Birding North Central Massachusetts...and beyond

New Hampshire Birdathon 5/24 (Coos County)

2008-05-26T21:16:00.018-04:00

We saw at least 9 Moose, this a young bull.
Our NH birdathon team (Chuck Caron, Paul Meleski and I) decided to do something a little different, for us at least, for this years NH contest. We loaded up the "land yatch" and headed to northern New Hampshire and birded the wilds of Coos County,concetrating on Pittsburg looking for some northern specialties planning then to work our way south to Whitefield/Jefferson area.

The "Walmart" of Pittsburg
We arrived mid-day on Friday and scouted some of the logging roads, Indian Stream and East Inlet Roads, north of the town of Pittsburg. The weather was cold, windy with on and off rain, snow flurries and hail. Bird song was minimal but finding territorial species such as Northern Parula, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue (and Green) and Yellow-rumped Warblers was not an issue. We heard a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, while probably a common bird up here, May 23rd seemed a tad earliy for so far north or maybe because we'd heard it just after being "hailed" upon.
Indian Stream

Later in the afternoon, we checked into the Colebrook Country Club and got dinner a few miles away, the only place that had a generator (there was a local power outage). After dinner we drove some of the back roads in the Colebrook area where we had Savanha Sparrow, Bobolinks an Amercian Bittern and heard winnowing Wilson's Snipe.
Most impressive, to ME, was a yard that had so much junk in it, you couldn't even tell what was there ...and guess who left his camera at the motel...this would've certainly taken 1st prize on Foxworthy's "Red-neck yard of the week"! I was one vote short to get this locale on the Saturday route, my plea of "*@$# the Spruce Grouse", fell on deaf ears!

Aside from fishing, apparently "Moose tipping" is the local sport of choice.

On "game day" we got started a bit before 4am, hitting some back roads in Colebrook as we worked toward Pittsburg. The song of White-throated Sparrows was constant, we picked up the song of a distant winnowing Snipe and American Bittern. Once we got up to Pittsburg and onto Indian Stream Road bird song was constant, nothing fancy but never out of ear shot from the song of Northern Parula, American Redstart, Magnolia (especially), Blackburnian, BT Blue, BT Green Warblers. Northern Waterthrush and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were very common as well.

Along East Inlet Road there was still pockets of snow between the Balsm Fir, we picked up a Bay-breatsted Warbler, Evening Grosbeak and Rusty Blackbird. At the East Inlet spillway we missed the Hooded Mergs that were present on Friday but, a Gray Jay came in and took handouts! We would see 3 more during the morning. We continued up East Inlet Road carefully looking for Spruce Grouse, missing it but we got a few Boreal Chickadees.

Chuck and Paul survey a remote marsh bear the Canadian border.
Our first surprise species was 4 Surf Scoters on Scott's Bog Pond, 2 drakes and 2 hens, along with a pair of Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Merganers. On 2nd Connecticut Lake we got 5 White-winged Scoters and a Bald Eagle, and a hen Common Goldeneye flew past over 1st Connecticut Lake. We found a nice flock of swallows along on Rte 3 which was mostly Cliff Swallows, that were nest building on a gift shop and a few nearby homes.

We spent most of the morning in Pittsburg and got 2 of the 4 boreal specialties we'd hoped for, missing Spruce Grouse and Black-backed Woodpecker.
Scott's Bog Pond

Back toward Colebrook we got Rock Pigeon and House Sparrow and picked other easy birds on route toward Pondicherry. We had about 90 species on the list when we reached the Whitefield Airport, we'd quickly add a few more species such as Black Duck and 2 Pine Siskins convinently dropped into a tree beside us, just long enough for us all to see them.

The long walk into Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge was a level walk along an old rail road bed, an Olive-sided Flycatcher allowed close study and a few photographs.

Olive-sided Flycatcher at Pondicherry
The view from the platform at Cherry Pond was spectacular with the Presidential range as a back drop to this natural pond.

Mt. Washington from Cherry Pond

On the walk to Little Cherry Pond we added Blackpoll Warbler and Red-breasted Nuthatch which now brought our total to 99 species. The mosquitoes were now out in force as we continued onward, some one commented "there better be something good out here". As we arrived at the viewing platform we heard an unfamilar sound, that was most likely a Black-backed Woodpecker. However, this was on our "had to be seen list" and we had some uncertainty so this went uncounted. A monemt later a Black Tern was seen on the far side of the pond, a perfect bird to bring us over the century mark for the day! A hen Wood Duck was seen a moment later and then a singing Tennesee Warbler on the walk back to the car.

