September 2003 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:

9/30/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 30, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               5             44             44
> Osprey                       1            149            154
> Bald Eagle                   0             19             23
> Northern Harrier             2             21             22
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          73            460            472
> Cooper's Hawk                0             20             20
> Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              2              2
> Broad-winged Hawk            7           1714           1742
> Red-tailed Hawk              1             14             18
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             4            157            160
> Merlin                       3             14             14
> Peregrine Falcon             0              1              1
> Unknown                      4              8              8
> Total:                     100           2624           2681
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Observation start time: 07:15:00 > Observation end time: 14:00:00 > Total observation time: 6.75 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling > Observations: > The weather looked as good as yesterday. Mostly Sharpies thought it was good migration weather. > > Also, our first migrating Canada Geese (11). 14 Monarch Butterflies. (report from Bart Kamp).

9/30/03 -- Northboro
This morning while setting out on my morning walk with the dog I got as far as the front steps. In the high deciduous trees along the left side of my lawn there were birds flitting everywhere. Actually my attention was first riveted on what turned out to be about 12 phoebes moving in and out of the bushes. Then I saw the warblers high in the trees. I had black & white warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, red-eyed vireos and probably others that I could not id. The birds were moving quickly from branch to branch and I couldn't always get good looks at them. Then a sharp-shined hawk arrived and circled the area at about 40' before moving on. All this in about 15 minutes. This was between 7:30 and 7:45 and the sun was just warming up the exposed side of the trees. When I looked a little deeper into the still shaded woods there was very little activity. (report from Jim Hogan).

9/28/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
Hilites From a walk through Broad Meadow Brook: 1 Green Heron, 1 R.B. Grosbeak, 7 Pheobes, 6 BlueBirds, 9 White- throated Sparrows. Warbler's: 6 Common yellow Throat, 41 Blackpoll, 12 Parula, 4 B.T. Green, 3 Nashville, 2 Black+White, 3 A redstart. (report from John Shea).

9/28/03 -- Blackstone National Corridor: RI section
We managed to squeeze in a few stops before the rains came this morning:
  • WOONSOCKET RESERVOIR, N. SMITHFIELD. The water here has only recently lowered enough to be attractive to shorebirds: Double-crested Cormorant (3); Killdeer (28); Greater Yellowlegs (1); Pectoral Sandpiper (2);
  • ARNOLDS MILLS/DIAMOND HILL RESERVOIRS, CUMBERLAND: Here, at these two adjacent reservoirs, the water at Arnold's Mills has lowered enough to be attractive to shorebirds. Common Loon (1imm); Double-crested Cormorant (12); Great Blue Heron (3); Great Egret (4); Mute Swan (2 pair); Green-winged Teal (8); Mallard (82); A. Black Duck (4); Blue-winged Teal (6: all males); Killdeer (22); Semipalmated Plover (9); Greater Yellowlegs (8); Lesser Yellowlegs (2); Least Sandpiper (26); Pectoral Sandpiper (6); Wilson's Snipe (7); Belted Kingfisher (2);
  • ALSO: on the way down, low right over Rt. 146 and heading into Worcester County, flying right along the highway: Mute Swan (1). (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    • 9/28/03 -- Gardner
    The birding was rather quiet in the area this rainy morning but here are a few hilites: Red-breasted Nuthatch ~25; Blue-headed Vireo 1; Blackpoll Warbler 3; Black-throated Green Warb. 1; Yellow-rumped Warbler ~5; Palm Warbler 1 of the "western race"; Black and White Warbler 1; Swamp Sparrow 5. While spishing and imitating a screech owl, off Norcross Hill Road in Templeton, I was able bring in a young bull Moose...NOT the Conn. Warbler I'd hoped for.... but none the less it did fill the field of view in the bins. This guy's right antler was broken off about a foot from it's head. (report from Tom Pirro).

    9/28/03 -- Salisbury/Park area, Worcester
    At about 11:30AM, with the rain just starting to fall, an outfall of migrants occured in my tiny backyard. I could hear a lot of chipping while I was on my PC, went to the second floor window, spished and lots of birds came out, many flying right up to the screen or perched on my phone line. I then went outside and saw even more, with most birds in my small ornamental maple and cherry trees: Red-bellied Woodpecker (1m. Don't know if this is a migrant, but one has not been around since last winter); E. Phoebe (1); Ruby-crowned Kinglet (10+); Red-breasted Nuthatch (1: now at feeder); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (2: these had seemed to have left inland a few weeks back); Blue-headed Vireo (1); N. Parula (15+); Magnolia Warbler (1); Black-throated Green Warbler (15++); Prairie Warbler (2: very atypical around my home); Bay-breasted Warbler (1); Blackpoll (25++); A. Redstart (5+); SCATLET TANAGER (15++: nine alone were seen perched on my phone line, flying down to the birdbath. I literally did a double take. All were feeding in small cherry trees); Birds were moving rapidly through the trees, but feeding as they went. Folks to the east should keep theri eyes peeled. (report from Mark Lynch).

    9/28/03 -- Northbridge
    I visited the Northbridge Sewage Treatment Plant this morning from 9 - 11. Intermittent light sprinkles. Anticipating that the southerly winds might force down some shorebirds I was disappointed to find that all the beds were recently plowed, all the weeds surrounding the beds had been recently cut and that there was no water, or birds in any of the beds. However, I birded the brushy small stream that bisects the property, the perimeter of the small new underground processing tank (next to the small outbuilding at the SE corner of the property), and then followed the dirt road that leads to the area where brush and tree branches are dumped. Here's what I found:
    Stream - song sparrows, indigo buntings, catbirds, cardinals
    Weed bank surrounding the processing tank - song sparrows, chipping sparrows, savannah sparrow, indigo bunting, catbirds
    Dirt road - an area that deserves further attention. Along the road within a 50 feet span feeding on the ground was a group of 14 flickers . The pile of brush was alive with sparrows. Complete list: (report from Jeff Scott).

