Wednesday 8/13: Usual at Weston Station Pond, Broad-wing the most interesting.
Thursday 8/14: Redstart, bunch of yellowthroats and orioles at Dunback. Felt like there was more that I just wasn’t finding.
Friday 8/15: Decided Hobbs Brook again was the best bet. Less shorebirds off road, although most of the same variety. Walked down towards the power lines with Cliff and shortly after we got there he said “there’s a turnstone over here”. Panicked a bit, but eventually got it in the scope (it was shockingly hard to find when it wasn’t moving). County 314, ‘commute’ 260, res 185, etc. More shorebirds at this end but that was the only one of interest. Did a loop of the hill when we finished as I didn’t quite have time to check anywhere else but nothing of any note there.
Wednesday 8/6: Pileated and nothing else at Prospect Hill. Lot of gulls on the res.
Thursday 8/7: Nothing much at BBN. Blue-winged, couple Night Herons, Hoodie still.
Friday 8/8: Good number of shorebirds at Hobbs Brook including first of fall Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Semipalmated Plover plus a hummingbird. Even more gulls at the res but all Ring-billed from what I could see. Took a break midmorning and found a Red-banded Hairstreak on the inside of the kitchen window.
Friday 6/27: Lots of swallows and an RB Nuthatch at BBN.
Saturday 6/28: Finally got out to Shirley for Grasshopper Sparrows. One or two were singing, although not visible. The field was hopping though, also had a Field Sparrow, a couple Savannahs, a meadowlark, and more. Got Shirley past 50, so moved on to Hudson. Started at Danforth Falls, which was mostly wooded and quiet in the mist. Got 5 of the 6 I needed there, so went to a trail along the Assabet. Parked at the boat launch instead of the school to avoid soccer traffic, figured no one cared with the weather. Got a few more here, so 5 towns to go for the entire county to be over 50. Best thing was a Short-tailed Weasel chasing a chipmunk around several trees. Pretty sure the chipmunk had already gotten away when the weasel saw me, but definitely at that point. Tried to find a spot in Maynard but didn’t see obvious parking, so went home.
After a pretty quiet morning Sunday, I made one last stop at the greenhouse side of the Waltham St. fields. The back corner has been good for Connecticut Warbler in the past, so I made a bit of a beeline there. Just a House Wren and a couple phoebes in the veggies. Working the back side, I saw one of the farm workers pull in. Waved hello, said hi to the dog, and worked my way to the front.
