Both at Townsend State Forest today:
Belted Whiteface
Amber-winged Spreadwing
Author: jason
WIR 6/14-6/20
Wednesday 6/14: Rough-winged Swallows were new for College Pond plus Delta-spotted Spiketail and a probable Spatterdock Darner.
Thursday 6/15: Checked out the Hamlen area in Wayland. Northern Waterthrush singing but not much else.
Friday 6/16: Nothing at Forest Grove.
Saturday 6/17: Waited for the mist to more or less stop then hit the Mystic Lakes (gulls and cormorants), Sandy Beach (the usual), and North Reservoir (the usual but a few gaps in my Winchester list, down to just Arlington and Bedford under 100 locally).
Sunday 6/18: Black-and-white at BBN was a bit of a surprise. Indigo was nice too.
Monday 6/19: Got out of the car at Great Meadows and saw a weasel run from under the tower. It didn’t return and there wasn’t much else around.
Tuesday 6/20: Wandered out to Lincoln. Stepped out of the car and almost had a young Pileated drop onto me.
WIR 5/31-6/13
Wednesday 5/31: Mourning Warbler singing at Forest Grove.
Thursday 6/1: Virginia Rail and Magnolia at College Pond.
Friday 6/2: BT Blue and Black-and-white at Prospect Hill.
Saturday 6/3: Distant singing Prothonotary at October Farm, too cloudy for odes at the Cranberry Bog.
Sunday 6/4: Went out to Athol with Alan. Explored every part of the area except the one that had the ode we wanted but a few FOYs and an Olive-sided made for a decent trip.
Monday 6/5: Stood on the tower at Great Meadows but nothing exciting.
Tuesday 6/6: Too rainy and too many errands to run.
Wednesday 6/7: Hardy Pond had nothing exciting.
Thursday 6/8 – Monday 6/12: DSA meeting, details sooner or later (right after I finish 2012, 2015, and 2016…)
Tuesday 6/13: Short walk around Prospect Hill had nothing of note.
WIR 5/24-5/30
Wednesday 5/24: Got the YT Vireo I hoped for at the Wayland CG plus bonus BB Cuckoo and GH Owl.
Thursday 5/25: Hobbs Brook had too much water. Couldn’t pull any good swallows but heard both Blue-winged and Prairie Warblers for #163 and 164 for the patch.
Friday 5/26: Nothing in the rain.
Saturday 5/27: Missed the Gray-cheeked at Nahanton. Missed the Olive-sided and Red-headed Woodpecker at D. Blakely Hoar but did get a Barred Owl. Got the Little Blue in Quincy but no shorebirds at Squantum. Common Tern very briefly at Earhart.
Sunday 5/28: Cuckoos on the Great Meadows BBC walk but no bittern (I think, can’t say that the one I heard was definitely the survey tape) and couldn’t quite convince myself of the Alder. Blackburnian and the usual stuff at the Massport Trails after.
Monday 5/29: Didn’t expect it to be quite so lousy out. Started with a quick check of McClennen. Kingbird and Warbling Vireo finally in Arlington but expected a few other easy ones. Arlington Great Meadows next. No thrasher but a BB Cuckoo posed nicely (camera in the car though). Hobbs Brook was interesting (Orchard Oriole and a few others besides those detailed separately).
Tuesday 5/30: Farm Meadow: 11+ Bobolinks, Veery, calling Barred Owl.
Patch Highlights
Putting a bit of effort into getting a patch list to 200. Which will be first? Beaver Brook/Rock Meadow at 166, Charles at 162, or Cambridge Res at 166? The answer is Great Meadows at 195. However of those 3, it’s a tough call. I suspect the res, mostly because it has the largest number of common birds missing (2 sparrows, 6+ warblers, 2 thrushes, 2 swallows, 2-3 vireos, a couple flycatchers, a couple shorebirds, a few raptors) plus a decent number of somewhat expected rarities (mostly waterfowl and shorebirds). The Charles is about the same but with the cove cleaned up, the potential for shorebirds seems to have gone down. BBN just doesn’t have the habitat for waterbirds and I’ve seen most of the expected land birds.
That leads in to this week. If I wrote this last Monday, the Res list was 162. Two visits to Hobbs Brook (mostly hoping for Cliff and Bank Swallow) added 4 species. Three were somewhat expected: Blue-winged Warbler, Prairie Warbler, and Black-billed Cuckoo (all heard only unfortunately). The fourth was a bit better. Walking back to the car, a Hooded Warbler started singing! Lousy light and lots of trees made photos impossible though.
WIR 5/17-5/23
Wednesday 5/17: Nobscot had an Olive-sided, BB Cuckoo, a few warblers, etc.
Thursday 5/18: Couple Canadas among others at Prospect Hill. Good variety of butterflies and a Stream Cruiser too.
Friday 5/19: Mink at Great Meadows.
Saturday 5/20: Started at Watatic with a bunch of warblers, Bay-breasted being the highlight. Also some whitefaces, Silvery Blues, and an American Emerald. Went to Heald Orchard in Pepperell next, great place. Even with a noon start, there were birds all over including 2 BB Cuckoos, several empids, and double digit warblers.
Sunday 5/21: Quiet at Mt. Auburn, did get Swainson’s Thrush finally. Quick check of the duck ponds had another.
Monday 5/22: BB Cuckoo, Willow Flycatcher, waterthrush at Forest Grove plus over 60 Chimney Swifts on the cove.