    9/27/03 -- Flint Pond, Shrewsbury
    Hilites kayaking Flint Pond: 2 Osprey, 4 Least Sandpiper, 3 Semipalmated Plover, 1 PIED-BILLED GREBE and 22 Wood Ducks. (report from John Shea).

    9/27/03 -- Shewsbury St., Worcester
    I live in Worcester Mass near shrewsbury street and this morning I was on my porch at 10 am and happened to notice a mother squirrel and her young jumping from my house to a maple tree not more than 4 feet away from the house itself. The baby and mother jumped to this tree and I was watching how the little one was having trouble clmbing a limb that was very small and thought it might not make, but almost fall 30 feet to the ground. I all of a sudden saw an explosion of this limb within a matter of a near second, so much that I was scared as I was so close, not more than 10 feet from it. It was a large red-Tailed hawk catching the baby, much to the dismay of the mother that kept up quite a racjket after seeing her baby taken away to the roof next to mine. The Young squirel's tail was shaking violently in the grip of the Red-tail's talons. I have never witnessed anything like this im my life and I'm quite an avid outdoorsman. It was a very remarkable sight and one I'll never forget. This bird has been near my house many times and I have quite a few photos of this hawk and some rare video footage as well. It goes to show that these birds will live anywhere as the land and wilderness closes in around them. This incident occured september 26th 2003. (report from Mark Pedjoe).

    9/27/03 -- Gardner
    Hilites from a Misty/foggy morning around town this am...still a good variety of woodland birds up here, but the Yellow-rumps have overtaken the Blackpolls as "king of the woods": Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 imm.; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1; Common Flicker 6; Red-Breasted Nuthatch 3; Red-eyed Vireo 1; Philadelphia Vireo 1; Blue-headed Vireo 1; Ruby-crwoned Kinglet 3; Eastern Phoebe 15; Gray Catbird 20; Raven 1; House Wren 2; Tennessee Warbler 1; Nashville Warbler 1; Magnolia Warbler 1; Black-throated green Warb. 7; Yellow-rumped Warbler 25+; Blackpoll Warbler 10+; Palm Warbler 2; Common Yellowthroat 10+; Scarlet tanager 4; Indigo Bunting 1; White-throated Sparrow 5 or 6; Swamp Sparrow 5; Eastern Towhee 5. (report from Tom Pirro).

    9/27/03 -- Winimusset WMA, New Braintree
    5:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. Intermittent sprinkles punctuated by intense sunshine characterized a morning's birding from 5:00 am to noon, with the birds listed below featured prominently. The Pied-billed Grebes were extraordinarily cooperative. One juvenile accompanied two adults. Close observation of the smallest of the three birds revealed a more reddish neck and a comparatively more wide-eyed appearance due to the lack of an eye-ring. They fed very actively in the extreme southwest corner of the marsh accessible on the south side of Old Turnpike Road. (report from Chris Ellison).

    9/25/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 25, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture              13             22             22
> Osprey                       8            139            144
> Bald Eagle                   0             17             21
> Northern Harrier             2             16             17
> Sharp-shinned Hawk           7            275            287
> Cooper's Hawk                1             17             17
> Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              2              2
> Broad-winged Hawk            3           1496           1524
> Red-tailed Hawk              0             11             15
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             7            140            143
> Merlin                       1              9              9
> Peregrine Falcon             0              1              1
> Unknown                      0              3              3
> Total:                      42           2149           2206
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 14:00:00 > Total observation time: 6 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling > Observations: First noticeable migration of Turkey Vultures. > > 4 Tree Swallows and 9 Monarchs were migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/25/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    I took a late morning walk at Broad Meadow Brook today. It was very quiet with only sixteen species tallied. Highlights were 3 Flickers, 2 Phoebes, 35 Cedar Waxwings, 1 C. Yellowthroat, and 22 Blackpolls, 20 of which were together in the birches along the path to the Auto Parts Pond. (report from Howard Shainheit).

    9/24/03 -- Flint Pond, Shrewsbury
    Hilites from a kayak trip around Flint Pond: 5 Green Heron, 2 Osprey feeding,2 Spotted Sandpiper, 4 Killdeer, 4 Least Sandpiper and 3 Semipalmated Plover. The last four Birds are all behind the Stove Place on RT 20, just down from the boat ramp. Another veiw is from the bridge just after Dunkin Donuts. (report from John Shea).

    9/23/03 -- Wachusett Reservoir, Clinton
    Ahead of the rain this morning at Wachusett Reservoir at the north end there were 1 Red-throated Loon, 1 Black-bellied Plover on the bushy island and a juvenile Bald Eagle soaring over the dam. At the south end on the raft there was a Great Cormorant with the other birds. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/22/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Highlights this morning : Cooper's Hawk (1); Northern Flicker (3); Eastern Phoebe (1); Blue-headed Vireo (1); House Wren (2); American Robin (1); Gray Catbird (5); Brown Thrasher (1); Nashville Warbler (2); Magnolia Warbler (1); Northern Parula (3); Yellow-rumped Warbler (2); Black-throated Green Warbler (2); Blackpoll Warbler (5); American Redstart (2); Common Yellowthroat (4); CONNECTICUT WARBLER (1 - best looks that I have ever had); Eastern Towhee (4); Song Sparrow (5); Swamp Sparrow (1); Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1); (report from John Liller).

