January 2008 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:

• 2/3/08 -- WICN radio interview: A Brief History of Birding
• 3/2/08 -- Raptor Informational Session
• 3/15/08 -- Statewide Bird Conference in Waltham

Bird Sightings:

1/27/08 -- Elmwood St., Millbury

This afternoon, I had a male yellow-bellied sapsucker in my yard on Elmwood St. eating suet and peanuts. Last year, the sapsucker made his first appearance of the year on exactly the same date and stayed for a month with a female. This is at least the 5th consecutive winter that I have had sapsuckers in the winter. The Cooper's hawk continues to thin out the Mourning Doves with two more nailed in the yard this past week. (report from Alan Marble).

1/26/08 -- Brookfields/South Quabbin

This morning we birded a few areas to the west of Worcester.

In SPENCER, en route to the BROOKFIELDS, without even looking (ie: leaving the car or our direct route to the Brookfields);, we found: American Black Duck (2); Wild Turkey (14); Northern Shrike (1); Snow Bunting (40+);

We then birded just a few stops in the BROOKFIELDS. We visited no location that was very far from Rt.9, but even so a good variety birds (for mid-winter inland); was present: Hooded Merganser (25); Common Merganser (8); Cooper's Hawk (1ad); Red-tailed Hawk (1); Mourning Dove (36 Downy Woodpecker (3); Hairy Woodpecker (1); Blue Jay (32); A Crow (10); Black-capped Chickadee (16); Tufted Titmouse (4); White-breasted Nuthatch (4); Eastern Bluebird (2); American Robin (103); Cedar Waxwing (12); N Cardinal (20); Tree Sparrow (3); Dark-eyed Junco (11); Red-winged Blackbird (2); Common Grackle (1); PINE GROSBEAK (36);

We then headed to QUABBIN PARK ("South Quabbin"); off Rt.9 in Belchertown. Here the situation was very different, and birds, especially passerines, were few and far between. Highlights included: Common Loon (1); COMMON MERGANSER (229: in two large rafts); Bald Eagle (1ad: at trout hatchery); Red-tailed Hawk (1); Common Raven (1); American Robin (flock of 60+ that flew overhead heading towards the Connecticut River Valley); Northern Shrike (1); Pine Grosbeak (1); PLUS: Eastern Coyote (1 watched hunting along a stretch of the western shore); and Red Fox (1: watched hunting in a small grass field on the south side of Rt.9);

We then drove up Rt.202 and essentially, "up and over" Quabbin en route to back home. We made a few stops, including the Pelham Overlook, South New Salem et, and found essentially nothing except a few chickadees. The exception was a pair of EVENING GROSBEAKS at a feeder in the town of New Salem. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/25/08 -- Ten Mile River, RI

The Ten Mile River is part of the Southern RI section of the Blackstone National Corridor. We started at dawn birding Central Pond and Turner Reservoir, initially from the 10 MILE RIVER GREENWAY bike path (see directions below);. Here with a lot of effort and patience (45 minutes in bitter cold);, we finally found the TUFTED DUCK among some scaup, Ring-necked Ducks and others. The only significant open water was far north in Central Pond where the Ten Mile River flows in. Move around a bit just off the bike path to get a good look, then scan all the way across. Birds were very active and while we were there started to either fly out or swim further north and out of sight. It was clear a lot of water had frozen the night before and more will likely freeze tonight. I doubt these birds will remain here much longer. There were only two small patches of open water on either side of Rt. 152 (Newman Ave); Great Blue Heron (3 standing on ice); Mute Swan (6); Canada Goose (24); Mallard (22); Greater Scaup (8); Ring-necked Duck (45+); Tufted Duck (1m: this bird was originally found, not with the other pochards, but perched out on some rock or long, preening furiously. It got down and joined the others swimming north, around the end and out of sight); Hooded Merganser (3); Common Merganser (18); Red-tailed Hawk (1); Merlin (1); American Coot (1); Fish Crow (25+: around the strip malls on 1A);

The TEN MILE RIVER GREENWAY, the only way to really see what's in Central Pond, is accessible via Ferris Ave. There is a parking lot near a school and playground that is signed. Park here and walk north. But it is some distance to get to where you finally have good views. Al alternative is to drive north on Rt. 1A and take a right on NARRAGANSETT AVENUE. Follow this to the absolute end when the road bends 90 degrees north, passing Hasbro on your left and a small pond. Park at the southern end of the long lot, near the railroad tracks. Follow the obvious eroded path down a small slope, over the tracks, and up a small slope on the other side. Follow the path through the woods till you get to the bike path (paved);. DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN THE CAR. Views are tough as you are looking across the pond and through a screen of trees, but eventually, you will find some vantage. BTW: This pathway runs all the way north to Slater Memorial Park.

