Tag: yearinreview

Well another strange year. No travel again but a few local highlights.

Jan: Black-and-white to start the year, good gull show, some interesting overwintering birds (5 new January birds for the county).

Feb: Short-ears in Boston, finally got a phoebe in all 12 months, and that seems to be about it.

Mar: Black Vultures were a local surprise, early Great Egret, and a few arrivals.

Apr: A few Suffolk birds, a few Worcester ones, a Hooded Warbler, etc.

May: Maybe a state bird, still deciding how pure the ibis was. Missed Swainson’s Warbler unfortunately, Arctic Tern was a state and county bird, first odes, a shorebird show at Wachusett Res.

Jun: Surveys, a few Norfolk birds (but not the clubtail I wanted), the start of a Great Blue Skimmer invasion, and more.

Jul: County record Ski-tipped Emerald, an early Ring-necked Duck in Bristol, the start of shorebird shows, and a Zabulon Skipper in the yard.

Aug: Semipalmated Plover on patch, otters on the river, more shorebirds, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Great Meadows.

Sep: Crossbills and Ruffed Grouse in Worcester, refound the melanistic yellowlegs, Buff-breasted Sandpiper at School St was a ‘commute’ bird, a good hawkwatch, missed a patch Prothonotary (did get Blackburnian for the SRV).

Oct: Golden-winged Warbler, the same otters, crossbill in Concord, a decent cleanup of Norfolk, a Vesper Sparrow at Great Meadows, scoter fallout day, and the LeConte’s Sparrow at Wachusett made for a good month.

Nov: (Re)Found a Lark Sparrow, Iceland Gull in Lincoln, a Bullock’s Oriole, Thanksgiving Dickcissel.

Dec: Warbler show in Dover, Tundra Swan at Great Meadows, fulmar at Jodrey.

242 in state, 211 in county (Arctic Tern new for both, maybe WF Ibis for MA finally)

Only 39 butterflies, but 72 dragonflies (Great Blue Skimmer new for state and county, Ski-tipped Emerald and Banded Pennant also new for Middlesex). Didn’t look much at syrphids or robbers.

Did set a new ‘commute’ record with 190 species with 166 photographed and 103 audio recorded (Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Bullock’s new, 244 overall now).

Goals for 2023 are about the same as last year other than no ‘commute’ target. I’d like to get the Middlesex town lists under 50 all to 50 and work a bit more on my green list.

Local and lots of it. A picture or two a month:

January:

February:

March (same day!):

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

 

Didn’t leave MA, 233 in state, 207 in county. Added 3 in both (the stork and ibis above and a not mentioned Yellow Rail that flew in front of me and disappeared to start October. Added a few in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Worcester too plus one in Essex. The ‘commute’ list hit 178, 137 for the combined patches portion. Got to 100 in 10 local towns and hit 1574 combined total for the 16, which was way closer than I expected to my 1600 goal (another 2 days in May/September in Winchester, Woburn, and a little more effort in Newton and I would have hit that and might have come close to 13 to 100).

Spent less time on bugs. Only 35 butterflies, nothing new. Of 59 odes, Rambur’s Forktail and Scarlet Bluet were new for MA, don’t think I got anything new for the county but did get only my second Mottled Darner. New robbers were Atomosia puella and Stichopogon trifasciatus. A few interesting Syrphids although didn’t spend much time with them, and no effort at all on tiger beetles.

Limited goals for the year unless I can start traveling again: 150 photographed/75 audio recorded on the ‘commute’, reach 250 total for that (need 8, have 18 reasonable possibilities although if I haven’t had them in 7.5 years, reasonable may not be the right word), reach 5000 total Middlesex town ticks, and that’s about it.

Kind of a strange year, not much for migrants, especially in fall, but lots of rarities.

January: Finch show continued with grosbeaks being a bit more consistent at Dunback and Red Crossbills on patch. Shrike at Heard Pond was the first nice local bird of the year that others chased (although the DC Cormorant was probably rarer). Nashville at Belle Isle midmonth was quite good

February: Chased the Trumpeter Swan for the commute list but that and the roosting Long-ears in Boston were about it for the month.

March: Good flock of crossbills at Dunback, then an early night-heron in Watertown and a good morning at Bolton Flats to end the month was about it.

April: Added Ring-neck and Virginia Rail to the patch list, then Blue-winged Teal a week later. Lots of early Spotted Sandpipers, a moderate day in Bristol County, got a few new warblers for the month at the very end.

