Author: jason

Wednesday 11/18: Nothing in the cold and wind at Fresh Pond.

Thursday 11/19: RC Kinglet and a couple flyover siskins about it at Forest Grove.

Friday 11/20: Red-breasted Nuthatches and ravens were about it at Great Meadows headquarters.

Saturday 11/21: Not much at Cold Spring to start (missed the crossbill flock of multiple types). No bluebirds or finches at Millennium and Brook Farm, did get ravens for #100 at Millennium. Was going to stop at Kendrick Pond but too many people so just did Hobbs Brook and saw nothing.

Sunday 11/22: Decided to give coastal Boston a swing, mostly hoping for Cave Swallow. No luck with that and it wasn’t very nice out. Deer Island had almost no passerines but did have the large scoter/eider flock. Out at the tip, I was panning through another eider flock and picked up a guillemot! It dove and gave me a slightly panicked few seconds before it came back up and I could manage a few photos. It then took off, which at least gave me slightly better photos. Surprisingly, my first in MA away from Essex county.

Next stop was the Winthrop Greenway and Belle Isle Cemetery. Nothing too exciting, a couple of late yellowlegs and a Common Merganser the most interesting. On to Earhart. Walked out the little grassy point and the Glaucous Gull was back. Gave the casino grounds a brief look then zipped over to Draw Seven to get the gull in Somerville. Almost couldn’t find it at first, it was climbing up onto the rocks at the fishing platform, allowing for full frame photos. Also a Merlin and a raven here. Last stop was Spy Pond where Jonathan had found and Iceland Gull earlier. No sign at Linwood, but I decided to give the park a quick check and had the gull in the scope pretty quickly. Not the day I expected, but one I’ll definitely take.

Monday 11/23: Yuck

Tuesday 11/24: Redpolls and a Rusty at Dunback.

Wednesday 11/11: Couldn’t hit the highs of previous Veteran’s Days. Started at Ell Pond which had a nice selection of waterfowl but just about no land birds. Did a run through Wakefield next, siskin in the cemetery the only moderately interesting thing. Horn Pond was also pretty quiet, although I didn’t check the lagoon or main pond other than as as drive by. Work going on by Winter Pond so I skipped that and too many cars at Spy Pond. Res had a lot of ducks but the sun came out just as I got to the last group, so nothing interesting among them.

Thursday 11/12: Quick early run around the res had good views of the whole duck flock and an eagle. Just short of nothing on Hardy.

Friday 11/13: Loon at the res but too rainy to get out and look through the duck flock. Nothing at Flint’s, Nine Acre, or Hardy.

Saturday 11/14: Squantum run. Siskin over Squaw Rock but not too much else other than what were presumably Snow Buntings that I didn’t get quite enough on to eliminate larks. Squantum Point Park was fairly dead. Passaganeset had the redpoll I was looking for and a Palm. Checked Draw Seven and Earhart on the way home. Nothing at Draw Seven and not much at Earhart until I got back into the car and watched a flock of redpolls drop in.

Sunday 11/15: Initial plan was to check Great Meadows and then Fresh Pond but it was too nice for that, so I started at October Farm instead. Very quiet until (again) back at the car when some number of crossbills went over. Decided to continue to Foss Farm and loop around there. Started well with some Horned Larks flying around, then a Red-shoulder over the river. Down at the other end another crossbill went over, then Ring-necks and a Pied-billed Grebe were on the pond (plus 2 ravens overhead and 2 Pileateds in the woods just beyond). Heading back, the shrike that had been at Foss Farm earlier this month popped up (presumably the same one). Quick stop on the way home got the Redheads at Winter Pond.

Monday 11/16: Not a thing at Great Meadows beyond bluebirds. Quick check of Elm Brook and the res had nothing either.

Tuesday 11/17: Couple redpolls and lots of geese and Mallard at BBN.

Wednesday 11/4: Danehy was pretty quiet most of the way around. Got up sparrow hill and a bunch of juncos were on the ground before a Lark Sparrow dropped out of the juniper! Likely a Pileated flying over Rt. 2 on the way home too.

Thursday 11/5: Redpolls and Sharpie at BBN.