Tuesday 5/23: Bit nicer than expected so BBN. First bird out of the car was a flyover loon. Fairly quiet after that, although quite a few patch first of years still trickling in (BB Cuckoo the best).
WIR 5/10-5/16
Wednesday 5/10: BBN was quieter than I hoped. FOY Nashville, a few other warblers, an Orchard Oriole about it.
Thursday 5/11: BT Blue, Wilson’s, etc at Dunback.
Friday 5/12: Blackpoll at Purgatory, few others at Forest Grove.
Saturday 5/13: Slow MBC bird day, just 85 species. Did clear 100 in Burlington finally and just about there in Winchester (which would be well over if I split the Fells properly).
Sunday 5/14: Res in the rain had the Ruddies that were missing yesterday and a Green Heron. Afternoon check of School St had a single Least Sandpiper and Great Meadows had 4 yellowlegs and a couple Cliff Swallows.
Monday 5/15: Fairly quiet at Heard, swallow sweep and a Marsh Wren.
Tuesday 5/16: Arrivals at BBN included a Bay-breasted, BT Green, Wood Thrush, and Red-eyed Vireo.
WIR 5/3-5/9
Wednesday 5/3: Few new things at BBN highlighted by an Indigo Bunting. Better were the bugs with a presumed Spot-winged Glider and a Tiger Swallowtail. Quick buzz of Flint’s on the way home had 6+ Bufflehead still.
Thursday 5/4: Tanager and more warblers at Prospect Hill.
Friday 5/5: Cliff Swallow and raven at Heard Pond but little else.
Saturday 5/6: Great Meadows was a bit disappointing, Bank Swallow and Wood Thrush were new but no storm-related birds. School St had a few shorebirds but nothing exciting. Bufflehead still at Flint’s, nothing obvious on the res. Went back to Belle Isle in moderately good conditions. Two Least and a Common Tern, lots of peep including 1 Semi, oystercatchers, both yellowlegs, a harrier, 80+ Brant, etc. Would have been nicer if the Bank Swallow made a second pass and the Saltmarsh Sparrow sang again. Started raining, so I went to Revere Beach quickly and had 4 Manx Shearwaters before giving up.
Sunday 5/7: BBC trip at Mt. Auburn had a Least Flycatcher, lots of orioles, etc but few warblers. Good portion of the group went to Fresh Pond where the Prothonotary took an hour plus to show. Green Heron, Green Darner, Bald Eagle, House Wren, a few other things were all good too.
Monday 5/8: Duck ponds had a Green Heron, Solitary Sandpiper, and singing and posing Northern Waterthrush.
Tuesday 5/9: Magnolia the best at College Pond (assuming a mutt of a goose doesn’t count).
WIR 4/26-5/2
Wednesday 4/26: Eagle and 20 Ruddy but nothing storm-related at the res. Gadwall at Hardy.
Thursday 4/27: Usual at College Pond plus brief views of an otter.
Friday 4/28: 2-3 beavers at Arlington Res plus FOY Baltimore Orioles, Warbling Vireo, and Chimney Swift.
Saturday 4/29: Started at Nobscot. Grosbeak singing as I got out of the car, then a GC Flycatcher started. Black-and-whites and Ovenbirds all over, and a Least Flycatcher as I was ready to leave. Continued on to Hop Brook, which had a waterthrush, yellowthroat, and freshly emerged baskettail. Fairly quiet at Assabet, Springtime Darner and Broad-wing about it. Desert had 3 species of tiger beetle.
Sunday 4/30: Plan was to hit the coast a bit, but started at Mt. Auburn. Good number of warblers plus a Scarlet Tanager and my first Hooded Merganser and raven for the cemetery. Finally wandered off to Belle Isle and immediately had a call from Bob asking if I knew about the Summer Tanager. Made a quick loop (it was too windy anyway) with a Snowy Egret about it before heading straight back. Quiet at the tanager location, but it eventually popped up, along with a redstart. Started raining so I didn’t spend time looking for any of the thrushes seen.
Monday 5/1: Orchard Oriole singing in the front yard first thing. Great Meadows was pretty quiet, FOY kingbird about it.
Tuesday 5/2: Lots of new stuff at Purgatory and Forest Grove. Prairie was new for the Charles (162), but the best was a late American Wigeon.
WIR 4/19-4/25
Wednesday 4/19: Field Sparrow at Prospect Hill.
Thursday 4/20: Barn and Rough-winged Swallows at Purgatory/Forest Grove along with a bunch of Yellow-rumps but not much else.
Friday 4/21: Ruddies at the res, Bufflehead at Flint’s, swallows, Rusties, and a late Tree Sparrow at Heard.
Saturday 4/22: No egret at Alewife but a slightly early Yellow Warbler. Osprey at Mystic Lakes, GH Owl out in the open at Sandy Beach. Cliff Swallow and a (the?) egret at Arlington Res, then a Surf Scoter at Cambridge Res.
Sunday 4/23: Led the Mt. Auburn walk. Didn’t get shut out on warblers for a change, 2 Pines (but couldn’t find the Wilson’s). Not a whole lot else, turkeys everywhere, kinglets everywhere, and a Red-tail that had a squirrel but somehow let go and lost it. Picked up the night-herons on the Charles by Watertown Square after and then had nothing terribly exciting at Chandler Pond.
Monday 4/24: BH Vireo and Gnatcatcher at BBN.
Tuesday 4/25: Bit too rainy at Farm Pond. Raven was about the only thing of interest.