December 2011 Central Mass Bird Sightings
Sightings are listed in reverse chronological order. The email
address of birders submitting reports, as well as other
Central Massachusetts birding info can be found via the
Central Mass Bird Update homepage.
Bird News:
Bird Sightings:
- 12/31/11 -- Uxbridge
-
While driving over the Blackstone River on Hartford Avenue in Uxbridge this
afternoon, I saw a number of people taking pictures of something. Turns out
there was an adult bald eagle flying around and perching in a tree on the
water's edge. A nice bird to see on the last day of 2011!
(report from Mary Sughrue-Yacino).
- 12/28/11 -- All Faith's Cemetery/Leesville Pond, Worcester/Auburn
- I found what I think is a
partially leucistic Canada
Goose,
with 150+ other Canadian Geese. Here is
another
view.
Highlights here yesterday (12/27) were 1 Northern Pintail, 12 Green winged Teal, 6
American Black Duck, 1 American x Mallard hybrid, and 31 Hooded Mergansers.
(report from Brian Mulhearn)
- 12/28/11 -- Sutton
-
A male Ring-necked Pheasant was foraging along Boston Road in front of
Sutton Elementary School in Sutton at 8 am today.
(report from Robert Brady).
- 12/27/11 -- Brierly's Pond, Millbury
-
This morning there was a Bald Eagle perched in a tree above the dirt
parking area at Brierly's Pond. When it flew, it headed towards Lake
Singletary.
When I drove there, I found it perched in a tree near the boat ramp. The
dozen Hooded Mergansers were very nervous and all took off. I have not seen
the 4 American Coot at Singletary for the last 2 days.
(report from Alan Marble).
- 12/27/11 -- downtown Worcester
-
Around 12:45 pm today, after walking the Worcester Common in search of the
Peregrine Falcon, then crossing over to Salem Street, I began to follow a
flurry of white feathers where I saw the Peregrine enjoying lunch atop the
Worcester Public Library. Primary and secondary feathers from the prey were
spiraling down onto the sidewalk. A side trip followed to Price Chopper
Plaza at Route 20 and Greenwood Street yielded 100+ Ring-billed Gulls; in
addition to those numbers a hundred plus more gulls flushed from the roof of
Price Chopper, but eluded review as they quickly resettled on the roof. The
four fake Great-Horned Owls on the roof don't seem to discourage the gulls.
(report from Lisa Hennin).
- 12/26/11 -- Westminster Christmas Count
-
On Monday, December 26th the 41st Westminster CBC was held in our annual
attempt to avoid having the lowest species total for the state. For the
first time in several years the count was conducted without adverse weather
conditions. Despite the very warm weather many, if not most, waterbodies
froze over just prior to count day. As a result no unexpected ducks were
tallied. In addition, absolutely no winter finches were reported. At least
some are usually observed on this count, even in bad finch years. 54
species were tallied, slightly above the ten year average.
Here is the
detailed list of the 54 species recorded.
(report from John Liller).
- 12/25/11 -- Rutland
- Chris Purington observed a sharp shinned hawk
catching a blue jay on her pond Christmas day, and her husband took a
video of
the entire capture sequence using his IPhone.
(report from Kathy Van Schoick).
- 12/24/11 -- Millbury/Northbridge
-
- Around 12.45 right before exit 8 146 in Millbury I observed a lone
AmericanKestral.
- Around 1.15 at Meadow Pond in NorthBridge there was 12 to
13 RingNecked Ducks and a handfull of MuteSwans .
(report from Michael Joubert).
- 12/24/11 -- Sutton
-
Around 3.30 this morning at Atlas Box Sutton ( North bound side 146 just
south of Tony's ) I observed some thing fly over the parking lot.I walked
over to where it seemed to land and was rewarded with a GreatHorned Owl
about 15 feet up a tree. (report from Michael Joubert).
- 12/22/11 -- Oxford/Sutton
-
- Around 3.00 at the 200 sporstman club pond Oxford there was 1
BeltedKingfisher . Near the Market Basket Oxford in
the swampy area there was a pair of WoodDucks.
- At 3,15 on Webster Lake there was a small group of
Ringnecked ducks with 2 pair of HoodedMergansers and 1 CommonGoldeneye
drake.These birds were very close to shore.
