Author: jason

Wednesday 6/26: Rock Meadow was fairly quiet, couple Indigo Buntings the most interesting. Gave the duck ponds a look too, zero waterbirds but did finally get a ‘commute’ raven for the month.

Thursday 6/27: Nothing exciting along the river in Watertown.

Friday 6/28: Winter Wren and night heron at Weston Station Pond plus FOY Common Wood-Nymph.

Saturday 6/29: Planned on a Suffolk/Norfolk loop to pick up a few things but went to Burrage instead.

Sunday 6/30: Did the loop planned for yesterday. Started with the Cliff Swallows nesting(!) in Hyde Park. Two buzzed in and out a bit right at the middle of the bridge. Somehow those are my first in MA away from Middlesex.

Continued to Fowl Meadow, which was pretty quiet (RB Grosbeak was a Norfolk June bird but not much else). Did have some decent bugs including Appalachian Brown, Mulberry Wing, and Illinois River Cruiser. Blue Hills next, did a quick loop and the Acadian was noisy, although otherwise uncooperative. Also FOY Dun Skipper.

Pulled in at the res on the way home and realized the Healthpoint Pond was a good spot for the time. Got some decent Comet Darner photos, an Amber-winged Spreadwing, and a Swamp Darner.

Monday 7/1: Family(?) of Blue-wings at BBN.

Tuesday 7/2: Louisiana Waterthrush at Estabrook plus FOY Little Glassywing.

Wednesday 6/19: Pretty quiet at Arlington Great Meadows, FOY Holopogon the most interesting.

Thursday 6/20: Mystic Lakes didn’t have much going on but had a kestrel in Arlington center on the way home.

Friday 6/21: Prairie and a family of Orchard Orioles at Hobbs Brook.

Saturday 6/22: Did the Ashby BBC trip, unfortunately in poor weather again. Ed and I started with waterthrushes running along the beach(!) then looped the trails for a couple hours, a few more warblers, BH Vireos, thrushes, etc. Stopped at the reservoirs on the way out but they were fogged in. Should have gone to Belle Isle on the way home…

Sunday 6/23: Waited out the rain then went for the phalarope at Belle Isle. An hour on the platform didn’t turn it up, as did almost as long at Lawn Ave. Usual stuff, a few other shorebirds the most interesting. Gave the cemetery a quick check too without anything (and the knotweed was too thick to see the Key from there).

Monday 6/24: Mocha Emerald at Falzone, Blue-fronted Dancer at the West Meadow.

Tuesday 6/25: Great Egret, Osprey chasing an eagle at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 6/12: Hanscom had a few warblers and a Veery plus FOY Eastern Amberwing. Servers were being transported so didn’t have work for most of the day, so went out to Nashoba Brook and got county Blue Corporal.

Thursday 6/13: Night Heron at Cookson, nothing too exciting along the river.

Friday 6/14: Turkey, couple different Laphria, FOY saddlebags at Dunback.

Saturday 6/15: Decided to work on my June Essex county list which had a remarkable number of common birds missing. Mostly inland, so all my previous birding must have been from Plum. Went to Crooked Pond and went from 84 to 107 (including Green Heron over the highway). Baby Veery and Yellow-throated Vireos the highlights plus finally getting a Barred Owl for the county. No luck with Wood Thrush and the possible Broad-wing was seen too briefly. Checked for nearby hotspots when I was done and decided to make a quick stop at Farnsworth Landing, adding another 3 plus a Cyrano Darner and Unicorn Clubtail. Lynnfield Marshes had a Marsh Wren and a couple common things I needed for Wakefield.

Sunday 6/16: Went up to Dunstable to look for martins. No luck with those but 50+ species including a family of Barred Owl. Thought about a couple other spots but decided to go just over the border and see if I could pick up a few NH gaps. Got Warbling Vireo and Barn Swallow among 26 species at Lovewell Pond along with a Sedge Sprite. Stopped at River Front Park in Tyngsboro on the way home for a quick ode check, no clubtails but FOY Powdered Dancer and Stream Bluet.

Monday 6/17: BBN had Barred Owls making that weird noise I heard last year around the same time and a few other things of slight interest.

Tuesday 6/18: Couple Pileated about it at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 6/5: Farm Meadow had only 2 Bobolink and no Veery in the woods. Loon on Flint’s, Ruddy on Hardy too.

Thursday 6/6: Falzone was pretty quiet. West Meadow had a rail but not much else.

Friday 6/7: Expected stuff at the back side of Prospect Hill.

Saturday 6/8: Got the Grasshopper Sparrow (barely) in Shirley. Beaver Brook in Westford had a few Prairie Warblers, a Cooper’s chasing a Green Heron, and a few bugs. Driving off, I realized I actually wanted to be at Nashoba Brook though. Cranberry Bog had the usual including Cyrano Darner plus mating Laphria and a few other things.