    9/22/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 22, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               1              7              7
> Osprey                      23            125            130
> Bald Eagle                   1             17             21
> Northern Harrier             4             13             14
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          26            246            258
> Cooper's Hawk                1             16             16
> Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           94           1489           1517
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              7             11
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            13            120            123
> Merlin                       1              8              8
> Peregrine Falcon             1              1              1
> Unknown                      0              3              3
>
> Total:                     165           2053           2110
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 06:30:00 > Observation end time: 14:00:00 > Total observation time: 7.5 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, Donna Schilling > > Observations: Broadwing lift off began at 9:30 EDT and ended at 10:30 EDT. There were only 17 broadwings between 10:30 and 3:00 EDT. One kettle was topped with 3 Northern Harriers, an Osprey in the middle and 6 Broadwings at the bottom. The Broadwings appeared to be getting no lift at all. We had our first Peregrine today. > > Flying over were 3 Common Loons and 4 Black-bellied Plovers. There were 8 Monarchs migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/21/03 -- Mount Watatic, Ashburnham 
    Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               1              1              1
Osprey                      20             39             39
Bald Eagle                   7             12             12
Northern Harrier             4             10             10
Sharp-shinned Hawk          76            138            138
Cooper's Hawk                5             12             12
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
Broad-winged Hawk         2722           4117           4117
Red-tailed Hawk              2              2              2
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            19             44             44
Merlin                       2              8              8
Peregrine Falcon             0              1              1
Unknown                      5              8              8

Total:                    2863           4392           4392
----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Observation start time: 07:00:00; Observation end time: 17:00:00; Total observation time: 10 hours; Official Counter: Tom Pirro; Observers: Jack Lash, Paul Pinault, Tim Mowry; Visitors: Chris Ellison, Steve Howe, Russ Holden, Gail Coffee,Tom Mikes, Joe Southerland and many others helped out. Observations: 82% percent of the flight was after between 12 and 3 EST. Birds very high many disappearing in the lower clouds. Better than 50% of the flight passed to our west. (report from Tom Pirro).

    9/21/03 -- Tower Hill, Quabbin Reservoir
    My wife, Mary, and I, while on our way to Sunday's field trip in the Berkshires that's part of Mark Lynch's birding class, decided to stop briefly Saturday, 9/20, from about 9:30 - 10:15 am at Tower Hill at Quabbin Res. We were treated to a nice movement of birds, which included: Common Loon 1 (on the lake), Northern Flicker 2, Eastern Wood-Pewee 2, Eastern Phoebe 6, Blue-headed Vireo 1, Red-eyed Vireo 1, Red-breasted Nuthatch 1, Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 (late), Gray Catbird 2, Northern Parula 1, Yellow-rumped Warbler 4, Black-throated Green Warbler 3, Pine Warbler 4, Scarlet Tanager 12, Eastern Towhee 3, Chipping Sparrow 3, White-throated Sparrow 2, Baltimore Oriole 1 (late). Mark surmised that the Baltimore Oriole and BG Gnatcatcher were forced back north by Isabel, as they should have migrated out of the area several weeks ago. (report from Jeff Scott).

    9/21/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Barre, Massachusetts, USA
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 21, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               4              6              6
> Osprey                      16            102            107
> Bald Eagle                   2             16             20
> Northern Harrier             4              9             10
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          45            220            232
> Cooper's Hawk                2             15             15
> Northern Goshawk             0              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk         1046           1395           1423
> Red-tailed Hawk              1              7             11
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            26            107            110
> Merlin                       0              7              7
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      1              3              3
>
> Total:                    1147           1888           1945
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 06:00:00 > Observation end time: 17:00:00 > Total observation time: 11 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Dick Wolfe, Don Gardella, Donna Schilling > > Visitors: > George Gove, Judy Gordon, Dick and Peg Knowlton > Observations: An adult dark morf Broadwinged Hawk was our first broadwing of the day. The soaring broadwings were disappearing into the base of the clouds. Our largest group of birds was a multi-tiered kettle of 300 birds. The 2 Bald Eagles were with a kettle of 75 broadwings. The large groups of broadwings passed between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM EST. There were 26 Monarchs migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/20/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Barre, Massachusetts, USA
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 20, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                       4             86             91
> Bald Eagle                   0             14             18
> Northern Harrier             1              5              6
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          13            175            187
> Cooper's Hawk                0             13             13
> Northern Goshawk             1              1              1
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk            0            349            377
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              6             10
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             5             81             84
> Merlin                       3              7              7
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
>> Total:                      27            741            798
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 06:00:00 > Observation end time: 14:30:00 > Total observation time: 9 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Don Gardella, Donna Schilling > > Visitors: Dave Carlson, Ed Pavlis, George Gove and Judy Gordon. > > Observations: ZERO Broadwings. Our first Northern Goshawk. I have found that there is very little hawk migration when the dew point is 55 F or higher, even if there has been a frontal passage with favorable winds. Today the dew point was in the 60's F all day. > > The first noticeable movement of Blue Jays. 5 Monarch Butterflies. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/18/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 18, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                      18             82             87
> Bald Eagle                   0             14             18
> Northern Harrier             1              4              5
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          26            162            174
> Cooper's Hawk                2             13             13
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk            7            349            377
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              6             10
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            14             76             79
> Merlin                       1              4              4
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
> Total:                      69            714            771
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling, Tom Carrolan > > > Observations: > The best hour was the first hour when there were 20 raptors, 12 of them Osprey. > > 7 Monarchs migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/17/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                       6             64             69
> Bald Eagle                   0             14             18
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          19            136            148
> Cooper's Hawk                0             11             11
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           59            342            370
> Red-tailed Hawk              1              6             10
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             0             62             65
> Merlin                       0              3              3
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
>> Total:                      85            645            702
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 15:45:00 > Total observation time: 7.75 hours > > Official Counter: David Grant > > Observers: David Grant, Dick Wolfe, Donna Schilling (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/17/03 -- Mount Watatic, Ashburnham 
    Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 17, 2003
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture                0              0              0
Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
Osprey                       7             19             19
Bald Eagle                   3              5              5
Northern Harrier             3              6              6
Sharp-shinned Hawk          28             62             62
Cooper's Hawk                1              7              7
Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
Broad-winged Hawk         1316           1395           1395
Red-tailed Hawk              0              0              0
Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
American Kestrel            14             25             25
Merlin                       4              6              6
Peregrine Falcon             0              1              1
Unknown                      1              3              3

