Central Mass Bird Census Archive, 2002

Central Mass Bird Census Archives, 2002

This is an archive of bird census data from breeding bird surveys, Christmas Counts, or other comprehensive bird surveys in central Massachusetts. To contribute, you can email to rsquimby@wpi.edu or call Rick Quimby at (508) 835-6567 for information on how to submit the census data.

12/15/02 -- Worcester Xmas Count 2002

The 51st Worcester Circle Christmas Count was organized by compiler Fran McMenemy, with 26 participants contributing. This year the number of species was 74, less than the 87 observed last year (which was a record high for the Worcester Count). New high counts were obtained for Mute Swan, Greater Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Peregrine Falcon, Ring-billed Gull, American Crow, and Carolina Wren.

The detailed totals by species:

 

Common Loon                   5
Pied-billed Grebe             1
Horned Grebe                 10
Double-crested Cormorant      1
Great Cormorant               count week
Great Blue Heron              2
Canada Goose                489
Mute Swan                    12
Wood Duck                     1
Gadwall                       1
American Black Duck          69
Mallard                    1131
Ring-necked Duck             35
Tufted Duck                   1
Greater Scaup                75
Lesser Scaup                  count week
White-winged Scoter           count week
Common Goldeneye             85
Hooded Merganser            259
Common Merganser            259
Ruddy Duck                    3
Bald Eagle                    2
Sharp-shinned Hawk            1
Cooper's Hawk                 4
Red-tailed Hawk              45
Merlin                        1
Peregrine Falcon              4 *
Wild Turkey                  15
American Coot                 count week
Wilson's Snipe                2
Ring-billed Gull           3728
Herring Gull               1024
Great Black-backed Gull     463
Rock Dove                  1017
Mourning Dove               261
Eastern Screech-owl           4
Great Horned Owl              1
Barred Owl                    1
Northern Saw-whet Owl         1
Belted Kingfisher             6
Red-bellied Woodpecker       17
Downy Woodpecker             71 
Hairy Woodpecker             11
Northern Flicker             11
Pileated Woodpecker           1
Blue Jay                    469
American Crow              2814
Horned Lark                  27
Black-capped Chickadee      741
Tufted Titmouse             232
Red-breasted Nuthatch         5
White-breasted Nuthatch     149
Brown Creeper                 8
Carolina Wren                21
Winter Wren                   2
Golden-crowned Kinglet       23
Ruby-crowned Kinglet          count week
Eastern Bluebird             40
Hermit Thrush                 1
American Robin               33
Northern Mockingbird         53
European Starling          2823
Cedar Waxwing               115
Yellow-rumped Warbler         1
American Tree Sparrow       122
Field Sparrow                 4
Fox Sparrow                   2
Song Sparrow                 49
White-throated Sparrow       39
Dark-eyed Junco             469
Snow Bunting                  count week
Northern Cardinal            84
Red-winged Blackbird          4
Eastern Meadowlark            1
Common Grackle                1
House Finch                 171
American Goldfinch          267
House Sparrow              1172

* Peregrine Falcon -- A pair of Peregrine Falcons have been observed in downtown Worcester since May, 2002. Early on count day, a pair of Peregrine Falcons were seen within the count circle seven (7) miles from downtown Worcester at Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston. A different team checked the downtown area extensively during the day but was not successful until 4 p.m. This downtown pair was most likely the same pair observed at the reservoir in the morning. (report from Fran McMenemy).

12/17/02 -- Sturbridge CBC 2002

The 7th Sturbridge Christmas Count was held Tuesday (yesterday). The prolonged freezing temps inland had frozen almost all the still water (lakes, ponds et) and even some of the running water, therefore keeping waterfowl numbers mostly low. A snow storm came through the day previous keeping landbird counts also low. Species totals were not surprisingly therefore "on the low side" (69 species) and numbers of birds also low (16326). That said, there were a few surprises as there is in every count:

Canada Goose (265: low)
Mute Swan (1)
A. Black Duck (97)
Mallard (1445: high count)
N. Pintail (1m: rare)
Ring-necked Duck (2)
Hooded Merganser (133: count high)
Common Merganser (55)
BALD EAGLE: (8 (2ad/6imm). Though recorded on four out of 6 previous counts, 
this is an extraordinary number with the previous high being 4 individuals. 
Times of sightings were co-ordinated and there seems to be no overlap. In the 
last two years a pair has attempted to nest at Lake Quabog)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (7)
Cooper's Hawk (9: high count)
N. Goshawk (1ad)
Red-tailed Hawk (28)
Merlin (1)
Ring-necked Phaesant (1)
Ruffed Grouse (2: low count)
Wild Turkey (143)
Ring-billed Gull (38: by far the lowest count)
Herring Gull (86: second lowest count)
Great Black-backed Gull (17: second lowest count)
Rock Dove (948: lowest count)
Mourning Dove (599)
E. Screech Owl (1)
Great Horned Owl (6)
Barred Owl (3)
SHORT-EARED OWL: NEW SPECIES FOR COUNT. Well seen by Dick Hildreth and gang. 
Actually, considering the marshes and fields in this circle, not all that 
surprising)
N. Saw-whet Owl (3)
Belted Kingfisher (6)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (28: high count)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1: rare well inland in winter)
Downy Woodpecker (171)
Hairy Woodpecker (34)
N. Flicker (6: tied for low count)
Pileated Woodpecker (7: high count)
EASTERN PHOBE: (1: NEW SPECIES FOR COUNT, well documented by John Liller. 
Obviously very rare anywhere well inland in MA)
Northern Shrike (1ad)
Blue Jay (962)
A. Crow (677)
Common Raven (3)
Horned Lark (91)
Black-capped Chickadee (1737)
Tufted Titmouse (476)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (3: low count, obviously NOT a flight year)
White-breasted Nuthatch (323)
Brown Creeper (23)
Carolina Wren (25: high count)
Winter Wren (2)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (68)
Eastern Bluebird (89)
Hermit Thrush (4: high count)
A. Robin (547)
Gray Catbird (1: rare well inland in winter)
N. Mockingbird (26: second lowest count)
E. Starling (3236: by far lowest count, attributable to the closing of 
several farms in circle)
Cedar Waxwing (268)
Common Yellowthroat (1f: very rare inland in winter)
A. Tree Sparrow (361)
Song Sparrow (95)
Swamp Sparrow (1)
White-throated Sparrow (86)
Dark-eyed Junco (874)
Snow Bunting (1)
N. Cardinal (199: new high count)
Red-winged Blackbird (8)
Rusty Blackbird (1)
C. Grackle (3)
House Finch (241)
A. Goldfinch (528)
House Sparrow (1209: high count)

And, NO, there were NO winter finches, not even a Purple Finch. (report from Mark Lynch).

11/24/02 -- Blackstone National Corridor Fall 2002 waterbird survey

On Sunday, determined teams from Broad Meadow Brook MAS fanned out through the MA and RI areas in the Blackstone National Corridor counting waterbirds at almost all ponds, lakes, reservoirs et. This is part of a wide series of monitoring schemes organized by the sanctuary of the Corridor. We conduct a spring and fall standardized count of waterbirds in the Corridor and it offers a "snapshot" of waterbird movements in a small area of interior (non-coastal) southern New England. Many teams reported much lower numbers of waterfowl than is typical for this time of the year, underscoring Tom Gagnon's earlier post from East Quabbin about low waterfowl numbers there. That said, the CITY of Worcester had some of the best variety and numbers of waterfowl in the MA section as did the very small section of Providence/East Providence that is in the Corridor! The totals:

Common Loon (1: though often seen migrating overhead in spring, loons are
decidedly UNCOMMON on the water anywhere in the Corridor: the ponds are just
not that big)
Pied-billed Grebe (3)
Double-crested Cormorant (18)
Great Cormorant (5: all in the southern end of Corridor)
Great Blue Heron (22)
Mute Swan (81: swans were reported north to south in the Corridor, but
typically not west of Rt. 146)
Canada Goose (2082)
Wood Duck (6: very low)
Green-winged Teal (6)
CANVASBACK (4)
American Wigeon (24)
Mallard (2404)
A. Black Duck (487)
Gadwall (68)
N. Pintail (12)
N. Shoveler (4)
Ring-necked Duck (50: VERY low)
Greater Scaup (86)
Lesser Scaup (106)
WHITE-WINGED SCOTER (1m: Northbridge, MA very rare in Corridor)
Bufflehead (92)
Common Goldeneye (49)
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (1f: Burrillville, RI: obviously rare in the Corridor)
Hooded Merganser (483)
Common Merganser (322)
Red-breasted Merganser (2: including 1 in the city of Worcester)
Ruddy Duck (218)
OSPREY (1: Glocester, RI: very late)
BALD EAGLE (1ad: Douglas, MA)
A. Coot (14)
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
Bonaparte's Gull (21)
Ring-billed Gull (2195)
Herring Gull (950)
Great Black-backed Gull (203)
Belted Kingfisher (11)
Fish Crow (8)

Monitors included: Kim Bacchiocchi, Dan Berard, Deb Berard, Sheila Carroll, Phil Guerin, Gail Howe, John Liller, Mark Lynch, Fran McMenemy, Paul Meleski, Cynthia Menard, Valerie Miller, Kathy Mills, Bill Rasku, Howard Shainheit, Kevin Sloan, Barabara Walker, Mike Walker, Rick Walker, Joan Zumpfe.

I found the results very enlightening and interesting. First of all, we are accomplishing goal#1 of identifying the most important ponds, et in the Corridor for waterbirds. This will be important for future management. Secondly, you can start to notice the species that "pond-hop" down the Corridor (like Hoodies) and others that seem to head to specific ponds only. It is obviously a complex situation. And note the almost total absence of Mute Swans from the western araes of the Corridor both MA and RI. This has to do with elevation. It is also becoming apparent to me that the end point of some species migrations IS the southern end of the Corridor.

As is typical with any count like this, there were some surprises: a Common Loon (very uncommon ON the water anywhere in the Corridor), a White-winged Scoter (a bird I still do NOT have for the Corridor), a Barrow's Goldeneye, a huge count of Gadwalls for Lincoln (though in a pond where I have now had several large counts of Gadwall), a Red-breasted Merg in the city of Worcester (the only other one was on the southern end) a very late Osprey and an adult Bald Eagle.

Below are detailed breakdowns from this weekends ALL Blackstone Corridor waterbird census: (1) The Worcester County results, (2) The RI section results and (3) TOTALS of both sections and grand totals.
Here is the detailed count info:

(compiled and submitted by Mark Lynch).

6/28/02 -- Granger and Gilbert Roads, Barre/Hubbardston

We conducted part two of our breeding bird survey of the WARE RIVER WATERSHED IBA area. Today we birded along two long dirt roads, Granger and Gilbert Roads that run north from Rt. 122 in Barre north to Hubbardston crossing Rt. 62 in the middle. This area is adjacent to the western edge of the Barre Falls Dam/Rutland SP BBS route we run. We also birded along a few of the roads that form the boundry of the IBA, some of which are rural/suburban in character. The habitat along Gilbert and Granger is mostly mixed forest with good stands of white pine and hemlock. There is very little field environment and very little marsh habitat, unlike the Barre Falls Dam parcel. Still, the area is loaded with breeding warblers, thrushes, vireos et. Weather was a bit overcast and murky for most of the morning, making it perfect for the deluge of mosquitoes and deer flies that followed us everywhere. It was not great weather for butterflies, and we managed only a few Little Wood Satyrs and Tiger Swallowtails. But, Ebony Jewelwings were everywhere. Top honors among the wild flowers we saw was a beautiful area of LARGE PURPLE FRINGED ORCHIS in a small bog in the middle of the forest. A stunning orchid lit by a small patch of sun just out from the clouds, amid the deep gloom of the forest. Pretty special. The first number is today's totals, the second number (in parenthesis) is the combined total of today's count AND Wednesday's [6/26/02] count of the Barre Falls Dam area. In other words, the second number represents the BBS of the total Ware River IBA along one route we have developed that runs over two days. This final total does not represent anything near the total of breeding numbers of this IBA as the driveable dirt roads only offer limited access into the forests.