May: Decent migration. Grosbeaks stayed at Dunback through the first. Started a run of 4 or 5 straight visits to the Charles with a new patch bird. Dragonfly season finally started on the 11th. Birthday county bird with a Cattle Egret. Ended the month with Yellow-bellied Flycatchers everywhere.

June: Lots of survey work, a cool robber fly at Horn Pond Mountain, first Tropical Kingbird of the year, and a few interesting odes.

July: Walden BioBlitz was a fun start.Texas trip was great for odes plus the 2 expected life birds. Comet Darners and Carolina Saddlebags by the res, then the NE DSA meeting.

August: Martha’s Pennants on Watatic, start of a shorebird show on patch and some other migrants.

September: Slow migration.

October: Birds of the year both turned up on patch with Hudsonian Godwit and Tropical Kingbird. Laughing Gull fallout midmonth, Purple Gallinule in Milton, Ipswich Sparrow in Framingham.

November: Started with the Pacific-slope Flycatcher in Hadley (plus a nice flock of Brant at Quabbin), then finished with the Franklin’s Gull in Quincy/Milton.

December: Fairly quiet, windy CBC, not much else.

So overall 3 life birds (the 2 central TX specialties and the PS Flycatcher), 3 state birds (Purple Gallinule, PS Flycatcher, Franklin’s Gull), and 3 county birds (Cattle Egret, Hudsonian Godwit, Tropical Kingbird), 4 Waltham birds (Red Crossbill, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Hudsonian Godwit, and Laughing Gull), 8 BBN/RM patch birds (Red Crossbill, Ring-necked Duck, Virginia Rail, Blue-winged Teal, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, godwit, kingbird, and Bald Eagle), 5 Cambridge Res birds (Cliff Swallow, Tennessee and Bay-breasted Warblers, American Woodcock, and Laughing Gull), and 5 Charles birds (Brown Thrasher, Bay-breasted Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Eastern Screech-Owl, Blue-winged Warbler). Decent amount of other county birds, got to 2000 total ticks in MA. Barely hit the easy goal of 150 workday SRV birds.

Haven’t added up the bugs yet, but several new for the county (Comet Darner, Carolina Saddlebags, Martha’s Pennant) along with all the Texas lifers (24ish). No clue about butterflies. Started looking at Syrphids (12 species this year) and slowly learning Asilids.

Goals for 2020: 600 ABA, 390 MA, 306 Middlesex, get Norfolk to 200, Hampden, Hampshire, and/or Berkshire to 100. Middlesex town ticks to 4400 and get at least 5 more over the 100 mark. Continue pushing month lists along (got at least one new bird for state and county every month this year). Try for 165 Cambridge region commute birds. No specific bug goals.

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.

January: Fairly quiet month, Brewer’s Duck at Salisbury, White-winged Doves in the Fenway, and that was about it.

February: Snowy month, a commuting milestone and the Redhead moving to the Charles plus Barrow’s Goldeneye on Deer Island

March: Smith’s Longspur was the only lifer of the year. Lots of missing Ross’s Goose, did get a Glaucous Gull as some compensation.

April: Caught up with the Eurasian Wigeon in Marlboro on the third attempt. Got my only new Great Meadows bird for the year with a turkey. A Bristol county trip built that list a bit, as did a couple trips to the airport in NH. A good bunch of early migrants ended the month plus first insects of the year.

May: Orchard Oriole was a yard bird, Prairie Warbler was a Charles bird, a bunch of Suffolk birds, Prothonotary at Fresh Pond, got to 100 in Burlington, and was honestly a fairly slow migration. Also first central MA bug trip of the year was fairly good. Ended the month with a Hooded Warbler at Hobbs Brook (plus 3 other new birds for the res).

June: Found another Prothonotary, went out to Worcester where we missed the target dragonfly but got an Olive-sided, then went to the DSA meeting which I haven’t written up yet but was fairly good. On return, got Winchester to 100, a late Black-and-white at BBN, and Norm’s Grasshopper Sparrow in the Henslow field (which I probably had and didn’t pay attention to at the end of May). Finished the month with a central MA swing and filled some holes in my county ode list.

July: Added Slender Bluet to my county ode list, a first Squantum run, the usual on the Concord butterfly count, then the NE DSA meeting, which had some nice northern stuff. Finished the month by filling some holes in my Suffolk and Norfolk lists.

August: Missed a Suffolk Sora but had a few other things, then explored Ashby, had a trickle of fall migrants, a Great Egret at BBN, and a quick trip to Plum midmonth had a Black Tern. Ended with a Ruffed Grouse in Townsend, then Caspian Tern and Wilson’s Phalarope in Squantum.