Total:                    1377           1529           1529
----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 17:00:00 Total observation time: 9 hours Official Counter: Tom Pirro Observers: Paul Pinault, Rachel Scherer, Tim Mowry Visitors: Gail Coffee, Paula Terrisi....Steve and Russ (no last names....they bagged work... Observations: Red-shouldered Hawk calling most of the morning. 80% of today's flight was after 1PM EST. A report from Union, Maine on Cleary Hill about 10 miles inland...Tom McCullough had a total of 2026 migrant raptors (1950 were BW's) with about 85% after 1:30 EDT...tomorrow could be good down here. Also: A kettle of 20 Ravens, 1 RT Hummingbird and a few dozen Monarch Butterflies. (report from Tom Pirro).

    9/16/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 16, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                       0             58             63
> Bald Eagle                   3             14             18
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          12            117            129
> Cooper's Hawk                1             11             11
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk            5            283            311
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              5              9
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            15             62             65
> Merlin                       0              3              3
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
>
> Total:                      36            560            617
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 16:00:00 > Total observation time: 8 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling, Richard Spedding > Observations: One might think that an early morning cold front on the 16th of September would be followed by lots of birds; not at Barre Falls. Except for the 3 adult Bald Eagles that passed within 10 minutes of each other the most exciting part of the day was watching the parking lot being paved. > There were 28 Monarch Butterflies and 1 RT Hummingbird migrating. The parking lot will be CLOSED through Thursday. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/14/03 -- High Ridge WMA/Lake Wompanoag, Gardner
  • This morning was mostly the same as yesterday with a few exceptions, one of which was a Philidelphia Vireo at High Ridge WMA.....Blackpoll Warblers are perhaps one the most common woodland species in the area right now.
  • Yesterday 9/13 there were: Common Loon 2... 1 adult 2 imm. lake wompanoag; Green heron 2; Green-winged Teal 1; Hooded Merganser 2; Osprey 1; Common Nighthawk 1; Ruby-thr. Hummingbird 1; European Starling 1 albino at Mt Wachusett Comm College campus pond; N. Parula 1; Chestnut-sided Warbler 1; BT Blue Warbler 1 ad. male; BT Green Warbler 2; Yellow-rumped Warbler 5; BlackPoll Warbler 50+; Black and White Warbler 2; Am. Redstart 3; Common yellowthroat 5; Scarlet tanager 1; Lincoln's Sparrow 2; Indigo Bunting 1; Purple Finch 1. (report from Tom Pirro).

    • 9/14/03 -- Pulaski SF, Burrillville, RI
    A morning check of Pulaski (part of the Blackstone National Corridor) produced a few classic "waves" of migrants in the interior of the forest. It was amazing to witness, because in between waves (most of the area by far in other words), the forest was almost completely devoid of birds including common species. By far the dominant species in these flocks were Blackpolls and chickadees. We checked a compass (often), and most birds were moving through the forest in a WSW direction. The greatest number of birds were seen first thing along the northern edge of Pulaski. Complete list below: Wood Duck (5); A. Black Duck (2); Mallard (4); Osprey (1); Red-shouldered Hawk (1); Mourning Dove (4); Barred Owl (1 flew low over us as we were :"screech-owling"); Hairy Woodpecker (2); Downy Woodpecker (6); N. Flicker (2); E. Wood Peewee (7); E. Phoebe (11); Blue Jay (33); A. Crow (3); Black-capped Chickadee (138); Tufted Titmouse (21); RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (16: no where near as many as have been noted in recent weeks moving into MA, but definitely a "movement".); Brown Creeper (9); Winter Wren (1); Hermit Thrush (12); A. Robin (84); Gray Catbird (4); Blue-headed Vireo (1); Red-eyed Vireo (9); Scarlet Tanager (8); E. Towhee (11); Chipping Sparrow (7); A. Goldfinch (2). ALSO: some very late Birdsfoot Violets. We also saw many thousands of Yellow-legged Meadowflys ovi-positing along the shores of small ponds. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    9/14/03 -- New Swedish (All-Faiths) Cemetery, Worcester
    Hilites From a walk through Swedish Cemetery: 5 Green wing Teal, 4A. Wigeon, 1 Belted King Fisher, 3 Carolina Wrens and 1 R.T. Hummingbird. (report from John Shea ).

    9/13/03 -- Poutwater Pond, Holden
    This morning around 7:00 AM I went to Poutwater and saw a few birds: Ovenbird, Ruffed Grouse, Towhee. I also saw a BULL MOOSE across the pond eating vegetation. It was a young moose with 2 tines on each antler. I saw it slip in the bog accompanied by a splash which was quite loud. Eventually it walked into the pond and started eating Water Lilies. After a few minutes it started to swim towards me across the pond. When it crossed about 1/3 of the pond I decided it was time for me to leave. With the Black Spruce, Tamarack and the moose I felt like I was in Northern Maine. (report from Peter Morlock).

    9/13/03 -- Ware River Watershed, Rutland/Barre
    Our MAS IBA [Important Birding Area] class spent the morning in just one small section of the Ware River Watershed IBA, in the area between Rutland SF and Barre Falls Dam, and only hitting a few of the stops there. Despite weather conditions, there was a decent movement of birds especially earlier in the morning. This included a big movement of BLACKPOLLS and a very good number of Red-breasted Nuthatches. We did search numerous marshes with no sign of the Wood Stork. Directions on how to bird this area are in the new bird-finding guide to Western MA published by U. Mass Extension.
    Complete list: Great Blue Heron (4); Green Heron (1); Wood Duck (8); Mallard (9); Hooded Merganser (1imm); Turkey Vulture (5); Sharp-shinned Hawk (3); N. Goshawk (2); Red-shouldered Hawk (1); A. Kestrel (1); Mourning Dove (1); Barred Owl (1); N. Saw-whet Owl (1: Sheila and I had this bird as we went to meet this class at 5:45AM); Belted Kingfisher (3); Downy Woodpecker (5); Hairy Woodpecker (3); N. Flicker (8); Pileated Woodpecker (1); E. Wood Peewee (2); E. Phoebe (19); Tree Swallow (3); Barn Swallow (4); Blue Jay (41); A. Crow (8); C. Raven (3); Black-capped Chickadee (76); Tufted Titmouse (4); RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (62); White-breasted Nuthatch (7); Brown Creeper (4); House Wren (4); Golden-crowned Kinglet (4); Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1); Hermit Thrush (3); A. Robin (64); Gray Catbird (17); Cedar Waxwing (36); Blue-headed Vireo (1); Philadelphia Vireo (2); Red-eyed Vireo (14); Scarlet Tanager (5); N. Cardinal (1); Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2); E. Towhee (8); Chipping Sparrow (16); Field Sparrow (5); LARK SPARROW (1); Song Sparrow (13); Swamp Sparrow (6); Purple Finch (4); A. Goldfinch (7); ALSO: Red Eft, Green Frog, Pickerel Frog, E. Painted Turtle, N. Banded Watersnake (1 dead);, and a great display of Bottle Gentian. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    9/12/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 12, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                       7             57             62
> Bald Eagle                   1             11             15
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk           4            104            116
> Cooper's Hawk                1             10             10
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           19            277            305
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              5              9
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             3             46             49
> Merlin                       3              3              3
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
 Total:                      38            520            577
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 06:30:00 > Observation end time: 14:30:00 > Total observation time: 8 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Don Gardella, Donna Schilling > > Visitors: Jack and Patti Kelley > > Observations: Our first Merlins, the Bald Eagle was a juvenile. > > There were 3 RT Hummingbirds and 1 Monarch migrating. Reminder: The parking lot/hawk watch site will be CLOSED for paving starting Monday for a least 3 days. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/12/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Highlights this morning: Turkey Vulture (1); Wood Duck (1 female); Hairy Woodpecker (1); Eastern Phoebe (1); Warbling Vireo (1); Red-eyed Vireo (1); House Wren (1); Gray Catbird (14); Nashville Warbler (1); Prairie Warbler (1); Blackpoll Warbler (4); American Redstart (3); Common Yellowthroat (5); Eastern Towhee (2); Song Sparrow (1); Rose-breasted Grosbeak (2); (report from John Liller).

    9/11/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre
    Migrants observed today: Sharp-shinned Hawk 4; Broad-winged Hawk 1 ; American Kestrel 1. Looked like good migration weather but the hawks didn't think so. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/10/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
     
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              2              2
> Osprey                       4             50             55
> Bald Eagle                   1             10             14
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          12             96            108
> Cooper's Hawk                1              9              9
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           18            257            285
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              5              9
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             9             42             45
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              2              2
> Total:                      45            476            533
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 13:45:00 > Total observation time: 5.75 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling, Richard Spedding, Tom Carrolan > > Visitors: George Gove and Judy Gordon > > Observations: > The few raptors were mostly low. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/9/03 -- Lake Quaboag, Brookfield
    There was 1 adult Bald Eagle perched across the lake and 1 adult Pied-billed Grebe not far from the boat ramp. (report from Joan Zumpfe).

    9/9/03 -- Grafton
    While showing one of my grand-daughters the full moon through a scope tonite, there was (1) Great Horned Owl calling and (1) Great Blue Heron flew low overhead in almost total darkness. By focusing the scope on the disk of the moon for a bit, you could actually see nocturnal passeriiforme migrants wafting by high up! If you have never done this before, it is amazing. (report from Mark Lynch).

    9/9/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Highlights this morning: Wood Duck (1 female) [Osprey (1 - this bird was actually reported by someone else and he said it was perched on a power pole. Although we regularly get this species as a flyover on the Sanctuary, this represents the first report of a bird landing on the Sanctuary.)] Belted Kingfisher (1); Eastern Phoebe (1); Warbling Vireo (2); House Wren (1); American Robin (1); Gray Catbird (9); Yellow Warbler (1); Black-and-white Warbler (1); Common Yellowthroat (4); Eastern Towhee (2). Also: White-tailed Deer (2) (report from John Liller).

