Author: jason

Wednesday 3/29: Ducks still on the water at BBN. Also 2 Fox Sparrows, a couple phoebes, a pair of bluebirds at a hole, etc.

Thursday 3/30: Errands today, Kaveski tomorrow, oops (maybe). Other than 120 geese at Cookson, very little around Watertown.

Friday 3/31: Kestrels and a Fox Sparrow but no crane at Kaveski and Meriam’s.

Saturday 4/1: Midafternoon check of the res had FOY Double-crested Cormorant but that was about it, same ducks at Hardy.

Sunday 4/2: Bluebird and not much else at the res in a quick scan. Nothing at Heard, shovelers still at the swamp. North end of Water Row had an Osprey and around 10 Purple Finches. Overlook was pretty quiet, a few raptors, lots of Tree Swallows, a handful of waterfowl. Another vulture at Nine Acre.

Monday 4/3: 2 PB Grebe and a Rusty at Great Meadows.

Tuesday 4/4: Meriam’s again. Lucked out this time and the crane was out in the open immediately (‘commute’ #246!). Also 3 Savannah Sparrows, a Cooper’s Hawk (somehow the first I’ve seen in the SRV this year), lots of the usual. Fish Crow calling over the house late morning was nice too.

Wednesday 3/22: Walked north side of Hardy, 6 Ring-necks, eventually picked out the Ruddy. Nothing exciting on land there or at Graverson. Evening check of BBN had the same general ducks as last week and then at least 7 woodcock. Also heard some at Rock Meadow as I drove by on the way home.

Thursday 3/23: Pintail and Lesser Scaup at Arlington Res.

Friday 3/24: Worcester county run, had 3 targets. Bolton Flats was fairly quiet, lots of geese and GW Teal but no sign of shoveler (and beyond a wigeon, no ducks of note). A check across the street added a few sparrows but not much else. Westborough WMA next. Quiet to start, but eventually turned up 3 Fox Sparrows, 1 target down. Continued around and had a group of Yellow-rumps fly by. Lots of Ring-necks at Little Chauncy but nothing else of note. Started back and something odd flushes from the sumacs right in front of me. Fortunately it landed at the top of the pines and was obviously a shrike. A target, although not one I expected. A Horned Lark flying over as I walked off was nice too. Continued to the Sudbury Res, which was pretty quiet. Didn’t see the geese on Fay Road, which turned out to be because they were  at the Fay School a mile or two away. Quick check of directions and Snow Geese made the list. Brief stops at Heard Pond and Pelham Island Rd, then the res on the way home had very little. Woodcock walk in the evening at BBN had a pintail and about 4 woodcock.

Saturday 3/25: Decided to squeeze in an on-foot day before it got nasty out. Nothing too exciting at Falzone or the West Meadow (Killdeer the first addition to the nonmotorized year list). The pintail was still in the parkway marsh, #159 on the cumulative non-motorized list. Also 4 GW Teal, 4 Ring-necks, and a bunch of Bufflehead plus 2 Tree Swallows and a Phoebe (and what was probably a Yellow-rump but lousy views and no calls). Weather looked to be getting worse so I skipped Mackerel and went out to Concord Ave without seeing too much more. Flyover Hooded Merganser was about it along Concord Ave and nothing different through the West Meadow return. Falzone was quiet until the pond, which had a goldeneye (#160).

Sunday 3/26: Tried to beat the wind and started at Belle Isle. Gadwall were off Lawn Ave but not too much elsewhere. Finally found the wigeon flock from the cemetery (those and Hooded Mergansers were apparently new for me here). Fought wind and sun for a bit at Revere Beach but eventually had at least one Manx fly through.

Monday 3/27: One of the towhees was out at Dunback. Not much in the woods, phoebes and a Tree Swallow down Bacon, and that was about it.

Tuesday 3/28: Quick stop at Mt. Auburn got the Orange-crowned for March. RB Nuthatch was about the only other thing of interest.

Wednesday 3/8: Wood Duck and not much else at BBN.

Thursday 3/9: Palm Warbler but no Barnacle or Tree Swallows at Great Meadows.

Friday 3/10: Yellow-rump about it at Dunback.

Saturday 3/11: Nothing too exciting at Pod Meadow, Barnacle Goose at School St, nothing at the res or Nine Acre.

Sunday 3/12: no birds

Monday 3/13: Noro

Tuesday 3/14: no time

Wednesday 3/15: no time

Thursday 3/16: Usual along the Charles in Watertown.

Friday 3/17: Bunch of Ring-necks, couple Bufflehead, swan, and a Fox Sparrow at BBN. Vultures over the boardwalk later.

Saturday 3/18: More or less the usual at Meriam’s and Kaveski. Nice harrier at Hanscom driving home.

Sunday 3/19: Cold and windy, figured Sudbury GM would be a bit protected and it was. Ton of Tree Swallows, 2-3 Phoebes (believe that is 100 for the county this year), etc. Nine Acre had a bunch of ducks including a Gadwall and several pintail.

