Tag: weekinreview

Wednesday 10/17: Purgatory Cove had fewer Wood Ducks and GW Teal but about the same of other stuff. Good number of coot starting to build at Charlesban.

Thursday 10/18: Prospect Hill was fairly quiet. Flyover siskin, Cooper’s or three, 3+ Hermit Thrush.

Friday 10/19: Hardy Pond: coot, 47 Ruddy. Cambridge Res: eagle, Ruddy, Hooded Merganser.

Saturday 10/20: Went to check Cambridge Res ahead of the road race, pretty much nothing there. Continued to the north end where there was a peep visible from the road. Almost positive it was a White-rump but a little too far. While watching that, a raven and 4 Pine Siskins flew over. After it disappeared, I walked to the other section to check there. Stopped at the driveway by the powerlines on the way and a Clay-colored Sparrow was sitting up. Spotted Sandpiper and 2 Greater Yellowlegs but no peep. Continued on to Arlington Res where there were 2 Solitaries and a Lesser Yellowlegs along with a few Gadwall. Busa was loaded with sparrows but they were almost all Song and White-throated.

Sunday 10/21: Twitch. Quick pass of Cambridge Res on the way home had 2 Pied-billed Grebes and not much else.

Monday 10/22: Rock Meadow: another Orange-crowned.

Tuesday 10/23: Went to West Meadow before work. Checked along the parkway first, tons of juncos and not much else. At the meadow, an adult White-crowned and first of fall American Tree Sparrow. Lots of blackbirds too. Duck ponds were pretty quiet later.

Wednesday 10/10: Purgatory Cove was about the same, but a couple more teal, and a Ring-neck and PB Grebe on the river replacing the pintails. Three Pied-billed Grebes at Hardy Pond on the way to work.

Thursday 10/11: Duck ponds: 5 Wood Duck, 1 kingfisher, many Yellow-rumps, 2 Blackpoll. Red-tail sitting in a neighbor’s yard in the afternoon was a bit odd.

Friday 10/12: Rock Meadow before work: cuckoo (apparently a Black-billed), more of the usual. Cambridge Res: eagle, 4 coot.

Saturday 10/13: Led a trip to Waltham St. About 30 Rusty Blackbirds, several Purple Finches, and a White-crowned Sparrow were the main highlights. Went to the Cambridge Res after and was rather surprised by 3 Red-necked Grebes and a White-winged Scoter (plus a Greater Scaup). Continued to Flint’s expecting something good but 2 black ducks were it.

Sunday 10/14: Eventually went out in the rain late morning. Cambridge Res again: different scaup, 50+ Ring-necks, 3 Hooded Merganser. North end: Greater Yellowlegs. Meriam’s Corner/Kaveski Farm: 150+ pipits, adult White-crowned, Field Sparrow, etc. Rain finally stopped so Great Meadows too: 5 Pectoral Sandpiper, 1 snipe, 1 Blue-winged Teal, 50+ Green-winged Teal, 4 Pintail, 6 pipits on the ground, harrier, Merlin.

Monday 10/15: Paine was too windy for anything.

Tuesday 10/16: Almost too dark to go out in the morning, but went to Rock Meadow anyway. Lincoln’s Sparrow, 2 Indigo Buntings, and (finally) patch tick Orange-crowned Warbler. West Meadow was too windy later (still an Orange Sulphur and some darners flying around).

Wednesday 10/3: Purgatory Cove started with the typical teal and Wood Ducks. Checked the river and found 6 wigeon and first of fall coot. Back at the car, there was a flock moving through so I gave it a couple minutes. First of fall Golden-crowned Kinglet was followed by a Charles River tick Black-throated Green Warbler, a Parula, and a Blackpoll among the many Yellow-rumps. Then the jays squawked a bit. I looked up and something slim and fairly large flew over. Took a second to go from gull to falcon, which turned into an even better surprise when I got bins on it and saw white wing patches. Nighthawk! Way late, new for the Charles, and my 180th lunch hour bird (or not, forgot to mark down Semipalmated Plover and Pectoral Sandpiper at least)!