    9/9/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 09, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               1              2              2
> Osprey                      12             46             51
> Bald Eagle                   1              9             13
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          22             84             96
> Cooper's Hawk                0              8              8
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           65            239            267
> Red-tailed Hawk              2              5              9
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            11             33             36
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      2              2              2
>
> Total:                     116            431            488
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 15:00:00 > Total observation time: 7 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling, Richard Spedding > > Visitors: Jim O'Donnell > Observations: All the ingredients were there for a good early in the season migration day but there were fewer hawks than yesterday. > > 1 RT Hummingbird and 8 Monarchs were migrating. The red fox paid us a return visit. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/8/03 -- High ridge WMA, Gardner
    I had the following hilites during a walk into the Smith street gate of High Ridge WMA this evening: Hooded Merganser 5; House Wren 5+; Sharp-shinned hawk 1; Brown Thrasher 1; Blackpoll Warbler 3; Am. Redstart 2; Common Yellowthroat ~10; Lincon's Sparrow 2. The Sharp-shinned picked off a Common Yellowthroat about 10' away from me, I heard something hitting leaves and small braches in a near-by shrubs and out flew a little sharpie with the yellowthroat. (report from Tom Pirro).

    9/8/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 08, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               1              1              1
> Osprey                      15             34             39
> Bald Eagle                   0              8             12
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          23             62             74
> Cooper's Hawk                3              8              8
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk          117            174            202
> Red-tailed Hawk              1              3              7
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel            11             22             25
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              0              0
>
> Total:                     171            315            372
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 07:00:00 > Observation end time: 15:30:00 > Total observation time: 8.5 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling > > Observations: > The largest kettle was 22 Broadwings. The birds were high and some were in the clouds. > > Birds seen were Common Loon, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Common Nighthawk and a Pileated Woodpecker was drumming. 26 Monarch Butterflies were migrating and a Red Fox was hunting the freshly mowed field less than 50 feet from the hawk watchers. > (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/8/03 -- Flint Pond, Shrewsbury
    Kayaking on Flint Pond I had 2 Belted Kingfisher, 5 Green Heron, 7 G.B. Heron ,27 Least Sandpiper,6 Spotted Sandpiper and 12 Killdeer. (report from John Shea).

    9/7/03 -- Bolton Flats, Bolton
    Eric Salmela led 9 members of the Fobush Bird Club on a trip to Bolton Flats, with highlights of N. Harrier, Osprey, Kestrel, RT Hummingbird, Bobolink, and Baltimiore Oriole. Complete trip list. (report from Joan Zumpfe).

    9/7/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Kim Bacchiocchi and I recorded the following highlights: Double-crested Cormorant (1); Green Heron (2); Turkey Vulture (3); Wood Duck (1 female); Osprey (1); Red-tailed Hawk (1 adult); Hairy Woodpecker (1); Northern Flicker (2); Eastern Wood-Pewee (1); Warbling Vireo (3); Red-eyed Vireo (2); Carolina Wren (1); House Wren (2); Eastern Bluebird (1); American Robin (9); Gray Catbird (32); Brown Thrasher (1); Cedar Waxwing (1); Northern Parula (3); Black-throated Green Warbler (1); Blackpoll Warbler (1); Black-and-white Warbler (2); American Redstart (4); Common Yellowthroat (12); Eastern Towhee (6); Song Sparrow (5); Rose-breasted Grosbeak (9); Red-winged Blackbird (10); Also: Beaver (1); (report from John Liller).

    9/7/03 -- Goldthwaite Rd., Worcester
    This evening at 10 p.m. there was a Screech owl calling outside my apartment. (report from Joy Larrabee).

