YIR 2018

Slow year, basically no travel.

January: Started with a lot of the lingering rarities but nothing too exciting.

February: Missed the Slaty-back, did get a patch White-front. Subspecies lifer with a Northern Common Eider in Rockport at the end of the month.

March: Another semi-lifer with a Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser hybrid was about it. Bug season started on the 31st with a Comma in Townsend.

April: Early Cliff Swallow on the 10th (which was the only one I managed for the year), a few good gulls in Needham, and ended the month with the Blue Grosbeak at Arlington Res.

May: Got my 200th Suffolk county bird on the 5th, wandered up to NH for Golden-winged Warbler(ish?) on the 20th, and generally had a decent migration. Chased the Trumpeter Swan at the end of the month, only state bird for the year.

June: Went out to Royalston to start the month with Ebony Boghaunters. Did the usual surveys. A few good bugs as well, mostly out west.

July: Patch Lawrence’s Warbler, a nice Bristol county run midmonth, a couple early migrant warbles at the end of the month, and that was about it.

August: Started with the DSA meeting. Got a few target odes (Tiger Spiketail the best) plus a Common Tern. Quiet otherwise.

September: Pretty typical fall migration minus a shorebird show. Three Lesser Black-backs at Great Pond the best.

October: Quiet beyond a couple days on the Cape, which wasn’t overly exciting. Summer Tanager at the end of the month was quite nice.

November: Evening Grosbeaks on patch, Snow and White-fronted Geese at Nine Acre, and that was about it.

December: Quiet start. CBC had more species than before, although redpolls and the Dunback grosbeaks were the only birds of note. Finally chased the Great Black Hawk on the 23rd, lifer #2 for the year. Finished the month with Tufted Duck, Painted Bunting, and a quiet Concord CBC.

Total of 245 species (2 out of state), 205 in county. One state bird (Trumpeter Swan), one county bird (shhh), and two life birds (swan and Great Black Hawk). Still converting bug records from AviSys to Scythebill, so don’t have those handy, but new dragonflies were Ebony Boghaunter, Uhler’s Sundragon, Riverine Clubtail, Tiger Spiketail, Ocellated Darner, and maybe one more. Also finally got Superb Jewelwing for MA, nothing new for the county. No new butterflies anywhere. Mammal highlights were a few porcupines.

Goals for 2019: travel! DSA is in Texas, so that’s planned, hopefully a few other spots as well. Locally, work towards 300 in the 2 towns from the WalLex line area (5 away), and push the state list past 390. Bugwise, find something new.

WIR 12/19-12/25

Wednesday 12/19: BBN had a bunch of Rusty Blackbirds (count week!) and Red-wings plus Hermit Thrush and Barred Owl.

Thursday 12/20: Did Gore. Got the redpolls (176 for the commute year list, probably the last one this year) but couldn’t get a good look at the junco flock. Not a whole lot else.

Friday 12/21: Pond loop had an eagle at Hardy and that was about it.

Saturday 12/22: Went to Torbet McDonald for the first time. Had hoped for the Nashville Warbler reported a couple days ago but no luck with that. Did have 2 redpolls, 2 grackles, and one strange Red-tail. Draw Seven was dead. Had at least 8 of the Razorbills continuing at Castle Island before it began to pour.

Sunday 12/23: Made the trip up to Maine for the Great Black Hawk finally. Nice to see, but wasn’t exactly inspiring doing nothing but sitting in a random back yard. Checked a couple coastal spots before heading home, picked up six new birds for Maine overall.

Black Hawk

Monday 12/24: Started at Hardy which had a few ducks and a different eagle. Went a bit west from there. Hop Brook was pretty dead. Got cloudy and looked like flurries, so didn’t want to walk much from there. Hager Pond had the continuing shoveler, which was somehow a year bird, and a pair of Gadwall. Fort Meadow had a few ducks. School St was just pigeons and crows. Cambridge Res had another(?) eagle and more mergansers.

Tuesday 12/25: Dunback was somewhat birdy but no grosbeaks. Did have 2 Yellow-rumps, the catbird, and a raven or two. Afternoon loop of the res had my first mockingbird of the year there and then a coyote by Potter pond.

