Raven Nest in Ashburnham 5/28/07

Northern Ravens have not been an uncommon species in northern Worcester County for many years. None the less, I was pleased to find a Raven's nest, with an adult and 4 fully grown young and another adult calling from the wood , near by, in a nest a few hundred yards off Rte 12 in Ashburham. In the Ashburnham 3 block of the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas project.
Note the Raven's nest toward the upper left side of the support tower
The adult Croaking away, I cut my trip short so as not to upset these birds for too long.

Veery Nest Pisgah State Park (NH) 5/25/07

Chuck Caron and I were birding on Old Chesterfield Road in Pisgah State Park, in south west New Hampshire, on Firday 5/25. I noticed a bird flushed from only 5 feet in front of us, this thrush was a Veery and perched about 20 feet away. We immediatley suspected it had a nest in front of us, only a few feet from the road (a lightly used dirt road). I was able to find a nest (with a dead leaf in it) and said "here is a nest", Chuck pointed out "it must be last year's, because here is one with 4 eggs in it". These 2 nests, the old and new, were only about 12 inches apart and a foot or two off the road.

An old Veery's nest
Veery nest with eggs

New Hampshire Birdathon (Monadnock Region) 5/26/07

Chuck Caron, Paul Meleski, Mike Resch and I birded the Monadnock region of New Hampshire from 4:30AM to 9:30PM on Saturday 5/26/07. Starting our birding in Winchester, at the old landfill we heard singing Whip-poor-wills and a Barred Owl to kick the day off, then we were able pickup several common species via song while driving with the windows down. We stopped at a covered bridge over the Ashelout River, missing the Common Merganser seen the previous day, but seeing dozens and dozens of bats flying over the river was impressive! The "setback" area along the Conn. River was a key stop for us at dawn, as we heard Virginia Rail and Sora calling from large fresh water marsh. A few other notable species from the area were Red-bellied Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Marsh Wrens, a few Blackpoll and a Wilson's Warbler were nice additions.
We headed away from the river, to gain elevation along a back road up toward Chesterfield adding on species such as Nashville, Black-throat Blue , Blackburnian Warblers, Lousiana Waterthrush and Pileated Woodpecker. We missed Winter Wren and Northern Waterthrush but still had planned stops for these species later. Near the open fields in Chesterfield we picked up Wild Turkey, Savannah Sparrow and Bobolink....we took a few moments to feed a few friendly horses a little bit of grass.
Next stop was Krif Road in Keene, there was very little water left from recent rains for shorebirds, but we managed a few Least and Spotted Sandpipers along with a Brown Thrasher. The Keene Airport in Swanzey was an important stop were we found target species...Eastern Meadowlark, Mockingbird and Grasshopper Sparrow....But missed American Kestrel, Horned Lark and Vesper Sparrow (which was just too cooperative the previous day, when Chuck and I had great looks from less than 20 feet!).
Old Dublin Road, a 5 mile section of dirt road along the north side of Mt. Monadnock, is a great spot for northern type species, we added Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Magnolia and Canada Warblers and White-throated Sparrow. Key species missed, we'd hoped for along this section, were Northern Waterthrush and Winter Wren!
We birded the old ski slopes of Temple Mtn and picked up Prairie and Mourning Warbler (that sang only once!) and Field Sparrow.....but missed Dark-eyed Junco (we didn't feel like paying the $3/head fee, to drive up to Miller State Park for this species!). This was the end of our "planned route", it was about 1PM and our total species list was about 105, now was time to start mopping up. A few "easy species" missing were Rock Pigeon! , Red-tailed Hawk and Bank Swallow!
Paul fell asleep while we were driving through Keene, so we had to elbow Paul from his cat nap....."Paul..... look.... Pigeons" ..."Got'em"... "Ya"... "go back to sleep"?! After getting "skunked" on new birds at Surry Mtn Lake, we were traveling along toward the Conn. River in Walpole. Cliff and Bank Swallow made it onto our list over the river and a Red-tailed Hawk was picked up along River Road.