    9/7/03 -- Rt. 56, Leicester
    We did some nighthawk watching between 5:15PM and 7PM this evening from the Rt. 56 overlook of Worcester Airport. Tonite, the nighthawks were pretty entertaining. Initially, there was not much movement, but birds fed, low (often right overhead for spectacular views in the low sun behind us) flying all over the place and making keeping a careful count difficult. By 6, they began to form several loose aggregations, still feeding actively and by 6:30 most had then moved off to the south and southwest. Then for the next half hour there were only a small handful of birds moving. Then at 7PM, a large (99 birds) flock moved high overhead directly, no feeding, to the SW. On the way home, driving down Pleasant Street from Tatnuck Square, we had even more birds feeding and moving low over trees and houses in the city.
    Double-crested Cormorant (2); Canada Goose (23 on the grass next to runway); Turkey Vulture (1); N. Harrier (1); Cooper's Hawk (1ad); A. Kestrel (2); Merlin (1); Wild Turkey (8 on runway area); Wilson's Snipe (2: these birds were seen c. 6:30 flying in high from the north, circling and then putting down in the fields in front of us); COMMON NIGHTHAWK (243 minimally from Rt. 56, and another 85 near Tatnuck Square in the city); Pileated Woodpecker (1); C. Raven (2: they breed nearby); Bobolink (14); AND: 22 migrating Monarchs, the last seen at 7PM. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    9/7/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 07, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
> Osprey                      13             19             24
> Bald Eagle                   3              8             12
> Northern Harrier             0              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          11             39             51
> Cooper's Hawk                1              5              5
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           13             57             85
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              2              6
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             4             11             14
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              0              0
>> Total:                      45            144            201
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 07:00:00 > Observation end time: 13:00:00 > Total observation time: 6 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Don Gardella, Donna Schilling, Tom Carrolan > > Visitors: Dick Wolfe, Grant and Laura Marley. > > Only 7 hawks were counted after 11:00AM EST. > > The bird of the day was a WOOD STORK. It landed somewhere within the Ware River watershed. Also seen was an Evening Grosbeak. There were 3 RT Hummingbirds, 7 Common Nighthawks and 21 Monarch Butterflies migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/7/03 -- Blackstone Corridor
    Around and about in the southern end of the Corridor this morning:
  • DOUGLAS, MA: Wild Turkey (2 ad with 9yng in road)
  • BUCK HILL WMA, BURRILLVILLE RI: Wood Duck (2); Cooper's Hawk (1ad); Broad-winged Hawk (1 perched imm); Downy Woodpecker (4); Hairy Woodpecker (1); N. Flicker (2); E. Wood Peewee (4); E. Phoebe (5); Great Crested Flycatcher (1); House Wren (1); C. Raven (1); Red-eyed Vireo (5); Black-throated Green Warbler (1); Blackpoll (5); A. Redstart (1m); C. Yellowthroat (3); Scarlet Tanager (2); E. Towhee (5);
  • WOONSOCKET RESERVOIR, N. SMITHFIELD RI: Double-crested Cormorant (1); Mute Swan (1); Killdeer (31); E. Bluebird (17 at adjacent horsefarm);
  • SEEKONK RIVER RI: Double-crested Cormorant (125); Great Blue Heron (12); Great Egret (18); Green Heron (1); Black-crowned Night Heron (1imm); [Nota bene: again, this has been a miserable year here for Snowy Egrets and not so great for night herons either.] Mute Swan (11); Mallard (173); A. Black Duck (25: numbers building); Osprey (3); Red-tailed Hawk (1); Peregrine Falcon (1ad); Killdeer (7); Spotted Sandpiper (1); Greater Yellowlegs (2 at Bold Point); Short-billed Dowitcher (1 juv at Bold Point with a broken wing); [Nota bene: this has also been a horrible year for peeps along the edge of the river.] There was also a huge concentration of gulls, especially at the Woonsocket end of this short river: Laughing Gull (6); Ring-billed Gull (1323); Herring (139); Great Black-backed (106). Terns this year have (so far) only been a very few at Bold Point. (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    • 9/7/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre
    Just before 10am DST this morning a Wood Stork gliding in and set down somewhere in the 'bottomlands' at the Barre Falls Dam area in Hubbardston, MA.
    The bird was in view, as I watched for migrating hawks, from the limit of optics until it dropped below the treeline on a gradual glide path. As the bird came out the east in somewhat backlit conditions, the highly reflective white back was obvious at a fair distance ruling out gull species and white form Great Blue Heron which have a matte finish. The closer it got, the more apparent it became that this was going to be something strange -- while the bird never flapped, it had wide wings and short legs.
    For the last five seconds plus the bird finally went below the treeline and the all black flight feathers were observed along with the dark, heavy neck/head/bill area. The broad wings were cupped so severely that each wing formed a "C" below the bodyline as the bird disappeared below the near treeline. Three observers went after the bird, but came back an hour later without having found it. The Ware River in this area does not afford sweeping views from any point.
    While this is 'needle in a haystack' proposition, birders in Worcester County should know the quest to add a Wood Stork to their county list is not over! (report from posting on MASSBIRD by Tom Carrolan, fide. Mark Lynch).

    9/6/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Highlights of my monthly Saturday Morning Walk at BMB were 1 Green Heron, 1 resident Red-tail, 3 Downys, 1 Flicker, 2 Phoebes, 2 Red-eyed Vireos, 28 Catbirds, 1 Towhee, and 4 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. We did not find a warbler wave; we had only 2 Yellowthroats, 1 Parula, and 1 B-T Green, all singles. Two birders from Penn. did report a LINCOLN'S SPARROW on the power lines. (report from Howard Shainheit).

    9/6/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
> Osprey                       2              6             11
> Bald Eagle                   4              5              9
> Northern Harrier             1              3              4
> Sharp-shinned Hawk          21             28             40
> Cooper's Hawk                4              4              4
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk           39             44             72
> Red-tailed Hawk              0              2              6
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             1              7             10
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              0              0
> Total:                      72             99            156
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 08:00:00 > Observation end time: 15:00:00 > Total observation time: 7 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Don Gardella, Donna Schilling > Observations: The 4 Bald Eagles were of different ages. > > Butterflies of the day: Peck's Skipper and Red Admiral. There were 19 Monarchs migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/5/03 -- RT. 56, Leicester
    We watched for nighthawks from 5:30-6:30PM tonite from the Rt. 56 overlook of Worcester Airport. With the front moving through, nighthawks were far out over the city, very low and heading south. Undoubtably folks that watched from lower elevations saw many, many more (see Kathy Mills' report previously). This overlook is high atop a hill.
    Double-crested Cormorant (2 apparently heading down to Coes' Reservoir); Mallard (1 very high and going I have no idea where); Sharp-shinned Hawk (1); A. Kestrel (3); Merlin (1: this bird relentlessly toyed with the kestrels around the runway for a bit, often driving them to the ground, at one point chasing one far up into the sky. Eventually it flew right towards us and over our heads, low); Ring-billed Gull (33 heading to Wachuset Reservoir); C. NIGHTHAWK (86 only and almost none after 6PM); Chimney Swift (4); RED-HEADED WOODPECKER (1imm: flew all across our field of vision high and went down some where in SW Worcester); Pileated Woodpecker (1 resident bird flying across the fields); Barn Swallow (6); Bobolink (88); Baltimore Oriole (2); ALSO: migrating Monarchs despite the cool temps and breeze: 24, many amazingly high (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    9/5/03 -- Barre Falls Dam, Barre 
    > Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 05, 2003
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species            Day's Count    Month Total   Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture                0              0              0
> Turkey Vulture               0              0              0
> Osprey                       4              4              9
> Bald Eagle                   1              1              5
> Northern Harrier             2              2              3
> Sharp-shinned Hawk           7              7             19
> Cooper's Hawk                0              0              0
> Northern Goshawk             0              0              0
> Red-shouldered Hawk          0              0              0
> Broad-winged Hawk            5              5             33
> Red-tailed Hawk              2              2              6
> Rough-legged Hawk            0              0              0
> Golden Eagle                 0              0              0
> American Kestrel             6              6              9
> Merlin                       0              0              0
> Peregrine Falcon             0              0              0
> Unknown                      0              0              0
> Total:                      27             27             84
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    > Observation start time: 09:00:00 > Observation end time: 14:00:00 > Total observation time: 5 hours > > Official Counter: Barton D. Kamp > > Observers: Barton D. Kamp, David Grant, Donna Schilling > > Observations: The only non-migrating hawks were 2 Red-tailed hawks. Expected a steady flow of hawks but most of them were counted between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM EDT. > > Between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM 213 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were counted; unusual for this time of day. They were in groups of 40-60 birds. There were 100's of dragonflies about the size of Sharpies (if you were out of focus). At least a dozen species of butterflies such as American Copper, Eastern Tailed-blue, Fritillary, Question Mark and Milbert's Tortoiseshell were seen. There were 2 Rubythroated Hummingbirds and 12 Monarch Butterflies migrating. (report from Bart Kamp).

