Wednesday 5/31: Orchard Oriole at the Meriam’s/Kaveski line, no Alders or much else though. Grass was too wet at the back and four hours later I’m still sneezing.
Thursday 6/1: Tried for any lingering warblers at Mt. Auburn. Blackpoll pretty quickly but then very little else until passing Spectacle on the way to the car when a Northern Waterthrush started singing.
Friday 6/2: No GW Teal at BBN but a couple redstarts and a Barred Owl family were good (and very good to finally confirm the owls).
Saturday 6/3: Not terribly nice but did a Wayland swing. Nothing obvious at Heard Pond, so went to Heard Farm. Kestrel was hunting, lots of Bobolinks and the regulars but nothing much else. Was going to the gardens next but Cow Common was blocked off, so I just went to Sedge Meadow. More of the same there, a pair of Bobolinks the most interesting. Checked the res and Hardy on the way home without anything beyond geese.
Sunday 6/4: Wasn’t quite crappy enough to sit at Great Meadows so started with the Hooded Warbler in Littleton. Moderately cooperative plus a couple other new things there (70 now). Saw a Louisiana Waterthrush spot in Worcester county not too far away, so headed that way. Short walk in and one flew by chipping then eventually sang a bit. Looks good for odes too in nicer weather. Continued to Wachusett Res, where the sun was poking out. Of course that meant not much doing, so I spent a bit of time taking swift shots. A shower eventually passed through but didn’t appear to drop anything in. Checked my month list and saw I was into the 90s and there would be a few possibilities at Bolton Flats, so headed that way. Got Mute Swan along the river and redstart near the parking lot. Walked out and found a few shorebirds which included a Semipalmated Plover, 3 Least Sandpipers, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper (also a county bird!). Since I wasn’t expecting those, a quick check showed that 100 was quite possible. Waded down through the vegetation (the wet spots were dry at least) and got Yellow-throated Vireo (and got excited by a Cooper’s Hawk that looked harrier-ish at a distance), which was 99. Couldn’t dig up any wrens or House Finches or anything else though, even walking a bit on the other side and down to the river along 117. Gave the Bolton Office Park a quick drive through, again no luck but a Carolina Wren was singing right at the 495 ramp, so mission accomplished.
Monday 6/5: No shorebirds at Great Meadows but a singing PB Grebe and a Green Heron were nice.
Tuesday 6/6: Went to Dunback hoping for an Alder. Got one pretty quickly near Clarke, then was surprised by a Least at the intersection. Nothing much out Bacon St, just enough time to get down to the woods. Loud call just as I approached the bridge: “peet-zah!”. Acadian called nonstop for the next 10-15 minutes, although it never showed. ‘Commute’ #249!