SLATER MEMORIAL PARK had the following: Mute Swan (2); Mallard (97: most in that end of the Ten Mile River); Red-tailed Hawk (1 still nest building); Belted Kingfisher (1); Finally, along the Ten Mile River from the Pawtucket Country Club parking lot: Mute Swan (2); Canada Goose (241); Wood Duck (3); Red-tailed Hawk (3); American Robin (22); (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/25/08 -- Seekonk River, RI

A point count along the SEEKONK RIVER (part of the Blackstone National Corridor); from near the Pawtucket line south to Bold Point later this morning had the following: Great Cormorant (2: very low count); Mute Swan (16); Canada Goose (150); Mallard (213); American Black Duck (157); American Wigeon (5); Gadwall (46); N Pintail (1); Bufflehead (52); Common Goldeneye (29); Hooded Merganser (105); Red-breasted Merganser (33); Common Merganser (38); Sharp-shinned Hawk (2); Cooper's Hawk (1); Red-tailed Hawk (4); Belted Kingfisher (1); N Flicker (1); Gull numbers were very low, but there was a 1stW ICELAND GULL near the Henderson Bridge. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/22/08 -- Lake Quinsigamond

I live on Lake Quinsigamond and we have had some neat diving ducks hanging around: hooded mergansers, common mergansers, ring neck ducks and common goldeneyes! (report and photo from Emily Eaton).

1/22/08 -- Millbury

I filled the yard feeders this morning at 6:30 and wasn't so surprised to find a group of about 200 redpolls but was surprised to see 3 Bohemian Waxwings with them. Once the lighting got better I spent time checking them for Hoaries and picked out one that's been here for a few days (taken yesterday). I also got better pics of two birds that I previously reported as not being sure whether they were Common or Hoary. I'm still not entirely sure about these individuals but at certain angles they look very good for female 'exilipes' Hoary. At about 8am Bob Craven from New Hampshire came in to check for these and the Lark Sparrow. We had a few quick looks at 2 Hoary Redpolls (the two I reported yesterday) and then we had great looks at the Lark Sparrow. After the Lark Sparrow put in a performance we checked for more redpolls and Bob picked out this guy. The back is very light and the rump was pure white. I think this may be an individual I'd seen before but it's hard to keep track of them daily, let alone from day to day. The Greater Common Redpolls were present again today. They were on the roof for a few minutes and later in the hemlocks. One ripped off a cone and started going to town on it. It was more than a little amusing. A few birds are here now with the snow including the Hoary in the first picture link. The past few days the groups of redpolls have left around 9 and not returned since, so if you're thinking about checking these birds out, the morning is best. The Lark Sparrow on the other hand is here almost all day. (report from Dan Berard).

1/22/01 -- Fitchburg/Gardner/West Townsend

Today, on my commute into work, there was an adult Northern Shrike at the Junction of Rtes 2 and 31 in Fitchburg. Yesterday 1/21, on my commute, I saw a Northern Shrike (I was unable to age it) off West meadow Road in West Townsend. Also, on Sunday 1/20 there was a Barred Owl (a photo of this bird in on my blog, being Harrassed by American Crows in my backyard in Gardner. (report from Tom Pirro).