    9/5/03 -- Barrows Rd, Worcester
    At 2:30 in the afternoon, there were ants flying about, and at least 24 Nighthawks, probably more, were over my house. Tonight should be good: get out!
    Also at Broad Meadow Brook, in addition to John Liller's list there were 1 Green Heron, and a female or juvenile Scarlet Tanager. (report from Howard Shainheit ).

    9/5/03 -- Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary, Worcester
    Highlights this morning: Hairy Woodpecker (2); Northern Flicker (1); Eastern Wood-Pewee (2); Great Crested Flycatcher (1); Warbling Vireo (2); Red-eyed Vireo (1); House Wren (2); American Robin (5); Gray Catbird (15); Brown Thrasher (2); Cedar Waxwing (4); Nashville Warbler (1); Yellow Warbler (1); Chestnut-sided Warbler (2); Magnolia Warbler (1); Black-throated Green Warbler (2); Blackpoll Warbler (1); Black-and-white Warbler (2); American Redstart (1); Common Yellowthroat (4); Wilson's Warbler (1); (Note: Outside of the Yellowthroats, all of the warblers were together in one mixed feeding group, along with the wrens and several chickadees and titmice. They were feeding along the edge of the powerlines.); Eastern Towhee (3); Baltimore Oriole (1); Also: Beaver (1). (report from John Liller).

    9/5/03 -- Beaver Brook Park, Worcester
    I just had a Screech owl outside my door. I live near Beaver Brook Park. (report from John Shea).

    9/4/03 -- Dudley
    Late in the afternoon Flying Ants started to emerge all over my yard in Dudley. The weather was cloudy with some occasional sprinkles, so I hesitated to head for Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester. I finally decided to go at 6:15 p.m. On my way through Webster on Route 12 heading North, I was surprised to see at least 400 Common Nighthawks right over me which were heading South. I continued my journey to Worcester. They're were some Flying Ants, but nothing like the swarms at my house. At 7:10 p.m., at Notre Dame , about 55 Common Nighthawks appeared, but they didn't head south. (report from Joan Zumpfe).

    9/3/03 -- Barrows Rd., Worcester
    I had a small movement of warblers through the woods behind my house this morning at about 9:30, perhaps 6 to 10 birds, maybe more. One Black-and-white aside, they were high and moving about behind leaves. I could only guess at what I was seeing. Last week I did have single birds moving through: a Nashville, a Redstart and a Canada. (report from Howard Shainheit).

    9/1/03 -- Seekonk River, RI
    Our bi-monthly survey of this end of the Blackstone National Corridor had the following: Double-crested Cormorant (105); Great Blue Heron (2); Great Egret (2); Black-crowned Night Heron (3ad+2imm); [Nota bene: numbers of herons and egrets here have been disappointing compared to numbers in the last few years with Snowys almost a "no-show" on surveys.] Mute Swan (11+pair w/2cygnets); Mallard (80); A. Black Duck (2); Osprey (4); Killdeer (1); Spotted Sandpiper (2); Least Sandpiper (41); Semipalmated Sandpiper (14); Laughing Gull (21); Ring-billed Gull (82); Herring Gull (8); [Nota bene: numbers of terns and gulls have also been very low this year here too, perhaps indicating that schools of baitfish did not wander well up into the Seekonk. I do wonder if the dredging at the mouth of the Seekonk might have some effect on the fish movements.] Great Black-backed Gull (44); Red-bellied Woodpecker (1); E. Wood Peewee (4: all in Swan Pt); Tree Swallow (1); Barn Swallow (1); Carolina Wren (6); Brown Thrasher (1 imm); Baltimore Oriole (1); (report from Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll).

    9/1/03 -- Howard St., Northboro
    This morning I had one, and possibly two, barred owls calling loudly not far from my open bedroom window. They called from 4:06 to 4:50 AM. It was fun to hear it at first, but after a while ....... (report from Jim Hogan).

    For previous sightings, see August 2003 Archives or Archive Index