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Wednesday 7/22: Usual at Weston Station Pond, nothing at the res in a quick scan.

Thursday 7/23: Nothing particularly different at BBN. Tried to check the duck ponds but there was a crew mowing so didn’t stop.

Friday 7/24: Res was too sunny. Shade St was quiet, couple robber flies about the only interest. Hobbs Brook had nothing exciting for shorebirds, grass may be getting too thick in places.

Saturday 7/25: Started at Millennium figuring I could get Suffolk over 100 for July. Eventually heard a rail and found a young crow that appeared to be a Fish, which meant 101. Also a bunch of Willows but not too much else. Continued to Raymond Reservation where two Least Bitterns were visible on my first pass, then the gallinule family on the second. Afternoon loop had two Turkey Vultures on the ground at Elm Brook but nothing else of note.

Sunday 7/26: Went out west. High Ridge had a couple families of warblers (redstart, Chestnut-sided), 2 Alder Flycatchers, a crossbill, and a Belted Whiteface. Continued to the Lake Wompanoag Bog, which was fairly quiet ode-wise (Elfin Skimmer, a few uncooperative darners) but had a decent variety of birds. Stopped at Fitchburg Res (3 loons, 2 eagles) and the res (usual) on the way home.

Monday 7/27: Dunback had mostly the usual, lot of grosbeaks.

Tuesday 7/28: Solitary, bunch of hummingbirds, eagle, etc. at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 7/15: Lesser Yellowlegs, ton of Least at Hobbs Brook. Looped a bit after, 2 egrets along Old County Rd the only things of note.

Thursday 7/16: BBN was on the quiet side, weird sounding Red-bellies the bird highlight. Deer family, Banded Hairstreak, a few odes as well.

Friday 7/17: Nothing at the braille trail, not much more by the square.

Saturday 7/18: Started at Winthrop Beach where the first shorebird I got my eyes on was the Baird’s (first adult!). Not too much else. Went to Yirrell next, deciding air quality wasn’t good enough for Deer Island. No Whimbrel or anything but did pick out a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel just inside the haze line. Gave the town landing, Fisherman’s Bend, and Morton St. very quick checks with nothing of note before heading to Earhart. Air quality went downhill rapidly, so only went to the casino cove and back. Couple Semipalmated Sandpipers were the most interesting.

Sunday 7/19: Went to work on the July Worcester county list. Started at Sawyer Bluff at Wachusett. Fairly quiet walk in (RB Nuthatch and creeper were month birds), barely a flat, and windy with little on the water. Did have a few odes and robber flies. Decided to skip gate 40 and went to Delaney. Got 3 would be targets on the MIddlesex side, did eventually get an Osprey from the other. Other than FOY Autumn Meadowhawk, not much of anything. Finished at the rail trail in Maynard, which got 3 town birds but that was less than hoped for.

Monday 7/20: Nothing much at Hardy. Out to Otis for a couple days, about 20 species in the yard, House Finch was Berkshire #99.

Tuesday 7/21: Didn’t beat the rain, then took a bit of a drive. Colebrook Lake had one distant swallow. Twining Pond had a pile of swallows and Wood Duck (plus Chipping Sparrow was new for Hampden). South end of Otis Res had a turkey. Blandford Rd Marsh didn’t have anything much but looked good for a future visit. No luck with #100 though…

Wednesday 7/8: BBN had Azure and Orange Bluets and the usual birds.

Thursday 7/9: Only had time for a quick Hobbs Brook check. A few Least, a black duck, and that was about it.

Friday 7/10: First dispersing Bobolinks of the fall, eagle, managed to miss the coot at Great Meadows.

Saturday 7/11: Down to Scituate. SB Dowitcher and Spotted Sandpipers also for the Plymouth county list. Went to Great Pond on the way home but Oak St. didn’t look too low and I was boiling in the car, so didn’t actually get out.

Sunday 7/12: Went back to Pickerel Pond in Natick, where I got four more for the town (Virginia Rail the most interesting). Continued to Mill Pond in Ashland, which was pretty quiet. RB Grosbeak and Warbling Vireo were new but no waterfowl or swallows at all. Barber Reservation next. No luck with Red-bellied Tiger Beetles but did have a Striped Hairstreak and a few other bugs. Also got eight new birds (Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting, common stuff), which got me to 15 of 25 towns with at  least 10 additions for the year. Shouldn’t be too hard to finish the rest and going forward I’ve decided working a smaller number all the way to 100 is better than trying to just add to all of them each year.

Monday 7/13: Quick run around Dunback had mostly robins.

