Another CBC-related one this week. This guy taunted me a couple years ago, showing up at the same spot along the Charles every time I went from November to February except on count day. One of these years I’ll actually get one on the count.
Weekend Highlights
Saturday started with a walk through Lot 1 with hopes of White-winged Crossbills and other birds that would be new for Waltham (or at least my half-hearted bigby list). That didn’t work out, but I still got some CBC scouting in. Lots of sparrows along the edges and a few woodpeckers were the extent of things.
After an hour at Lot 1, I got in the car and headed over to Met State. Not that exciting either, but a few good pockets of birds. One started with a chickadee and Carolina Wren and then ended up containing 3 Brown Creepers, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, several nuthatches, woodpeckers, goldfinches, and titmice. Checking the pines, the Great Horned was in the usual spot, which is definitely good for the CBC:
I had approached from a slightly different angle and this time I noticed some sticks higher up in the tree. This was the tree that I was told was the nest tree and the pile of sticks looked a lot like this. Think I can mark that as confirmed (UN – used nest) but I’ll probably just check back in a couple months. The rest of the walk was pretty birdless, although a Golden-crowned Kinglet taunted me into attempting so photos that didn’t come out.
Even though the weather today was much worse, the birds were better. Steve Moore and Barbara Volkle reported a lingering Semipalmated Plover at the Arlington Res, so I headed there to sneak it onto my county year list. I got a quick view flying across the water and then was able to watch it running along the mud flats for quite a while. I’m not fully sure, but it’s among the latest inland records for Massachusetts if not the latest. Hopefully it will make it through the sleet and will be a December record.
Other birds around included 3 Killdeer, 4 Shovelers and many Gadwall and Wigeon. I took a few pictures of the ducks but since it was dark and they all happened to have their heads in the water, I’m not going to show any.
After leaving, I hopped on Rt. 2 and then 128 and made a quick circle around the Cambridge Res. Passing on 128, I noticed lots and lots of geese but couldn’t find them from the other side. I settled for about 60 Common Merganser and a few Hooded. A spin through the office parks didn’t have anything interesting, so I continued on to Flint’s Pond.
Driving up to Flint’s, I could see ducks in close. Walking down the road, I kept finding more and more at each different viewpoint. The majority were Hoodies, but there were plenty of Common Mergansers and a few Bufflehead, Ring-necks, Common Goldeneye, and Ruddies mixed in. Two Great Blue Herons were along the shore as well. Not too bad.
And in perfect timing, I headed home and was putting the lens cap on the camera in the driveway when I noticed the window was wet. Two minutes later and there was a nice sleet/rain mix coming down that I had missed entirely.
WTOW #14
Taken 11/30 at the Arlington Res.
BPW13
Place 11 – Flint's Pond
Flint’s Pond is a large pond in Lincoln that’s worth a quick check whenever you’re passing by. Most times there won’t be much, but every so often a sea duck or grebe will drop in and there’s occasionally something of note in the trees as well.
For reasons that I still haven’t figured out, Flint’s Pond is located on Sandy Pond Rd. If you’re heading east on Rt. 2, it’s the small turnoff just before Tracy’s Corner. From the east, it starts by the library (opposite Trapelo Rd.). There’s a fire lane that has a wide enough area to pull off and still not be in the way. From there, you can scan fairly easily and move around a bit. A scope is definitely a necessity (and often not enough).
Birds tend to hang out near the island and in the far right. Sometimes good things can be found in close. Walking a short distance to the left down the road gives a view of the right side, which only occasionally has things.
Keep your ears open and eyes up on the trees as well. There’s often warblers and bluebirds around and I’ve seen Pileated Woodpecker while driving up. There are several trails in the area, some right there and some further up the road. I haven’t wandered around them much (I did spend one afternoon trying to get closer to the back side of the pond, which doesn’t appear to be possible) but they look like they’re worth checking occasionally.
