Little over 2 years to get there. At least one life, one state, and one county bird in there plus a decent number of other rarities. How long for 250?
Author: jason
WIR 2/8-2/14
Wednesday 2/8 -Monday 2/13: Too stormy or snowy. Yard highlights included a Cooper’s hanging out for hours on end and actually seeing one of the Great Horneds.
Tuesday 2/14: Stopped at Norumbega (not plowed and totally frozen, Charlesbank (swans and geese), and Angleside (gulls).
WIR 2/1-2/7
Wednesday 2/1: Nothing on the river walk.
Thursday 2/2: Usual land birds at Nine Acre, only geese on the water.
Friday 2/3: Fox Sparrow at College Pond.
Saturday 2/4: Sapsucker, Hairy, RB Nuthatch at Mt. Auburn. Nuthatch was #100 for the year. Too windy for Fresh Pond or Danehy, so went to Earhart and vicinity without anything exciting. Nothing on the res, 80+ Ring-necks at Hardy but no scaup or Redhead.
Sunday 2/5: Ovenbird was still at Horn Pond but nothing else exciting. Too windy for the lakes, so checked McClennen, Spy Pond, the res, and Hardy without anything of note.
Monday 2/6: Flock of Ring-necks over Heard Farm, singing Red-wings among the usual.
Tuesday 2/7: Caught up with the Redhead at Purgatory and also had a Wood Duck among the Mallards. Just about beat the snow too.
WIR 1/25-1/31
Wednesday 1/25: Finally heard the Marsh Wren at Great Meadows but little else (again no Dovekie).
Thursday 1/26: Hermit Thrush(es) at Dunback.
Friday 1/27: Nothing at the res. Red-throated Loon still at Flint’s. Harrier at Heard Pond.
Saturday 1/28: Tried the Plymouth coast. Too windy, so other than the Semipalmated Plovers at Ellisville Harbor, not much. Meanwhile I missed a Redhead on Hardy.
Sunday 1/29: Nothing at Nobscot. Light was awful at Hager and the birds were distant. Nothing at the Desert. Missed the Glaucous at Westboro and nothing at Crane Swamp. Scaup on Hardy but no Redhead again.
Monday 1/30: Swamp Sparrow and the usual at Forest Grove.
Tuesday 1/31: Quiet at West Meadow.
WIR 1/18-1/24
Wednesday 1/18: Nothing on the riverwalk.
Thursday 1/19: Red-shoulder still at Kaveski.
Friday 1/20: Not much at Forest Grove.
Saturday 1/21: Made a bunch of stops in Belmont without much of anything. Ring-necks back on the res plus a deer carcass with an eagle and 2 ravens.
Sunday 1/22: Had more at Blair Pond in 20 minutes than I did yesterday everywhere else in Belmont combined. Nothing exciting at Alewife. Watertown section of the Charles turned into a shorter walk as the bridge is under repair so I didn’t want to make a loop, very little around. Same at Moody. Spent an hour and a half freezing at School St with larks and buntings but no longspur.
Monday 1/23: Pintail on Pelham Island Rd.
Tuesday 1/24: Too nasty (and no obvious Dovekie at Hardy Pond).
WIR 1/11-1/17
Wednesday 1/11: Peregrine at Moody St, little else along the Charles.
Thursday 1/12: Quiet at Dunback.
Friday 1/13: Barred Owl at College Pond.
Saturday 1/14: Nothing on the Massport Trails, Screech-Owl and Swamp Sparrow were about it at Great Meadows, a long time searching the bunting/lark flocks at School St failed to turn up a definite longspur.
Sunday 1/15: Did a bit of chasing new county birds in Suffolk. Started with Common Merganser at Millennium. Also an interesting flock of blackbirds and a calling warbler that refused to show. On to Jamaica Pond, which had no obvious parking available so skipped ahead to Fenway. After 30 minutes looking for a spot there, I found the White-winged Doves easily. Red-wing or two and a grackle were the only other birds of note. On to Castle Island where 2 Dunlin were on the rocks but no other shorebirds. Continued to Earhart where there was a Pied-billed Grebe and a kestrel on the Somerville side. No good gulls or any loons on either side, Peregrine in between was my first in Medford surprisingly.