1/21/08 -- Millbury

I just wanted to get a quick note out in case anyone has the day off: On Sat and Sun, several birders came over to see the Hoary Redpolls and Lark Sparrow and were not dissapointed. I wasn't around so I'm not sure how many Hoaries there were. This morning while filling the feeders in the Millbury yard, a group of 125+ redpolls came into the maple in the backyard. I checked the group when I got back inside (and out of the 9 degree weather) and could not pick out any Hoaries. Once they came into the feeder I picked out one possible Hoary, which I think is a bird I mentioned in my first Millbury redpoll post. While getting pictures of the possible one I noticed the 'exilipes' Hoary on the ground. The jays are constantly coming in so the redpolls shuffle quite a bit. On their second return, I got pics of the 'exilipes' Hoary on the feeder. I checked the maple while this guy was on the feeder and saw another 'exilipes' Hoary. Besides these guys was a group of 3 'Greater' Commons ('rostrata') that were eating/drinking snow on the roof and 3 birds that I'm not comfortable calling Commons or Hoaries. I got pics of a few of these birds but pbase is undergoing construction. I will post the pics once it's up and running which may be before this message goes out. So check out www.pbase.com/dberard and go to birds, second page, then redpolls and they will be on the bottom of the page. Also of interest in the yard are a Lark Sparrow, Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Eastern Bluebirds. (report from Dan Berard).

1/20/08 -- Brookfields/Quabbin Park/Airport Hill

We birded just a few spots in the Brookfields in the AM, mostly around small open sections of the Quabog River and had the following: American Black Duck (3); Ring-necked Duck (2); Hooded Merganser (59); Common Merganser (2); Wild Turkey (12); Belted Kingfisher (1); Red-bellied Woodpecker (2); Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (1); Horned Lark (19); E Bluebird (4); American Robin (142); Cedar Waxwing (21); Red-winged Blackbird (1); Pine Grosbeak (3); House Finch (11);

Then we headed west to QUABBIN PARK (SOUTH QUABBIN) for a quick get together with Scott and Val. I thought we might bump into the MAS trip while there, but no luck. In the short time we spent at South Quabbin we had: Common Merganser (single flock of 109); Bald Eagle (3imm); N Goshawk (1ad); Common Raven (5); Pine Grosbeak (3 at crab apple tree in front of Administration Building); The wind really started to kick up and wind chills started to plummet, so we headed out.

On the way home we visited WORCESTER AIRPORT to take some mileages for an upcoming BIRD OBSERVER article. In the crab apples along the roads around the area there were: Cooper's Hawk (1ad);; American Robin (250++);; Cedar Waxwing (40+);: and Pine Grosbeaks (30+);. Other birders were there also enjoying the spectacle. UNFORTUNATELY, I also watched car of birders very slowly drive along busy Airport Drive, looking at birds along the road. DON'T EVER DO THIS. This is a busy road, you cannot slow down here, there is no pull off on the road, and it is rude and dangerous to do this. Park in the airport lot and walk, please and even then STAY OFF AIRPORT DRIVE. (report from Mark Lynch).

1/19/08 -- Worcester Airport / Flint Pond, Shrewsbury

I saw 26 Pine Grosbeaks at Worcester airport along with 52 Cedar Waxwings and many Robins and Gold Finch. From there I went To Flint Pond: Mute Swan 4, Canada Geese 57, Black Duck 45, Mallard 234, N. Pintail 2, C. Goldeneye 11, Hooded Merganser 17, C. Merganser 8, Cooper's Hawk 1, Ring-billed Gull 90, Herring Gull 4, Greater Black-backed Gull 12, and 1 Belted Kingfisher. The water was open from Stringer Dam to the Irish Dam. (report from John Shea).

1/19/08 -- Wachusett Meadows Sanctuary, Princeton

Finally at Wachusett Meadows -- 2 dozen common redpolls at the cottage feeders today. Their 1st appearance here this winter. Definitely no hoary in the mix. (report from Dick Knowlton).

1/19/08 -- Gardner

Highlights seen and/or heard from a 7 mile walk from home today: Red-tailed Hawk....1 Great Black-backed Gull....1 Hairy Woodpecker....1 Red-breasted Nuthatch....1 American Robin....9 American Tree Sparrow....3 White-throated Sparrow....2 Pine Grosbeak....19 (report from Tom Pirro).