Black Tern (digi-binned) at Little Cherry Pond
Our last bird of the day was a Chimney Swift in Twin Mountain, after we'd eaten dinner at a local restaraunt. We finished off with 104 species and we had some interesting misses, such as Downy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, White-breatsed Nuthatch, Northern Cardinal, Scarlet Tanager and Northern Rough-winged Swallow to name a few. Though, some of these may be tough to find up north and we did not spend a lot of time worrying about these.

Our list of birds for 5/24:

Common Loon
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
American Black Duck
Ring-necked Duck
White-winged Scoter
Surf Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Hooded Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Ruffed Grouse
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Common Snipe
American Woodcock
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Gray Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Canada Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Rusty Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow

Massachusetts Birdathon 5/17/2008

2008-05-18T21:17:00.022-04:00

I had planned a "human powered" big day for this year's birdathon but a last minute an opportunity came up to hook up with Jim Baird's birdthon team. With my son's prom Friday night I did not join the 6PM Friday start, but Paul Meleski and I made it to Jim's, in Petersham, Ma., a bit after 6AM and Jim and Ann Flatt were checking out Jim's property in a light rain. It was decided we would keep things "civil" and have breakfast as the rain cleared off, coffee, omelets and toast.

The oldest house in Petersham

After a tour of the 260 year old home, we got down to business on Jim's property and had some nice birds. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a pair of Scarlet Tanagers and Eastern Bluebirds showed nicely....a Lincoln's Sparrow, that Jim had seen the previous day had stuck around and was a nice addition. We walked down the road, missing a usually reliable Red-bellied Woodpecker, but 2 Pine Siskins at nearby feeding station filled that void nicely!

Ann, Paul and Jim looking and listening for Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 of 2 Pine Siskins in Petersham

Over the next hour and a half we hit some of Jim's choice spots around Petersham, by car, and continued to build the list. Red-shouldered Hawk, Swainson's Thrush and Wilson's Warbler were good additions, singing Brown Creepers and Winter Wren along with a stunning look at a pair of Blue-headed Vireos added to our total. We headed back to Jim's, tried and missed the Red-bellied again (but got a Hairy) and headed to ocean, next stop Lynn Beach and Nahant.

Bobolink near Maple Lane in Petersham
Turkey Vulture and Sharp-shinned Hawk made to our list during the commute and I encouraged Paul to keep tally of the House Sparrows as we passed through Lynn. Paul said he'd submit those numbers when I finish the Starling statistics from the trip! Off Lynn Beach we nailed all 3 Scoter Species, picked up a Horned Grebe and many Bonepart's Gulls, but NO Little Gull. A friend of Jim's, a retired Revere fireman, kindly let us scan the ocean from his yard on Little Nahant, during our visit we picked up Rough-winged Swallow and had a flock of 20 Purple Sandpipers pass by.
Jim, Ann and Paul "work" Lynn Beach

While leaving Little Nahant, Jim pointed to a tree, in a congested residential area, explaining that Ludlow Gricom had collected a Hairy Woodpecker from that tree in the 1940's. It was of northern race of the species and quite unusual for Massachusetts. The home owner was irate with the gun fire in his front yard and confronted Griscom. Mr. Gricom calmly tucked the bird into his game bag, put the gun ( what was called a "gamegetter", basically a sawed off pisto-grip over/under .22 cal./410 shotgun type deal) in the car, while the home owner ranted, and drove off! Mr. Griscom did have all the appropriate federal and state collection permits and kept in contact with the local law enforcement. ...and I feel guilty peering into yards with binoculars.
Jim lets our host use his binoculars to look at White-winged Scoters at Little Nahant, as Ann and Paul scan the ocean.
At the Nahant Thicket MAS we had nice looks at Nashville, Northern Parula and a stunning Cape May Warbler and added Magnolia Warbler and Common Eider further out on Nahant. Traffic was tough heading through Lynn and Salem and we ended up on the wrong side of bridge to make it to Pikul's Farm for the Wilson's Phaloropes and possible White-faced Ibis.

In Newburyport Harbor we added a few shorebird species with Black-bellied Plover, Least Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher and Greater Yellowlegs. There were more Bonepart's Gulls, a few Common Terns , 4 Long-tailed Ducks and a "boat-load" of Brant. Plum Island hilights included, Northern Harrier, Willet, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal (2 pair), Tri-colored Heron, Marsh Wren but missing Purple Martin was a big miss! There was a large group of people looking at the Pines just south of Hellcat and the 4 of us were treated to spectacular views of a Great Horned Owl with Owlets!

We concluded the trip at "The Old Mill" restaurant in Westminster, Ma. and had a nice time recounting the day's birding, talking of wind farms, Ivory-billed Woodpeckers and what we all do when we're not birding!

Our list:

From 5/17/2008
Brant
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Common Eider
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Tricolored Heron
Glossy Ibis
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Willet
Least Sandpiper
Purple Sandpiper
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Additional species seen by Jim and Ann the previous evening, within the birdathon time frame, but not seen or heard on Saturday: Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, American Woodcock and Bank Swallow for a birdathon total of 121 species.