- At 3.45 Steven's Pond Sutton
there were 3 WoodDucks 1 male 2 females and 1 GreatBlueHeron.At 3.50 on the
Mumford River Manchaug by the Post office there was 1 CommomMerganser along
with a dozen or so Mallards. At my {Manchaug)feeders the female
YellowBelliedSapsucker continues to show occasionally.
(report from Michael Joubert).
- 12/22/11 -- Institute Park, Worcester
- Highlights at 2:00 were 2 Mute Swan, 1 Gadwall (m), 11 Hooded
Merganser, and 1 Belted Kingfisher (f). (report from Rick Quimby).
- 12/21/11 -- Westminster
-
Just before dawn this morning was a Bald Eagle, heading toward Round Meadow
Pond. It was too dark to see whether it was an adult or immature.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 12/21/11 -- Hosmer St., West Boylston
-
There has been a pileated woodpecker in my front yard for a few months, and
today there were 2! I'm pretty sure they are both males. Unfortunately
they did not make an appearance for the Christmas count.
(report from Jean Holm).
- 12/20/11 -- Bent Pond, Gardner
-
In spite of recent cold snaps a Great blue Heron continues to hang around the open
water in a drawn down Bent Pond off Mill St. Today makes it my latest
record for the North County. (report from Dick Knowlton).
- 12/19/11 -- Curtis Pond at Hadwen Park, Worcester
- There has been a
female Wood
Duck here the last few
weeks. Also, 1 Great Blue Heron, 2 Mute Swans, 1 Northern
Pintail, 1 American Black Duck, 12 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Common Mergansers,
71 Mallards 1 Belted Kingfisher, and 1 Gold-crowned Kinglet. These ducks can
also be viewed from the back of Notre Dame Cemetery . (report from Brian
Mulhearn)
- 12/18/11 -- Salisbury Pond at Institute Park, Worcester
-
I went to look for the green-winged teal drake, to get a better
photo. The pond was full of mallards, Canada geese (the smaller race), one
with white on its neck and another with white on the top of the head and
gulls. Hoodies still present, and also a drake gadwall. The GW teal
(1m/1f) were present, toying with me in the cattails and shadows.
Here's my latest attempt at a
photo of the drake.
There were also two muskrat being very possessive of the cattails,
incessantly chasing the ducks out of their larder.
Also checked out Indian Pond, where there were Mallards, gulls, and a couple hoodies.
(report from Garry Kessler).
- 12/17/11 -- Worcester Christmas Count
-
The 60th Worcester Christmas Count took place on Saturday (12/17).
Here is the
detailed list of the 85 species recorded on count day, plus 1 during count week.
(report from John Liller).
- 12/17/11 -- Rutland
-
- At about 11:30AM today, I was scanning through some Canada Geese
in Rutland when I came across a PINK-FOOTED GOOSE. This is the
first record for Worcester County and I think it's only the sixth or
seventh record in the state (if accepted). At first I thought it might
be the same bird as the one reported in Lynn a week earlier, but the
bill colors are very different. The bill of the bird in Lynn had black
bill with a pink tip, while the bird I saw had a mostly pink bill.
- Interestingly, while watching this bird a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE
flew in with another group of Canadas.
- And here's the bad news: Unfortunately, this bird is located on
private property and, although the landowner gave me permission to
walk on the grounds, they were adamant about not having a crowd of
people. It's not a birder-friendly area and definitely cannot support
many cars. For this reason I am not posting the exact location. I'm
posting this report soley to document the record and to make people
aware that this bird was in the area. So, check all flocks of Canada
Geese!
- Photos can be seen on my
blog
(report from Kevin Bourinot).
- 12/15/11 -- Lunenburg/Fitchburg Airport
-
Highlights from various points in Lunenburg and a stop at the Fitchburg Airport, all
within the Groton-Oxbow CBC from 0940 to 1215 today:
- Lunenburg:
American Black Duck 2;
Ring-necked Duck 7;
Hooded Merganser 7;
Common Merganse 2;
Wild Turkey 14;
American Coot 3 still lingering on Whalom Lake//down from 5 last week;
Great Black-backed Gull 4;
Belted Kingfisher 1;
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2;
Hairy Woodpecker 1;
Brown Creeper 1;
Carolina Wren 3;
Winter Wren 1;
Eastern Bluebird 5;
American Robin 6;
Chipping Sparrow 1 very surprised to find another late "Chippy" in north
Worcester County;
Song Sparrow 6;
White-throated Sparrow 4;
Dark-eyed Junco 50
- Fitchburg Airport just before 1300:
Snow Bunting 45;
Lapland Longspur 1 w/SNBU.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 12/15/11 -- Sutton
- Around 1:45 I had a female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker stop at my suet feeder .