Great Blue Heron: 2 (12ad/11 young still in the nest/6 nests still active)
There is at least one other rookery in this area, accessable only by a good
hike.
Green Heron: 0 (1)
Black-crowned Night Heron: 0 (1 sub-ad: pretty uncommon in this part of the
county)
Canada Goose: 0 (2 w/2goslings)
Wood Duck: 0 (1f)
Mallard: 0 (2)
Hooded Merganser: 0 (1f)
Red-shouldered Hawk: 0 (1)
Broad-winged Hawk: 0 (3)
Ruffed Grouse: 1 (1)
N. Bobwhite: 0 (1 probable escape from a game farm)
Virginia Rail: 0 (2)
Killdeer: 2 (2)
Mourning Dove: 7 (20)
Chimney Swift: 4 (6)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 0 (1: undercounted)
Belted Kingfisher: 0 (1)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker: 2 (4)
Downy Woodpecker: 3 (10)
Hairy Woodpecker: 1 (4)
N. Flicker: 1 (6)
Nota bene: seems to me that all woodpeckers are undercounted in forest BBSs
like this one. For instance, I KNOW there are several pairs of Pileateds in
the area, and we saw fresh "work", but just did not come up with any during
either count day. My guess is that all woodpecker count numbers are lower
than the real breeding numbers are.
Eastern Wood Peewee: 25 (45)
Alder Flycatcher: 2 (10)
Willow Flycatcher: 0 (2)
Least Flycatcher: 20 (59)
E. Phoebe: 25 (41)
Great Crested Flycatcher: 2 (4)
E. Kingbird: 6 (23)

VIREOS:
Yellow-throated: 1 (2)
Blue-headed: 29 (64)
Warbling: 1 (11)
Red-eyed: 118 (266)

Blue Jay: 16 (36)
A. Crow: 4 (10)
missed were ravens which breed in the area, but have already fledged young.
Tree Swallow: 6 (58)
N. Rough-winged Swallow: 0 (7)
Barn Swallow: 30 (30)
Black-capped Chickadee: 83 (165)
Tufted Titmouse: 34 (46)
Red-breasted Nuthatch: 5 (15)
White-breasted Nuthatch: 10 (24)
Brown Creeper: 10 (19)
House Wren: 5 (7)
Winter Wren: 2 (8)
Golden-crowned Kinglet: 0 (7). It seemed from a habitat point of view, we
should have had some more of this species today, but no luck.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: 0 (4)
E. Bluebird: 4 (5)
Veery: 33 (77)
Hermit Thrush: 44 (87) We saw several newly fledged young today.
Wood Thrush: 17 (27)
A. Robin: 71 (120)
Gray Catbird: 34 (79)
European Starling: 33 (34)
Cedar Waxwing: 29 (91)

WARBLERS:
Blue-winged: 1 (14)
Nashville: 0 (1)
Yellow: 7 (41)
Chestnut-sided: 37 (100) Unlike the Yellow, the Chestnut-sided can be found
in small clearings and regrowth areas smack in the middle of forests.
Magnolia: 2 (13) low numbers today.
Black-throated Blue: 11 (15)
Yellow-rumped: 19 (59)
Black-throated Green: 55 (103)
Blackburnian: 9 (16) low counts both days.
Pine: 26 (67)
Prairie: 1 (6)
Black and White: 17 (35)
A. Redstart: 17 (39)
Ovenbird: 76 (159)
C. Yellowthroat: 55 (153)
Canada: 10 (13)

Scarlet Tanager: 19 (52)
E. Towhee: 15 (57)
OTHER SPARROWS:
Chipping: 45 (85)
Field: 0 (9)
Savannah: 0 (4)
Song: 21 (65)
Swamp: 16 (42)
White-throated: 6 (28)
Dark-eyed Junco: 0 (1)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak: 2 (10)
Indigo Bunting: 8 (18)
Bobolink: 8 (14)
Red-winged Blackbird: 27 (126)
C. Grackle: 1 (12)
Brown-headed Cowbird: 3 (20)
Baltimore Oriole: 0 (5)
Purple Finch: 1 (5)
A. Goldfinch: 23 (53)
House Sparrow: 13 (13) around a farm.

