Tag: weekinreview

Wednesday 7/24: Barred Owl, couple Least, few other things at Weston Station Pond. RB Gulls at the res were #90 for the monthly ‘commute’.

Thursday 7/25: Usual at Rock Meadow, 4 Killdeer, 3 Solitary at the duck ponds.

Friday 7/26: Hobbs Brook had a Red-shoulder, Greater Yellow, 3 Solitary, and a few peep.

Saturday 7/27: Did another Worcester county run. Westborough was pretty quiet, couple Least, few Willows, not much else. Gate 8 at Wachusett had a bunch of loons, a Herring Gull, a Red-shoulder, and no Bonaparte’s. Muddy Pond didn’t have much for shorebirds and the gallinule was probably long gone. Stopped at Assabet on the way home but the Little Blue wasn’t around.

Sunday 7/28: Started at Heard Pond. Got soaked walking through the river grasses and didn’t find much of note. Egret by the high school, few shorebirds about it. Raymond Reservation next, more of the same shorebirds, the 2 grebes were still around, and a Northern Waterthrush. Tried the boat launch at Cochituate (gate locked) and Mary Bunker Park for Dusky Dancers with no luck. Pelham Island Rd had similar shorebirds. Had time to check the res before heading home, nothing at the res but a Little Blue and both yellowlegs were at Hobbs Brook.

Monday 7/29: Drove past Hobbs Brook to get the Little Blue for the commute, then stood on the tower at Great Meadows without anything different.

Tuesday 7/30: Finally got Common Tern at the Mystic Lakes (‘commute’ #256!) along with a Big Bluet.

Wednesday 7/17: Broad-winged Skipper at the West Meadow, nothing different at the parkway marsh at BBN.

Thursday 7/18: Peregrine at the landfill by Forest Grove, couple Spotted Sandpipers on the river about it otherwise.

Friday 7/19: Red-shoulder, Solitary, couple other things at College Pond. Would have been nice to have heard the Broad-wingish sound again though.

Saturday 7/20: Started at Deer Island hoping the booby hadn’t gone far. No luck with that (although there was enough heat shimmer that it could have been another 100 yards out and I’d never be able to tell) but 5 Black Scoters, 4 Common Loons, and a few other things were nice. Planned to go to the Fells and look for Acadians next but since the route took me right by Draw Seven, I stopped there first. Ton of Common Terns and an egret on the railings. No luck with Acadian by the time I got there (well after 11). Walked a ways at Spot Pond, probably had a Dusky Dancer and got 3 new Stoneham birds to pass 50 there.

Sunday 7/21: Did inland Suffolk for July birds. Started at Millennium where I had a few raptors, some flycatchers, etc. Cow Island Pond added the missing common waterfowl. Stony Brook had the common forest stuff, only downside was chasing some scolding jays and robins and finding a Cooper’s instead of a Barred. Gave Mill Pond a quick stop but no swallows or ducks to be seen. Quick check of Cambridge Res on the way home had a bunch of Ring-billed Gulls.

Monday 7/22: Same shorebirds at BBN. Went to the back side of the Concord Ave marsh and heard Cliff’s Marsh Wren plus flushed another woodcock.

Tuesday 7/23: Didn’t get much of any rain overnight and nothing was at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 7/3: Did a loop from Farm Meadow. Bobolinks, Winter Wren, FOY Halloween Pennants, not too much else.

Thursday 7/4: Did a Worcester county loop. Bolton Flats was mostly overgrown, Marsh Wren, swallows, YT Vireo. Pine Hill had good numbers of Grasshopper Sparrows but no luck with Vesper. Family of loons at Rainbow Cove at Wachusett. Sawyer Bluff had a few more things including a few odes and robbers. Ended up boosting my July Worcester list from 11(!) to 60.

Friday 7/5: Not sure where the rain came from, but Great Meadows was the plan anyway. Started with a Pileated, then a Virginia Rail on the path. Turned around and there were 3 Mink running behind me. Went down to the river and most of the way back without much else, but there was another rail in the open by the benches. Which I realized after a second was a Sora. It was barely concerned with me and was wandering around for several minutes.

Saturday 7/6: Butterfly count was canceled but did a quick check of the res and Flint’s/Hardy to/from while making the decision. Nothing worth noting.

Sunday 7/7: Started at Vietnam Veteran’s Park in Billerica. Flushed a woodcock while poking along the edge of the pond, quite a bit at the pond, then (accidentally) took a long walk in the woods and had very little. Ode walk at the Cranberry Bog had Mocha Emerald, Swamp Darner, and low numbers of the usual. Also Virginia Rails, Gray Hairstreak, and an interesting fly or two.

Monday 7/8: Lots of Clamp-tipped Emeralds at Dunback, not too much else.

Tuesday 7/9: Got the expected stuff at Hanscom including Black-and-white, Prairie, Field Sparrow, towhees, redstart, etc.