We "stooped" to looking in manure pits for shorebirds.."Sh*t happens"

While Birdathon teams along the seacoast were struggling with traffic and parking, to view their shorebirds, we found ample parking beside "ripe" manure pits, along River Road in Walpole, were had seen a Solitary Sandpiper in one the previous day! There was still plenty of manure in the one that had held the Solitary Sandpiper, but essentially no water (not the pit photo'd above) and no sandpiper, we canvased the pit area for several minutes adding no new birds. Suddenly Paul shouts, from the back seat of the car, "its half way up the side of the pit"! BINGO

We followed the river south then cut into the forest on the backside of Wantastiquet Mtn back down to the Hinsdale Setbacks, picking up a few new birds a Hooded Merganser and Osprey. With 114 species on the list we birded near the boat ramp and picked up an Orchard Oriole and Yellow-throated Vireo, that we'd missed in the morning. From there it was out to the powerline tower, in the marsh, to look and listen for marsh birds, Nighthawks , waterfowl or anything! 3 distant yellowlegs passed the marsh at a long distance, then a Green Heron (flushed by another birdathon team that had the same day end plan as us). After much waiting and no new bird we walked back to the car and scanned the marsh to the north, an American Bittern called from the north and a moment later a Kingfisher was heard, first by Mike, rattling away.

part of a huge freshwater marsh in Hinsdale, Vernon Nuclear Power Plant in the back ground
A nice sunset looking north on the Conn. River


120 species was the day list, we were essentially done before 9 PM choosing not bird until mid-night. On the drive back to Massachusetts we stopped at a few spots to listen for Woodcock and would miss the species, in New Hampshire. Ironically when we dropped Mike at his car in Ashburnham, Ma. and we heard a woodcock calling in the distance!