1/19/08 -- Holden

Today marked an unusal amount of activity in this suburban area. In the morning, there was an immature Cooper's Hawk who sat in our neighbor's maple tree for 35 minutes and left only after a Blue Jay showed up. In the past week, there has also been a Sharp-shinned Hawk in the area. Our resident Barred Owl has been a regular visitor for a good portion of the week. At the feeders & suet, a Red-Breasted Nuthatch and Carolina Wren were feeding away. Also, Redpolls have shown up which are not usual here. Other than that, it was the usual crowd of Juncos, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Finches (Gold & House);, and others mobbing the feeders. Maybe, they know the cold is on the way. (report from Steve Olson).

1/18/08 -- Worcester Airport

At 8:45, there were 9 female Pine Grosbeaks on the last large fruit tree on the right-hand side, as you head toward Mill St. just as you come past the terminal, and before the exit road. (report from John Root).

1/17/08 -- Gate 39, Wachusett Reservoir

At 8:00AM this morning along the road there were 3 Field Sparrows feeding. At first they flew up into the spruces, but after a couple of minutes they flew back down to the road and continued feeding. As I walked along the road, they would fly about 20 feet away and settle down again and again. (report from Peter Morlock).

1/15/08 -- Worcester Airport

It's good to read that PINE GROSBEAKS are still at Worcester Airport. I thought I would give a more detailed description of where and how to look for these and other birds while there. Be sure to have a Google generated map in front of you while looking at these directions:

There are three entrance roads to the airport, which is located atop a high
hill and is situated between Routes 9 and 122. (1) One road, GODDARD
MEMORIAL DRIVE, is off Rt.9 near the Leicester birder. Goddard Memorial
Drive ascends Airport Hill and joins AIRPORT DRIVE.

AIRPORT DRIVE actually goes up and over the hill. One end (2) begins on MILL
STREET. Then when it hits Goddard Memorial Drive, it takes a 90-degree swing
north (right) and continues past the airport, then down the hill and ends up
on Rt. 122 (3).

Typically, there are few frugivores sighted along GODDARD MEMORIAL DRIVE,
but I have sometimes found small flocks of waxwings and grosbeaks along the
short dead-end road, COPPAGE DRIVE. This short road goes past several
businesses and dead ends at the conning tower for the airport (high
security). The advantage to birding this road is that it gets you off the
busy Goddard Memorial Drive and Airport Drive, and you can generally pull to
the side or into a parking lot and search fruiting trees and birches.

There are a number of fruiting trees along the section of AIRPORT DRIVE that
runs from the intersection of GODDARD MEMORIAL DRIVE to MILL STREET and
waxwings and grosbeaks can be seen along here. The problem is that there is
NO place to pull off on a steep hill with speeding traffic. DON'T TRY IT. I
cannot emphasize this enough.

Most sightings of grosbeaks and waxwings have been along AIRPORT DRIVE, from
the intersection of Goddard Memorial Drive, all the way to Rt. 122. You will
note a number of crab apple trees planted along this stretch, as well as
bittersweet et. Again, the problem here is traffic and no places to pull off
along the road. One strategy is to drive north on Airport Drive, past the
terminal and then pull in the one-way road that leads to the terminal. Drive
PAST the terminal and into the large paved lot right next to the runway. By
standing up here and walking towards Airport Drive, you can view a number of
fruiting trees and be off the busy Airport Drive at the same time. Be
prepared to deal with security. Even though Worcester Airport has no
international flights, and deals mostly with local small planes, they act
like it was Logan, so be discreet. Typically, you will have no problems. You
exit further south back onto Airport Drive, nearer to the intersection with
Goddard Memorial Drive. BTW: look for Horned Larks and Snow Buntings in the
parking lots and on the runways.


Another option is to pull in the short airport commercial access road just
north of the terminal. This is a dead-end road, with lots of wild fruit. I
have had small numbers of grosbeaks, waxwings and robins feeding along this
road, Just be sure to pull off as best you can. Usually this road has very
little traffic, especially on weekends.

>From the terminal north to the intersection with Rt. 122 there are a number
of crab apple trees along Airport Drive, and these often have robins,
waxwings and grosbeaks. Pulling over here can be a problem, but if you are
careful and early and on a weekend, SOMETIMES you can pull over for short
periods of time IF there is enough of an edge. With all this new snow, I
have no idea if this will be possible. Note the roadside memorial of someone
killed along this stretch and be forewarned.