WIR 12/12-12/18

Wednesday 12/12: Nothing at all at the community farm. Ravens and the wigeon at Forest Grove.

Thursday 12/13: Next to nothing on the river walk.

Friday 12/14: Yellow-rump, Winter Wren, 3 Red-wings but no grosbeaks at Dunback.

Saturday 12/15: Semi-CBC scouting. Started at along the river in Watertown, which was quiet. Prospect Hill had 2 Hermit Thrushes and a Barred Owl, but I don’t think we’re climbing the hill. Coot at Moody St was surprisingly Waltham #150 for the year. Normal ducks at the res. No grosbeaks again at Dunback, maybe another Barred. Did have a vole hide poorly enough to more or less pose.

Sunday 12/16: CBC. Early owling was mostly a failure, one Barred called on its own and nothing responding. Dunback was birdy, we got the Evening Grosbeaks as a flyover and it appeared no one else saw them later in the day. Splitting here, I went to Lot 1 and had very little, then UMass where Snow Buntings came in. While we watched those, the sleet started and we bailed. I drove around a bit and saw nothing while waiting for the other group to finish before we headed to lunch. After lunch, we went to Gore (and Cookson) and had 3 redpolls, 3 Chipping Sparrows, and hundreds of starlings. We then did the river. Two Gadwall at Moody St joined the ducks I had yesterday, but little else. Even with the fair weather, we passed 50 species for the first time!

Monday 12/17: Gadwall and Wigeon at Purgatory, which is a bit too far outside the circle for the wigeon to be count week.

Tuesday 12/18: Too windy, so drove a big loop. Eagles at Saxonville Beach were the only things of note.

WIR 12/5-12/11

Wednesday 12/5: Siskin and nothing else at Prospect Hill.

Thursday 12/6: 4 Gadwall at Purgatory. Palm Warbler at Forest Grove.

Friday 12/7: Absolutely nothing at Meriam’s.

Saturday 12/8: Waited on Black Hawk news (which was a no until midafternoon), so headed to Earhart (quiet at Draw Seven and the greenway), then Belle Isle (Orange-crowned about it). Winthrop Greenway had a late Nashville, and thousands of scoters and gulls at Revere Beach (couldn’t find anything in the gulls though).

Sunday 12/9: Leucistic Song Sparrow and a Red-wing about it at Horn Pond. Cormorants and an eagle at the lakes, 2 more eagles by Spy Pond. Lots of mergs all over including Clay Pit. Interestingly, Hardy and most of the res were frozen. Presuming I’m counting town year lists correctly, the mergs at Clay Pit were #1600 in my 17 town local area this year. Don’t think my original goal of 1700 is actually reachable without not going elsewhere.

Sparrow

Monday 12/10: Not much at BBN. Sharpie at the top of Mackerel didn’t help. Winter Wren in the big marsh.

Tuesday 12/11: GH Owl and the usual at Lot 1.

WIR 11/28-12/4

Wednesday 11/28: Nothing terribly exciting at Lot 1.

Thursday 11/29: Eagle, Ruddies, sapsucker, Pileated at Sudbury Reservoir.

Friday 11/30: Nothing much at BBN.

Saturday 12/1: Nothing at Hanscom, Barrett’s Mill, Assabet, Flint’s, or the res.

Sunday 12/2: Nothing at the res or Nine Acre.

Monday 12/3: Marsh Wren and Rusties at Dunback.

Tuesday 12/4: Eagle, couple teal at Arlington Res.

WIR 11/21-11/27

Wednesday 11/21: Dunback was birdy. Highlights included 3 Horned Larks, an Evening Grosbeak, and late catbird and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Thursday 11/22: Did a goose run and found nothing.

Friday 11/23: RN Grebe was still at Nagog Pond along with 4 other new for Acton birds. Thought about some other spots, then ended up repeating yesterday’s loop. Lots of Snow Buntings at School St, nothing much at Verrill. Continued to Waltham St, which had a decent number of Savannahs and a Turkey Vulture. Hardy Pond was frozen, wigeon at the res.

