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.