September: Started getting decent numbers of fall migrants (for a couple days at least). Lousy weather for the annual Berkshire trip but got a Cape May and a few others plus made a brief Connecticut trip that added a bunch. Also filled a bunch more Suffolk (and Norfolk) gaps. Twelve(!) Red-necked Grebes at the res on the 23rd were on of the year’s highlights.

October: Grasshopper Sparrow at Rock Meadow, a Plymouth run in poor weather, and then Brant at Farm Pond. A Worcester county run was mostly bust, but more Caspian Terns in Squantum plus a Vesper Sparrow at Great Pond. Finished the month with Winter Wren finally at the res and a late Short-billed Dowitcher and gannets in Winthrop.

November: Tried some late hawkwatching but didn’t get any of the unlikely targets. Got in on the YB Cuckoo influx with one at BBN and the  Dunlin influx (but in Worcester county). Veteran’s Day weekend was rather crazy with Tundra Swan and Hammond’s Flycatcher major highlights and then a Snow Bunting on patch. The BT Gray on Thanksgiving was a county bird. Townsend’s Solitaire and some other stuff in a Bristol county run, then owls all over the place locally before missing an Ash-throated.

December: Second Hammond’s of the year (and my 4th in MA), then a few more Suffolk birds. CBC scouting turned up a Chat and a Long-eared Owl. Chat cooperated on the count, but had to make do with a Barred instead (although up to 5 Long-ears have been seen since). Rough-legs at Dunback rounded out the year nicely.

New birds: Smith’s Longspur

New MA birds: Smith’s Longspur

New Middlesex birds: Tundra Swan, Black-throated Gray Warbler

New Waltham birds: Yellow-breasted Chat

New odes: Eastern Ringtail and Cobra Clubtail in VA, Crimson-ringed Whiteface and Ringed Emerald up north. Slender Bluet and Belted Whiteface were new for MA, those plus Amber-winged Spreadwing for Middlesex.

New butterflies: Hackberry Emperor in VA, Veined/Mustard White in NH. Nothing new for state and county.

Of the multitude of goals, most were too ambitious. Did meet Norfolk to 100 and Suffolk to 175 plus got my Middlesex total town ticks to 3500 and got Burlington, Cambridge, and Winchester to 100 and the patch list to 170. Made some progress on most month lists but most of those were ambitious. Fell just short of 300 in Middlesex, a bit short in Worcester, and didn’t travel enough for the life list or chase enough for MA, although I’m not sure I could have reached my goal of 390 even if I did more chasing. Patch year lists were a bit low mostly because I spent more time working on other projects (and there were no shorebirds for the res).

That makes goals for 2018 easy though. All the month lists and bigger lists can have the same goal. Also want to start part 2 of the Middlesex town list project (getting 100 in every town, part 1 was the 17 closest), so adding to a bunch of barely visited places will be easy.

January: Good start to the year with Lesser Yellowlegs, Mountain Bluebird, and Hammond’s Flycatcher all on the 2nd. My prediction of doubling my state list at that rate didn’t quite come true though. Good numbers of ducks on the res later in the month, owls calling from the yard, and traded the Smith’s Longspur at Bear Creek for a puffin at Andrew’s to end the month.

February: Pelagic finally got me a fulmar and lots of other birds but that was about it for the month.

March: Went up to Vermont for Nymphfest, which was a good time and had Bohemians at the hotel. Western Grebe in Winthrop, then the Yellow-billed Loon and Mew Gull at Race Point.

April: First bugs of the year, but otherwise a fairly quiet month.

May: Missed White-faced Ibis again, had a good weekend in Concord, Black Vulture on Birdathon, Acadian at Assabet, and the usual migrants. Ended the month with the Prothonotary at Great Meadows.

June: Maine Snaketail was my 100th dragonfly in county plus the usual breeders and some other good bugs. Heard only Clapper Rail was a state bird to upgrade.

July: DSA meeting added a bunch of lifers in Nevada and Utah and was a great time. Might finish the report one of these days. Shorebird show at the res and Hobbs Brook began with ibis and a Little Blue.

August: Migrant warblers started arriving, plus the shorebird show at Horn Pond got really good. Laughing Gull in Everett was only my second for the county and a YT Vireo was a Beaver Brook North patch bird. Ended with month with county recordBig Bluet at the Earhart Dam

September: RN Phalarope at Millennium was better than the one at Flint’s since it was 10 feet away. Shorebird show at the res continued with a Stilt Sandpiper and some more White-rumps. Pelagic ended the month, my highlight was South Polar Skua.