While in the area, be sure to bird along MULBERRY STREET, which is in
Leicester, and runs along the western edge of the airport. There is less
traffic here, but there are still some cars passing by. To get to Mulberry:
from the terminal, take Airport Drive north towards Rt. 122. At the bottom
of airport hill, take a left on Prouty Lane. Follow this west as it joins
Bailey and becomes MARSHAL STREET. Follow Marshall Street out past a small
golf course, and take your first real LEFT (south) onto MULBERRY STREET.
Initially this runs though some woods and past a few houses, then opens up
and you are behind Worcester Airport. Pull off and check runways for
buntings and larks. Short-eared Owl has been (rarely) seen here, as well as
the odd Rough-legged Hawk (also rare). Some folks have gotten Pine Grosbeaks
here. Be sure to listen/watch for ravens, which breed nearby on Asnebumpskit
Hill, and are often seen here. Wild Turkeys are regular on and around the
runways. WATCH OUT FOR SNOWMOBILES which have a right of way to cross this
and other roads in the area.
You can continue south on Mulberry, past the Catholic school. The road bends
to the right and keep following to the right till you are driving north on
Manville. This eventually comes out on Rt. 56, in Leicester. If you drive
south (to the left) you will come out to the famous Rt. 56 overlook of the
airport, where many a nighthawk watch has occurred. If you continue you will
pass the legendary weiner joint "Hot Dog Annies" and eventually come out
to
Rt.9. If entering Rt. 56 from Manville, you drive right, north, in short
order you will intersect with Rt. 122. There is food (good sandwiches at
Elsa's) and gas at Tatnuck Square, where Rt. 122 meets Mill Street.

(report from Mark Lynch).

1/14/08 -- Sterling

At 8:00 AM , at the height of the snowstorm, 12 redpolls visited my feeder. (report from Richard Spedding).

1/13/08 -- Wachusett Reservoir , Boylston

We birded WACHUSETT RESERVOIR for several hours this afternoon. South Bay was still ice covered, but much of the rest of the water was open. While we were there, DCR personnel were out in a boat firing off "ordinace" to scare off the gulls south of the dam, so waterfowl numbers were not great. Common Loon (4); GREAT CORMORANT (1imm: still present near the Rt.12 causeway); Canada Goose (460+: as the afternoon wore on, flocks were seen flying ove rthe reservoir, heading NW!); Mallard (18); N. Pintail (3: with a large flock of Canadas near the causeway); Ring-necked Duck (2); Common Goldeneye (26); Hooded Merganser (8); RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (2f); Common Merganser (16); Bald Eagle (1imm); Red-tailed Hawk (3); Northern Shrike (1); (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/13/08 -- Worcester Airport

Pine Grosbeaks continue at the Airport. Missed birds by 15 minutes on 1/12 but found a pair the morning of 1/13 on Airport Drive. Just south of Prouty Lane - there are numerous crab apple. On 1/12 they were reported on the west side of the road, on 1/13 pair was seen in a crab apple at the north end of an open lawn area - crab apple almost engulfed by forest. (report from Ron Rozsa).

1/13/08 -- Barre/Hardwick

This morning we birded some of fields and farms found in the BARRE/HARDWICK area. All of this area is part of the NE section of the QUABBIN CBC circle, though outside of the official DCR/Quabbin property. On the 2007 Quabbin CBC, this was the area where the greatest number of Pine and Evening Grosbeaks were found. Today we dipped on Pine Grosbeaks, and there were only small numbers of redpolls. It is also important to note that on the way home from the Hardwick/Barre we also birded WORCESTER AIRPORT, where this time we had NO grosbeaks, robins or waxwings, all of which had been there the week before. This MAY (or may not); indicate that Pine Grosbeaks are starting to move out at least in Central New England. This morning's birds did include: Mallard (7. All the small ponds and lakes in the area were still frozen; but a minute stream passing through a modest trailer park had a small open section and that held these ducks who were likely getting handouts from the residents); Red-tailed Hawk (6); Wild Turkey (14: in Oakham en route); Barred Owl (1); Downy Woodpecker (9); Hairy Woodpecker (3); Pileated Woodpecker (2); Northern Shrike (2); Blue Jay (124); American Crow (7); Common Raven (1); Black-capped Chickadee (135); Tufted Titmouse (19); White-breasted Nuthatch (11); Brown Creeper (2); Winter Wren (1); Eastern Bluebird (40+); American Robin (128); N Mockingbird (1); Cedar Waxwing (2); American Tree Sparrow (57); Dark-eyed Junco (61); N Cardinal (19); Common Redpoll (single flock of 10); American Goldfinch (150+: huge flocks passing over the Mandel Hill East Quabbin land Trust property); Evening Grosbeak (40: single noisy flock that flew into the trees around the feeders on Dana Road in Barre. They stayed just a few minutes and took off and were never seen again. 80+ were seen at this location during the Quabbin CBC, as well as many Pine Grosbeaks);.