The Birdathon List:
Species ........town of first observation
Common Loon ..........Spofford
Double-crested Cormorant ...........Spofford
American Bittern ...........Hinsdale
Great Blue Heron ..................Hinsdale
Green Heron .............Hinsdale
Turkey Vulture................ Peterborough
Canada Goose ..............Hinsdale
Mute Swan (I) ..............Hinsdale
Wood Duck .................Hinsdale
Mallard .............Hinsdale
Hooded Merganser ............Hinsdale
Common Merganser .............Dublin
Osprey ..................Hinsdale
Bald Eagle .............Hinsdale
Cooper's Hawk ...............Westmoreland
Broad-winged Hawk ...........Hinsdale
Red-tailed Hawk .............Westmoreland
Wild Turkey ..............Swanzey
Virginia Rail ................Hinsdale
Sora ................Hinsdale
Killdeer ................Hinsdale
Yellowlegs Species ..............Hinsdale
Solitary Sandpiper ...................Walpole
Spotted Sandpiper ..................Keene
Least Sandpiper ............Hinsdale
Ring-billed Gull .............Spofford
Rock Dove (I) ..................Keene
Mourning Dove.................. Hinsdale
Black-billed Cuckoo Hinsdale
Barred Owl ..................Winchester
Whip-poor-will .................Winchester
Chimney Swift ..............Hinsdale
Ruby-throated Hummingbird............ Hinsdale
Belted Kingfisher ...................Hinsdale
Red-bellied Woodpecker ..............Hinsdale
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker................ Dublin
Downy Woodpecker............. Hinsdale
Hairy Woodpecker .............Hinsdale
Northern Flicker ..............Hinsdale
Pileated Woodpecker ...............Chesterfield
Eastern Wood-Pewee ................Hinesdale
Alder Flycatcher ...........Hinesdale
Willow Flycatcher ............Hinsdale
Least Flycatcher.............. Hinsdale
Eastern Phoebe ...........Winchester
Great Crested Flycatcher ..........Hinsdale
Eastern Kingbird .........Hinsdale
Blue-headed Vireo ............Hinsdale
Yellow-throated Vireo........... Hinsdale
Warbling Vireo........... Hinsdale
Red-eyed Vireo........... Hinsdale
Blue Jay ............Hinsdale
American Crow ..............Hinsdale
Common Raven ............Peterborough
Tree Swallow ............Hinsdale
Northern Rough-winged Swallow ...........Hinsdale
Bank Swallow ..............Walpole
Barn Swallow .............Hinsdale
Cliff Swallow ............Walpole
Black-capped Chickadee............ Hinsdale
Tufted Titmouse .........Hinsdale
Red-breasted Nuthatch.......... Chesterfield
White-breasted Nuthatch ...........Hinsdale
Brown Creeper .............Hinsdale
House Wren ............Hinsdale
Marsh Wren ............Hinsdale
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher ..........Hinsdale
Eastern Bluebird........ Hinsdale
Veery............ Hinsdale
Hermit Thrush ...............Dublin
Wood Thrush ............Hinsdale
American Robin.......... Hinsdale
Gray Catbird.......... Hinsdale
Northern Mockingbird .........Keene
Brown Thrasher ...........Keene
European Starling (I) .............Hinsdale
Cedar Waxwing .............Hinsdale
Nashville Warbler............ Chesterfield
Northern Parula .............Dublin
Yellow Warbler ............Hinsdale
Chestnut-sided Warbler ..............Hinsdale
Magnolia Warbler ............Dublin
Yellow-rumped Warbler ............Hinsdale
Black-throated Blue Warbler........... Hinsdale
Black-throated Green Warbler .........Hinsdale
Blackburnian Warbler.......... Hinsdale
Pine Warbler ...............Winchester
Prairie Warbler ...............Peterborough
Blackpoll Warbler ...............Hinsdale
Black-and-white Warbler ............Hinsdale
American Redstart............... Hinsdale
Ovenbird ..................Hinsdale
Louisiana Waterthrush ..................Hinsdale
Mourning Warbler ................Peterborough
Common Yellowthroat ..............Hinsdale
Wilson's Warbler ............Hinsdale
Canada Warbler ...............Dublin
Scarlet Tanager............... Hinsdale
Eastern Towhee ................Chesterfield
Chipping Sparrow ............Winchester
Field Sparrow ................Peterborough
Savannah Sparrow ...........Chesterfield
Grasshopper Sparrow .........Swanzey
Song Sparrow .....................Hinsdale
Swamp Sparrow ....................Hinsdale
White-throated Sparrow ............Dublin
Northern Cardinal ...........Hinsdale
Rose-breasted Grosbeak .........Hinsdale
Indigo Bunting ........Hinsdale
Bobolink......... Chesterfield
Red-winged Blackbird......... Hinsdale
Eastern Meadowlark......... Swanzey
Common Grackle ............Hinsdale
Brown-headed Cowbird .........Hinsdale
Orchard Oriole......... Hinsdale
Baltimore Oriole.......... Hinsdale
Purple Finch .......Hinsdale
House Finch .......Hinsdale
American Goldfinch........ Hinsdale
House Sparrow .......Hinsdale

Gardner to Ipswich 5/19/07

As part of the Massachusetts Audbon's Birdathon, I started birding at 5am (in 40 degree rainy weather) in Gardner, hitting a few familiar stops to pickup some territorial birds, before poking along to the Newburyport area. This would be sort of "a leisurely" big day affair, as I stopped back at home, for coffee, after birding near Lake Wompanoag (where I managed my only Canada Warbler of the day). In my back yard I had Magnolia, Parula, Chestnut-sided, Black and White and Wilson's Warblers but missed the Ruby-crowned Kinglet that had been in the apple trees for a few days.