October: Leach’s at Heard Pond was one of the year’s highlights (would have been the highlight had I not ignored the odd stick in the water…). Shorebird show continued, Vesper Sparrow was a patch and Waltham bird, and ended the month with successful chases for Harris’s Sparrow and Gray Kingbird. Did miss Bell’s Vireo and Yellow Rail, but Seaside Sparrow and Sedge Wren balanced that out.

November: Hammond’s Flycatcher and Western Tanager were rather nice locally.

December: Started with good warblers along the Charles before a Pink-footed Goose at the res. Then refound the goose at Nine Acre. Tanager was still at Dunback, which was a bit of a surprise. Quiet CBC, then finished with Nashville and another warbler on the Mystic and the lingering Ovenbird at Horn Pond.

Totals: 316 overall, 261 MA, 204 Middlesex, 146 Waltham, 115 BBN/Rock Meadow, 99 Charles, 121 Cambridge Res

New birds (11): Hammond’s Flycatcher (1/2, Fairhaven), Northern Fulmar (2/7, offshore), Yellow-billed Loon (3/19, Race Point), Abert’s Towhee (7/11, Clark County Wetlands), Lucy’s Warbler (7/12, Desert NWR—Corn Creek), American Dipper and California Condor (7/13, Zion NP), Franklin’s Gull and California Quail (7/16, Utah Lake), Harris’s Sparrow (10/27, Westboro WMA), Gray Kingbird (10/29, Hyannis)

Additional MA birds (12): Mountain Bluebird (1/2, Crane WMA), Hammond’s Flycatcher (1/2, Fairhaven), Atlantic Puffin (1/31, Andrew’s Point), Northern Fulmar (2/7, offshore), Western Grebe (3/12, Winthrop), Yellow-billed Loon (3/19, Race Point), Clapper Rail (6/25, Fairhaven), South Polar Skua (9/24, offshore), Harris’s Sparrow (10/27, Westboro WMA), Gray Kingbird (10/29, Hyannis), Seaside Sparrow (10/29, Fort Hill), Western Tanager (11/13, Dunback)

Additional Middlesex birds (3): Black Vulture (5/14, Carlisle), Hammond’s Flycatcher (11/11, Fells), Western Tanager (11/13, Dunback)

Additional Waltham birds (3): Semipalmated Plover (10/10, Cambridge Res), Vesper Sparrow (10/13, BBN), Pink-footed Goose (12/4, Cambridge Res)

Additional BBN/Rock Meadow birds: Yellow-throated Vireo (8/24)

Additional Charles birds: Orange-crowned Warbler (12/4)

Additional Cambridge Res birds (11): Hermit Thrush (4/10), Willow Flycatcher (5/22), Little Blue Heron and Glossy Ibis (7/20), Brown Thrasher (8/31), Stilt Sandpiper and White-rumped Sandpiper (9/7), Rusty Blackbird (10/15), Long-billed Dowitcher and Sharp-shinned Hawk (10/23), Pink-footed Goose (12/4)

Odes: 111 overall, 75 MA/Middlesex

New Odes: 23 overall, 2 MA, 4 Middlesex 

Butterflies: 50 overall, 42 MA, 41 Middlesex

New Butterflies 3 overall, 2 MA/Middlesex

Bug numbers probably pending a few photos that I haven’t checked.

Goals for next year: patch lists to 170 each, county list to 300, state list to 390, 175 new county ticks statewide, 300 new town ticks in Middlesex, life list to 600, clear out the wanted lists for odes and butterflies.

Interesting year. Less time in the field, especially in winter. Ok spring and early fall and nothing for most of the fall.

January: Started with a bang with the (rejected) Prairie Falcon. That was followed with the Black-backed Woodpecker and Barn Owl and then quieted down as the snow and cold moved in.

February: Too cold and/or snowy for most of the month but slogging around the river each weekend was good with the Rough-leg and Bohemians (plus some redpolls).

March: Quiet overall beyond the fox.

April: Started with the early Greater Yellowlegs on the 1st. An otter, Vesper Sparrow, Sora, first dragonfly, and Yellow-throated Warbler made for an ok month.

May: Purple Martin on the 5th, otter at the duck ponds, Arctic Skipper and dragonflies in Townsend, and picked up plus the usual migrants.