Thursday 10/4: Shoveler at Hardy Pond in the morning. North end of the Cambridge Res had a Spotted, 2 Pectoral, and 4 Least Sandpipers, plus an egret, bunches of Yellow-rumps, and at least 7 pipits.

Friday 10/5: Add a Dickcissel to the grosbeak. West Meadow at lunch had 3 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and a Scarlet Tanager. Probably a siskin but a little too far to feel confident of the call. Something in the afternoon too.

Saturday 10/6: Joined the MBC trip to Waltham St, which was on the quiet side beyond Purple Finches and a snipe. We continued to the Cambridge Res, where a White-crowned Sparrow was my first of the year and a siskin flew over. Pipits, egret, and Least Sandpipers continued. Then back to Dunback for more Purple Finches. I stopped at BBN and the West Meadow again on the way home. Birds were pretty minimal but butterflies included a Wild Indigo Duskywing and a Buckeye.

Sunday 10/7: Morning walk around Rock Meadow: Sapsucker, White-crowned Sparrow, many Pine Siskins (which were a patch tick, not sure how after the invasion a few years ago). Stopped at Waltham St. for a few minutes and flushed the snipe from the exact same spot and then (re)found a Clay-colored Sparrow. Chased the pintails John Hines had found at Purgatory Cove a little later, with success (3rd Charles tick in a week!). Also up to 23 Green-winged Teal and 6 coot, plus more of the same.

Monday 10/8: Attempted to take advantage of the holiday by twitching the Purple Gallinule found in Norfolk yesterday. Decided to stop at Millenium Park in West Roxbury on the way. After a bit of a construction/gps detour, I had a pretty good time at Millenium with 2 Great Egret, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Rusty Blackbird, 2 Nashville Warblers, and a bunch of siskins among the common stuff. Unfortunately then reached Stony Brook a couple hours too late for the gallinule. Two hours looking did turn up a bunch of both teal, some Tree Swallows, and other regular stuff. Finished the day with 10 Suffolk county and 19 Norfolk county ticks.

Tuesday 10/9: Prospect Hill was pretty birdy. Started with a flock of siskins as I rounded the curve by the tanks. They had moved on by the time I ate and got back down there (and scoped the res), but a flock of warblers was moving through including a Parula, Nashville, Blackpoll, a bunch of Yellow-rumps, and a Blue-headed Vireo. Three Hermit Thrushes further on and then down to the end of Whitney. Palm and BT Blue on the way. Heading back, I found probably the same flock, which also included a couple Pines and a BT Green.

Wednesday 9/26: Nothing doing.

Thursday 9/27: BBN and West Meadow before work, nothing too interesting. Same teal and not much else at Purgatory Cove later. BBC/MBC trip to Great Meadows in the evening had a nice duck flight plus good numbers of herons and shorebirds.

Friday 9/28: Hardy Pond: 2 Ring-necks, 6 Ruddy. Very surprising Horned Grebe at the Cambridge Res. Not up for searching Bird Observer records, but only one other inland September record in eBird (from the Quabbin earlier this year). Lovely phone-scoped photo in the rain:

Saturday 9/29: No Horned Grebe, but 2 Pied-billeds on the res, another at Hardy Pond, and a Common Loon at Flint’s. Great Cormorant at Arlington Res. Also some sparrows.

Sunday 9/30: Original plan was to check School St fields in Acton and then Meriam’s Corner and nearby areas. It started raining on the way, so after seeing nothing at the fields, I went to Great Meadows instead. Wasn’t too much unusual there, but a swift and swallow flock flew in and there was a BT Green down near the river (which was new for me at Great Meadows). Started raining heavily again, so I went home instead of over to the fields.

Monday 10/1: Duck ponds were quiet in the wind. Lots of Wood Ducks and robins but little else. Yellow-rumps and stuff around the neighborhood.

Tuesday 10/2: Joined the MBC trip to Rock Meadow for a few minutes in the morning. Pipits were very nice but I couldn’t stay long enough for the sapsucker. Turkeys, a Gray Hairstreak, and first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the fall at Prospect Hill made for an ok trip but then a spectacular Connecticut Warbler popped up.

Wednesday 9/19: BBN was pretty quiet. Good variety of dragonflies but the flock of warblers didn’t show up until I had to leave.

Thursday 9/20: Made quick trip to the UMass Field Station in the morning. Barely had time to check the community garden portion but had a Lincoln’s, Swamp, and White-throat. Prospect Hill at lunch had 3 ravens and a sharpie.

Friday 9/21: Hardy Pond before work: kingfisher, Chimney Swifts, Blackpoll. Purgatory Cove: Wigeon, 5 GW Teal, 50+ Wood Duck, 22 Mute Swan (ugh), 3 Rough-winged Swallow.

Saturday 9/22: Cambridge Res to Waltham St. to Rock Meadow to Met State, posted most on ArlingtonBirds but add a Field Sparrow at the north end of the res and Purple Finches at Waltham St.

Sunday 9/23: Led MBC trip to Lincoln where Karsten found a Blue Grosbeak. Farm Meadow was hopping with common stuff as well. Lindentree was quiet by the time we got there.

Monday 9/24: West Meadow was quiet at lunch. Dunback in the afternoon looking for Western Kingbird. Another nice Merlin, plus a Virginia Rail(!).

Tuesday 9/25: Rock Meadow started with a Blackburnian in the parking lot. A fertilizer truck was driving all over the fields, so stuck to the gardens where I found 2 Indigo Buntings and not much else.

Wednesday 9/12: Nothing exciting at Hardy Pond.

Thursday 9/13: Rock Meadow before work: Palm Warbler among a handful of others. Green-winged Teal at Purgatory Cove.

Friday 9/14: Prospect Hill: Redstart and pewee at the base. Walked up to the water tanks and back and saw one bird on the hill. It was a Connecticut Warbler.

Saturday 9/15: Arlington Res: Dickcissel at Busa, not much else. Up in NH for a wedding, lots of Monarchs along the beach. Quick stop at Cambridge Res had something:

Sunday 9/16: Started at the Wayland Community Gardens with first of fall Lincoln’s Sparrow and Blue-headed Vireo. Moved on to Assabet River NWR hoping for crossbills. No luck but one nice flock of warblers and a Field Sparrow, plus first of fall White-throated Sparrows (and probably a junco).

Monday 9/17: Rock Meadow and BBN: 10 warblers, almost all in good numbers. Also Scarlet Tanager, Lincoln’s Sparrow, many White-throated Sparrows, a Wood Thrush, etc. Tried to pad the list up to 50 with a stop at the duck ponds. Didn’t quite get there but did have a Swainson’s Thrush (to balance out the one that got away at BBN).

Tuesday 9/18: Paine: borderline late Ovenbird, Parula, Pine Warbler, couple RB Nuthatches. Likely more but looking up into the gray sky made things impossible.

Wednesday 9/5: 60+ Wood Ducks and a couple Spotted Sandpipers at Purgatory Cove (sandpipers and half of the ducks on the river). Cambridge Res after work had a nighthawk but otherwise about the same.

Thursday 9/6: Prospect Hill in the morning was on the quiet side. Two parula, a Blackpoll, a Pine, a Redstart, and lots of RB Nuthatches. More nuthatches at Paine.

Friday 9/7: Just about nothing at BBN.

Saturday 9/8: Walked to Rock Meadow. Redstarts all along, Black-and-white and Blackpoll at Lot 1, Wilson’s and 2 Bobolink at the West Meadow, and a Canada Warbler at BBN.

Sunday 9/9: Started at Great Meadows which was pretty quiet. About 20 Least Sandpipers and a Solitary at the Cambridge Res. Decided to stop at Hayden Woods on the way back and found one flock with a couple Parula, Blackpoll, and Scarlet Tanagers.

