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.
- 6/25/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
-
Highlights from this morning:
WOOD DUCK (1 male);
Ruffed Grouse (1);
Wild Turkey (1);
SORA (1);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (2);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (6);
Willow Flycatcher (2);
Eastern Phoebe (1);
Great Crested Flycatcher (3);
Eastern Kingbird (2);
Warbling Vireo (1);
Red-eyed Vireo (2);
Carolina Wren (1);
House Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (4 - After exploring the thrush circle that had thrushes
several times, I have concluded that the circle contains the boundary of
two territories, but that the nests are outside of the circle.);
Gray Catbird (23);
Brown Thrasher (1);
Blue-winged Warbler (1);
Yellow Warbler (3);
Prairie Warbler (1);
Ovenbird (2);
Common Yellowthroat (11);
Scarlet Tanager (3);
Eastern Towhee (17);
Field Sparrow (10 - including two immatures with an adult);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (3);
Brown-headed Cowbird (9);
Baltimore Oriole (3).
(report from John Liller).
- 6/25/00 -- High Ridge WMA, Gardner
-
Hilites of 58 species seen and/or heard between 6:30 - 9:30AM
yesterday from the Smith Street entrance of High Ridge WMA :
Green Heron 1;
Wood Duck 5+;
Pileated Woodpecker 1 calling;
Hairy Woodpecker 2;
Sora 2 calling;
Winter Wren 1;
Alder Flycatcher 1;
Least Fly" " 2;
Wood Thrush 4;
N. Waterthrush 1;
BT Blue Warbler 2;
Chestnut-sided Warbler 6;
Indigo Bunting 2;
Bobolink 8.
Another impressive hilite was hundreds small (~ 1/2 inch long) Am. Toads
hopping across Smith Street near the upper marsh.
....and in , around and over our yard in Gardner ...a Common Nighthawk
continues to be calling over head in the evenings and a pair of Am.
Kestrels have been very noisey and landing in a some spruce trees in the
neighborhood.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 6/25/00 -- Barre Falls Dam/Rutland SP, Barre
-
Today we attempted our annual breding bird survey at Barre Falls Dam, birding
only along the driveable roads of this tract. Weather was variable, sometimes
cloudy, sometimes sunny, humid and hot. Several times we thought we were in
for rain, but it never materialized. Throughout it was windy, which may have
cut down on the numbers of certain species.
BIRD Highlights:
Great Blue Heron (6 occ. nests/14 almost fledged birds counted);
HOODED MERGANSER (1f perched atop a Wood Duck box);
Black-Billed Cuckoo (4);
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (1);
BARRED OWL (1);
WINTER WREN (1)
Golden-Crowned Kinglet (10)
EVENING GROSBEAK (6).
FULL REPORT available here.
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).
- 6/24/00 -- Quabog WMA, West Brookfield
-
I led an early morning class trip to this nice area along the Quabog River.
Bird highlights included:
Wood Duck (5);
Mallard (2ad+4 ducklings);
Great Blue Heron (1);
Green Heron (4);
AMERICAN BITTERN (2: nice views as they flew back and forth in front of us);
Red-Tailed Hawk (1);
Ruffed Grouse (1ad+4 chicks in the road);
Virginia Rail (7);
Black-Billed Cuckoo (1: heard and seen well);
Belted Kingfisher (1);
Red-Bellied Woodpecker (2);
E. Wood Peewee (3);
Willow Flycatcher (7);
E. Phoebe (4);
Great Crested Flycatcher (1);
E. Kingbird (6);
Blue-Headed Vireo (1);
Yellow-Throated Vireo (1);
Warbling Vireo (13);
Red-Eyed Vireo (15);
E. Bluebird (1);
Veery (9);
Hermit Thrush (4);
Brown Thrasher (1);
Brown Creeper (2);
MARSH WREN (10 singing birds: probably the largest colony in Worcester County);
Blue-Gray Gnatcathcer (4);
Tree Swallow (13);
WARBLERS:
Blue-Winged (1);
Yellow (13);
Chestnut-Sided (4);
Yellow-Rumped (3);
Black-Throated Green (11);
Pine (1);
Black and White (5);
Ovenbird (13);
C. Yellowthroat (22)
Swamp Sparrow (32);
Scarlet Tanager (8);
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (4);
Baltimore Oriole (7).
