Wednesday 4/16: Rather windy at Weston Station Pond. Usual stuff on the water (which was over the path, requiring some bushwhacking and almost a slide down the hill). Decided to checked the wooded areas for waterthrush with no luck but had a Broad-wing (my earliest locally or anywhere actually) and a Winter Wren singing. Good number of the expected warblers around the parking lot. About 50 Ruddy on the res on the way home but nothing else of note.
Thursday 4/17: No waterthrush in Estabrook, Ring-necks and turkeys about the most interesting. Had time to swing through Nine Acre and caught up with the ibis flock.
Friday 4/18: Mt. Auburn was pretty quiet, few Hermit Thrushes and sapsuckers, a Turkey Vulture, and Field Sparrow about it.
Saturday 4/19: Started by trying to get the 5 April birds I needed to get Norfolk to 100 at McCarthy Park. Walked the park side and saw very little, eventually getting a kestrel. Walked the link trail and had nothing much. Broad-wing over the buildings was one but that was it, although a Pileated while driving through Westwood made two. Millennium next, hoping for a Suffolk Broad-wing. Started at the high school marsh, where there was an Easter egg hunt assembling. Got a Green Heron before I get away. Parking at the park was tough, so ended up at the canoe launch and walked the trail a bit. Nothing particularly noteworthy, so up to the top and the sky. Harrier, Osprey, meadowlark, 100+ cormorants but no Broad-wing. Buzz on the res on the way home was just Ruddy and geese.
Sunday 4/20: Led the first of my Mt. Auburn trips. Windy but sunny and a good sized group. Harrier, bunch of Palms and a couple Pines at Halcyon. Coyote with a rabbit or something by Spectacle. Hermit Thrushes all over, one tree with a dozen kinglets, but otherwise nothing terribly unusual.
Went to Magazine Beach next, which wasn’t the best spot given the wind. Ran into Pete who gave me the tour (or at least confirmed I wasn’t missing a secret hot area). We turned up a thrasher and a bunch of sparrows. Continued to Earhart. Egret, sapsucker, a couple Hermit Thrushes, 3 loons, etc. Res had Ruddies.
Monday 4/21: Did a Worcester county loop figuring everything closer to home would be busy. Started at Westborough WMA where Tim tipped me off to a Vesper Sparrow, which I surprisingly had pop right up. Also Warbling Vireo, Ruddy, Green Heron, Broad-wing, House Wren, etc. Continued to Gate 36 at Wachusett where there were 4 Bonaparte’s way out but not much else. Also gave a few shopping centers in the area a quick scan but no BH Gull to be found. Decided I had time for Bolton Flats too. Walked in and met a couple women walking out. They had some dark crane-like birds and asked if I had any ideas. I said ibis, they said “absolutely not”. Walked out and there were 11 Glossy Ibis. Also both yellowlegs but not much else.
Tuesday 4/22: Barred Owl, gnatcatcher, not too much else at BBN.