Tuesday 7/14: First of fall Solitary at Meriam’s, fairly quiet otherwise walking from there through Kaveski and down to the Hay Meadow boardwalk.

Wednesday 7/1: BBN didn’t have much of note.

Thursday 7/2: Nothing east or at the square.

Friday 7/3: Ode walk at the Cranberry Bog didn’t have many odes or birds. Good number of Silver-bordered Fritillaries and a few skippers at least.

Saturday 7/4: Lot of Great Blues and Killdeer but not too much else at Hobbs Brook. Shade St. trail was quiet. Healthpoint Pond is starting to be overgrown but did have one Comet Darner and one Carolina Saddlebags. Res itself had mostly geese.

Sunday 7/5: Started at Millennium, which at RE Vireo, Orchard Orioles, Least Sandpiper, and a few other things. Did the boardwalk trail at Cutler Park after. Broad-wing would have been really nice 40 minutes earlier across the river, otherwise fairly quiet.

Monday 7/6: Weston Station Pond had more herons than I had expected, a few Indigos, and not too much else. FOY Common Wood-Nymph finally too.

Tuesday 7/7: Too rainy

Wednesday 6/24: Dunback had a Chestnut-sided, 2 Blue-wings, FOY Least Skipper, etc.

Thursday 6/25: Lone Tree Hill didn’t have the butterflies I hoped for, Indigo about the most exciting. Had time for a loop at Rock Meadow which had another Indigo and not too much else.

Friday 6/26: Waited out the rain then checked BBN. Usual birds (pond is up again), Blue-winged acting like it had an active nest, and a Leptogaster-type thing that got away.

Saturday 6/27: Started at Watertown Square, which was quiet. Earhart next, nothing particularly of note there either.

Sunday 6/28: Started in the fog at Moose Hill Farm. Got a few Norfolk June birds, mostly the commonest I still needed. Hissing young Barred Owl was about the best. Thought about the Norfolk airport but the sun was coming out and my other obvious targets were water birds, so went to Great Pond instead. Got swans easily but no sign of Wood Ducks down Norroway. Walked out the causeway and had a bunch of odes including a spinyleg and Band-winged Pennant. Also a few butterflies. up to 95 for June, so a decent stop.

Monday 6/29: College Pond had a Mocha Emerald and family of Barred Owls.

Tuesday 6/30: Four species of robber fly but not much else of note at AGM.

Wednesday 6/17: Bunch of Banded Hairstreaks but no interesting birds at Falzone or the West Meadow.

Thursday 6/18: Nothing particularly of note at BBN.

Friday 6/19: Did a brief loon survey (nothing), then went to the Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsborough State Forest. Too windy, had a couple Lowell additions but nothing exciting. Checked the Hunter property again after. No clubtails and not much else beyond a Sedge Sprite.

Saturday 6/20: Led a BBC walk at Willard Brook. Or would have had anyone showed. Did a quick loop, still too windy to hear much but got the regular warblers. Got back to Acton for most of the butterfly count. Banded Hairstreak, a few skippers, not a ton of note and not much in other taxa.

Sunday 6/21: Took a bit to come up with an idea and finally ended up at the Wakefield Town Forest. Was pretty quiet but I got the three I needed to hit 100 for the town (#30!). Continued to Audubon Rd and had a couple Rough-wings. Worked my way over to Wilmington and looped around the dog park/canal a bit. Nothing exciting (no yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, or flicker) but passed 10 new for the year, so I’m past the halfway point in adding 10 to every town under 100.

Monday 6/22: Checked on the Worm-eating at Prospect Hill. Heard an interesting song in the area but pretty sure it was a Chipping Sparrow. Didn’t find too much else in the park, good numbers of Ovenbirds at least.

Tuesday 6/23: Great Meadows had a showy Virginia Rail and 2 Great Egrets.

Wednesday 6/10: Started at the Freeman Tract, which was a bit of a hairier drive than I expected. Didn’t quite reach the end and only walked a short bit but had a bunch of warblers including a Worm-eating that landed almost next to the car. Only odes were common (suspect the end of the road would have been interesting). Also a Pileated and a few other things. Wanted to try another site or two but ended up not seeing the ones I picked out and just continued home. Added a couple things for Connecticut on the way and ended the trip with over 110 species, not too bad for what wasn’t really a birding trip.

Thursday 6/11: Between all the driving the last few days and the late basketball game, didn’t do anything.

Friday 6/12: Quick walk around Habitat didn’t have any Acadian or much else, first European Skipper about it.