Wednesday 6/26: Rock Meadow was fairly quiet, couple Indigo Buntings the most interesting. Gave the duck ponds a look too, zero waterbirds but did finally get a ‘commute’ raven for the month.

Thursday 6/27: Nothing exciting along the river in Watertown.

Friday 6/28: Winter Wren and night heron at Weston Station Pond plus FOY Common Wood-Nymph.

Saturday 6/29: Planned on a Suffolk/Norfolk loop to pick up a few things but went to Burrage instead.

Sunday 6/30: Did the loop planned for yesterday. Started with the Cliff Swallows nesting(!) in Hyde Park. Two buzzed in and out a bit right at the middle of the bridge. Somehow those are my first in MA away from Middlesex.

Continued to Fowl Meadow, which was pretty quiet (RB Grosbeak was a Norfolk June bird but not much else). Did have some decent bugs including Appalachian Brown, Mulberry Wing, and Illinois River Cruiser. Blue Hills next, did a quick loop and the Acadian was noisy, although otherwise uncooperative. Also FOY Dun Skipper.

Pulled in at the res on the way home and realized the Healthpoint Pond was a good spot for the time. Got some decent Comet Darner photos, an Amber-winged Spreadwing, and a Swamp Darner.

Monday 7/1: Family(?) of Blue-wings at BBN.

Tuesday 7/2: Louisiana Waterthrush at Estabrook plus FOY Little Glassywing.

Wednesday 6/19: Pretty quiet at Arlington Great Meadows, FOY Holopogon the most interesting.

Thursday 6/20: Mystic Lakes didn’t have much going on but had a kestrel in Arlington center on the way home.

Friday 6/21: Prairie and a family of Orchard Orioles at Hobbs Brook.

Saturday 6/22: Did the Ashby BBC trip, unfortunately in poor weather again. Ed and I started with waterthrushes running along the beach(!) then looped the trails for a couple hours, a few more warblers, BH Vireos, thrushes, etc. Stopped at the reservoirs on the way out but they were fogged in. Should have gone to Belle Isle on the way home…

Sunday 6/23: Waited out the rain then went for the phalarope at Belle Isle. An hour on the platform didn’t turn it up, as did almost as long at Lawn Ave. Usual stuff, a few other shorebirds the most interesting. Gave the cemetery a quick check too without anything (and the knotweed was too thick to see the Key from there).

Monday 6/24: Mocha Emerald at Falzone, Blue-fronted Dancer at the West Meadow.

Tuesday 6/25: Great Egret, Osprey chasing an eagle at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 6/12: Hanscom had a few warblers and a Veery plus FOY Eastern Amberwing. Servers were being transported so didn’t have work for most of the day, so went out to Nashoba Brook and got county Blue Corporal.

Thursday 6/13: Night Heron at Cookson, nothing too exciting along the river.

Friday 6/14: Turkey, couple different Laphria, FOY saddlebags at Dunback.

Saturday 6/15: Decided to work on my June Essex county list which had a remarkable number of common birds missing. Mostly inland, so all my previous birding must have been from Plum. Went to Crooked Pond and went from 84 to 107 (including Green Heron over the highway). Baby Veery and Yellow-throated Vireos the highlights plus finally getting a Barred Owl for the county. No luck with Wood Thrush and the possible Broad-wing was seen too briefly. Checked for nearby hotspots when I was done and decided to make a quick stop at Farnsworth Landing, adding another 3 plus a Cyrano Darner and Unicorn Clubtail. Lynnfield Marshes had a Marsh Wren and a couple common things I needed for Wakefield.

Sunday 6/16: Went up to Dunstable to look for martins. No luck with those but 50+ species including a family of Barred Owl. Thought about a couple other spots but decided to go just over the border and see if I could pick up a few NH gaps. Got Warbling Vireo and Barn Swallow among 26 species at Lovewell Pond along with a Sedge Sprite. Stopped at River Front Park in Tyngsboro on the way home for a quick ode check, no clubtails but FOY Powdered Dancer and Stream Bluet.

Monday 6/17: BBN had Barred Owls making that weird noise I heard last year around the same time and a few other things of slight interest.

Tuesday 6/18: Couple Pileated about it at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 6/5: Farm Meadow had only 2 Bobolink and no Veery in the woods. Loon on Flint’s, Ruddy on Hardy too.

Thursday 6/6: Falzone was pretty quiet. West Meadow had a rail but not much else.

Friday 6/7: Expected stuff at the back side of Prospect Hill.

Saturday 6/8: Got the Grasshopper Sparrow (barely) in Shirley. Beaver Brook in Westford had a few Prairie Warblers, a Cooper’s chasing a Green Heron, and a few bugs. Driving off, I realized I actually wanted to be at Nashoba Brook though. Cranberry Bog had the usual including Cyrano Darner plus mating Laphria and a few other things.

Sunday 6/9: Did my Minuteman survey, which was just the usual stuff in what felt like average numbers. Found all the points with ease today, so was done just after 7 and it wasn’t raining yet. Next stop was Pico Beach, where the martins were present although a bit distant. Acadian in the Fells next, showed briefly when I got there. Tracked down Glen’s trill to a Chipping, then walked a bit along Spot Pond where there were fledgling grosbeaks and a few other things.

Monday 6/10: College Pond had a Delta-spotted Spiketail and a couple crossbills among the usual.

Tuesday 6/11: Had to visit the new data center to help with set up, which happens to be next to Prospect Hill, so walked there for an hour first. Black-and-white was the only thing that was different from last week.

Wednesday 5/29: Went to Mt. Auburn for the Gray-cheeked. Had just flown off when I got there but Cliff found it a little while later. It buried itself again pretty quickly, then started singing back behind us before eventually coming out in the open (or as open as it gets in the Dell, I was shooting at ISO 16,000 and 20,000). ‘Commute’ #255! Waxwings and a hummingbird walking into the office too.

Thursday  5/30: Too wet, nothing at the res or Mystic Lakes.

Friday 5/31: Couple Orchard Orioles, a few FOY odes and butterflies at Weston Station Pond.

Saturday 6/1: Decided to wait on the Swainson’s and do a Belle Isle run. Started at the greenway where one of the first birds I saw was an Olive-sided. Few warblers in the area. While trying (and failing so far) to track down a song that sounded Mourning-ish, also had Alder, Willow, and Least. Quick loop of the cemetery had nothing much (ibis at all these stops though), then another pass had a second Least. Went to Lewis Lake next where the Bufflehead was around (June bird #1). Winthrop Beach added a couple more June birds (Surf Scoter and Ruddy Turnstone) plus lots of Least Terns, a few Semi Sandpipers, etc. Belle Isle proper had even more ibis, a Saltmarsh Sparrow or two, and a Bobolink. Stopped at Earhart on the way home for RB Merganser. Got two of those plus a Red-throated Loon (June #4).

Sunday 6/2: With no early Swainson’s report, headed to the Blue Hills for another Pygmy Clubtail attempt and to be somewhat on the way if it did appear. Walked from Hillside Pond down to Unquity Bottom, family of creepers the interesting birds. Had a couple spiketails on one of the streams and then a whole bunch in the field. Back at the clubtail stream, I had one land in a dark spot for half a second on my first pass but got one sitting on a fern on the second. Also had a crossbill or two fly over. The pond was pretty quiet.

Continued to Squantum. Glossy Ibis and lots of egrets at the pans, Citrine Forktails, more ibis, and a Marsh Wren at Squantum Point Park.

Monday 6/3: Barred Owl, 5 warblers, etc at BBN.

Tuesday 6/4: YT Vireos and the rest of the usuals at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 5/22: Mostly breeding stuff at BBN, Blackburnian and maybe some redstarts the only real migrants. Bunch of first of year odes and butterflies including Familiar Bluets.

Thursday 5/23: 2 RB Grosbeaks at Cookson, nothing beyond a redstart by the dam.

Friday 5/24: Syrphids made up the excitement at Tanner’s Brook.

Saturday 5/25: Bug day out west. Started at High Ridge where I had FOY Veery and Alder Flycatcher plus a few warblers. Still a bit cool, but a few odes and butterflies about, although nothing of note. Back at the gate, there was a singing Mourning On to Old County Rd. More warblers on the way to the bog, plus a few more expected bugs. Finally got a Broad-wing at the bog along with Elfin Skimmers. Good finches around too including siskins and crossbills flyover over and a singing Purple. Last stop was Mass Audubon’s Lake Wompanoag. Nothing much in the woods. Ran into Tom in the field, watched the kestrel flying around a bit while telling him about the Mourning (apparently rarer than I realized out there). Silvery Blues all over but not much else. Gave a very quick stop back at Smith St, mostly to see if Tom had any luck. He and Eric didn’t, so home.

And actually the day began with 2(!) yard birds, a Pileated calling (presumably seen flying over the 128 ramp on my way out) and a Wood Thrush half singing.

Sunday 5/26: Pouring when I got up to lead a Great Meadows walk, still pouring when I started driving, but it was done and nice by the time we actually started. Virginia Rail, Sora, and Mourning Warbler plus 5 water snakes together were highlights. Went to Two Rod Rd for boghaunters after. No luck with those, but an Acadian was singing and very occasionally showing. Not first time I’ve made that trade.

Monday 5/27: Started at Great Meadows hoping the weather would put some shorebirds down (or down enough), but strong northeast winds probably ruined that. Pretty quiet, although a beaver on the trail was impressive and Hooded Merganser and a couple others things we missed yesterday were around. Went to the Raymond Reservation next. Usual stuff except for a Glossy Ibis. Did the state forest in Hudson, in mist and mosquitos next. Got 16 of the 25 birds I wanted to hit 50, which wasn’t too bad. Need to find some different habitat from here though.

Tuesday 5/28: Dunback had an Alder but not much else.