No Evening Grosbeaks detected on either day, but at this time of the year, when breeding, they become really hard to detect in the forest as they are not that vocal. They have breed in the area in year's past. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

6/26/02 -- Barre Falls Dam-Rutland SP

We conducted our yearly BBS of this parcel that runs between the Barre Falls Dam ACE property and Rutland SP. We were in the field from 5AM-a bit after noon, but the pace was leisurely, and we took some time to count butterflies, eat, enjoy the birds et. All of this area is managed by the MDC. This route, which we have done for years, is a small part of the considerably larger Ware River Watershed IBA area. Weather was hot, but not exceedingly so. There was an abundance of breeding species of birds with a few surprises too. There was also an excellent show of butterflies (we counted 17 species with a nice show of Harris' Checkerspots), odonates (we counted at least 14 species that we could ID) and wildlfowers (including the orchid Rose Pogonia and amazing carpets of Partridgeberry). If you are at all interested in bird behavior, in how a bird lives and breeds, then this is just an amazing time of the year to be afield. We had many species defending territory, carrying food to nests, feeding newly fledged young, et. I will not comment on folks speaking about "birding doldrums".

Great Blue Heron (10 adults/ 6 still active nests/11 almost fledged young
still in those nests)
Green Heron (this species seems to becoming more and more uncommon as a
breeding bird in the interior of MA)
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (1 sub-ad. This is a first for this location for us)
Canada Goose (2)
Wood Duck (1f)
Mallard (2)
Hooded Merganser (1f)
Red-shouldered Hawk (1)
Broad-winged Hawk (pair hunting together plus another adult)
NORTHERN BOBWHITE (1 seen and heard: undoubtably a game farm escape or a
field trial survivior)
Virginia Rail (2)
Mourning Dove (13)
Chimney Swift (2)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (1m: more breed in the area, but they are just so
damned hard to spot)
Belted Kingfisher (1)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (2)
Downy Woodpecker (7)
Hairy Woodpecker (3)
N. Flicker (5)
E. Wood Peewee (20)
Alder Flycatcher (8)
Willow Flycatcher (2)
Least Flycatcher (39)
E. Phoebe (16)
Great Crested Flycatcher (2: never that common in this area)
E. Kingbird (17)
Yellow-throated Vireo (1)
Blue-headed Vireo (35)
Warbling Vireo (10)
Red-eyed Vireo (148)
Blue Jay (20)
A. Crow (6)
Tree Swallow (52)
N. Rough-winged Swallow (7)
Black-capped Chickadee (82)
Tufted Titmouse (12)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (10)
Brown Creeper (9)
House Wren (2)
Winter Wren (6)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (7)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (4: family group)
E. Bluebird (1m)
Veery (44)
Hermit Thrush (43)
Wood Thrush (10)
A. Robin (49)
Gray Catbird (45)
European Starling (1: not always found)
Cedar Waxwing (62)

WARBLERS:
Blue-winged (13)
Nashville (1)
Yellow (34)
Chestnut-sided (63)
Magnolia (11)
Black-throated Blue (4)
Yellow-rumped (40)
Black-throated Green (48)
Blackburnian (7)
Pine (41)
Prairie (5)
Black and White (18)
A. Redstart (22)
Ovenbird (83)
C. Yellowthroat (97)
Canada (3)

Scarlet Tanager (33)
E. Towhee (42)
Chipping Sparrow (40)
Field Sparrow (9)
Savannah Sparrow (4)
Song Sparrow (44)
Swamp Sparrow (26)
White-throated Sparrow (22)
Dark-eyed Junco (1)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (8)
Indigo Bunting (10)
Bobolink (6)
Red-winged Blackbird (99)
C. Grackle (11)
Brown-headed Cowbird (17)
Baltimore Oriole (5)
Purple Finch (4)
A. Goldfinch (30)

All in all, a great day to be out and about! (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

6/25/02 -- S. Barre Breeding Bird Survey

I recorded the following this morning (6/25/02) while carrying out the Breeding Bird Survey on the S. Barre BBS route (S. Barre - Oakham - Spencer - E. Brookfield - Sturbridge). Please note that this was postponed from an earlier date due to wind conditions.