Great Meadow's Refuge in Concord was fairly quiet, no rails, but I picked up Hooded Merganser and Cliff Swallow. At Hanscom Airport in Bedford was a distant Meadowlark, but no Upland Sandpiper...so I was off to the Newburyport area. I had hoped that the massive fallout of passerines would still be lingering on Plum Island, but it turned out I had more warblers in my backyard than I'd tallied on the island during the day. There were some nice birds on the island today...American Avocet, Common Moorhen, Sora, Roseate Terns, White-rumped Sandpipers and White-crowned Sparrows and on the way off the island was a Whimbrel opposite the Plum Island airfield.

Oak Hill Cemetery, in Newburyport, had a nice assortment of songbirds including Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warblers , and a few Swainson's Thrushes. I picked up a few "cheap birds" I'd missed during the day such as Flicker and White-breasted Nuthatch.

There were 4 Wilson's Phalaropes in the pool opposite Pikul's Farm, off Rte 1A in Rowley and a fly over Glossy Ibis, but no Orchard Orioles. I was fortunate to have a Green Heron fly over the car as I headed toward Ipswich. On the drive out to Great Neck, in Ipswich, as the birdathon 6PM deadline approached, I couldn't help but think about all the "easy stuff" I had missed during the day.... Blue-gray Gnatcatcher , Eastern Bluebird, Winter and Carolina Wrens, Great-crested Flycatcher and Purple Finch (to name a few)....but the Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Below) was a great surprise at 5:30PM that was feeding 100 feet off Jeffery's Neck Road.

There were very good numbers of Northern Parula, Magnolia, Black-throated Blue Warblers, in the few thickets I stopped at, on Great Neck but I was unable to add any more new species before the 6 PM birdathon deadline. I did add Orchard Oriole, Purple Sandpiper and Laughing Gull, in Manchester for the day list. List totals were 136 species for the birdathon (6PM friday to 6PM Saturday) and 133 species for the day.

Yellow-crowned Nightheron (Digi-binned pentax 8x32)
Yellow-crowned Nightheron (Digi-scoped Swift 20x60)

Today's list:
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Shoveler

Green-winged Teal
Common Eider
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Hooded Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Sora
Common Moorhen
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Killdeer
American Avocet
Greater Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Spotted Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Phalarope
Laughing Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

**Species seen/heard friday 5/18 night during the Birdathon but not on 5/19: were Amercian Bittern, Sharp-shinned Hawk, American Woodcock, Common Nighthawk, Hairy Woodpecker and Horned Lark. All from the Gardner Airport, in Templeton, Ma. Also, was another American bittern at High Ridge WMA in Gardner.

Peak Migration is here (week of 5/13)

The reports over the MASSBIRD listserv on Wednesday 5/15 were very very impressive, hundreds and hundreds of migrant song birds were grounded on west winds along the Massachusetts coast. Being "grounded" myself, at work, it can a little more than frustrating when reading the great reports from Plum Island, Mt. Auburn Cemetery and Cape Ann. When birders such as Rick Heil , having birded Plum Island for over 30 years, makes the following comment ..... "Amazing, incredible, awesome! The anticipated fallout of warblers overnight far exceeded expectations, the likes of which I have never witnessed here. " ..... you know you've missed something really special.
However, on 5/16, I got a nice taste of spring migration right up the street from home in Gardner. In little over an hour's time I managed to tally 67 species which included 19 species of wood warblers, mostly on Raymond Street. Lots of Balitmore Orioles, Scarlet Tanagers, Rosebreasted Grosbeaks and a Black-billed Cuckoo..to mention a few others. The hilight for me was a beautifull Bay-breasted Warbler, a species that hasn't been reported much in recent years in Worcester County.
Chestnut-sided Warbler

I have had a few nice yard birds this week too which included Magnolia, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, Nashville Warblers....a lateish Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a singing Swainson's Thrush.
Black and White Warbler (female)
Baltimore Oriole

Heavier rains toward the end of the week have grounded migrant shorebirds, which will linger in flooded agricultural fields...such as this Solitary Sandpiper "digi-scoped" in Groton.
Solitary Sandpiper
Pink Alzalea along Kelton Street in Gardner

High Ridge WMA (Westminster) 5/12/07

There was a nice variety of recent arrivals this morning along Chapel Street at the Westminster side of High Ridge Wildlife Management Area. I was trying to put some time onto my "Fitchburg 5" breeding bird atlas block for 2007 but, at the same time enjoy some of the new arrivals. There were many Tree Swallows, Chipping Sparrows and Baltimore Orioles along the tree lined road. Bobolinks were already getting down to the business of setting up territory in the hay fields.


