Harvard/ Bolton Birds 4/19/07 (Glossy Ibis)

I checked out the water levels and birds at Bolton Flats this evening, but first stopped along the road to Still River canoe launch in Harvard. Among the typical assortment of blackbirds was an Eastern Meadowlark singing from a perch, atop a tree.

Eastern Meadowlark

Rte 117 was back opened and the water level had receeded enough to allow very limited parking along a few of pull-offs along rte 117. Ring-billed Gulls numbered about 300 and while there were no unusal gulls mixed in, there was a single Glossy Ibis, first reported by Barton Kamp a few days ago. It prefered to associate with the gulls, when they flew...it flew and would circle about and settle right back in with the Ring-bills. There was also 5 Greater Yellowlegs feeding in the shallow water, a single Wilson's Snipe flew past and good numbers of watefowl (certainly only a small fraction was visible from the road) .

Glossy Ibis ...always a prize in Worcester County

The lingering flood waters should make for a potentially attractive shorebird migration on Bolton Flats this spring.

Great Yellowlegs

This evening's highlights:

Canada Goose 150
Wood Duck 15
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 60
Green-winged Teal 20
Ring-necked Duck 30
Great Blue Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 6
Greater Yellowlegs 5
Wilson's Snipe 1
Ring-billed Gull 300
Mourning Dove 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 10
American Robin 20
European Starling 4
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Eastern Meadowlark 1
Common Grackle 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 10

A nice sunset over the hills of Leominster