Sunday 6/9: Did my Minuteman survey, which was just the usual stuff in what felt like average numbers. Found all the points with ease today, so was done just after 7 and it wasn’t raining yet. Next stop was Pico Beach, where the martins were present although a bit distant. Acadian in the Fells next, showed briefly when I got there. Tracked down Glen’s trill to a Chipping, then walked a bit along Spot Pond where there were fledgling grosbeaks and a few other things.

Monday 6/10: College Pond had a Delta-spotted Spiketail and a couple crossbills among the usual.

Tuesday 6/11: Had to visit the new data center to help with set up, which happens to be next to Prospect Hill, so walked there for an hour first. Black-and-white was the only thing that was different from last week.

Wednesday 5/29: Went to Mt. Auburn for the Gray-cheeked. Had just flown off when I got there but Cliff found it a little while later. It buried itself again pretty quickly, then started singing back behind us before eventually coming out in the open (or as open as it gets in the Dell, I was shooting at ISO 16,000 and 20,000). ‘Commute’ #255! Waxwings and a hummingbird walking into the office too.

Thursday  5/30: Too wet, nothing at the res or Mystic Lakes.

Friday 5/31: Couple Orchard Orioles, a few FOY odes and butterflies at Weston Station Pond.

Saturday 6/1: Decided to wait on the Swainson’s and do a Belle Isle run. Started at the greenway where one of the first birds I saw was an Olive-sided. Few warblers in the area. While trying (and failing so far) to track down a song that sounded Mourning-ish, also had Alder, Willow, and Least. Quick loop of the cemetery had nothing much (ibis at all these stops though), then another pass had a second Least. Went to Lewis Lake next where the Bufflehead was around (June bird #1). Winthrop Beach added a couple more June birds (Surf Scoter and Ruddy Turnstone) plus lots of Least Terns, a few Semi Sandpipers, etc. Belle Isle proper had even more ibis, a Saltmarsh Sparrow or two, and a Bobolink. Stopped at Earhart on the way home for RB Merganser. Got two of those plus a Red-throated Loon (June #4).

Sunday 6/2: With no early Swainson’s report, headed to the Blue Hills for another Pygmy Clubtail attempt and to be somewhat on the way if it did appear. Walked from Hillside Pond down to Unquity Bottom, family of creepers the interesting birds. Had a couple spiketails on one of the streams and then a whole bunch in the field. Back at the clubtail stream, I had one land in a dark spot for half a second on my first pass but got one sitting on a fern on the second. Also had a crossbill or two fly over. The pond was pretty quiet.

Continued to Squantum. Glossy Ibis and lots of egrets at the pans, Citrine Forktails, more ibis, and a Marsh Wren at Squantum Point Park.

Monday 6/3: Barred Owl, 5 warblers, etc at BBN.

Tuesday 6/4: YT Vireos and the rest of the usuals at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 5/22: Mostly breeding stuff at BBN, Blackburnian and maybe some redstarts the only real migrants. Bunch of first of year odes and butterflies including Familiar Bluets.

Thursday 5/23: 2 RB Grosbeaks at Cookson, nothing beyond a redstart by the dam.

Friday 5/24: Syrphids made up the excitement at Tanner’s Brook.

Saturday 5/25: Bug day out west. Started at High Ridge where I had FOY Veery and Alder Flycatcher plus a few warblers. Still a bit cool, but a few odes and butterflies about, although nothing of note. Back at the gate, there was a singing Mourning On to Old County Rd. More warblers on the way to the bog, plus a few more expected bugs. Finally got a Broad-wing at the bog along with Elfin Skimmers. Good finches around too including siskins and crossbills flyover over and a singing Purple. Last stop was Mass Audubon’s Lake Wompanoag. Nothing much in the woods. Ran into Tom in the field, watched the kestrel flying around a bit while telling him about the Mourning (apparently rarer than I realized out there). Silvery Blues all over but not much else. Gave a very quick stop back at Smith St, mostly to see if Tom had any luck. He and Eric didn’t, so home.

And actually the day began with 2(!) yard birds, a Pileated calling (presumably seen flying over the 128 ramp on my way out) and a Wood Thrush half singing.

Sunday 5/26: Pouring when I got up to lead a Great Meadows walk, still pouring when I started driving, but it was done and nice by the time we actually started. Virginia Rail, Sora, and Mourning Warbler plus 5 water snakes together were highlights. Went to Two Rod Rd for boghaunters after. No luck with those, but an Acadian was singing and very occasionally showing. Not first time I’ve made that trade.

Monday 5/27: Started at Great Meadows hoping the weather would put some shorebirds down (or down enough), but strong northeast winds probably ruined that. Pretty quiet, although a beaver on the trail was impressive and Hooded Merganser and a couple others things we missed yesterday were around. Went to the Raymond Reservation next. Usual stuff except for a Glossy Ibis. Did the state forest in Hudson, in mist and mosquitos next. Got 16 of the 25 birds I wanted to hit 50, which wasn’t too bad. Need to find some different habitat from here though.