Friday 11/6: 3 Chipping Sparrows at Dunback but not a ton else and the redpolls didn’t come in until after I left.

Saturday 11/7: Chase day. Started with a quick check of the res (both RT and Common Loons, lots of ducks but not in a great spot). Couple chases, but other than the targets not much else at either site (Monarch with the cuckoo). Did a quick swing down Norumbega to Angleside without noting much on the way home.

Sunday 11/8: Went west hoping for boreal stuff. Climb up Watatic was pretty quiet, no grouse, one siskin. Crossbills at the top. Too hazy for any raptors and the wrong wind. Also Horned Larks and siskins as county birds. Walked over to Nutting Hill but didn’t add anything beyond a bluebird. Walk down was equally quiet beyond a sulphur by the car. Blood Hill next, a couple crossbills and Red-breasted Nuthatches everywhere. Quick check of the reservoirs had 3 loons and a few ducks.

Monday 11/9: Quick check of Cookson and the Charles didn’t have too much, creeper and Hermit Thrush new for me at Watertown Square.

Tuesday 11/10: Finally got Evening Grosbeak for the valley at Kaveski, plus Horned Lark (‘commute’ year bird), a White-crowned, and a catbird among other things.

Wednesday 10/28: Too rainy to look for the Townsend’s, so another check of the res. Loon was in real close and a Red-breasted Merganser was #170 for the Cambridge Region ‘commute’. Ring-neck flock was way out though. Flint’s had a couple Ring-necks and Hoodies but little else. Quick scan of Nine Acre had little and nothing at Hobbs Brook.

Thursday 10/29: Tried for the Townsend’s at Habitat. No luck with that but a big flock of siskins and a smaller flock of Evening Grosbeaks were nice.

Friday 10/30: Actually had to run to the office, but snowing too hard to really bird (could barely see any of the ponds). Did have an eagle fly over on the way out.

Saturday 10/31: Too foggy at the res, too bright at Hobbs Brook (but a White-crowned flew off the road as I drove off down Mill St). Redpolls and a flyover Lapland Longspur at Great Meadows plus FOF Tree Sparrows. Nothing much of note at Barrett’s Mill or School St. Loon and FOF Common Mergansers at Flint’s.

Sunday 11/1: Started at Heard. Pond looked quiet. Conservation land wasn’t terribly busy either, lots of Purple Finches and a few flyover pipits about it. Nothing much at the swamp, so I stopped at the community gardens to check for finches. Nothing of note there. Continued to the Rt. 27 bridge, which was a bit overgrown. Did have a few duck flocks go over with a Gadwall in one. Was planning on Round Hill and Great Meadows headquarters but saw the report of a Long-tailed Duck in Concord so headed that way (via the res, loon and the Ring-necks in less than ideal spots). No Long-tail or much else.

Monday 11/2: Arlington Res was very quiet. One siskin was about it for land birds. Three coots were actually a full commute year bird and a Pied-billed Grebe was nice. Quick check of Hardy didn’t have much beyond cormorants and a kingfisher.

Tuesday 11/3: Went to Great Meadows hoping for Evening Grosbeak for the valley list. No luck with that, but a Peregrine flushed the Dunlin as I walked in and a couple Snow Buntings were bouncing around.

Wednesday 10/21: Tried Ricci Farm in the mist. Big flock of pipits in the fields, bigger flock of cowbirds going over but that was about it.

Thursday 10/22: Only time for a quick check of Gore and Cookson, nothing of note.

Friday 10/23: Mostly robins at Dunback, one Tennessee/Orange-crowned.

Saturday 10/24: Nothing in a very quick scan of the res (not helped by the sun poking out as I got there). Pipits and that was about it at Waltham St. Cooper’s and siskin were new for Somerville. Had enough time to do the casino side of Earhart but not Gateway. White-crowned and Field Sparrows plus a Purple Finch were all good.