Yard Oddball
This interesting girl showed up at the feeders over the weekend:
White wings and a lot of white on the tail, not quite the usual.
(Un)fortunately, it is just a House Sparrow. It appears to be partially leucistic one though. It’s actually one of two that are in the flock that hangs out in the yard. The other’s a male that’s almost normal, except a couple of the tertials are white. He’s hung around for quite some time now (she just showed up) but hasn’t been back to the feeder when I finally got the camera out.
And here’s the closest to a flight shot I got. I hope to get a better one as it’s a very striking bird with the wings spread.
Update: got the male finally
And for pictures of more exotic birds:
Quiz 13 Answer
So we have a passerine with a brownish back and a bright yellow belly. Taking into account the bill and general shape and posture, we can say it’s a flycatcher. The brown color and yellow belly lead us to genus Myiarchus.
Among the Myiarchus, Massachusetts has Great Crested as a common breeder and Ash-throated as a rare (but basically annual late fall vagrant). Obviously, my wishful thinking comment was about Ash-throated but in this case, the belly is much too bright. The edges of the wings are also much stronger than I’d expect on an Ash-throated. And the vegetation is a bit too green for a late fall vagrant, although there is an August record at Rock Meadow in Belmont.
I took this picture of a Great Crested Flycatcher at Prospect Hill in May 2006. They are likely breeders at Prospect Hill, the Paine Estate, Met State, and probably any other wooded areas. As far as I know, Ash-throated has not yet been found in Waltham, but I’m sure one will one of these years.
Place 10 – Purgatory Cove and Forest Grove
Purgotary Cove and Forest Grove combine to be a nice part of the Charles River Walk along the Waltham-Newton line. It’s an area I have yet to explore fully, but seems to have quite a bit of potential.
To reach it, take Woerd Ave. off Crescent St. in Waltham. Follow Woerd Ave. to the end. You’ll pass the boat launch and then Purgatory Cove. You can pull over here or continue to the circle where the road ends and park there. The town line is just beyond the circle. Alternate access from the other end is off Commonwealth Ave. at Lyons Park.
Purgatory Cove is a large backwater spot along the Charles. It gets filled with vegetation in summer. Lots of waterbirds are possible here, including large numbers of Wood Ducks. Along the river on the other side of the road, you can follow a trail that winds through the wooded area and then joins the main Forest Grove trail. There’s a couple of steep spots here, so be careful.
Up on the main trail, you can walk through a wooded section that borders the river and passes through a couple parks before ending. Lots of birds are possible, including many migrants. This section is also the only place along the Charles where I’ve had Wild Turkeys.
Butterflies are not too exciting along here, but dragonflies can be interesting. The only Vesper Bluet I’ve seen so far was along the first bit of trail by Purgatory Cove. I haven’t spent enough time looking for other good ones, but I’m sure there are more out there.
This stretch of the river is also popular with boaters and kayakers. It’s very wide and slow and I’d imagine you can see quite a few different things on the water.
Well worth exploring more, there’s plenty of untapped potential here, even when the crowds are out.
Quiz 13
No point in using the week part now but I’ll still post one as I find something worth posting.
Wishful thinking or not?
Like the last one, this is a reused photo so clicking on it gives it away.
Place 9 – Fresh Pond
This is the time of year to visit Fresh Pond in Cambridge. It’s by far the easiest place around to find Canvasback and there are often other interesting ducks as well. On the whole, I don’t like the place but make a trip or two each year.
I normally park along Huron Ave as it’s the closest point for me, but there is (or was, not sure about current access) some public parking at Neville Manor and you can always park at the mall and work your way over. Cambridge residents can park near the waterworks (and can also let their dogs run free unfortunately). Those entrances are much closer to where the birds tend to hang out if you want to drop in and not walk all around. Other than circling the pond, Lusitania Meadow often has good passerines.
Fresh Pond is covered well elsewhere, so start with The Friends and go from there for more information.