Hayfield and barn along Chapel Street

A few confirmed species added to the Breeding Bird Atlas were nest building Amercian Robin and Tree Swallows and there were Rock Pigeons nesting inside an old barn. I didn't make it down to a marshy beaver pond to confirm the nesting Great Blue Herons, in past years there has been between 6 and 17 active nests. There were several probable breeders (within the designated "safe dates" such as Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers, Eastern Phoebe, Cardinal, American Crows and a noisey pair of Common Ravens (possible breeders).
Bobolink

While there was nothing terribly unusual I had a nice look at a few Northern Parulas, White-crowned Sparrow and heard my first Black-billed Cuckoo of the year. A Scarlet Tanager showed nicely, down low, in one of the road-side trees, but wasn't quite as cooperative as the Rose-breasted Grosbeak "digi-binned" below.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

This mornings list:
Canada Goose 3
Wild Turkey 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Rock Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 9
Black-billed Cuckoo 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Least Flycatcher 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Eastern Kingbird 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 8
American Crow 6
Common Raven 2
Tree Swallow 23
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Wren 5
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
Wood Thrush 5
American Robin 15
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 2
Nashville Warbler 2
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 2
Chestnut-sided Warbler 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Black-and-white Warbler 2
American Redstart 1
Ovenbird 6
Common Yellowthroat 6
Chipping Sparrow 19
Savannah Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 6
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6
Bobolink 20
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Baltimore Oriole 15
Purple Finch 3
American Goldfinch 4

A dead "Maggy"

As I stepped out the door for work this morning and the first bird I saw was a Magnolia Warbler, right at my feet. Unfortunately, one of the neighborhood cats had seen it first and all that remained was a "puff" of feathers attached to a few sheads of skin. Indoors, is a nice place for cats.

pieces of a Magnolia Warbler

During lunch time I birded near work and one hilight was both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles singing near the bike path not far from Broad Meadow Road. The "Orchard" was very cooperative and I was able to "digi-bin" a few shots through my binoculars.

Orchard Oriole (in Groton)

There was plenty of other activity a Solitary Sandpiper, Eastern Kingbirds, Yellow Wabler, Common Yellowthroat and territorial Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. In another week or so there should a few pairs of Willow Flycatchers in the area.
Common Grackle
female Red-winged Blackbird

Whip-poor-Wills 5/09 (Templeton)

Last night's clam and summer like weather enticed me to visit the Gardner Airport just after dark for a half hour of listening. American Woodcock could be heard displaying from various points while Killdeer flew back and forth over the run-way calling the whole time. An American Bittern was calling from the marsh at the south end of the air-strip, a singing Horned Lark was heard from medium strip area and Barred Owl sounded off from hill side to the west . At least 2 Whip-poor-wills were calling off and on and I managed to see one by the road-side (in the car's headlights) when I was leaving.

New Arrivals (Gardner) 5/09/07

I typically try to squeeze a little birding each morning in May and I got a few new "year" birds this morning. The first bird of the morning was a Common Loon, calling as it flew near my yard, while I was still in bed. I live about 2 miles from Lake Wompanoag, where a pair of Common Loons have nested since 1995, but they do move about from lake to lake and sometimes call while in flight. The first new "year" bird was a singing Northern Parula which I also heard from my bedroom before I got outside. Species such as Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breatsed Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird and Common Yellowthroat (to name a few) have arrived in the past few days.