(report from Michael Joubert).
- 12/15/11 -- Institute Park, Worcester
- Highlights at noon were 2 Mute Swan, 24 "real" Canada Geese (migrants
with short necks), 2 Green-winged Teal (m/f), 1 Gadwall (m), 16 Hooded
Merganser, 1 Belted Kingfisher, and 2 WT Sparrow. (report from Rick
Quimby).
- 12/14/11 -- Sturbridge CBC
-
The 16th STURBRIDGE CBC was held on Wednesday December 14th. Towns included
at least partly in the circle include the Brookfields, Sturbridge, Charlton,
Southbridge, Spencer and Brimfield. Here is the
detailed list of the species recorded.
(report from Mark Lynch).
- 12/13/11 -- Baldwinville
- From a few hours mid-day today in Baldwinville and area near Lake Dennison:
Canada Goose 18;
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1;
Rock Pigeon 35;
Mourning Dove 9;
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2;
Downy Woodpecker 3;
Hairy Woodpecker 1;
Blue Jay 18;
American Crow 8;
Black-capped Chickadee 43;
Tufted Titmouse 2;
Red-breasted Nuthatch 8;
White-breasted Nuthatch 10;
Brown Creeper 2;
Carolina Wren 2;
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2;
American Robin 40;
Northern Mockingbird 1;
European Starling 20;
American Tree Sparrow 2;
Chipping Sparrow 1 a nice surprise up this way in December;
Song Sparrow 1;
White-throated Sparrow 20;
Dark-eyed Junco 50;
Northern Cardinal 10;
Purple Finch 1;
House Finch 16;
American Goldfinch 18;
House Sparrow 3.
- Yesterday, 12/12 a Mourning Cloak butter fly on Newcomb Road in Westinster.
(report from Tom Pirro). - 12/11/11 -- Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston
- I first noticed some Common Goldeneyes on Wachusett Reservoir
at South Bay on a 12/7 drive by.
Today I counted 11 males and 4 females, all Common, no Barrows..
(report from Jean Holm).
- 12/11/11 -- Charlton and the Brookfields
-
SCOUTING A FEW AREAS IN THE STURBRIDGE CBC CIRCLE:
- ORLANDO'S PONDS, CHARLTON: The farmer is still feeding the ducks
here and
apparently throwing some stuff out in his backyard in the farmhouse up on
the hill as we had 100s of RING-BILLED GULLS swarming all over and behind
the house. The pond had (c. 225++) Mallards; (c.300+) Ring-billed Gulls;
only (c. 75+) Canada Goose (more may have left at dawn; (11+ AMERICAN BLACK
DUCK); at least (+7) hybrid MallardXBlack and 3 GADWALLS (2f+1m)
- LAKE QUABOG: (1) COMMON LOON, this took off while we were watching
it,
circling over the pond 7 times as it very gradually gained altitude and took
off. The (A?) big flock of AMERICAN COOT are still there, but were far out
and to the east and therefore difficult to count. We had somewhere like
110-120 +. Also there Common Mergansers (6); BUFFLEHEAD (1); Mallards (12);
- LAKE LASHAWAY: (84) COMMON MERGANSERS; (8) MALLARDS; (15) Hooded
Merganser and (1) PIED-BILLED GREBE.
- LAKE WICKABOG: over 200+ Common Mergansers; (32) Hooded Merganser;
and a
GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL.
- WORCESTER AIRPORT: from the lot next to the terminal: (1) AMERICAN
PIPIT
seen and heard as it called continuously, flew low overhead and landed far
out on the runway. Late for this species this far inland.
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).
- 12/10/11 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre
- Migrating raptors today:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 4 254
Osprey 0 0 165
Bald Eagle 0 0 78
Northern Harrier 0 2 50
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 5 1189
Cooper's Hawk 0 2 198
Northern Goshawk 0 0 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 5 41
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 5902
Red-tailed Hawk 3 27 322
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 2 5
American Kestrel 0 0 158
Merlin 0 1 49
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 15
Unknown Accipiter 0 2 2
Unknown Buteo 0 0 2
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 2 33
Total: 4 52 8467
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Raptor Observations:
Not migrating, 1 Northern Goshawk, 4 Redtails.