PLUS: many Green Frogs, several adult A. Toads, Wood Frog, Little Wood Satyr,
Red-Spotted Purple; loads of odes, mostly common species including great
views of a hunting Ebony Jewelwing.
NOTE: As we were walking back along the Railroad tracks from looking at the
Marsh Wrens we were stopped and talked to by the police AND fire department.
There is NO walking on the tracks EVER according to them and Conrail. You can
walk out ALONG the trail but you are not supposed to even CROSS the tracks.
The amazing thing is that they had a spotter plane out flying low along the
tracks and that's how we got found out! So caveat emptor.
(report from Mark Lynch).
- 6/21/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
- Highlights from a thrush followup this morning:
Cooper's Hawk (3);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1 male);
Carolina Wren (1);
House Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (5 - much chasing, but could not find a nest);
Gray Catbird (8 - one feeding immature Cowbird);
Scarlet Tanager (4);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2);
Brown-headed Cowbird (7 - an immature with Catbird);
(report from John Liller).
- 6/18/00 -- Belchertown
-
In the small pond that is part of the Quabbin property that is right on Route
9, we had the following this mid-afternnon:
PIED-BILLED GREBE (1 ad feeding 3 stripe headed young. The young stayed
pretty close to one another, while the adult ventures somewhat further off to
dive. The adult would dive, catch a small fish and feed it to one young at a
time);
Great Blue Heron (1);
Green Heron (2);
Wood Duck (2ad+6 young).
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).
- 6/17/00 -- Delany WMA/Bolton Flats, Bolton
-
Hilites of birds seen and heard this morning between 6:30am and 9AM
at Delany WMA on the Stowe/Bolton/Harvard Line :
Green heron 2;
Yellow-Thr. Vireo 1;
Virginia Rail 1;
Great Crested Flycatcher 1;
E. Wood PeeWee 2;
Red-Breatsed Nuthatch 1;
Savanaha Sparrow 1;
Grasshopper Sparrow 1;
At a brief stop at Bolton Flats (rte 110 side) I heard a Marsh Wren
singing.
Later in the day I stopped by the Gardner Airport (in Templeton)
briefly:
Horned Lark 2;
N. Goshawk 1;
Broad-wing Hawk 1 harrassing a Red-tailed Hawk.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 6/17/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
- Highlights from this morning's annual Breeding
Bird Survey:
Cooper's Hawk (3 - New Count Species);
Ruffed Grouse (1);
Virginia Rail (1);
Sora (2 - New Count Species);
Black-billed Cuckoo (1);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1);
Willow Flycatcher (3);
Tree Swallow (8 - New Count Low);
Carolina Wren (4);
House Wren (2 - New Count Low);
Hermit Thrush (1);
Wood Thrush (10);
Brown Thrasher (2 - New Count Low);
Prairie Warbler (2 - New Count Low);
Black-and-white Warbler (1);
Ovenbird (2);
Common Yellowthroat (32);
Scarlet Tanager (9);
Indigo Bunting (1);
Common Grackle (164 - New Count High);
Baltimore Oriole (14).
FULL REPORT available here.
Overall, the number of individuals of many species was on the low side.
This may or may not be a function of the year in many cases. However, our
Brown Thrasher numbers have been steadily declining for the past several
years. Also, Prairie Warblers and Field Sparrows are low because their
habitat has been changing. (report from John Liller).
- 6/16/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
-
Highlights from a thrush followup (part 3) this morning :
Cooper's Hawk (3);
Chimney Swift (2);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (2 - one on a nest);
Great Creasted Flycatcher (2);
Red-eyed Vireo (1);
Carolina Wren (2);
House Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (3 - including the pair from before);
Brown Thrasher (1);
Cedar Waxwing (2);
Blue-winged Warbler (1);
Yellow Warbler (3);
Black-and-white Warbler (1);
Ovenbird (2);
Common Yellowthroat (3);
Scarlet Tanager (4);
Eastern Towhee (8);
Field Sparrow (4);
Song Sparrow (3);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1);
Brown-headed Cowbird (2);
Baltimore Oriole (2);
(report from John Liller).
- 6/16/00 -- Lake Wompanoag, Gardner
-
Yesterday i spent about 90 minutes counting birds along a few of the
more rural roads in Gardner up near Lake Wompanoag , on the north side
of
town. I thought it would interesting to retrace the route this moring
before work , making the same stops and putting in the same amount of
effort (~90 minutes). Althought most folks on this list know that
songbirds are more active (and easier to hear) in the AM vs. the
afternoon , I thought it would be neat to do a quantitative "analysis"
for kicks. Times spent were 2:15pm to 3:45pm on 6/15 and
6:00AM to 7:30am on 6/16.
6-15 PM / 6-16 AM
Total Species 21 / 38
Total Individuals 60 / 122
COMMON LOON 0 / 2;
CANADA GOOSE 0 / 2;
MOUNING DOVE 1 / 3;
EASTERN KINGBIRD 0 / 1;
EASTERN PHEOBE 1 / 1;
TREE SWALLOW 0 / 1;
BLUE JAY 3 / 2;
COMMON CROW 0 / 2;
BLK-C CHICKEDEE 11 / 13;
TUFTED TITMOUSE 0 / 1;
BROWN CREEPER 1 / 4;
HOUSE WREN 0 / 2;
GRAY CATBIRD 0 / 2;
AMERICAN ROBIN 1 / 4;
WOOD THRUSH 1 / 0;
HERMIT THRUSH 2 / 6;
VEERY 0 / 1;
GLDN CRN KINGLET 2 / 2;
CEDAR WAX WING 2 / 2;
RED-EYED VERIO 6 / 3;
BLK + WHT WARBLER 0 / 3;
NASHVILLE WARBLER 1 / 2;
B.-T. BLUE WARBLER 1 / 2;
B-T GREEN. WARBLER 5 / 5;
YELLOW-RMP WARBLER 8 / 8;
BLKBURNIAN WARBLER 1 / 3;
CHESTNUT-S. WARBLER 0 / 1;
PINE WARBLER 1 / 2;
OVENBIRD 8 / 22;
C. YELLOW THROAT 0 / 3;
CANADA WARBLER 0 / 2;
N. ORIOLE 0 / 1;
COMMON GRACKLE 0 / 1;
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 6/15/00 -- Breeding Birds, Rowley Hill, Sterling
- Breeding birds recorded: great blue heron, Canada goose, mallard, turkey
vulture, red-tailed hawk, broad-winged hawk, ruffed grouse, turkey,
killdeer, ring-billed gull, mourning dove, chimney swift, r-thr
hummingbird, belted kingfisher, flicker, hairy woodpecker, downy
woodpecker, E. kingbird, great crested flycatcher, phoebe, Least
flycatcher, E. wood peewee, tree swallow, barn swallow, blue jay, crow,
chickadee, titmouse, white -breasted nuthatch, house wren, winter wren,
mockingbird, gray catbird, robin, wood thrush, veery, cedar waxwing,
starling, red-eyed vireo, black and white warbler, blue-winged warbler,
yelow warbler, black throated-green , ovenbird, Louisiana waterthrush,
common yellowthroat, redstart, house sparrow, redwinged blackbird,
northern oriole, grackle, scarlet tanager, cardinal, rose-br. grosbeak,
house finch, Am. goldfinch, chipping sparrow, song sparrow. (Report from
Richard Spedding).
- 6/15/00 -- Gardner area
-
A few stops this afternoon along Kelton Street and Raymond Road yielded the
following in random order:
Ovenbird 6;
Yellow Rumper Warb. 8;
BT green Warb. 5;
BT Blue Warb. 1;
Nashville Warb. 1;
Blackburnian Warb 1;
Golden-Crn Kinglet 2;
Hermit Thrush 2;
Wood Thrush 1;
White-thr. Sparrow 2;
R.E. Vireo 6.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 6/14/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
-
Highlights of a thrush survey (part 2) with Howard Shainheit
this morning:
Sora (1);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1);
Willow Flycatcher (3);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (1);
Eastern Kingbird (1);
Warbling Vireo (2);
Red-eyed Vireo (2);
Carolina Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (2 - only two of the five Wood Thrushes in the two days were
recorded in any of the four count circles; that is 25% of the circles
versus 100% last year);
Blue-winged Warbler (3);
Yellow Warbler (4);
Common Yellowthroat (5);
Scarlet Tanager (1);
Eastern Towhee (7);
Field Sparrow (2);
Song Sparrow (16);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1);
Brown-headed Cowbird (7);
Baltimore Oriole (1). (report from John Liller).
- 6/13/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Worcester
-
Highlights of a thrush survey (part 1) with Howard Shainheit
this morning:
Cooper's Hawk (1 immature female);
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (2);
Eastern Kingbird (2);
Red-eyed Vireo (2);
Carolina Wren (2);
House Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (3 - including a pair);
Brown Thrasher (2);
Yellow Warbler (2);
Ovenbird (2);
Common Yellowthroat (3);
Scarlet Tanager (2);
Eastern Towhee (6);
Song Sparrow (2);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1);
Brown-headed Cowbird (7);
Baltimore Oriole (3);
House Sparrow (15 - including two sets of 4 young in nest boxes);
(report from John Liller).
- --------------------- WICN interview with Lynne Cherry
-
On Sunday, June 25 at 5 PM, WICN (90.5 FM) will air my interview with LYNNE
CHERRY. Lynne is a children's book author, illustrator, educator and
environmental activist. All of her books, like THE GREAT KAPOK TREE, are
known for being concerned with serious environmental issues, scientificaly
accurate, yet very appealing and inspirational to young children. Many of her
books illustrations were done in the field in places like Suriname, Costa
Rica and Brazil. She was just the artist in residence at U. Mass Amhert's
geo-sciences department. Every year she leads a group of school teachers to
Peru to study the rain forest. Her book, FLUTE'S JOURNEY, is about migrating
songbirds like the Wood Thrush while A RIVER RAN WILD is an environmental
history of the Nashua River.
WICN serves central New England, so those of you on the coast will not get
us. Hopefully soon we will be web cast. (listing from Mark Lynch).
- 6/12/00 -- Old Wooddruff Farm, Lunenburg
-
It had been a few years since I'd visited the "old" Wooddruff Farm in
Lunenburg , the site of nice Cliff Swallow Colony. I'm happy to report
43 active Cliff Swallow nests , 11 were under the eves of a barn while
the other 32 were inside another old barn. This is on private property
and permission was granted to me for a brief count this noon 6/12/00.
The property owner says her uncle STILL keeps the local House Sparrow
and Starling population in check , by any means necessary.
(report from Tom Pirro).
- 6/11/00 -- Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Princeton
-
On June 11 the Forbush Bird Club conducted the 37th annual breeding bird
survey at Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary. On behalf of the staff at
the sanctuary our thanks to all those people who turned out to help, and
especially to Fran McMenemy for his efforts in making it happen. The 86
species count fell just two shy of the record, although overall numbers were
noticeably down. A new species for this BBS was common raven, seen carrying
food.
FULL REPORT is here.
(report from Peg & Dick Knowlton).
- 6/11/00 -- Petersham
-
We birded two areas in Petersham this morning. First we visited the Brooks
Woodland Preserve Trustees of Reservations property off Quaker Drive. This
area has extensive trails and contains a really nice area of mixed forest
with a stream running through it and a small marsh. A real pleasure to hike.