Monday 3/20: no time

Tuesday 3/21: Usual at College Pond and Hardy.

Wednesday 3/1: Nothing much of note at BBN.

Thursday 3/2: Too rainy, but did get RB Mergansers at the Mystic Lakes (no cormorant though). Also 5 scaup sp at Spy Pond, not much at the res or Hardy.

Friday 3/3: Wood Ducks, Wigeon, Ring-necks at Great Meadows.

Saturday 3/4: Too snowy

Sunday 3/5: Started at Water Row (after a Fish Crow filling the car). Field Sparrow by the FWS buildings was nice, fairly quiet the rest of the way down. Heading back, at least 2 eagles and a pair of Pileated. Checked the Wayland side and had 4 GW Teal and 2 Ring-necks, then headed out to Wachusetts. First bird in the scope was the Canvasback, not too much else and it was cold and windy. Stopped at School St (nothing) and Nine Acre (geese and a few common ducks) then hard a Turkey Vulture getting off the highway.

Monday 3/6: Forest Grove had lots of mergansers, a few Wood Ducks, and that was about it. Eagle over Norumbega on the way out.

Tuesday 3/7: Cold and windy at College Pond.

Wednesday 2/22: 2 Pintail, 2 Fish Crow, and the Palm Warbler at Great Meadows (new monthly Middlesex #7 for Feb).

Thursday 2/23: Yuck

Friday 2/24: Walk around the northern edge of Hardy Pond didn’t have anything unusual.

Saturday 2/25: Forest Grove had a GW Teal and not too much else, not much more by Moody St. Res had a couple scaup mixed in with the Ring-necks.

Sunday 2/26: Started at Squantum Point Park. Wasn’t too exciting, lots of robins and White-throats mostly, but Fox Sparrow, 2 Harriers, and a GW Teal were nice. Nut Island had a Razorbill and a few more ducks. Wollaston was pretty quiet beyond lots of geese. Decided to stop at the Mystic Lakes next, 365+ Common Mergansers were about it. Just enough time to check Spy Pond, which had a few Ring-necks, a coot, and several scaup (3 Lesser, 1 Greater at least), plus a feeding eagle.

Monday 2/27: Few ducks east of Watertown Square, kingfisher and more of the same at the square.

Tuesday 2/28: Too snowy.

Wednesday 2/15: Lots of robins but that was about it at Dunback.

Thursday 2/16: Decision to wait a day for Drumlin proved good as the meadowlark flew up as soon as I walked up. Two Killdeer in the next field were nice too. Otherwise just the usual. Had time to check the res and found one of each scaup among the Ring-necks. Usual at Hardy, 3 turkeys (somehow my first in Waltham this year) on the way home. Blackbirds arrived in the yard in the afternoon.

Friday 2/17: First in office day of the year, so stopped at Heard. No shrike on my first pass, so out to the overlook. Tundra Swan was out there even though it hadn’t been reported in a week. Shrike was singing on the way back, then 2 Purple Finches and a Pileated along the other edge. Gadwall were obvious at the swamp on the way out.

Saturday 2/18: Bit cool and without a better idea, I did a Brookline-area loop. Hall’s Pond had a Cooper’s but no sapsucker. Leverett Pond had very little, although the flock mobbing something might have been interesting had I found the target. Jamaica Pond had lots of mergansers and a few other things. D. Blakely Hoar had a Winter Wren. More of the same at Chestnut Hill. Saw the report that the Barnacle had flown by Dunback, so gave Fernald, Beaver Brook, Beaver Brook North, and Potter Pond a quick check but no luck.

Sunday 2/19: Did my monthly (hopefully) on foot day. Started well with an eagle flying off from Hardy Pond before I was 2 houses away. Falzone had the usual, as did the West Meadow (including the Fox Sparrow in about the same spot). BBN had 2 more Fox Sparrows. Rock Meadow was fairly quiet, as were the duck ponds. On the way back, I cut along the edge of Rock Meadow then walked down Concord Ave and back in to BBN by the incinerator. Fairly quiet and seeing that the Barnacle was back at Horn Pond dimmed my hopes a bit. West Meadow was quiet as was Falzone. Ended on 39 species, which wasn’t too bad. Need to adjust my goals though, as I’m already at my March target.

Monday 2/20: Day off, went to the coast, starting with Deer Island. Usual ducks all around in pretty good numbers but very little on land (Snow Buntings were using the railing at least). Since there were moderately controlled dogs near the beginning when I started, I stopped at the first hill on the way back instead and had a very brief view of the Palm Warbler zipping by. Fifteen minutes of looping around didn’t turn it up again though. Yirrel Beach was next, no luck with the Audubon’s. Brief stop at Bayswater didn’t have anything, so I headed to Draw Seven for another attempt at towhee. First pass didn’t have anything (murre was in close and I walked down to the Suffolk line to get it there). Sam and Carla were looking for towhee too, so I started a second pass. Thought I heard some scratching at the big bush near the shelter and sure enough it soon started calling (after I had given up and walked off). It flew up and gave us good views for a couple minutes. That’s 5 February birds for the state and 6 for the county!