Final report of the season.
(report from Bart Kamp).
- 12/10/11 -- Mendon
- Unusually warm weather has brought some unusual bird sightings to my
backyard. Today there was a
red-winged blackbird on ground under thistle feeders. On
Nov 4 a juvenile Baltimore Oriole was at the suet feeder. I've had
daily visits by albino Goldfinch to my thistle feeder (white feathers, black
wing bars, very pale yellow in head area). (report from Ann Vandersluis).
- 12/8/11 -- downtown Worcester
-
At noon today, there was a Peregrine Falcon sitting on the letters of the
Peoples United Bank. It was seen from the Worcester Public Library parking
lot.
(report from Alan Marble).
- 12/6/11 -- Templeton
-
There was a handsome adult Northern Shrike in Templeton ( Elliot Hill area)
late this afternoon; it made a few chases at the nearby mixed flock of
robins and starlings -- each time coming up empty.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 12/6/11 -- Singletary Boat Ramp, Millbury
-
There are now 5 American Coot at the Singletary Boat Ramp in Millbury.
There have been 1 or 2 there for the last few weeks. There were 3 Common
Mergansers there as well.
(report from Alan Marble).
- 12/5/11 -- Uxbridge
-
A turkey vulture was flying in the vicinity of River Bend Farm in Uxbridge
Dec 4 and 5. (report from Beth Milke)
- 12/5/11 --Main St, Shrewsbury
- There was a
perched juvenile Red-tailed
Hawk.(report
from Brian Mulhearn)
- 12/3/11 -- Quaboag Lake, Brookfield
-
This morning I was surprised to find 90+ American Coot here. I thought that
they had moved on. There was a White-winged Scoter there also.
(report from Peter Morlock).
- 12/3/11 -- Hopedale/Mendon/Blackstone/Millville
-
This morning we birded in a few small towns in the BLACKSTONE NATIONAL
CORRIDOR that are in the extreme SE corner of Worcester County. A few of the
highlights: Birders note: deer hunting is in full swing and deer hunters
were out in force in this rather residential area. Wear regulation hunters
orange whenever outside during this season.
- HOPEDALE: Hopedale Parklands:
Mute Swan (2);
Eastern Screech Owl (1);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1);
N Flicker (2);
Hermit Thrush (1);
Eastern Towhee (1);
- HOPEDALE: teeny Mill Pond:
Mute Swan (2);
Ring-necked Duck (65);
- MENDON: Nipmuc Lake
Common Loon (1);
Great Blue Heron (1);
Mallard (4);
Bufflehead (8);
Hooded Merganser (6);
Common Merganser (3f);
- BLACKSTONE-MILLVILLE:
Canada Goose (28);
Mallard (20);
Hooded Merganser (4);
E Screech Owl (1);
Eastern Bluebird (2);
Northern Mockingbird (4);
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1);
Field Sparrow (2);
Tree Sparrow (6);
Savannah Sparrow (1);
Song Sparrow (10);
Swamp Sparrow (4);
Fox Sparrow (1);
- WOONSOCKET RI, JUST SOUTH OF THE MA LINE:
While birding in Blackstone-Millville MA, we noted very large numbers of
vultures, flying south and going in to a roost just over the border atop a
large old brick factory building next to Cold Spring Park, Woonsocket RI
(also in the Blackstone National Corridor);. We counted (37); Turkey Vultures;
(5); BLACK VULTURES (while there, we had 2 birds fly in very high from
Worcester County); as well as large numbers of Herring Gulls (60+); and at
least (15+); Great Black-backed Gulls (3); Hooded Mergansers and (5); Common
Mergansers.
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).
- 12/1/11 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre
- Migrating raptors today:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 4 4 254
Osprey 0 0 165
Bald Eagle 0 0 78
Northern Harrier 0 0 48
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 1185
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 196
Northern Goshawk 0 0 4
Red-shouldered Hawk 3 3 39
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 5902
Red-tailed Hawk 11 11 306
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 2 2 5
American Kestrel 0 0 158
Merlin 1 1 49
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 15
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 2
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 1 1 32
Total: 23 23 8438
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Raptor Observations:
The Golden Eagles were together. Not migrating 2 adult Bald Eagles.
(report from Bart Kamp).
For previous sightings, see
November 2011 Archives or
Archive Index