Nice series of events last night and this morning:
Laptop keyboard and trackpad stops working.
Make Apple store appointment for the morning.
Decide that even though it’s raining, might as well stop at Arlington Res on the way and hopefully find the Blue Grosbeak.
Arrive at Arlington Res, take quick look at berm.
That bird looks rather white.
Run back to car for scope.
Confirm Sanderling, county bird #275 (and 25th shorebird).
As promised, chased the Pink-footed Goose today. After driving around Nine Acre Corner and vicinity a bit, we finally stopped at Davis Field. Fortunately, Officer Harris pulled in right next to us and directed us to the back field. After a good bit of searching, we successfully located the goose in the back corner. Views were basically head and neck but good enough.
In the afternoon, we returned with my mother. Pulling in, we were immediately told to go across the street (Frost Farm, which is private but seemed to be open for access for now). The goose was preening on the side of the pond with much better views (if not exactly better photos).
Tuesday 8/24: Checked Cambridge Res before work. At least 2 terns were still around. Ran over to the north side as well, found the Red-shouldered but nothing else.
Wednesday 8/25: Hardy Pond in the rain without anything of note.
Thursday 8/26: Prospect Hill at lunch had a redstart. Led a BBC/MBC walk at Great Meadows in the evening. Had about 150 very distant nighthawks and tons of swallows but shorebirds were nonexistent.
Tuesday 8/17: Paine had a couple Red-breasted Nuthatches and not much else.
Wednesday 8/18: Dunback before work was pretty quiet. Two Brown Thrashers, 2 Warbling Vireos, 1 kingbird on the move, and a ton of flickers were about it. Prospect Hill was dead at lunch. Surprise yard bird at night when several Least Sandpipers flew over.
Thursday 8/19: Duck ponds had sandpipers finally: 4 Solitary (3 juv), 1 Spotted, 1 Least (juv), 1 Semipalmated (juv). Also two redstarts, assuming migrants but still wondering after the one in early July.
After this morning’s birding, I came home, watched tennis, and then took a nap. Not too long after getting up, the doorbell rang. John Hines was passing by and figured I might want to know that he just had found a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at the Cambridge Res. After last year’s screwup, this was a very wanted bird in the county for me.
I got boots, camera, and binoculars in seconds and five minutes later we were at the res. Fortunately, the bird was right where John had left it and it stayed in the general area for the few minutes we watched. It was dark and the bird was behind vegetation, but I managed a couple passable photos of county bird #271:
The Fenway MacGillivray’s isn’t the only one currently in Massachusetts. One was found on 11/21 in Medford by Anna Piccolo. It’s in an area that’s less accessible than Fenway and isn’t as cooperative, but it’s a new bird for me in the county so I headed over today.
After a bit of GPS confusion, we arrived at Wright’s Pond and started to look for the correct spot. Luckily, Leslie and Barry were walking out successfully. They told us that there were plenty of people looking so we hurried over.
Yet another tip from John Hines today and yet another county bird.
Surf Scoters, Heard’s Pond, Wayland
Finally caught up with a Lark Sparrow in state and county, this one being found yesterday by Karsten Hartel at Danehy Park in Cambridge.
With a Savannah
Heavily processed as it was totally backlit, but Middlesex county #265, Yellow-headed Blackbird.
Excerpt from an email I sent last Sunday about the Iceland Gull:
Now to find a Glaucous and a Lesser Black-back…
One of the first birds I looked at Wednesday along the same stretch of river:
