Central Mass Bird Census Archives, 2005
Central Mass Bird Update homepage.
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.
Co. Loon 6 Horned Grebe-6 Red-necked Grebe-1 (4th rec) Canada Goose-3 Black Duck-48 Mallard-107 Am.Green-winged Teal-1 (3rd rec) Bufflehead-2 Co.Goldeneye-49 Hooded Merganser-27 Co.Merganser-137 Bald Eagle ^Ö 10 ad, 9 Imm Sharp-shinned Hawk-2 Cooper^Òs Hawk-1 Northern Goshawk-1 Red-tailed Hawk-27 Golden Eagle-1 (Again-east side of quabbin. North of Mt.Zion (Gate 40 region) Ruffed Grouse-15 Wild Turkey-149 Ring-billed Gull-133 Herring Gull-125 Gr.blk-backed Gull-14 Rock Pigeon-184 Mourning Dove-204 E.Screech-Owl-1 Gr.Horned Owl-6 Barred Owl-6 No.Saw-whet Owl-6 Belted Kingfisher-3 Red-bellied Woodpecker-10 (new high) Downy Woodpecker-78 Hairy Woodpecker-28 No.Flicker-1 Pileated Woodpecker-17 No.Shrike-3 Blue Jay-283 Am.Crow-282 Co.Raven-34 Blk-capped Chickadee-902 Tufted Titmouse-156 Red-br.Nuthatch-28 White-br.Nuthatch-194 Brown Creeper-20 Carolina Wren-2 Winter Wren-2 Golden-cr.Kinglet-116 Eastern Bluebird-30 Hermit Thrush-2. (2nd rec) Am.Robin-384 No.Mockingbird-9 E.Starling-671 Cedar Waxwing-165 Eastern Towhee-1 Am.Tree Sparrow-129 Song Sparrow-11 White-throated Sparrow-19 Dark-eyed Junco-267 No.Cardinal-54 Common Grackle-1 Br.Headed Cowbird-1 Purple Finch-14 House Finch-66 Co.Redpoll-8 Am.Goldfinch-203 House Sparrow-1032 (new high)Mammals: White-tailed Deer-9, Gray Squirrel-18, Red Squirrel-47, River Otter-5, Porcupine-3,Coyote-2, Chipmunk-5, Bobcat ^Ö1 (Seen chasing Wild Turkeys), Mink-1, E.Cottontail-2, White-footed Mouse-2, and 1 flying Squirrel found in bluebird box. (report from Scott Surner, fide Mark Lynch).
Narratives and detailed reports:
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
OSPREY (2 - the highlight of Fisherville)
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
AMERICAN KESTREL (pair at the top of Potter Hill Rd. in Grafton)
Wild Turkey
Killdeer
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
AMERICAN WOODCOCK (Grafton Conservation Land)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO (Hennessy Land)
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (Grafton Conservation Land)
Eastern Screech-Owl
BARRED OWL (2 - calling during the night and day behind our house)
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker (we missed this last year)
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
House Wren
WINTER WREN (heard in Upton State Forest)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (last new bird recorded, at 2:30 PM)
Blue-winged Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER (Upton State Forest)
Pine Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH (Grafton Conservation Land)
Common Yellowthroat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
SAVANNAH SPARROW (Hennessy Land)
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
BOBOLINK (River Bend Farm, Hennessy Land)
Red-winged Blackbird
EASTERN MEADOWLARK (Hennessy Land)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
ORCHARD ORIOLE (River Bend Farm)
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Also, Red Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Cottontail,
White-tailed Deer, Muskrat, bat species, Painted Turtle, Spring Peeper,
Eastern Comma, Red Admiral, Clouded Sulphur.
Here are some pictures taken by
me during Bird-a-thon:
Killdeer in flight
Pine Warbler
Wood Thrush (report and photos from John Liller).
Participants: John Liller (compiler), Kim Kastler, Howard Shainheit, Bruce
deGraaf, Dan Berard, Jr.
Great Blue Heron (3)
Green Heron (2)
Mallard (6)
Broad-winged Hawk (2 - adult and at least one on nest)
Red-tailed Hawk (3)
[ Ruffed Grouse (count week) ]
[ Wild Turkey (count week) ]
VIRGINIA RAIL (3 - New High)
Sora (1)
Rock Pigeon (6)
Mourning Dove (13 - including one on nest)
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (2 - New High)
Chimney Swift (8)
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (2 - New Species for Count)
Belted Kingfisher (1)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (5)
Downy Woodpecker (22)
Hairy Woodpecker (7)
Northern Flicker (6)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (16)
ACADIAN FLYCATCHER (1 - New Species for Sanctuary)
Willow Flycatcher (3)
Eastern Phoebe (3)
Great Crested Flycatcher (6)
Eastern Kingbird (8)
Warbling Vireo (5)
Red-eyed Vireo (13)
Blue Jay (21)
American Crow (6)
Tree Swallow (9)
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE (49 - New High)
Tufted Titmouse (34)
White-breasted Nuthatch (16)
Carolina Wren (2)
House Wren (2)
BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER (4 - New Species for Count)
Eastern Bluebird (6)
[ Veery (count week) ]
Wood Thrush (11)
American Robin (28)
Gray Catbird (25)
Northern Mockingbird (2)
European Starling (17)
Cedar Waxwing (5)
Blue-winged Warbler (2)
Yellow Warbler (6)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (1)
Prairie Warbler (13)
Ovenbird (5)
Common Yellowthroat (22)
Scarlet Tanager (12)
Eastern Towhee (22)
Chipping Sparrow (6)
Field Sparrow (6)
Song Sparrow (26)
Swamp Sparrow (1)
Northern Cardinal (12)
ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK (11 - New High)
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (50)
Common Grackle (48)
Brown-headed Cowbird (14)
Baltimore Oriole (18 - including several nests)
House Finch (10)
American Goldfinch (22)
House Sparrow (13)
62 species total + 3 count week
(report from John Liller).
(compiled by Mark Lynch).
Canada Goose 215
Mute Swan 10
American Black Duck 2
Mallard 303
Green-winged Teal 4
Ring-necked Duck 1
Common Goldeneye 17
Hooded Merganser 130
Common Merganser 113
Great Blue Heron 6
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Coot 12
Ring-billed Gull 602
Herring Gull 43
Great Black Backed Gull 6
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Crow 1 sick one along the river at Notre Dame Cemetery
American Robin 1
Northern Mockingbird 1
White-throated Sparrow 5
Most Important water body was Lake Quinsigamond where we made 14 different
stops and saw the most waterfowl species.
At Cues Reservoir we saw a total of 4 swans. Possibly a family of 3 (1 adult
with 2 young) who were chased by a territorial adult.
Little Indian Lake was a disappointment, 2 Canada's and 3 Mallards.
Cook's Pond also disappointed us. It was absolutely empty.
We made about 35 different stops in all. We survived the cold winds and had
a great time participating in this annual fall survey.
Francis X. McMenemy and
Joan B. Zumpfe
Today we counted waterbirds in the RI section of the Corridor as part of our
annual waterbird census of the entire Blackstone National Corridor from
7AM-3:30PM. Other teams from Broad Meadow Brook MAS were/will be counting in
other towns in the Blackstone National Corridor both today and tomorrow, and
together we manage to cover most of the ponds, reservoirs, lakes and rivers
in the entire Corridor this one weekend. The weather today was cold and
blustery, making counting tough in certain locations. Though this count was
about a week or two later than previous years, water in our sections today
was for the most part open and only small, brushy mashes were partly frozen.
Numbers were interesting. COMMON MERGANSERS were almost a "no-show" in our
towns for the first time in years of conducting these surveys. They have NOT
already passed through because we have monitored most of these locations on
a regular basis this fall and the typical numbers of Common Mergs have yet
to pass through, IF they ever do this year. RING-NECKED DUCK numbers were
also very low as were scaup numbers and Hooded Merganser numbers. Again:
those species have yet to move through the ponds we monitored today, (if
they ever do later). That said, RUDDY DUCK numbers were higher in Cumberland
than in counts past, though close to typical in Turner Reservoir.
CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND:
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Great Blue Heron (2)
Mute Swan (4)
Canada Goose (178)
Wood Duck (4)
Mallard (278: high)
A Black Duck (17)
N. Pintail (2)
Ring-necked Duck (19)
Common Goldeneye (5)
Hooded Merganser (31)
Common Merganser (2: extremely low: typically we get close to 75-100 just at
the reservoirs alone)
Ruddy Duck (32)
OSPREY (1 at Rawson Pond)
Red-tailed Hawk (5)
Ring-billed Gull (5: extremely low)
We also counted passerines AT the ponds:
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1)
Downy Woodpecker (2)
N. Flicker (3)
Blue Jay (5: low)
FISH CROW (2)
American Crow (16)
Black-capped Chickadee (37)
Tufted Titmouse (17)
White-breasted Nuthatch (8)
Carolina Wren (1)
Eastern Bluebird (1)
Hermit Thrush (3)
American Robin (1: low)
Gray Catbird (2)
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (4)
N. Cardinal (27)
Fox Sparrow (3)
Song Sparrow (10)
White-throated Sparrow (21)
Dark-eyed Junco (32)
House Finch (21)
PAWTUCKET:
Nota bene: there were NO ducks at the landing on the Pawtucket River, which
was the first time that has happened. Typically Common Mergs overwinter
there in numbers.
Double-crested Cormorant (3)
Green-winged Teal (4)
Mallard (35)
American Black Duck (3)
N. Pintail (1)
Common Merganser (1: very low)
OSPREY (1: at Ten Mile River at Pawtucket CC)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Ring-billed Gull (132)
Herring Gull (3)
Great Black-backed Gull (2)
PASSERINES included:
Golden-crowned Kinglet (2)
A Robin (38)
Brown-headed Cowbird (4)
PROVIDENCE/EAST PROVIDENCE in part: nota bene: only a VERY small part of
each city is actually "IN" the Blackstone National Corridor. This includes
Turner Reservoir, Central Pond, Omega Pond, and the Seekonk River south to
Bold Point Park.
CENTRAL POND/JAMES TURNER RESERVOIR:nota bene: NO wigeon!
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Double-crested Cormorant (2)
Great Cormorant (2)
Mute Swan (21)
Canada Goose (119)
Mallard (46)
Canvasback (1)
Lesser Scaup (10)
Greater Scaup (7)
Bufflehead (1)
Hooded Merganser (16)
Common Merganser (1: extremely low)
Ruddy Duck (131)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Ring-billed Gull (136: most resting on Central Pond)
Herring Gull (98: most resting on Turner)
Great Black-backed Gull (2)
Passerines included:
Fish Crow (3)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (3)
A Coot (9)
SEEKONK RIVER:nota bene: there was a duck hunter out in a boat right NEXT to
Swan Pont Cemetery!
Great Cormorant (3)
Double-crested Cormorant (6)
Great Blue Heron (3)
Mute Swan (6)
Canada Goose (20)
American Wigeon (13: off Bold Point)
Mallard (120)
A. Black Duck (154)
Bufflehead (149)
Common Goldeneye (16)
Hooded Merganser (5)
Common Merganser (1; very low)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (1: scarfing down a Rock Pigeon on a dock off Bold Point)
Bonaparte's Gull (18)
Ring-billed Gull (1052)
Herring Gull (506)
Great Black-backed Gull (118)
Passerines included:
N. Flicker (2)
Fish Crow (5)
American Robin (125 coming down for an afternoon's drink at the tiny
artificial pond in Swan Point Cem)
Cedar Waxwing (6)
TOMORROW: The town of LEICESTER "in the snow"!!
Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll
We counted waterbirds in the ponds of LEICESTER this morning, following a
well established route. This count is part of the fall Blackstone National
Corridor waterfowl survey. Despite the snow accumulating on roads pretty
early making driving difficult, we made all the stops: 37. Leicester has, by
far, the highest elevation of any town in the Corridor and often what is
rain in winter in Providence, is ice or snow in Leicester. There is even a
noticeable temperature difference between Worcester, away from Airport Hill
(half of which is in Leicester anyway), and Leicester and ponds freeze
faster in Leicester than in the entire rest of the Corridor. So: it was no
surprise that many of the smaller ponds were covered today at least with
slush, if not ice. Large lakes and reservoirs were for the most part open.
Waterbird selection was just fair-poor, but considering the viewing
conditions, we did alright. Passerine numbers were likewise poor except for
chickadees. Numbers were likely better in this town too weeks ago.
Canada Goose (25)
Mallard (117)
American Black Duck (4)
Hooded Merganser (9)
Common Merganser (3)
Ring-billed Gull (1)
Great Black-backed Gull (1adW)
Pileated Woodpecker (2)
Black-capped Chickadee (78)
Tufted Titmouse (8)
Blue Jay (3: low)
American Crow (11)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (10)
American Robin (6)
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (1)
White-throated Sparrow (13)
Northern Cardinal (10)
Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll
12/3/05 We surveyed Lincoln, Smithfield, and Wooncocket RI as part of the
blackstone Corridor IBA profect. The following ar the highlights.
Lincoln:Pied-billed grebe (2) double-crested cormorant (2) breat Blue Heron
(1) canada goose (50) Wood duck (2) American Wigeon (7) American Black duck
(167) Northern Pintail (1) Hooded Merganser (37) Common Merganser (52)
Osprey (1) American Coot (15) ring-billed gull (62) Herring Gull (30) GBB
Gull (4) Belted Kingfisher (1) Swamp sparrow (1) Red-tailed Hawk (3)
Broad-winged Hawk (1) Sharp-shinne Hawk (1) American robins (4)
Yellow-rumped warbler (1) Red-bellied Woodpecker (1) Golden-crowned kinglet
(30
Smithfield:Pied-billed grebe (1) Great blue Heron (3) canada goose (47)
American black duck (12) Mallard (57) ring-necked duck (118) Hooded
Merganser (4) Common Merganser (17) Ruddy duck (14) ring-billed gull (46)
herring gull (57) GBB Gull (11) Belted Kingfisher (1) American robins (10)
Cedar Waxwings (10) eastern Bluebird (1) Pine Siskin (1) Purple Finch (6)
red-tailed Hawk (1) Cooper's Hawk (1)
Woonsocket:Mallard (15) Canada goose (8) Common Merganser (2) Ring-billed
gull (1080 Herring gull (4) Turkey Vulture (1) and Muscovy duck (7) that
live in the blackstone river @ Island Park where many children skated to
Christmas Carols on the ice rink by the river yesterday.
Dan. Deb, and Dan Jr Berard
Kim Kastler and I covered the northwestern Rhode Island section
(Burrillville+Glocester+N.Smithfield) for the Blackstone Corridor
Waterbird Survey yesterday (12/3/05). Because of the possibility of
inclement weather for today, as well as afternoon plans, we tried to cover
as much of our area (90%), including all OF the most important sites.
Here is our list:
BURRILLVILLE
Common Loon (1 - Pascoag Reservoir)
Double-crested Cormorant (1 immature Spring Lake)
Canada Goose (14)
Mallard (50)
Ring-necked Duck (6 - Spring Lake)
Hooded Merganser (79 - includes a huge group of 48 in Wilson Reservoir)
Common Merganser (11)
Ruddy Duck (37 - Spring Lake, as usual)
Ring-billed Gull (24)
Herring Gull (3)
Great Black-backed Gull (4)
Also:
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
RIVER OTTER (3 - Nichols Pond; this is the 2nd year we have had otter,
last year was at Tarklin Pond in N. Smithfield)
GLOCESTER
Great Blue Heron (1 - Smith & Sayles Reservoir)
Mute Swan (1 - Smith & Sayles Reservoir)
American Black Duck (21)
Mallard (85 - 45 together at Keach's Pond)
Ring-necked Duck (4 - Cherry Valley Pond)
Bufflehead (2 - Cherry Valley Pond)
Hooded Merganser (44)
Common Merganser (33 - Waterman Reservoir)
Ring-billed Gull (22)
Herring Gull (4)
Great Black-backed Gull (2)
N. SMITHFIELD
Great Blue Heron (1 -small pond across road from Slatersville Reservoir)
Canada Goose (31)
Mute Swan (1 - Homestead Gifts; the place has gone out of business and is
for sale)
Wood Duck (2 - small pond across road from Slatersville Reservoir)
Mallard (28)
Hooded Merganser (9)
Belted Kingfisher (1 - Lake Belair)
Also: Turvey Vulture (1), Carolina Wren (1)
Note: We started the day at the Rt. 104 exit from Rt. 146. Unfortunately,
a hunter, with no orange, beat us there and was sitting quietly at the
water's edge. Needless to say, there were no birds. We finished at Pratt
Pond, where there was also no birds.
Greatest Number (107) and Variety (7 species) of Birds: Spring Lake in
Burrillville
Greatest Number of Gulls: Pascoag Reservoir (22) and Waterman Reservoir
(25) - the gull numbers seemed low
Except for a few pockets of Mallards, this species seemed scarce, and it
was the Hooded Mergansers that seemed to be everywhere.
John Liller
Great Blue Heron (5)
Mute Swan (4)
Snow Goose (cw: 14 overhead)
Canada Goose (218)
Wood Duck (3)
Black Duck (37)
Mallard (748)
Hooded Merganser (44)
Common Merganser (30)
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (1: new count species)
Bald Eagle (2ad+1imm)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (5)
Cooper's Hawk (9)
Red-shouldered Hawk (2 "feeder birds": long, weird story: but there is some
guy who is putting out whole sides of beef to feed hawks and gulls)
Red-tailed Hawk (37)
Ring-necked Phaesant (1)
Ruffed Grouse (3)
Wild Turkey (125)
SANDHILL CRANE (2: new species for count. Seen at the Elm Hill MAS property)
Wilson's Snipe (1)
Ring-billed Gull (94)
Herring Gull (19)
Great Black backed Gull (3)
Rock Pigeon (696: lowest count)
Mourning Dove (455)
Screech Owl (9)
Great Horned Owl (8)
Barred Owl (6)
Long-eared Owl (2)
N. Saw-whet Owl (9: high)
Belted Kingfisher (5)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (57: second highest count)
Downy Woodpecker (244: highest count)
Hairy Woodpecker (42: highest count)
N Flicker (6)
Pileated Woodpecker (3)
Horned Lark (113)
Blue Jay (745)
A Crow (310)
Common Raven (10: highest count)
Black-capped Chickadee (2548: Extremely high count. Former highest count in
' 97 was 1914. Dick Hildreth, who was on this count, reported being on Mt.
Katahdin, Maine this fall and noting huge flocks of chickadees migrating
south.)
Tufted Titmouse (592)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (49: NOT a big flight year)
White-breasted Nuthatch (333)
Brown Creeper (16)
Carolina Wren (8)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (48: again, NOT a big flight year)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Eastern Bluebird (50)
Hermit Thrush (7: highest count)
American Robin (43)
Northern Mockingbird (16: lowest count. Over the last ten years, Mockers
have tallied: 23; 27; 31; 50; 38; 29; 26; 22; 21; and now 16. So the
answer to Tom Collins' question appears to be that Mockingbirds HAVE
declined in interior MA. It has been suggested that as the Multiflora Rose,
an invasive, has been reduced, this bird has also declined.)
Cedar Waxwing (119)
Northern Shrike (1)
European Starling (1338: lowest count)
Northern Cardinal (273: highest count)
American Tree Sparrow (371)
CHIPPING SPARROW (1: new count species)
Savannah Sparrow (2)
Fox Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (108)
LINCOLN'S SPARROW (1: new count species; well documented and seen by several
people)
Swamp Sparrow (4)
White-throated Sparrow (43)
Dark-eyed Junco (1023)
Snow Bunting (4)
Red-winged Blackbird (16)
Rusty Blackbird (2)
Eastern Meadowlark (1)
Brown-headed Cowbird (11)
Purple Finch (3: NOT a flight year)
House Finch (193: lowest count)
Common Redpoll (3: in a big flight year, we see many more of this species)
Pine Siskin (1)
Evening Grosbeak (5: highest count)
House Sparrow (997)
MAMMALS included New England Cottontail; Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel,
several Red Foxes, Gray Fox and a Bobcat.
(report from compiler Mark Lynch).