Common Yellowthroat

Up at the Wompanoag MAS I had a very nice look at a White-crowned Sparrow and I managed a few digi-bin photos of it. The Bluebird houses have been active with Tree Swallows for the past few weeks, but today was the first time I had seen Eastern Bluebirds looking one of these dwellings over.

White-crowned Sparrow

Along Raymond Street I heard at least 4 Nashville Warblers, and from locations where they are likely to breed. Ovenbirds and Black-throated Green Warblers had increased in breeding type habitat, but it may be a few more days until I hear a Canada Warbler singing from "its" territory.

Least Flycatcher

East Quabbin (Gates 44 thru 35) 5/06/07

Eight members of the Forbush Bird Club birded the Worcester County portion of the East Quabbin watershed this past Sunday 5/6/07. We are fortunate to be able to have access, once a year, to drive the back roads (bird, nature watch and sight see) of the former townships of Greenwich and Dana. While spring migration was a "bit behind" and the conditions were cool and windy, we managed a similar species total to last year's trip (68 in 2007 vs. 70 in 2006).


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (the purplish on the back is from light reflection and not part of the bird's color)

Some of the more common species encountered where Blue-headed Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (a few were singing at nearly every stop), Pine Warbler and Chipping Sparrow (see totals below). Some notable misses included Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager and Baltimore Oriole...which were just a few days away from arriving. An adult Bald Eagle put on a nice "show" near Dana Center, we heard the calls of an agitated Cooper's Hawk (at what must have been a nest sight), and Common Loons were spotted at several "water-front" stops. A Black Vulture was seen soaring from Grave's Landing, it was a long distance out, and unfortunately I was the only one to get a decent look at it.

During our lunch stop in Dana Center some folks enjoyed their first sighting of an Eastern Kingbird for 2007, while others enjoyed the stone work of old foundations and the steel safe in the basement of what must have been the bank. meticulous stone foundation in Dana Center

Safe in an old cellar hole, perhaps the former bank (Dana Center)

At west Fever Brook, we saw a very nice school of Largemouth Bass the ranged from 15 to 20 inches in length, swimming near the stone bridge.

Forbush members scan for waterfowl (East Fever Brook)
Black and White Warbler (3/4th up the trunk)

Near the day's end we came across a nice wave of warblers which included Yellow-rumped, Black and White, Palm and American Redstarts. It was the only real concentration of wood warblers we had all day.

The List:
Canada Goose 6
Wood Duck 6
Mallard 4
Hooded Merganser 4
Common Merganser 7
Ruffed Grouse 2
Wild Turkey 1
Common Loon 14
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 1
Turkey Vulture 12
Bald Eagle 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 2
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Ring-billed Gull 12
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 5
Downy Woodpecker 5
Northern Flicker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Least Flycatcher 5
Eastern Phoebe 5
Eastern Kingbird 2
Blue-headed Vireo 21
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 2
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 64
Barn Swallow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 32
Tufted Titmouse 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 6
Brown Creeper 5
House Wren 1
Winter Wren 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 26
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 10
Veery 1
Hermit Thrush 5
American Robin 26
Gray Catbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 34
Black-throated Green Warbler 12
Blackburnian Warbler 5
Pine Warbler 25
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 8
Black-and-white Warbler 12
American Redstart 4
Ovenbird 8
Common Yellowthroat 1
Eastern Towhee 15
Chipping Sparrow 31
Song Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 9
Red-winged Blackbird 8
Common Grackle 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 16
Purple Finch 8
American Goldfinch 19

Migrants slowly trickle in (Gardner 5/5/07)

From 6:30 to 8:30AM I birded locally starting at the the bike path across from Mount Wachusett Community College heading on up Kelton and Raymond ending at the Mass. Audubon's Wompanoag Sanctuary. Some new arrivals included Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Savanaha Sparrow and Brown Thrasher with still good numbers of migrant Yellow-rumped Warblers and White throated Sparrows away from known breeding habitat. I have yet see or hear many species which are back by this date, such as Chestnut-side Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Bobolink, to name a few.

