Wednesday 8/14: Prospect Hill had a bunch of redstarts but couldn’t find any other migrants.
Thursday 8/15: Little Blue still at Hobbs Brook plus a Semipalmated Sandpiper along with the usual shorebirds. Wood Thrush was the only bird of any note in the woods.
Friday 8/16: Ended up at College Pond, which was pretty quiet.
Saturday 8/17: Waited on Laughing Gull news and debated the Cranberry Bog ode walk, so started with the res where a cormorant was on one of the highway signs along Winter St but little else. Hobbs Brook had 2 Little Blues but otherwise nothing of note. Walked the Shade St land too and found nothing. Decided it was too cloudy for odes and no word either way from Wachusett so went to Arlington Res, which was very high. Decided the Prothonotary at Spot Pond was worth a check. No sign of that at Quarter Mile but walked down most of the way to the boat launch and found a certain Dusky Dancer finally.
Sunday 8/18: Started to wait out the rain then realized it was inland anyway, so went to Squantum as planned. White-rump, brief LB Dowitcher at the pans, not too much else. Tide seemed high, so went to Wollaston where there were several hundred Semis (both Sandpiper and Plover) plus a few other things.
Decided on Belle Isle next, started with Lawn Ave. Got eaten pretty good on the way to the platform but it was fine once out there. Picked through the close birds but didn’t find much at first. Started looking further out and picked up something in flight. Large and buffy, a Marbled Godwit! Fired off a pile of shots (only later realizing I wasn’t even close to full zoom) and lost it towards Morton St/145. Calmed down eventually after sending out a few messages and picked out a Stilt Sandpiper finally. Eventually it moved more into the open and was joined by a second. Moved to the main reservation and got really eaten alive. Also couldn’t see much of anything and the Cooper’s eventually flushed most of the birds.
Had been thinking about Revere Beach next but decided Fisherman’s Bend and searching for the godwit was a better idea. Couple others had the same idea but we had no luck. Lots of BB Plovers, oystercatchers, and a few dowitchers and turnstones.
Monday 8/19: Did a bit of a pond loop. Started at Spy, where there were a couple terns still bouncing around but nothing else. Water level was up at Blair and it was a cormorant and bunch of Mallards. Duck ponds had a Great Egret, 3 Least, and a Solitary. Res had nothing. Hardy had another egret.
Tuesday 8/20: Ibis was still(?) at Great Meadows, not too much else. Flyover Bobolinks and a black duck (an actual one) were about it.