Monday 1/16: Started at Mary Cummings, which was very quiet other than a handful of waxwings. Waited for the Ovenbird at Horn Pond, then watched an eagle drift off but no Fox Sparrow today and still no grackles. Arlington Res next, which had geese, gulls, and Mallards. Cambridge Res had no birds again. Pulled in for a quick scan of Hardy while heading to the ATM and noticed a scaup-like head so got the scope out. Both scaup, a few Ring-necks, 2 Gadwall, and a Hoodie in the limited open water.
Tuesday 1/17: Nothing at BBN.
WIR 1/4-1/10
Wednesday 1/4: Blackbirds and the usual at Heard Farm.
Thursday 1/5: Nothing at Forest Grove.
Friday 1/6: Figured the snow would preclude anything, but it stopped and there was a power issue at work, so ran to the Desert NA for a few. Saw nothing, probably should have gone to Westborough instead.
Saturday 1/7: Attempted a big loop before the snow started and almost succeeded. Fresh Pond had most of the ducks but I apparently walked past the cormorants. Too many cars to stop at Clay Pit, nothing at the Mystic Lakes (drove past the Gadwall). Eagle flew over Sandy Beach. Fox Sparrow but no Ovenbird or grackles at Horn Pond and a very snowy ride home.
Sunday 1/8: Didn’t bother cleaning the car. Tree Sparrow in the yard was the first in a couple years though.
Monday 1/9: Same in the yard.
Tuesday 1/10: Decided it was too cold to walk. School Street, Nine Acre, and Pelham Island Rd were all just about birdless.
WIR 12/28-1/3
Wednesday 12/28: Scouted a couple spots in Lincoln. Next to nothing, but will be interesting in the spring.
Thursday 12/29: Did a good bit of the river, Fish Crows at Moody were the only thing of note.
Friday 12/30: Dusk visit at the Cambridge Res added a few goldeneye and an eagle or two to the rest. Cormorant really wanted to land in a pine but never did.
Saturday 12/31: Great Meadows was very quiet, harrier at Nine Acre, then caught up with the Ovenbird at Horn Pond.
Sunday 1/1: BBC trip had crossbills, 3 White-fronted Geese, the Ross’s and hybrid, and a few other things. Also got a ‘lifer’ with the Brewer’s Duck (Mallard x Gadwall) at Salisbury.
Monday 1/2: Concord CBC. Better territory than the couple previous times I’ve participated. Shrike at the Ricci Fields and 2 Pileated were the main highlights, although a flyover Mute Swan was arguably the most interesting.
Tuesday 1/3: More or less the same at the res, just far out and in awful conditions.
YIR 2016
January: Good start to the year with Lesser Yellowlegs, Mountain Bluebird, and Hammond’s Flycatcher all on the 2nd. My prediction of doubling my state list at that rate didn’t quite come true though. Good numbers of ducks on the res later in the month, owls calling from the yard, and traded the Smith’s Longspur at Bear Creek for a puffin at Andrew’s to end the month.
February: Pelagic finally got me a fulmar and lots of other birds but that was about it for the month.
March: Went up to Vermont for Nymphfest, which was a good time and had Bohemians at the hotel. Western Grebe in Winthrop, then the Yellow-billed Loon and Mew Gull at Race Point.
April: First bugs of the year, but otherwise a fairly quiet month.
May: Missed White-faced Ibis again, had a good weekend in Concord, Black Vulture on Birdathon, Acadian at Assabet, and the usual migrants. Ended the month with the Prothonotary at Great Meadows.
June: Maine Snaketail was my 100th dragonfly in county plus the usual breeders and some other good bugs. Heard only Clapper Rail was a state bird to upgrade.
July: DSA meeting added a bunch of lifers in Nevada and Utah and was a great time. Might finish the report one of these days. Shorebird show at the res and Hobbs Brook began with ibis and a Little Blue.
August: Migrant warblers started arriving, plus the shorebird show at Horn Pond got really good. Laughing Gull in Everett was only my second for the county and a YT Vireo was a Beaver Brook North patch bird. Ended with month with county recordBig Bluet at the Earhart Dam
September: RN Phalarope at Millennium was better than the one at Flint’s since it was 10 feet away. Shorebird show at the res continued with a Stilt Sandpiper and some more White-rumps. Pelagic ended the month, my highlight was South Polar Skua.
October: Leach’s at Heard Pond was one of the year’s highlights (would have been the highlight had I not ignored the odd stick in the water…). Shorebird show continued, Vesper Sparrow was a patch and Waltham bird, and ended the month with successful chases for Harris’s Sparrow and Gray Kingbird. Did miss Bell’s Vireo and Yellow Rail, but Seaside Sparrow and Sedge Wren balanced that out.