PIED-BILLED GREBE (1 adult w/ 4 young in a beaver pond in Spencer)
Mourning Dove (23)
Chimney Swift (4)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
Downy Woodpecker (9)
Northern Flicker (1)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (9)
Alder Flycatcher (1)
Least Flycatcher (1)
Eastern Phoebe (21)
Eastern Kingbird (4)
Warbling Vireo (1)
Red-eyed Vireo (29)
Blue Jay (10)
American Crow (28)
Tree Swallow (2)
Bank Swallow (1)
Barn Swallow (4)
Black-capped Chickadee (27)
Tufted Titmouse (16)
White-breasted Nuthatch (14)
Brown Creeper (2)
Carolina Wren (1 - Spencer)
House Wren (8)
Veery (12)
Hermit Thrush (4)
Wood Thrush (7)
American Robin (39)
Gray Catbird (32)
Northern Mockingbird (3)
European Starling (25)
Cedar Waxwing (20)

Blue-winged Warbler (1)
Yellow Warbler (12)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (8)
Black-throated Green Warbler (5)
Pine Warbler (1)
Prairie Warbler (2)
Black-and-white Warbler (2)
American Redstart (7)
Ovenbird (21)
Common Yellowthroat (21)

Scarlet Tanager (6)
Eastern Towhee (1)
Chipping Sparrow (31)
Field Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (31)
Swamp Sparrow (3)
White-throated Sparrow (1)
Northern Cardinal (18)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3)
Indigo Bunting (2)
Bobolink (2)
Red-winged Blackbird (26)
Common Grackle (5)
Brown-headed Cowbird (10)
Baltimore Oriole (4)
Purple Finch (1)
House Finch (12)
American Goldfinch (24)
House Sparrow (22)

(report from John Liller).

6/22/02 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester

The following were recorded during the 12th annual Breeding Bird Survey at the Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (Worcester) Saturday morning (6/22/02):

Double-crested Cormorant (1)
Great Blue Heron (1)
Mallard (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Ruffed Grouse (1)
Sora (1)
Ring-billed Gull (4 - New High)
Rock Dove (4)
Mourning Dove (20)
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (1)
Chimney Swift (6)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (3)
Downy Woodpecker (17)
Hairy Woodpecker (4)
Northern Flicker (7)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (15)
Willow Flycatcher (1)
Eastern Phoebe (5)
Great Crested Flycatcher (9)
Eastern Kingbird (2)
Warbling Vireo (6)
Red-eyed Vireo (11)
Blue Jay (39 - New High)
American Crow (33 - New High)
Tree Swallow (7)
Black-capped Chickadee (29)
Tufted Titmouse (32)
White-breasted Nuthatch (19)
Carolina Wren (4)
[Note:  House Wren was not recorded for the first time; there was one
singing in the adjacent neighborhood, but none was recorded on the
Sanctuary]
Eastern Bluebird (4)
Veery (4)
Wood Thrush (10)
American Robin (28)
Gray Catbird (59 - New High)
Brown Thrasher (1)
European Starling (587)
Cedar Waxwing (16 - New High)

Blue-winged Warbler (7)
Yellow Warbler (20)
Prairie Warbler (6)
American Redstart (1)
Ovenbird (4)
Common Yellowthroat (35)

Scarlet Tanager (10)
Eastern Towhee (33)
Chipping Sparrow (7 - New High)
Field Sparrow (15)
Song Sparrow (31)
Swamp Sparrow (2)
Northern Cardinal (14 - same number four years in a row)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (5)
Red-winged Blackbird (34)
Common Grackle (164)
Brown-headed Cowbird (31)
Baltimore Oriole (14)
House Finch (7)
American Goldfinch (22)
House Sparrow (27 - New High)

(report from John Liller).

6/20/02 -- Muddy Pond Conservation Area, Westminster

I have completed the third year's inventory of birds at the Muddy Pond Conservation Area in Westminster. The inventory is based on 19 sample points spaced 750' apart. This year the inventory was conducted on June 10 and 20. The results are as follows in decreasing order of abundance: Ovenbird 29, Scarlet Tanager 27, Black-throated Blue Warbler 20, Blue Jay 17, Eastern Wood-pewee 14, Veery 14, Chickadee 12, Canada Warbler 11, Red-eyed Vireo 8, Towhee 7, Black-and-White Warbler 6, Tufted Titmouse 6, Downy Woodpecker 5, Song Sparrow 3, Northern Waterthrush 3, Swamp Sparrow 3, Goldfinch 3, Yellowthroat 2, Catbird 2, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2, Wood Thrush 2, Baltimore Oriole 2 (new species), Black-throated Green Warbler 1, Red-winged Blackbird 1, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Common Grackle 1, Crow 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Cowbird 1, Mourning Dove 1, Flicker 1 and Black-billed Cuckoo 1 (new species). Other species that were observed during the inventory but not at the sample points were Black Duck, Great Blue Heron, Broadwing Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Tree Swallow, Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Hermit Thrush, Robin and Chipping Sparrow.
This years results seem to show discernalbe changes in the numbers of only three species (not that three years data is very meaningful). Red-eyed Vireo numbers were only about half of previous years. On the other hand, Scarlet Tanager numbers were 250% higher that the average of the last two years. Hermit Thrush was completely missed at the sample points. While not overly abundant on this site due to the habitat types, typically 3 or 4 are observed.
Another interesting result of this year's inventory is that it points out the value of real data rather than our perceptions. While conducting the inventory I was struck by what appeared to be the lack of birds. When the numbers were added up, however, more birds were observed than in either of the previous years. It is intertesting to note that the total number of individuals observed has been remarkably stable; 208 in 2000, 203 in 2001 and 213 this year. (report from Chuck Caron).

3/23/02 -- Blackstone National Corridor waterbird survey

On Saturday, March 23, 17 people in 6 teams from Broad Meadow Brook MAS in Worcester fanned out across the Blackstone National Corridor between Worcester and Providence to count "water birds" on river, pond, lake and reservoir. We were actually short one team, so their territory was counted by two other teams splitting up the territory. The day was very windy and very cold in the AM, especially in NW Rhode Island, making counting tough. Ice was on many marshy with emergent vegetation and shallow ponds. This is part of a series of counts to be conducted in the Corridor for the next several years. Totals: Pied-billed Grebe (2); Double-crested Cormorant (3); Great Cormorant (28: 8 of which were found on PONDS in Lincoln); Great Blue Heron (19: nesting was noted in Burrillville and Smithfield, Rhode Island); Snow Goose (1); Canada Goose (1666); Mute Swan (113. Birds already on the nest were noted in Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket, and North Smithfield Rhode Island, and in the city of Worcester. Many pairs had not begun to nest yet); Wood Duck (117); Gadwall (14); A. Wigeon (33); A. Black Duck (314); Mallard (1360); Green-winged Teal (9); N. Pintail (3); Northern Shoveler (1m); Ring-necked Duck (336); Greater Scaup (7); Lesser Scaup (399); TUFTED DUCK (the drake continues at Flint Pond); Bufflehead (218); C. Goldeneye (41); Hooded Merganser (165); Common Merganser (396); Red-breasted Merganser (6); Ruddy Duck (77); BALD EAGLE (1ad at Sneetch Pond, Cumberland RI); Killdeer (30); C. Snipe (3); Bonaparte's Gull (4); Ring-billed Gull (1687); Herring Gull (579); Great Black backed Gull (110); Belted Kingfisher (3: seems very low). Other birds noted by the field observers included the TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE in Smithfield, RI, (44) Turkey Vultures, (24) Red-tailed Hawks. Other raptors seen included Sharp-shinned, Cooper's and Red-shouldered. I asked people to count Red-bellied and Hairy Woodpeckers just to see how thier totals would compare. It was NOT a great day to count land birds because of the wind, but 10 Red-bellieds and only 2 Hairys were noted. (7) Eastern Phoebes, (7) Tree Swallows, (15) Fish Crows and (24) Carolina Wrens were also seen.

Here is the detailed count info:

(compiled and submitted by Mark Lynch).

Return to Census Index