Sunday 10/25: Plan was to check a few spots to the south, but decided I should give the res a quick check first. That only took half an hour, Black and Surf Scoters plus Gadwall and lots of other ducks. Decided to head straight to Great Pond next. Loon and some scaup pretty quickly, then a Black Scoter which was one of my targets. RB Merganser was nice too. Big Aythya flock way out, coot flock (finally for Norfolk) in close, many flocks of cormorants going over, and a few other things. Pretty sure a couple redpolls went over as I was heading back. Continued to Millennium. Only shorebird was a Semipalmated Plover. Interesting warbler chip never showed. Red-shouldered in the dead trees, then a big flock of goldfinches had 2+ redpolls (October #227, was starting to worry about getting one this month). Field Sparrow at the far end, then a Merlin on the way back. Rechecked the mud and warbler spot with only a Hermit Thrush, but not bad at all. 

Monday 10/26: Forest Grove had the expected siskins and a less expected American Pipit (Charles #169) plus a few Rusties.

Tuesday 10/27: More Black Scoters at the res plus a Redhead (and Greater Scaup, so 15 species of waterfowl this week). Nothing at Hobbs Brook, 3 more scaup at Hardy.

Wednesday 10/14: Field Sparrow, Sharpie, 6 Rusties at Weston Station Pond.

Thursday 10/15: Field Sparrow, Peregrine, White-crowned, BT Green at Rock Meadow.

Friday 10/16: Realized I needed Snowy Egret for the county for October (and for the Cambridge region commute) so went to the Mystic Lakes. Egret was there so quickly down to the woodlot. Very dark and quiet. Sort of scanned Spy Pond and Hobbs Brook on the way home, nothing of note.

Saturday 10/17: Waited out most of the rain then did a pond loop. Spotted Sandpiper at Hardy, RN Grebe and tons of Wood Ducks at the res, not much at Flint’s. Got a bit wet at Great Meadows as it cleared. Wind wasn’t ideal for pushing migrants, a few Pecs, a couple snipe, good numbers of raptors, and lots of pipits. Hobbs Brook on the way home had a night-heron, 6 Pecs, and a Least.

Sunday 10/18: Started at McCarthy Park. Pipits and siskins both needed for Norfolk, decent number of other birds but nothing exciting. Continued to the Barber Reservation in Sherborn, which had more finches and stuff. Farm Pond next, wish I could check this more regularly. Nothing exciting walking down to the end, went the other way out the causeway seeing almost nothing. A Black-ish duck popped up and I thought it looked odd for a hybrid before realizing it was a Black Scoter! Quick scan of the res on the way home to make sure there weren’t more scoters.

Monday 10/19: West Meadow had a bluebird, Black-and-white, and BT Green. Parkway had nothing exciting.

Tuesday 10/20: Lindentree had a few pipits and siskins and a few GW Teal but not much else of note.

Wednesday 10/7: Pretty quiet at BBN and West Meadow.

Thursday 10/8: Rock Meadow had 3+ siskins, a sapsucker, a pipit, and 2+ Nashvilles.

Friday 10/9: Danehy was pretty birdy, starting with a sharpie and harrier going over. Flock of pipits around plus siskins moving. No interesting sparrows or warblers, Swainson’s Thrush was nice too.

Saturday 10/10: Decided to work on siskin town lists. Started at McClennen Park in Arlington where I had a Field Sparrow, 4 siskins, and a raccoon. Arlington Res had 2 Ring-necks and a big flock of siskins. Sandy Beach had another big flock, plus B+W and BT Blue Warblers and a sharpie. Found siskins walking in at Horn Pond but still looped the gardens, Lesser Yellowlegs the most interesting. Wind was really picking up but a quick stop at Mary Cummings had a White-crowned Sparrow and 2 flyover siskins there, so I added them to 4 towns today. Gave the res a quick buzz on the way home, which was not so quick with a big Ring-neck flock that had at least 1 scaup, a Red-necked Grebe, a few Ruddy, and a few coot.

Sunday 10/11: Did a semi western loop. Rock Meadow Pond had finches, tons of Yellow-rumps and White-throats, pipits, teal, and a few other things I needed for Ayer. Oxbow was quietish, just added Savannah Sparrow and had a leucistic White-throat. Fitch’s Bridge Rd was quiet too, plus one of the fields was being plowed.