Monday 9/10: BBN in the morning: turkey (in flight), Redstart, Bobolink were it. Wild Indigo Duskywings at Prospect Hill at lunch, but next to no birds.

Tuesday 9/11: Rock Meadow was pretty quiet but I did eventually dig up a parula.

Wednesday 8/29: Green Heron and Gray Hairstreak (yet another butterfly patch tick) at the duck ponds, very little else.

Thursday 8/30: Morning run around Rock Meadow: patch tick Bay-breasted (finally), BT Green, Black-and-white, Chestnut-sided, 3 Warbling Vireo, 2 RB Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole, 2 hummingbirds. BBN at lunch: BT Green, Shadow and Green-striped Darners, Spotted Spreadwings. More spreadwings and 2 Turkey Vultures during a fire drill at work.

Friday 8/31: Cambridge Res again. Two Pectorals, a few Semipalmated Sandpipers, the usual.

Saturday 9/1: Out to Otis for the weekend. Didn’t leave the porch but had probably 400-500 Monarchs plus a kestrel and probable harrier.

Sunday 9/2: Explored Otis State Forest. Ended up with 11 species of warbler including a Tennessee, plus Least Flycatcher, Black-billed Cuckoo, and a few other things.

Monday 9/3: Nothing of note out west, but a quick check of the Cambridge Res had about the same as Friday.

Tuesday 9/4: BBN before work: Yellow-billed Cuckoo (oops, forgot to update the list at the time and this was #100 for the patch year list) and parula. Swallows at Hardy Pond at lunch, nothing at the Cambridge Res.

Wednesday 8/22: Nothing doing at Rock Meadow but good stuff later.

Thursday 8/23: Blue-winged Teal at Purgatory Cove. Great Meadows BBC trip in the evening was fairly quiet. Little Blue and Snowy Egret showed fairly well but the circling shorebirds and blackbirds did not.

Friday 8/24: Few RB Nuthatches at Paine.

Saturday 8/25: Long walk around Prospect Hill. Olive-sided Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Canada Warbler, 25+ RB Nuthatch. Would have been better if the possible Mourning Warbler popped up for another couple seconds of viewing. Stopped at north end of the Cambridge Res after, all the usual shorebirds plus 4 Great Egrets.

Sunday 8/26: BBN: Blackburnian, Parula, Raven, Solitary Sandpiper.

Monday 8/27: North end of the Cambridge Res was pretty quiet.

Tuesday 8/28: Bank Swallows at Hardy Pond before work.

Wednesday 8/15: North end of Cambridge Res was pretty quiet.

Thursday 8/16: West Meadow: 2 deer, family of RB Grosbeaks, and Fiery Skipper (3rd butterfly patch tick in 2 weeks).

Friday 8/17: Busy day. BBN before work: lots of warblers, mostly redstarts but Black-and-white, couple Yellows, and a Chestnut-sided. Also Red-breasted Nuthatches, gnatcatcher, and a Bobolink. Duck ponds at lunch were quiet (and flooded, especially the path below). Sitting outside at home in the afternoon, I looked up from the laptop and was stared down by a hummingbird (#97 for me in the yard).

Saturday 8/18: RB Nuthatch flyover down the street. Eventually wandered to Great Meadows where I got both the Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron (nice views of the egret but the heron did its best to keep as far away as possible) but nothing else. Quick stop at the Cambridge Res on the way home had 4 Least, 1 Solitary, 1 Spotted, and 4 Killdeer along the road and a couple more killdeer elsewhere.

Sunday 8/19: Dunback: Wilson’s, 4+ Yellow, 3+ Redstart, Olive-sided Flycatcher, grosbeaks and hummingbirds everywhere.

Monday 8/20: BBN: couple Chestnut-sideds on the hill were overshadowed by a Broad-winged Hawk circling with a Red-tail at the top (patch #150!). Another Chestnut-sided and a Blue-winged down below.

Tuesday 8/21: Prospect Hill had a stunning fresh Blackburnian plus a BT Green and Black-and-white. Vulture over the yard followed eventually by 2 nighthawks.