Saturday 11/24: Did a local loop. Rock Meadow had a flyover Hooded Merganser and a couple Purple Finches. More finches at BBN plus a Fox Sparrow and 4 redpolls. West Meadow was quiet other than geese flying over. Decided to try the field station for buntings and longspurs. No luck with that but a flyover siskin plus a White-crowned Sparrow made it worthwhile.

Sunday 11/25: Charles loop. Nothing at Norumbega. Gadwall from Mt. Feake, although I only noted one there and had 3 from Purgatory in the same spot. Also wigeon, pintail, creeper, etc there. Very late yellowthroat at Forest Grove but couldn’t find the pintail from the Newton side. Late catbird at Moody St, no interesting gulls. Around the res on the way home had a Red-necked Grebe.

Monday 11/26: Fox Sparrow and Pileated at College Pond although the Ring-billed Gull was actually the most interesting by location.

Tuesday 11/27: White-crowned in the yard. Marsh Wren at Great Meadows, but not much else and I should have lingered at the gull flock over Hanscom which had dispersed by the time I returned.

WIR 11/14-11/20

Wednesday 11/14: 2 Fox Sparrows, 2-3 Yellow-rumps at BBN. Also got confirmation of the grosbeaks from last Monday, Waltham #216 and BBN/RM #174!

Thursday 11/15: Yellow-rump, Palm, Gadwall at Forest Grove/Purgator. Waxwings and a teal at Norumbega.

Friday 11/16: Too snowy/rainy but lots of Ruddies at Hardy.

Saturday 11/17: Did a Boston swing (after a quick check of the res, Horned Grebe and Hooded Mergansers). Started at Deer Island. No passerines of note on the hill, nothing much on the water either. Did finally get my Suffolk Snow Buntings, unfortunately a person walking flushed them to the other side of the fence before I got up for good photos. Winthrop Greenway next. Suffolk Winter Wren plus an Orange-crown and Purple Finch. Castle Island after, the trees I liked last month weren’t as good without leaves. Did have a creeper but little else. Tried to get to Jamaica Pond but parking was a pain (coot and Ruddy while looking), so pulled in at Leverett instead (Ring-necks). Decided I really should go for the Blue-winged found this morning at Habitat and it was right there as I walked up. Flew off immediately and I couldn’t find it again in an hour’s wandering.

Sunday 11/18: Started at Alewife which was pretty quiet. Thorndike Field was also quiet but Cooper’s was responsible for some of that. Fresh Pond didn’t have much in interesting ducks but Fox and White-crowned Sparrows were nice as were 1-2 Blackpolls. Continued towards the Mystic Lakes, stopping at Blair Pond (kingfisher, heron, zero ducks) and Spy Pond (lots of cormorants still). Sandy Beach was birdy, tons of robins, juncos, jays, etc. Another Blackpoll or two plus a sapsucker as well. Pied-billed Grebe at the dam, nothing much at the lower end. Did get enough town year birds to top last year’s 17-town total of 1575. I think 1600 will be doable this year, not sure if my original goal of 1700 is truly reachable.

Monday 11/19: Nothing in the rain at Arlington Res. Snow Goose and Snow Bunting at Nine Acre.

Tuesday 11/20: Harrier over Hardy (and probably the house). Nothing but Common Mergansers at Flint’s. Geese at Nine Acre had moved to Verrill, so were somewhat scannable. Snow was still there and a nice White-fronted too.

WIR 11/7-11/13

Wednesday 11/7: 6 Fox Sparrows and a Merlin at Dunback.

Thursday 11/8: Orange-crowned and Pec at Meriam’s Corner.

Friday 11/9: Chipping Sparrow, cowbird or two at the Food Project.

Saturday 11/10: Was rainier than expected in the morning, so started with res (nothing) to School St (nothing new) to Nine Acre (also nothing new). Seemed to stop so went to Mary Cummings and promptly got soaked. Did a full loop (finally getting Tree Sparrow for Burlington), then had a White-crowned and 3 Killdeer at the soccer field where I was parked. Continued to Horn Pond and got the Black-and-white Warbler that’s been hanging around but nothing else of note.