Highlights included (counted here and along Quaker Drive):
Barred Owl (1);
Hairy Woodpecker (2);
Pileated Woodpecker (2);
E. Wood Peewee (3);
Least Flycatcher (1);
Alder Flycatcher (2);
E. Phoebe (2);
Great Crested Flycatcher (4);
E. Kingbird (2);
Red-Breasted Nuthatch (4);
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (2);
Veery (6);
Hermit Thrush (2);
Wood Thrush (5);
Cedar Waxwing (4);
Blue-Headed Vireo (8);
Red-Eyed Vireo (26);
WARBLERS:
Blue-Winged (1);
Chestnut-Sided (7);
Yellow (1);
Black-Throated Green (16);
Blackburnian (4);
Pine (1);
Black and White (3);
A. Redstart (5);
Ovenbird (11);
C. Yellowthroat (16);
Canada (2);
Scarlet Tanager (3);
Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (7);
Indigo Bunting (pair);
Swamp Sparrow (4);
White-Throated Sparrow (1);
Baltimore Oriole (1).
We also had American Toads calling, actually saw a Spring Peeper on the
forest floor, had C. Ringlet and American Copper and a good show of
Bunchberry blooms.
Later, we headed to the Harvard Forest tract behind Harvard Pond. Here we
birded the forest and the access roads and the dike. We met Tom Gagnon and
Bruce and we all searched long and hard for the Bog Elfin with zero success.
Bird highlights:
Wood Duck (pair);
Turkey Vulture (1);
Broad Winged Hawk (2);
Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker (4);
E. Wood Peewee (3);
Alder Flycatcher (2);
Least Flycatcher (1);
Brown Creeper (2);
Veery (12);
Hermit Thrush (8);
Blue-Headed Vireo (7);
Red-Eyed Vireo (24);
WARBLERS:
Blue-Winged (1);
Chestnut-Sided (1);
Black-Throated Blue (9);
Black-Throated Green (19);
Blackburnian (12);
Yellow-Rumped (4);
Pine (1);
Black and White (5);
A. Redstart (7);
Ovenbird (47);
N. Waterthrush (1);
C. Yellowthroat (20);
Canada (4);
Scarlet Tanager (8);
Swamp Sparrow (7);
Purple Finch (1).
Though we did find the Bog Elfin, butterflies on the causeway included Tiger
Swallowtail; Red-Spotted Purple; C. Ringlet; Pearl Crescent; Summer Azure,
Juvenal's Duskywing (12). Sheep Laurel was in bloom and the carnivorous
Northern Pitcher Plants were at peak flowering.
(report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).
- 6/8/00 -- Peregines, downtown Worcester
- I haven't seen the Peregrines around in several
weeks. I have seen the Red-taileds almost daily around the Worcester
Common, and very often close to this building (BankBoston/Mechanics Tower).
(report from Jo-Ann Ferrie).
- 6/4/00 -- Gate 15, Quabbin Reservoir
- While helping Strickland Wheelock lead a birding trip from
MAS-Drumlin farm, we heard 2 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers,
saw and heard 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
At Gate 37, a pair of Blue-headed Vireos, 1 ad Hooded
Merganser with 7 newly
fledged young-in tow,
1 Purple Finch, 3 Great-Blue Heron chicks in nest, 1 ad Bald
Eagle, 2 Red-Shouldered Hawk, 5 Turkey Vulture.
(report from Dan Furbish).
- 6/4/00 -- Delaney WMA, Harvard/Bolton/Stow
-
Despite still having the flu , Sheila and I did a pretty complete survey of
the Delaney WMA in Harvard/Bolton/Stow starting shortly after 5 AM and ending
around 11 AM.