June: Early Bronze Copper and Alder Flycatchers in several locations were highlights, as was the DSA meeting.

July: Eastern Red Damsels at the Cranberry Bog were a much wanted ode, a mantispid on the door for several days, and the usual start of fall migration.

August: Started with county record Variable Darner on the 1st, Snowy Egret and Purple Martins at Hobbs Brook, Zebra Clubtails in Shirley, flyover Dickcissel at Great Meadows, and the Lark Sparrow at College Pond made for a pretty good month.

September: The Buff-breasted over Great Meadows was the main highlight in a fairly quiet month.

October: The wheatear made for a nice start and the longspur and Long-tailed Ducks were a decent finish but there wasn’t much else.

November: MacGillivray’s and another Lark Sparrow were good early. Ground-Dove and Cave Swallows midmonth and then a nice seabird show on the Cape.

December: The Clay-colored and Ash-throated were the main highlights.

Totals: 245 birds (242 in MA, 205 in county), 7 (counting the Prairie Falcon) were new for the state, 3 were new for county, 4 for Waltham, 2 for the BBN/Rock Meadow patch, 6 for the Charles, and 7 for the Cambridge Res. 85 dragonflies (80 in MA, 79 in county, 3 new overall, 7 new for both MA and the county). Only 52 butterflies (48 in county, nothing elsewhere in MA) with 1 new overall and 1 for the state and county. Over 1350 local town ticks, bringing me over 2300 total.

Goals for 2016: State list to 380, county list to 300 (that’s unlikely), 1500 local town ticks and get the remaining 4 towns over 100 (and get another 4 to 150). County ode list to 100 and state butterfly list to 90.

January:

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

No travel, which needs to change. Only 1 lifer (Ruff), but 8 county birds (Glaucous Gull, Caspian Tern, Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Rufous Hummingbird, Whimbrel, Long-billed Dowitcher, Leach’s Storm-Petrel, Lapland Longspur), and the tern and hummer were state birds as well (plus the Ruff obviously). Only 1 new bird for the Beaver Brook/Rock Meadow patch (Lesser Yellowlegs), but 7 for the Charles (Red-shouldered Hawk, Fox Sparrow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Ovenbird, Yellow-breasted Chat, Scarlet Tanager, and Tennessee Warbler). Caspian Tern was the only Waltham addition. Five for the yard (GH Owl, YB Cuckoo, Raven, Peregrine, BG Gnatcatcher).

Insectwise, White Corporal, Golden-winged Skimmer, and Brush-tipped Emerald were new odes in the county. Bog Copper and Silver-bordered Fritillary were state and county butterflies.

As for my county tick project, I broke 100 in 16 cities and am pushing towards 3000 town ticks.

Goals for next year: county ode list to 100 (9 away), county list to 295 (4 away), life list to 600 (40+ away), catch up with a few of the overdue state birds. And get the rest of the 2-town area over 100 (Burlington and Weston easy, Winchester, Arlington, and Bedford maybe).

January:

(No photos of the county Red Crossbill)

February: 

 

(Repeat of that, not that bird)

March:

April: 

May:

June:

July:

August:

Plus the cameraless Lark Sparrow

September: 

October:

November:

(And Short-eared)

December:

Not much travel this year.  Four lifers, all in MA. Two additional state birds. Five county birds and three for Waltham. Five new yard birds (and 82 total!). For the Beaver Brook/Rock Meadow patch, 127 total with 8 additions. For the Charles, 105 with 7 additions.

For the bugs: 5 new odes (4 for the state, 6 for the county) and 2 new butterflies (3 for the county).

 

January:

Plus continuing Lark Sparrow, Cassin’s Kingbird, Barnacle Goose, etc.

February:

March:

 

FOY for the country I think.

April:

With 4 Horned Grebes too

May:

June:

July:

and

August:

September:

October:

And a second Connecticut

And a bunch of New Mexico stuff.

December:

 

For the year, 18 lifers (9 FL, 1 SC, 1 ME, 1 RI, 1 MA, 5 NM), 3 state birds, 2 county birds, 6 new for Waltham, and 4 for the yard. For the bugs, 24 new dragonflies (11 FL, 13 SC) and 1 for the state, 11 new butterflies (maybe more, still sorting through a few FL ones I think but 7 FL, 3 SC, 1 MA) and 2 for the state.

Birds of the year: Wood Sandpiper nationally, Black-bellied Whistling-Duck for MA, Least Tern locally.

Bug of the year: Phantom and Swamp Darners, Giant Swallowtail.