The campus pond at Mount Wachusett Community College

Savanaha Sparrows

This morning's bird list:

Canada Goose 6
Mallard 4
Ruffed Grouse 2
Wild Turkey 1
Common Loon 3
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 8
Belted Kingfisher 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue-headed Vireo 5
Warbling Vireo 1
Blue Jay 19
American Crow 2
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 17
Barn Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 19
Tufted Titmouse 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 11
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 27
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 16
Black-throated Green Warbler 5
Pine Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 2
Chipping Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 7
White-throated Sparrow 14
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Common Grackle 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Purple Finch 3
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 11
House Sparrow 2

North Worcester County to Quabbin 5/4

While heading down to the Quabbin Visitor's Center, to pickup some gate keys for a field trip on Sunday, I bumped into Brad Blodgett (former Massachusetts State Ornithologist) on Maple Lane in Petersham. For the past 2 or 3 years a Sandhill Crane has been present in this area, for at least part of the spring, leading a few "bird people" to wonder what this bird's intentions might be! Our conversation centered around Cranes in Maine; it now sounds as if there are at least 3 pairs nesting in remote regions of Maine, if 3 have been found...how many more might there be? We didn't find a Crane but it was nice to "visit" with Brad for a bit.

Near a large marsh on the Templeton/Philipston town line, I saw dozens of Yellow-rumped, and a few Palm and Black-throated Green Warblers, an Eastern Kingbird and 3 Solitary Sandpipers. The Broad-winged Hawk (below) was perched in a back yard, allowing me to "digi-bin" (through 8X32 binoculars) it from inside the car while it carefully studied the ground for a meal...until a few Blue Jays shattered its solitude!
Broad-winged Hawk

Quabbin Park had little variety but I enjoyed excellent looks at a few Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, heard several Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers along with few Black and White Warblers. Plenty of Turkey Vultures were in the air and a few Sharp-shinned Hawks were fighting a stiff northwest wind near Enfield lookout and I heard a drumming Sapsucker.

looking north from Enfield Lookout

After "running" an errand to Fitchburg, I saw a Common Loon on Snow Mill Pond in Fitchburg. I carefully studied this bird for leg bands, as many central Mass. breeding Loons have been color banded by Biologist, this bird was un-banded. Snow Mill Pond has no motor boat traffic, a small island and is not much smaller than Paradise Pond (Princeton, Ma.), which has a pair of nesting Loons. Chances are this was just a transient bird, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was an un-mated "prospector"!

Here and there 5/3/07

I often try to bird before work during the month of May to look for new arrivals, of course ... so does nearly every other birder in the north east...even if its just a few minutes. Today I stopped, at the bike path, across from Mount Wachusett Community College and a few "road-side" stops along Kelton Street in Gardner. Still no big influx of migrants, perhaps last night's winds were unfavorable. A few new arrivals were a single Ovenbird and Black and White Warbler (though usually I "get" my first Black and White before May 1st).

Tree Swallows caught in "THE act"!

I got out at noon for about 20 minutes, where I walked the bike path off Broad Meadow Road in Groton. Hoping to see Baltimore Oriole(s), or any other "year birds" along the path was unsuccessfull. I did hear a Red-bellied Woodpecker, but couldn't find it, eventually I noticed a nest hole, it ended up poking its head out and made a nice showing. 25 years ago a nesting Red-bellied Woodpecker would've been a big deal, but their range has crept north and now they're quite common. A few digi-binned images are below. Red-bellied Woodpecker "peeking out"
Red-bellied Woodpecker

I stopped at High Ridge WMA, during the evening, where many Yellow-rumped Warblers were flycatching from the the edge of the marsh, mixed in with a few Palm Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I heard a Virgina Rail calling from where the edge of the marsh "brushes" up to Neighborhood Road, but there was no evidence of the American Bitterns tonight.
Red-winged Blackbird on territory