Double-Crested Cormorant (3);
LEAST BITTERN (1 calling);
Great Blue Heron (as best as we could count, there were 17 active nests and
we saw at least 33 young birds in nests at various stages of development,
some almost ready to leave the nest);
Canada Goose (21);
Wood Duck (3:seemed low);
HOODED MERGANSER (7 newly fledged birds);
Sharp-Shinned Hawk (1 ad carrying food out of the area);
Cooper's Hawk (2);
Virginia Rail (15);
C. MOORHEN (I got a quick look at a moorhen type bird flying low along the
cattails. We heard a Moorhen call twice);
Mourning Dove (9);
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo (1);
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (1);
Belted Kingfisher (1);
Downy Woodpecker (6);
N. Flicker (5);
E. Wood Peewee (3);
Willow Flycatcher (3);
E. Phoebe (1);
Great Crested Flycatcher (6);
E. Kingbird (10);
Tree Swallow (22);
Barn Swallow (3);
Blue Jay (4);
A. Crow (9);
Black-Capped Chickadee (24);
Tufted Titmouse (17);
Red-Breasted Nuthatch (2);
White-Breasted Nuthatch (5);
Brown Creeper (4);
House Wren (6);
Winter Wren (1);
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (4);
E. Bluebird (4);
Veery (2);
Hermit Thrush (3);
Wood Thrush (1);
A. Robin (7);
Cedar Waxwing (8);
Yellow-Throated Vireo (2);
Red-Eyed Vireo (3);
Warbling Vireo (16);
Nashville Warbler (1);
Yellow Warbler (17);
Black-Throated Green Warbler (9);
Pine Warbler (12);
Ovenbird (6);
Northern Waterthrush (1);
C. Yellowthroat (26);
Scarlet Tanager (4);
N. Cardinal (5);
Chipping Sparrow (18);
Savannah Sparrow (6);
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW (2 singing birds. Why these birds return to this very
disturbed area I do not know. The amount of people who run dogs through this
small field is AMAZING. We got great looks at the poor besieged birds. NOTE
BENE: If you go looking for these birds STAY ON THE PATHS. They are distured
enough. NO TAPING!);
Song Sparrow (38);
Swamp Sparrow (9);
Red-Winged Blackbird (120+);
C. Grackle (50+);
Brown-Headed Cowbird (4);
Baltimore Oriole (9);
Purple Finch (2);
A. Goldfinch (13).
BUTTERFLIES: Tiger Swallowtail (1); Cabbage White (5); Clouded Sulphur (1);
SILVERY BLUE (6: this seems to be one of the best places in the state for
this species. This is a low count); Common Ringlet (4); Pearl Crescent (1);
Dreamy Duskywing (3); Long Dash (1).
(report from Mark Lynch (still sick)/Sheila Carroll).
- 6/3/00 -- High Ridge WMA, Westminster
-
In late morning I birded part of High Ridge WMA in Westminster.
The following were the hilites (high winds made hearing difficult at
best):
House Wren 4;
Boboilink 5+;
E. Bluebird 1 male carrying a very large
catapillar;
Magnolia Warbler 1 male in spruces could be a nester;
Blue headed Vireo 1;
Balt. Oriole 3 or 4;
Purple Finch 2 a pair.
The male Purple Finch put a great display for the female ( although at
times the female was unimpressed and even appeared aggravated ... I've
been there before!). I first noticed the male land on a road and he
proceeded to hold its head up high while its tail was "cocked" (wren
like) while hopping back and forth. After about 1/2 minute with his head
up and tail back down and chest held "out" he moved about with his
wings quivering (similar to a young bird begging for food) all while
singing , this went on for full minute or 2. He approached the female in
this fashion to about a foot away , she proceeded to move out and strike
him in the chest , he retreated about 5" away but continued his display
for a few more minutes. A bonus was as the male moved from the shade to
sun his brillant raspberry color would become extreemly intense in the
brillant sunshine.
.... a few weeks back I watch a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak display to a
female while perched on a branch. He "stood" up very straight about a
foot in front of the female , held his wing out to the side and
"quivered" ( in begging like fashion) them while holding his breast out
to display his brillant red patch while turning his head from side to
side. Went on for about a minute , before the they both flew off.
nifty stuff.