Sunday 11/11: Joined the MBC walk at Dunback, which was quiet. Sapsucker, late phoebe, bluebird about it. Continued to McClennen (Hoodies), Meadowbrook (GB Heron), and Mystic Lakes (nothing). Sandy Beach was a bit birdier, although nothing exciting until I looked at the upper lake and eventually realized the 4th bird in a flock of Bufflehead was larger. Went back for the scope and it was a Black Scoter, also visible from Medford. Got at least one of the Blackpolls that have been hanging around too on the way out.

Monday 11/12: Worked my way around Earhart. Hermit Thrush and 2 Redheads on the Everett side, then while trying for more views of them, had creeper and RC Kinglet from Station Landing. Nothing at Draw Seven. White-crowned Sparrow but little else at Magazine Beach, loon on the res.

Tuesday 11/13: Sort of a pond check, raining too hard.

WIR 10/31-11/6

Wednesday 10/31: Forest Grove wasn’t terribly exciting beyond a few PB Grebe.

Thursday 11/1: Went back to Habitat to get the tanager for the commute and November. Succeeded with that, no luck with Evening Grosbeak though.

Friday 11/2: Pond check had just short of nothing. Made another loop of the res on the way home (last time until March) and had 3 Common Mergansers and a loon.

Saturday 11/3: Did a bit of a pond check, 150 cormorants and 3-4 Ruddy at Spy Pond were the only things of any note (and just short of the only birds).

Sunday 11/4: Started with a quick buzz of the res, Long-tailed Duck was #100 for the year there. No birds at Flint’s, and none at Fitchburg Res. A few Hoodies but nothing else at Ashby Res. Hawkwatched for a bit at Blood Hill, 7+ Bald Eagles were about it, everything distant and not much moving. Also a flock of 20 bluebirds, probable Horned Larks, a few siskins over plus a phoebe halfway up. Continued to Townsend Hill WMA which had almost as many hawks plus a Palm, Mourning Cloak, and Autumn Meadowhawk. Fitch’s Bridge Rd had a Fox Sparrow, lots of juncos, and not a ton else. School St had 7+ pintail.

Monday 11/5: BBN had a Red-shoulder and likely some Evening Grosbeaks.

Tuesday 11/6: Nothing at any of the ponds I checked (too much traffic for the res), a few teal and pintail at Nine Acre.

WIR 10/24-10/30

Wednesday 10/24: Pretty quiet at Great Meadows. Flyover sandpiper with 4 yellowlegs would have been the most interesting if I got beyond sandpiper.

Thursday 10/25: Dunback was loaded, mostly robins and common sparrows but did have first of fall American Tree among them.

Friday 10/26: Two Winter Wrens, 2 White-crowns, 3 Hermit Thrushes, lots of the usual at BBN.

Saturday 10/27: Pond loop. PB Grebe at the res, goldeneye and maybe some interesting mergansers at Flint’s. Nothing at Spy Pond or the Mystic Lakes. Rain lightened a bit so went to Draw Seven. Snow Bunting was first thing out of the car, RB Merg, not too much else.

Snow Bunting

Sunday 10/28: Started with an empty res, then a near-empty Flint’s (loon in close but that was about it). Out to School St, which was busy although the geese were in a bad spot. RB Nuthatch near the stream was new for the site. Next up was the Cranberry Bog. Lack of time out that way this season meant 6 new birds for Carlisle but since they included junco and White-throat, it wasn’t terribly exciting. After a brief stop at home, went to Habitat to chase the Summer Tanager found this morning. Once I got the Meadow right, it was putting on a decent show. Also first local siskins, 2 Winter Wrens, and what was probably a Fox Sparrow. Did a Clay Pit (gulls and cormorants), Fresh Pond (Ruddy, lots of Ring-necks in the cove), and duck ponds (Yellow-rumps) loop on the way home.

Summer Tanager

Monday 10/29: Got soaked trying the West Meadow. Lot of Purple Finches over.

Tuesday 10/30: Old 27 Bridge again. Slower than last week but not bad, although nothing terribly differnet.