Saturday 6/13: Started at Winthrop Beach. Oystercatchers, plovers, terns, not much else. Dropped my water bottle and didn’t notice until I was back at the car so made a second loop and found it. Belle Isle next, nothing of note (although the Western Kingbird was seen right around then). Buzzed the res and Hobbs Brook on the way home without anything.

Sunday 6/14: Did my Minuteman survey, which was about as expected. Went to Pickerel Pond in Natick after, got 9 Natick birds, plus FOY Slender Spreadwing and and meadowhawk. Did a kite watch at Raymond Reservation after. No kites but a few Broad-wings and an Olive-sided.

Monday 6/15: Great Meadows was pretty quiet, egret, eagle, Virginia Rail.

Tuesday 6/16: BC Night Heron east of the square, nothing much at the square. No luck with Debbie’s ibis at BBN on the way home but did have a ton of Killdeer and an Indigo singing by the big marsh.

Wednesday 6/3: Driving day, usual vultures/Osprey/swallows etc along the road. Probably added something in Connecticut but first new state bird I actually recorded was Boat-tailed Grackle in NJ.

Thursday 6/4: We did the loop at Brigantine. Pretty casually, didn’t get out much with the scope and wanted to be back on the road in an hour and a half. Tons of terns, peep (almost all Semi Sand), egrets, Laughing Gulls, etc. Ten new NJ birds, White-rumped, Caspian Tern about the most exciting. Long drive from there with basically the same as yesterday (so mostly vultures).

Friday 6/5: Started at Pocahontas State Park outside Richmond, where I failed to find any petaltails. Did have Blue-tipped Dancer plus a giant snake, a YB Cuckoo, and a few other things. Finished the drive to Myrtle Beach (Mississippi Kite just after crossing into North Carolina was the only thing of note on the way) and watched pelicans from the balcony for a bit.

Saturday 6/6: Kestrel, pelicans, not too much else along the beach. Walked to a boardwalk that I could see from our rental, which had a few egrets and a swimming Clapper Rail. Started for another place but it was a good 30 minute walk so I turned around quickly.

Sunday 6/7: Did the boardwalk again, more rails, more herons, Wood Storks, White Ibis, Purple Martins, etc. Also walked to the Heritage Shores preserve, which was fairly quiet but added Painted Buntings and Eurasian Collared-Doves plus a thrasher in a random yard on the way back.

Monday 6/8: Got 5 herons (Tricolored the best) from the bedroom window plus the usual stuff from the balcony. Long drive to Fredericksburg without much of note from there.

Tuesday 6/9: Tried the Crow’s Nest Natural Preserve for a bit (unfortunately with a lengthy road construction delay). Birding wasn’t too exciting (White-eyed Vireo, Acadian Flycatchers, eagles, heard Hooded Warbler, YB Cuckoo) but had a bunch of Zebra Swallowtails and some other bugs. Long drive after that, DC Cormorant made the PA list but nothing else of note.

Wednesday 5/27: Alder, Comma, and not too much else at Dunback.

Thursday 5/28: Looped Farm Meadow. Got the Bobolinks for the year and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo as well. Few odes and butterflies as well.

Friday 5/29: Barred Owl, Mourning Warbler, parula, couple Magnolias, maybe more at Habitat. Afternoon loop of Meriam’s/Kaveski didn’t have too much.

Saturday 5/30: Tried to listen again at Habitat but the rain was too much. Did a pond loop and other than lots of gulls and cormorants on the Mystic Lakes there was nothing. Afternoon try for terns had 2 loons on the res but nothing else there or along the Charles.

Sunday 5/31: Checked out my pond in Dracut for the loon survey, although I didn’t actually spend time looking. Boat launch didn’t look to have a great view but I had seen some conservation land just over the border so went up to see if any trails went back. None did, but I finally added Carolina Wren to my NH list and heard loons from a different pond. Continued to Yapp Farm next, bunch of warblers including Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian, plus a few other things for Dracut, adding 11 total. Thought about Lowell next but decided Tewksbury was easier. Walked from the Pinnacle trail head way down further than I had in the past and had almost 50 species including possibly territorial Canada Warbler, a Magnolia, a Broad-wing or two, and 12 total new for the town. Also a few bugs although nothing terribly interesting. Started raining pretty heavily in Lexington on the way home so continued to the res, where there was zero rain and nothing much birdwise.

Monday 6/1: Short loop east of the square got shorter when a Palm Warbler began singing, took almost all the time I had to get a view. Square itself was quiet. Returned later with camera and got a few photos but didn’t add much more with an actual walk.

Tuesday 6/2: BBN had a White Admiral, an interesting syrphid, and most of the usual birds. Orange Bluet in the yard later.