Monday 10/12: More siskin hunting on the holiday. Started at Hanscom (and got one from Gaining Ground walking over). Couple good-sized flocks plus a ton of robins and a RB Nuthatch that was a big gap for Bedford. Continued to the Cranberry Bog and had a few more plus teal and a Merlin. Weather was getting worse, so gave up.

Tuesday 10/13: Nasty out but there was a White-winged Scoter on Hardy. Nothing elsewhere in a pond/field loop.

Wednesday 9/30: Weather wasn’t exactly good, nothing on the res or Hardy.

Thursday 10/1: Thought about Waltham St but school is open in Lexington so parking would have been a pain. Upper Vine Brook was quiet, walked into Dunback and had a Connecticut flush just before the intersection. Got nice pics of the bush it was in but not the bird and not much else. Ringlet back by the car was a new October butterfly for me.

Friday 10/2: Tried North Bridge again. Was fairly birdy but Francis texted about a Sora in the gardens(!) at Rock Meadow, so I cut and ran. No luck with that, but 2+ towhees.

Saturday 10/3: Waltham St was very busy, almost 50 species including siskins, pipits, a grosbeak, and a parula. Meadowbrook had a late waterthrush. South end of the lakes had another parula and 3+ Catharus. Sandy Beach had a Philadelphia Vireo, 4 Blue-headed, 12 BW Teal, and a tanager. Tide was dead high so no space for the skimmers at Point of Pines.

Sunday 10/4: Started with a very quick check of Point of Pines, skimmers scopeable. Plan was Earhart, Torbett McDonald, Draw Seven, etc but saw the message about Dunback as I got to Earhart. Decided to bird there anyway, which was a good decision with no flycatcher at Dunback after the initial sighting and birds all over at the dam. Got 6 new species for Everett (although Red-belly and WB Nuthatch aren’t exactly exciting), Indigo Bunting, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, and Palm Warbler, which got me town #23 over 100. On to Dunback, which was birdy but without too much of interest. Did have FOF BT Blue and Alan had a Connecticut while standing next to me (but I saw nothing).

Monday 10/5: Hobbs Brook had a few peep along the road, then decent numbers of both teal off the road. Since I didn’t check the power lines, I had time to double back to the road for another scan and had both yellowlegs and 2 Pecs plus more peep. Those were 3 of my bigger misses until now for the ‘commute’ Cambridge Region list, which is now at 156.

Tuesday 10/6: Mostly errands but a quick walk in Watertown had 20+ siskins go over.

Wednesday 9/23: Tennessee and Cape May at Rock Meadow plus first of fall junco.

Thursday 9/24: Lots of the usual at Kaveski, pipits finally and a kestrel.

Friday 9/25: Danehy was pretty birdy, thrasher and Pine Siskin were new for the prework list.

Saturday 9/26: Went to Westborough for a change. No Connecticut and a text about the Kentucky as I was walking in, but Swainson’s Thrush was new for Worcester. As was American Golden-Plover, which was quite nice even for a brief flyover. Skipped on nearby sites and went to Cold Spring. Ran into Max pretty quickly (who immediately waved a picture of a Connecticut at me). We went to where he had the Kentucky and I got the most minimal view of a bird chipping correctly and with the right rear. Lost it immediately and never found it again. It turned out to be chipping at a Barred Owl, which was super cooperative. A decent number of other birds in a couple hours wandering around too.

Sunday 9/27: Should have gone for the YH Blackbird yesterday, but went over first thing. Wasn’t there when I arrived at Mary Cummings, so I looped the trails and had very little only to find out that it flew off as I was returning. Too many flyers at that point, so a few of us went over to Horn Pond. FOF coot and Rusty Blackbird plus 2 PB Grebes and a few other things. Drive by Mary Cummings after still had lots of planes so no point in walking back. Stopped at Hobbs Brook, which had a GW Teal and the usual sandpipers.

Monday 9/28: Tried Mary Cummings again. No blackbird, not much else but did get Purple Finch and Swainson’s Thrush for Burlington.

Tuesday 9/29: Hobbs Brook had the usual, still can’t get a workday yellowlegs.