ALSO: Before dawn, we did some owling in the NORTH BROOKFIELD 12 block that we are atlasing this year. We had 7 GREAT HORNED OWLS, with 2 pairs duetting, and (1); Saw-whet Owl. We also had a large coyote run right in front of the car and heard many howling just before the sun broke the horizon. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

1/12/08 -- Mulberry St., Leicester

I found two female Pine Grosbeaks feeding in a crabapple tree on Mulberry Street in Leicester next to the road near the buidling near kettlebrook reservoir number1. (report and photo from Josh Gahagan).

1/10/08 -- Wachusett Reservoir/Bolton Flats

Highlights from Wachusett Reservoir:

• Gate 25 - a lone female red-breasted merganser, 3 common goldeneyes
• Gate 26 - great cormorant
• Gate 36 - immature bald eagle, 3 common goldeneyes and 4 hooded mergansers

At Bolton Flats: a northern shrike and an eastern bluebird. The parking lot off Route 117 is icy and rutted and without 4-wheel drive would be a real adventure with a possible unhappy ending. The walk to the end of the cornfield is very icy. (report from Alan Marble).

1/9/08 -- Hardwick

One Turkey Vulture was seen soaring low over route 32A near Hardwick center. (report from Chris Buelow)

1/9/08 -- Worcester Academy, Worcester

There were 12 Turkey Vultures circling over Worcester Academy at 4:15, and about 4:30 they all flew of to the south. (report from John Shea).

1/9/08 -- Wachusett Reservoir, West Boylston

The 1W Great Cormorant that was reported by Peter Morlock on 1/6 was seen from the rt. 12 bridge this evening. It was perched on the powerlines that stretch across water. (report from Kevin Bourinot).

1/7/08 -- Canterbury St., Worcester

Witnessed a great Crow Roost this evening at 4:45pm in the trees along the railroad bed between Canterbury St and Tainter St. off Hammond St. Crows were pouring in from every direction, I guessed upwards of 500. Not sure if this was this was the "big roost" or only a smaller staging area. (report from Alexander Dunn).

1/7/08 -- Millbury/Wachusett Reservoir

Some highlights from birding today:

Millbury center: a Cooper's hawk unsuccessfully pursuing house sparrows that were hiding in a hedge. I observed the same scenario about a week ago in the same spot.

Millbury Bikepath: great blue heron, a pair of green-winged teal, a pair of northern pintails, 75+ mallards, 19 American black ducks, 5 hooded mergansers, 3 common mergansers, red-tailed hawk, 3 great black-backed gulls, northern flicker, and a belted kingfisher.

Wachusett Res., Gate 39, Clinton: An immature bald eagle had a rather large fish on the ice, it flew away carrying the fish and was pursued by gulls that caused the eagle to drop it's prey. From Scar Hill: 15 common goldeneyes. (report from Alan Marble).

1/6/08 -- Gardner

Highlights from a 9 mile walk: Sharp-shinned Hawk 1; Cooper's Hawk 1; Red-tailed Hawk 2; Belted Kingfisher 1 Gardner WWTP; Hairy Woodpecker 2; Northern Flicker 1 Crystal Lake Cemetery; Common Raven 1; Brown Creeper 1; American Robin 1; American Tree Sparrow 8; Pine Grosbeak 20 (behind the hockey rink near Crytal Lake); Purple Finch 1 (Coleman Street); (report from Tom Pirro).