Tuesday 5/28: Dunback had an Alder but not much else.

Wednesday 5/8: Mostly beat the rain at BBN. Did the marsh loop instead of the hill. Pewee singing was nice, then an interesting trill at the back, which proved to be a Worm-eating Warbler! Nice to get that here finally (patch 189 or 190 depending on pheasant countability) and also a new ‘commute’ bird (253). Rain picked up, so I ran around the res and a RT Loon was in the open.

Thursday 5/9: Got out to Estabrook. Lot of song early but nothing exciting. No waterthrushes on the Loop Trail but a Blackburnian was singing, somehow new for me in Concord. Three crossbills on the way back, sounded a bit different. That took a bit of time, so had to rush a bit, but another Blackburnian, a Canada, and more near the entrance.

Friday 5/10: Arlington Res had no mud but the same swallows, a Blackpoll, a Wilson’s, a Tennessee, and a few other things. Loon still on the res but no Ruddy at Hardy.

Saturday 5/11: MBC Big Day. Cool and windy, only managed 96. Another Worm-eating was the highlight, along with 2 Bay-breasted, PB Grebe, snipe, etc.

Sunday 5/12: Bit of a lazy day. Made it to McLaughlin Woods around 9. Bit slow to get going but eventually had a Cape May and then the Chestnut-sided I still needed for Suffolk. Second pass had a bunch of Ovenbirds as did the Iroquois St woods. Went to D. Blakely Hoar after and didn’t find much, then went home and napped.

Monday 5/13: Prospect Hill was birdy, although as always in the furthest spot so hard to sort through everything. Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Swainson’s Thrush, pewee, etc.

Tuesday 5/14: Ovenbird and RB Grosbeak in the yard. Went to BBN, walked about 10 feet and got a message from Kathy about a Kentucky at Minuteman. Lily said it was fairly quiet anyway, so we ran right over and eventually got decent looks (‘commute’ 254!).

Wednesday 5/1: Forest Grove had a Marsh Wren (patch bird!) plus Black-and-white, BT Green, RB Grosbeak, etc. GC Flycatcher at Purgatory.

Thursday 5/2: No Prothonotary at Mt. Auburn. Was pretty busy for the first 20 minutes or so, mostly Yellow-rumps, Nashvilles, and Parulas, then quieted down. Worked the front ponds, then across the Dell and around the tower. Heard an odd flickerish call cutting back through the Dell on the way to the Dry Dell, ignored it, then saw Jeremiah almost running that way. Ran back but the Pileated was moving off (lucky Bob!). Didn’t have time for the Dry Dell after that, unfortunately since it was apparently pretty busy again.

Friday 5/3: Cloudy conditions are perfect for Arlington Res. Started with a Greater Yellowlegs along the farm edge, then a Solitary at the front and 2 Least off the berm. Eventually dug 2 Bank Swallows out of the masses. Made a brief stop at Purgatory in the afternoon, Palm the most interesting.

Saturday 5/4: Did the Winthrop run I had planned last weekend. Started at Deer Island. Not much for migrants, BT Green, Yellow-rump, Merlin about it on land. Black Scoter was surprisingly new for me in May. Good numbers of other ducks still along with a bunch of loons. A flock of Common Terns on the way out were new for the year. Winthrop Beach next. Black-bellied Plover landed on the sisters and a flock of sandpipers were moving around. Thought they were Dunlin but the wing stripe looked a bit odd. They eventually landed and looked better for Purple Sandpiper, so I ran back to get the scope and counted 80(!). Also had a kestrel fly over. Belle Isle Cemetery next, no sign of yesterday’s Ruff but a few yellowlegs, FOY Snowy Egret, and a few other things. Gave Lawn Ave a quick check too, lots of teal, FOY Willet, more shorebirds. Decided to stop at Earhart, but had to drive around a bit finding a gas station. At Earhart, I got the RB Mergs for May in the county and Common Terns were back here too. No herons of any sort though and didn’t take time to check Gateway.

Sunday 5/5: Mt. Auburn round two. Pretty dark. Waterthrush and Night Heron at Halcyon, tanager near the Dell, not too much else. Allandale Woods after, no Pileated but a couple hummers and some more warblers. Gave Chestnut Hill a quick stop too, Savannah the most interesting.

Monday 5/6: Dunback had FOY Blue-winged and yellowthroats plus county FOY Wood Thrush and hummer. Still at Ruddy at Hardy.

Tuesday 5/7: Gnatcatcher, parula, Spotted/Solitary at Cookson. Three RB Mergs still at the square plus an Ovenbird and waterthrush.