November: Hammond’s Flycatcher and Western Tanager were rather nice locally.
December: Started with good warblers along the Charles before a Pink-footed Goose at the res. Then refound the goose at Nine Acre. Tanager was still at Dunback, which was a bit of a surprise. Quiet CBC, then finished with Nashville and another warbler on the Mystic and the lingering Ovenbird at Horn Pond.
Totals: 316 overall, 261 MA, 204 Middlesex, 146 Waltham, 115 BBN/Rock Meadow, 99 Charles, 121 Cambridge Res
New birds (11): Hammond’s Flycatcher (1/2, Fairhaven), Northern Fulmar (2/7, offshore), Yellow-billed Loon (3/19, Race Point), Abert’s Towhee (7/11, Clark County Wetlands), Lucy’s Warbler (7/12, Desert NWR—Corn Creek), American Dipper and California Condor (7/13, Zion NP), Franklin’s Gull and California Quail (7/16, Utah Lake), Harris’s Sparrow (10/27, Westboro WMA), Gray Kingbird (10/29, Hyannis)
Additional MA birds (12): Mountain Bluebird (1/2, Crane WMA), Hammond’s Flycatcher (1/2, Fairhaven), Atlantic Puffin (1/31, Andrew’s Point), Northern Fulmar (2/7, offshore), Western Grebe (3/12, Winthrop), Yellow-billed Loon (3/19, Race Point), Clapper Rail (6/25, Fairhaven), South Polar Skua (9/24, offshore), Harris’s Sparrow (10/27, Westboro WMA), Gray Kingbird (10/29, Hyannis), Seaside Sparrow (10/29, Fort Hill), Western Tanager (11/13, Dunback)
Additional Middlesex birds (3): Black Vulture (5/14, Carlisle), Hammond’s Flycatcher (11/11, Fells), Western Tanager (11/13, Dunback)
Additional Waltham birds (3): Semipalmated Plover (10/10, Cambridge Res), Vesper Sparrow (10/13, BBN), Pink-footed Goose (12/4, Cambridge Res)
Additional BBN/Rock Meadow birds: Yellow-throated Vireo (8/24)
Additional Charles birds: Orange-crowned Warbler (12/4)
Additional Cambridge Res birds (11): Hermit Thrush (4/10), Willow Flycatcher (5/22), Little Blue Heron and Glossy Ibis (7/20), Brown Thrasher (8/31), Stilt Sandpiper and White-rumped Sandpiper (9/7), Rusty Blackbird (10/15), Long-billed Dowitcher and Sharp-shinned Hawk (10/23), Pink-footed Goose (12/4)
Odes: 111 overall, 75 MA/Middlesex
New Odes: 23 overall, 2 MA, 4 Middlesex
Butterflies: 50 overall, 42 MA, 41 Middlesex
New Butterflies 3 overall, 2 MA/Middlesex
Bug numbers probably pending a few photos that I haven’t checked.
Goals for next year: patch lists to 170 each, county list to 300, state list to 390, 175 new county ticks statewide, 300 new town ticks in Middlesex, life list to 600, clear out the wanted lists for odes and butterflies.
WIR 12/21-12/27
Wednesday 12/21: Lots of birds but nothing exciting at Dunback. GH Owls calling behind the office at night.
Thursday 12/22: Res fairly open, Redhead and the rest of the usual. Nothing at Nine Acre.
Friday 12/23: Merlin and what was presumably a flyover Snow Bunting at Forest Grove. Nothing in Lincoln.
Saturday 12/24: Nothing at Spy Pond. Made what was supposed to be a quick stop at the lower end of the Mystic Lakes. Gadwall were good, then two warblers popped up on the way out. One Nashville, one that led to an hour and a half of wandering around in the downpour without confirming. Tried again in the afternoon but couldn’t find it.
Sunday 12/25: Afternoon loop of the res had a Great Cormorant and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers.
Monday 12/26: Couldn’t turn up the Ovenbird at Horn Pond but did have a Fox Sparrow. No warblers at the Mystic Lakes, 1 Gadwall and eventually got the shoveler. Owls again from the yard, actually saw one this time.
Tuesday 12/27: Last commute of the year had a raven on 128, more or less the same birds as Sunday on the res (swapping the mergansers for Commons) and nothing much at Nine Acre or Pelham Island Rd.