1/6/08 -- Westminster

This morning there was a flock of 30-40 Pine Grosbeaks feeding in two small crabapple trees in front of the historic Westminster Cracker building at the intersection of Route 2A, South Street, and Leominster Street. There were at least three adult males in the group. From time to time, the birds flew off and perched in nearby tall maples, but quickly returned to the fruit. Note: This is a busy intersection. Parking is available opposite the Westminster Public Safety Facility on South Street or along Leominster Street. (report from Donna Schilling).

1/6/08 -- Rt. 146

Counting raptors at about noon along Rt. 146 from the Rhode Island border to Rt. 290 Worcester, we had: 15 RED-TAILED HAWKS; 1 COOPER'S HAWK. One of the Red-tails was a striking adult "Western" Red-tailed Hawk: B. j. caluris. Sheila initially spotted this bird as we sped by, and we got off and returned to get better looks. At first blush, this bird looks a lot like a dark phase Rough-legged Hawk, BUT has the gis of a Red-tailed Hawk, most notably with short wings that do not extend below the rectrices at rest. The bird was quite shy and did not allow close looks (or photography), but we did get to see it fly and perch three times. For a good example of what this bird looks like in flight, see PLATE 380 (pp.354) of RAPTORS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA by Brian K. Wheeler. It has an entirely black body, head, undertsil coverts and inner forewing. The flight feathers are light and lightly barred. The edges of of the primaries et are dark. Together this creates a striking two-toned wing pattern. The tail is lightly banded and barely reddish above. Though I have seen this bird in California countless times and in MA just a few times, I believe this is my first County sighting. (report from Mark Lynch).

1/6/08 -- River Rd., West Boylston

At 4:00 PM this afternoon among about a thousand gulls bathing and resting on the ice at River Road in West Boylston were 1 juvenile Iceland Gull and 1 juvenile Glaucous Gull. The only puddle duck in the area was a Gadwall. Gulls were also bathing and resting on the ice just east of the power lines on routes 12 and 140. (report from Bart Kamp).

1/6/08 -- Gate 25, Wachusett Reservoir, Boylston

This morning there was a Great Cormorant (1W) holding it's wings up in typical cormorant fashion on the other side of the water. Up on one of the power line stanchions was a Raven eating something and occasionally calling. 5 White-tailed Deer were off to my left near Rt. 140 feeding under some trees. (report from Peter Morlock).

1/5/08 -- Worcester Airport

Having seen the post about Pine Grosbeaks on Worcester Airport hill I decided to take that route into town today. Drove in off of Pleasant Street and did not see anything in the crab apples heading up the hill. As I neared the exit of the airport I saw some birds high up in a tree on the left the appeared to be the correct size. I turned around and came back along the guardrail looking down the hill. They were two male pine grosbeaks. Upon further scoping the numerous crab apples and other trees I found a total of about 10 pine grosbeaks, all others were females. There was a flock of 30-40 cedar waxwings working the same area. I could not find any Bohemians among them. As I was searching a flock of 25-30 robins came in and joined them. As I scanned one last time I came across three huge birds in some trees toward the exit. They were turkeys up on top of some trees enjoying the same crab apples. There also were a few goldfinches eating the apples the larger birds had opened. (report from Ted Purcell).

1/4/08 -- Holden

I'm little late in reporting the return of our Barred Owl this year. He appeared on Dec. 3, 07 and was around for the next few days. Oddly, beginning Dec. 11, 2007 and every Tuesday since, he has shown up and stayed the entire day. He will fly between 3:45 to 4:30 P.M. to start hunting. This is the fourth season that the bird has been in this area. For some reason, lack of snow, snow cover, the bird did not make an appearance last year. I'm sure this is the same bird that I've observed since the Winter of '04 and every winter since with the exception of last year. The markings are very true to a photo I took of the bird in 2005. It is nice that he is back. On another note, it may appear that the juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk that was raised in the Shrewsbury St/ Holden St. area last spring has taken up residence in this area. The bird appears to be a morph with the distinctive tail. However, there is very little brown on the chest. We have observed the bird in the past few weeks flying in the neighborhood. He has landed in nearby trees and has kited very low above this area. And just for your info, we are a very suburban community with plenty of House Sparrows, Juncos, Titmouses, Downy Woodpeckers, a Carolina Wren, 2 pairs of Cardinals, Blue Jays, and the constant presence of squirrels at our feeders. (report from Steve Olson.)

