this large sparrow cuts a handsome figure\u2014if you can spot one. They spend a lot of time in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":12655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/04\/3417Matt_Filosa16544.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3i4","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7584,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/100-great-wildlife-sanctuary-birding-spots\/","url_meta":{"origin":12652,"position":0},"title":"100 Great Wildlife Sanctuary Birding Spots","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon\u2019s annual birding competition takes place on May 13-14. Teams of birders will attempt to see (or hear) the most species in a 24-hour time span. At the same time, birders and \u201cBird-a-thon\u00a0Boosters\u201d are raising money to support wildlife sanctuaries and programs. To kick-off Bird-a-thon and celebrate 100\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14039,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/birds-to-look-for-during-bird-at-home-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":12652,"position":1},"title":"Birds to Look For During Bird-at-home-a-thon","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While this year\u2019s\u00a0Bird-a-thon\u00a0has shifted focus to birding closer to home and around your neighborhood, you can still find\u00a0tons of\u00a0exciting birds. Some birds are common in many habitats, like Northern Cardinals and American Robins,\u00a0but\u00a0here\u00a0is\u00a0a list of other feathered friends you are likely to see (or hear!) in habitats\u00a0across\u00a0Massachusetts along with some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Burds you can see in an urban setting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/05\/Urban_photos.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17232,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/fall-birding-hotspots\/","url_meta":{"origin":12652,"position":2},"title":"Fall Birding Hotspots","author":"Kaylin D.","date":"October 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When the heat of summer fades in October, the crispness of fall is a signal to birders to get outdoors and search for fall migratory birds. Don\u2019t know where to start? Check out these birding hotspots at some of our Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries.\u00a0 Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary, Marshfield\u00a0 This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/10\/5444Scott_Creamer32352-750x500-840d013f-bd1f-473d-9e50-126d5e33b8c3-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/10\/5444Scott_Creamer32352-750x500-840d013f-bd1f-473d-9e50-126d5e33b8c3-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/10\/5444Scott_Creamer32352-750x500-840d013f-bd1f-473d-9e50-126d5e33b8c3-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2022\/10\/5444Scott_Creamer32352-750x500-840d013f-bd1f-473d-9e50-126d5e33b8c3-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13931,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-gray-catbirds\/","url_meta":{"origin":12652,"position":3},"title":"Take 5: Gray Catbirds","author":"Ryan D.","date":"April 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Spring is a wonderful time of year as we welcome the return of some of our favorite migrant birds from their wintering grounds. 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In the late 1800s, it was fashionable for women to wear hats adorned with feathers and dead birds. When Boston-based Harriet Hemenway read an article that described in graphic detail how these beautiful birds were hunted and killed, or stripped of their feathers, she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/03\/Young-Harriet-Hemenway-e1615209571157.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/03\/Young-Harriet-Hemenway-e1615209571157.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/03\/Young-Harriet-Hemenway-e1615209571157.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/03\/Young-Harriet-Hemenway-e1615209571157.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14642,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-you-musk-be-joking\/","url_meta":{"origin":12652,"position":5},"title":"Take 5: You Musk Be Joking!","author":"Ryan D.","date":"September 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"While they do belong to the order Rodentia), muskrats are not, in fact, rats at all (i.e. members of the genus Rattus). Plus, they're actually more closely related to lemmings than they are to their look-a-like cousins, beavers. 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