(report from TOm Pirro).
- 6/3/00 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
-
HIghlights on a brief walk with my class this morning:
Virginia Rail (2 - must be breeding);
SORA (1 - still here);
Chimney Swift (2);
Eastern Wood-Pewee (2);
Willow Flycatcher (5);
Eastern Kingbird (4);
Warbling Vireo (6);
Red-eyed Vireo (5);
Tree Swallow (4);
BARN SWALLOW (1 - not usually found until later in the summer);
Carolina Wren (3);
House Wren (1);
Wood Thrush (2);
Cedar Waxwing (24);
Blue-winged Warbler (3);
Yellow Warbler (8);
Chestnut-sided Warbler (1);
Prairie Warbler (1);
Blackpoll Warbler (1);
American Redstart (1);
Common Yellowthroat (6);
Eastern Towhee (4);
Chipping Sparrow (1);
Field Sparrow (4);
Song Sparrow (15);
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1);
Baltimore Oriole (5);
(report from John Liller).
- 6/3/00 -- Wachusett Reservoir
-
Birds were very tough to
come by. Part of the problem was the ever increasing wind. Our best sightings
at Wachuset were not even a bird but a MINK and a RED FOX.
Birds seen:
Common Loon (3);
Double-Crested Cormorant (11);
MUTE SWAN (3: odd, not a great place for swans because of the depth of the
water. However, Sheila and I had heard reports last week from the MDC of
three swans being seen off and on here. Let's hope they do not breed);
Canada Goose (29);
Mallard (6);
Turkey Vulture (4);
Red-Tailed Hawk (excellent views of a bird kiting);
Spotted Sandpiper (4);
Least Sandpiper (2: Sheila was the only one who got these);
Chimney Swift (4);
N. Flicker (3);
E. Kingbird (4);
Tree Swallow (25+);
Bank Swallow (2);
N. Rough-Winged Swallow (4);
Red-Breasted Nuthatch (1);
E. Bluebird (1);
Hermit Thrush (1 singing);
Cedar Waxwing (flock of 17);
Yellow Warbler (3);
Prairie Warbler (2);
E. Towhee (1);
Chipping Sparrow (15+);
Song Sparrow (10);
A. Goldfinch (4).
The trip re-assembled at Flint Pond (Worcester/Shrewsbury) to look for
Orchard Oriole that bred there last year. By now the wind was making birding
very difficult.
Double-Crested Cormorant (1);
Great Blue Heron (1);
Brown Thrasher (1);
Gray Catbird (5);
Warbling Vireo (3);
Yellow Warbler (4);
Song Sparrow (4);
Baltimore Oriole (3);
Red-Winged Blackbird (15+);
C. Grackle (10+);
Other sightings: an Eastern Painted Turtle attempting to lay eggs. We also
had an enormous grouping of new adult damselflies (teneral stage), very
difficult to ID, but at least 70+ in one small area. We also had one crow fly
over that was fiercely driven out of the territory by an ever increasing
group of mobbers including numbers of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Common
Grackles, an Eastern Kingbird and a Northern Oriole. Also seen: several
Little Wood Satyrs (butterflies)
(report from Mark Lynch).
- 6/3/00 -- Wachusett Reservoir
-
Fran McMenemy found a Willet among some Yellowlegs and plovers today. The
bird was still there as of 5 PM , just before the storm hit. The bird was
seen from the Rt. 110 side up in Clinton on the small sandbar off the
northern shore. Both times he saw the bird, he got a look at it's distictive
wing pattern.
Willets are exceedingly rare inland, and there has been only a handfull of
records, very few in the Spring, and those in mid-May.
(report from Mark Lynch).
- 6/1/00 -- Leominster
- On Rte 13 near Whalom Park, I had a pair of
pileated woodpeckers
playing around in my back acre for a half hour this morning - even
got them on tape
as they were fascinating...
(report from Dot Brewer).
For previous sightings, see
May 2000 Archives or
Archive Index