Tuesday 2/21: Snowing harder than I expected so did a Nine Acre run. Couldn’t see anything at Flint’s on the way. Just a few Mallards and geese in the water, eventually found 4 Killdeer on the fields. Usual at the res on the way home.

Wednesday 2/8: Barred Owl about it at BBN.

Thursday 2/9: Grackles flying around at home. Bluebirds, eagle, kingfisher, moderate number of ducks at Forest Grove.

Friday 2/10: Harrier and the usual at Kaveski and Meriam’s.

Saturday 2/11: Started by poking around to see if the Tundra Swan was nearby. Peregrine at the office park right off 128 was a good start. Old 27 Bridge had a harrier but little else. Walked most of Water Row without anything of interest (Purple Finch got away). Wayland Community Gardens had a big flock of blackbirds but nothing on the river. Debated walking back through the gardens instead of Cow Common because of the wind but decided on Cow Common. As I emerged from the trees, the phone buzzed. Figured it was about the shrike at Heard but saw Thick-billed Murre Draw Seven and took off running. Debated checking the swamp for a second but decided better to go. About forty minutes later I pulled in and ran up to Leslie watching the bird. It proceeded to swim closer and closer (although never quite as close as I would have liked). Also had the RT Loon, a scaup, and a couple Ruddy but no towhee in a very quick check.

Sunday 2/12: Didn’t feel like driving much of anywhere so started at Alewife. GW Teal, Fox Sparrow, RC Kinglet, a few other things there. Continued to Fresh Pond. Looped around without seeing the grebe or any ducks other than mergansers but did have 5 loons. Got back and made one last scan above the Weir Meadow and was pretty sure I picked up the grebe along the western edge. Ran back for the scope but couldn’t find it, so I drove over to the golf course lot and walked down. Couldn’t find it again but did have a Winter Wren and fortunately I saw Karsten who had been watching it up close. Going away from the course, I did get a distant view so doubled back again and couldn’t find it again so I gave up. Had less time than I wanted at Mt. Auburn now, but gave the suet feeders 20 minutes with no warbler only to have it fly through as I was walking off. Wasn’t quite rolling up to the birds like I had hoped but I got my targets.

Monday 2/13: Lots of birds at Cookson but mostly starlings and robins. Teal was prominent along the Charles but not much else.

Tuesday 2/14: Couple Pileated and a Hermit Thrush about it at Hanscom.

Wednesday 2/1: Harrier was still at Great Meadows but that was about it.

Thursday 2/2: Arlington Res had the usual ducks and that was about it. Had time to check Cambridge Res too, where the Redhead was still around plus a wigeon among the Ring-necks and mergansers.

Friday 2/3: Too cold

Saturday 2/4: Too cold but a few turkeys on Old County Rd

Sunday 2/5: Started at Horn Pond where I picked a pintail out of the Mallards pretty quickly. No Redhead or shoveler though. Also couldn’t find the redpoll. Did have a couple grackles, a couple Red-wings, a Red-shoulder, and a sapsucker, and added a GW Teal on the way out. Too windy at the Mystic Lakes. Afternoon check of the res had a few mergansers and an eagle finishing something off.

Monday 2/6: Yellow-rump, singing Red-wings, etc at Dunback but no luck with towhee or catbird.

Tuesday 2/7: Didn’t find the Orange-crowned or much else at Mt. Auburn.

Wednesday 1/25: Pileated at Weston Station Pond, loon at the res.

Thursday 1/26: School St had a flock of larks with a couple Snow Buntings mixed in. Cowbirds and lots of geese at Nine Acre, usual at Flint’s and Hardy.

Friday 1/27: Fox Sparrow at West Meadow, not a whole lot otherwise.

Saturday 1/28: Started in Lowell, nothing beyond a couple cooperative goldeneye at the boat ramp. Tsongas center had the Orange-crowned and an Iceland Gull but couldn’t find the Barrow’s. Tried the parking lot in Tewksbury but all the gulls flew off immediately. Looked up conservation land and ended up on the Pinnacle Trail, which was quiet beyond a blackbird but looks real nice for later in the year. Parking lot again had no gulls, so off to Silver Lake which had a few hundred. Almost all Herring however and an eagle eventually flushed them all.

Sunday 1/29: Torbert MacDonald had a kingfisher, RB Merg, and not too much else. Draw Seven had the towhee (in a different spot), the Gadwall, and no scoter. Since the Gadwall was a new bird for me in Everett, I went to the other side and found the Surf Scoter and a loon. Then out to Winthrop Beach, where Snow Buntings were in my way walking out (and if I checked probably the Palm Warbler). Got out to the small crowd and realized I should have been here earlier, but thats to the text alerts, I scanned way left and eventually found the Western Grebe. Did a short loop after and had a big flock of Sanderling and some Horned Larks too.

Monday 1/30: Hairy at Watertown Square was about the most interesting.

Tuesday 1/31: Two Yellow-rumps, 4 bluebirds at Dunback.