1/3/08 -- Millbury

There were 7 pine grosbeaks in the crabapple tree at the intersection of West Sutton Road and West Main Street in Millbury. Their usual crabapple tree at Butler Farm was occupied by 17 wild turkeys. (report from Alan Marble).

1/1/08 -- Worcester

For January 1st, 2008, we decided to do something other than the typical running around hither and yon to tick birds for the New Year, and burning lots of fossil fuel while we were at it. Using the DeLorme CD-Rom topo-quad system, I drew an exact 10-mile radius circle around our house and decided to see how many species we could find close to home just within that circle.

We started out in the pre-dawn dark, going great guns, with four species of owls. Thanks to having done the Worcester CBC just two weeks before, we knew of some great places to check for owls just south of Wachusett Reservoir. At dawn, we worked the Worcester Airport area and were rewarded with Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, lots of robins, Cedar Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks. The latter species can be found feeding in small flocks in the ornamental crab apple trees right along Airport Drive. Just as interesting was the pair of Great Horned Owls still strongly vocalizing well after 7AM. Hitting a few spots in downtown Worcester netted an expected Peregrine Falcon and several Red-tailed Hawks. The latter species were in good numbers in many locations we went this morning.

We then drove a bit south to the Berard~Rs house where their pet LARK SPARROW put in a satisfying appearance. Also present there were Common Redpolls, Tree Sparrows, goldfinches and actively hunting Sharp-shinned and Cooper'Rs Hawks looking to dine on any or all of the aforementioned species. I have no idea how that fat and sassy Lark Sparrow has lasted this long. En route to do some daylight birding at Wachuset Reservoir, we stopped in a few spots in Grafton and Shrewsbury, seeing several species of waterfowl, Swamp Sparrow et. The real surprise was finding a small flock of (12) BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS along some power lines south of Dorothy Pond. They flew back and forth over our heads, vocalizing and then took off south.

By the time we got to Lake Quinsigamond, it was snowing so heavily we could not make out the opposite shore (not far away at all) through bins or scope. The roads were getting rather slippery, so it was time to wisely head home instead of going to Wachuset Reservoir. This was pretty frustrating because that was where we could have easily added 10-15 more species. Our last new species for the day was a Red-breasted Nuthatch coming to our feeder while we ate lunch. We ended up with only 51 species, which is probably not all that bad for January first at an inland and rather urban and snowy location, but as I said, we were aiming much higher. Complete list below.

  Mute Swan
  Canada Goose
  Mallard
  American Black Duck
 Common Goldeneye
  Hooded Merganser
  Common Merganser
  Sharp-shinned Hawk
  Cooper's Hawk
  Red-tailed Hawk
  Peregrine Falcon
  Ring-billed Gull
  Great Black-backed Gull
  Herring Gull
  Rock Dove
  Mourning Dove
  Eastern Screech-Owl
  Great Horned Owl
  Barred Owl
  Northern Saw-whet Owl
  Red-bellied Woodpecker
  Downy Woodpecker
  Hairy Woodpecker
  Horned Lark
  Golden-crowned Kinglet
  Bohemian Waxwing
  Cedar Waxwing
  Carolina Wren
  Northern Mockingbird
  Eastern Bluebird
  American Robin
  Black-capped Chickadee
  Tufted Titmouse
  Red-breasted Nuthatch
  White-breasted Nuthatch
  Blue Jay
  American Crow
  European Starling
  House Sparrow
  Pine Grosbeak
  House Finch
  Common Redpoll
  American Goldfinch
  American Tree Sparrow
  Lark Sparrow
  Song Sparrow
  Swamp Sparrow  (2 found in different locations)
  White-throated Sparrow
  Dark-eyed Junco
  Snow Bunting
  Northern Cardinal

MAMMALS included Red and Gray Squirrels; a number of White-tailed Deer; a pack of coyotes and Eastern Cottontails. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

For previous sightings, see December 2007 Archives or Archive Index