Leominster 5/01

2008-05-01T23:06:00.008-04:00

In previous years I have found Eastern Meadowlarks at the old Leominster Landfill, off Mechanic Street. This evening I stopped to see if they were present, I had not seen them last year even though I looked a few times. As I pulled into to park on 6th Ave., a Red-tailed Hawk flew low directly over the car and landed on a telephone pole a hundred feet from me. This being a "city" bird, it appeared well adjusted to people and sat atop the pole for several minutes as I viewed and took digi-bin photos of it.

Red-tailed Hawk Mechanic Street Leominster, Ma.

An American Crow was approaching and this Red-tail kept a close eye on the crow, perhaps anticipating it may return with an angry "mob".

Red-tail watching a passing crow with some concern

I did manage to get around to scanning for the meadowlarks, after the Red-tailed distraction, and saw two in flight that quickly "fell" out of sight behind the crown of the hill.

Last Saturday, I drove to Quabbin Park to pickup the gate keys for this Sunday's (5/4) Forbush Bird Club trip. A Raven's nest is quite visible at the spill way , offering a nice view down into the nest. The young layed sprawled out and keeping a low profile in the nest, their body feathers had grown in and the flight feathers appeared to just be coming in. On the return trip I spotted this Broad-winged Hawk in Templeton, just off Rte 101.

Broad-winged Hawk in Templeton, Ma.

Westminster Birds 4/26/08

2008-04-26T11:39:00.004-04:00

Even though I haven't written much here recently, I have been birding a lot locally. I wanted to extend my human powered birding range ,so last week a bought a Trek mountain bike so I have been peddling around town.
One of the benifits of birding from the bike is that it gives one an excuse to stop on uphill climbs! Rather than looking like a complete "wuss" you can rationalize, that sounded like a Ruffed Grouse (actually it just my pulse rate going through the roof) stop, scan and look like you have a purpose and of course rest. But, seriously this is a great way to bird locally and not miss too much while in route from one place to another.

The spill way of Round Meadow Pond, in Westminster, this morning

This morning I biked just under 17 miles between 6:00 and 10:15 AM to Trophet Swamp and then up to High Ridge Wildlife Management Area. I struck out on marsh birds at Trophet and High Ridge, warbler activity was sparse but the numbers of White-throated Sparrows and House Wrens are on the increase. Purple Finches continue to show very well in the area, with several pockets of 4-10 birds, many are feeding on the flowering maples.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker has been territorial not far from my apartment

High Ridge was a busy place this morning, the radio controled aircraft folks were flying their aircraft, a "missing persons" drill was starting up about 9AM and retreiver field trials were in process, complete with live gun fire.

Yellow-rumped Warbler from Overlook Road in Westminster

Hilights included a fly over Merlin that was quickly swarmed by Tree Swallows and my first Black-throated Green Warbler of the year. I have still yet to come up with an Evening Grosbeak for the year, much of my winter was spent concentrating on moving and I haven't really targeted this species.

Hairy Woodpecker recent digi-binned from my yard
Currently my human powered year list stands at 92 species (88 which I've seen or heard in April) and as spring progesses I should be able to add a good deal of birds to this list.

This moring's list:
Canada Goose...22
Wood Duck...5
Mallard...8
Hooded Merganser...4
Double-crested Cormorant...5
Great Blue Heron...1
Osprey...1
Broad-winged Hawk...1
Merlin...1
Killdeer...1
Rock Pigeon...4
Mourning Dove...10
Belted Kingfisher...2
Red-bellied Woodpecker...1
Downy Woodpecker...5
Hairy Woodpecker...4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)...3
Pileated Woodpecker...1
Eastern Phoebe...4
Blue-headed Vireo...6
Blue Jay...32
American Crow...12
Tree Swallow...41
Black-capped Chickadee...45
Tufted Titmouse...26
Red-breasted Nuthatch...1
White-breasted Nuthatch...9
Brown Creeper...2
House Wren...3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet...1
Eastern Bluebird...2
American Robin...79
European Starling...16
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)...11
Black-throated Green Warbler...1
Pine Warbler...5
Palm Warbler (Yellow)...1
Eastern Towhee...2
Chipping Sparrow...59
Song Sparrow...23
Swamp Sparrow...9
White-throated Sparrow...14
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)...1
Northern Cardinal...14
Red-winged Blackbird...40
Common Grackle...50
Brown-headed Cowbird...11
Purple Finch...34
House Finch...14
American Goldfinch...20
House Sparrow...29

Bohemian Waxwings 4/7 and 4/8

2008-04-08T22:00:00.008-04:00

Most birders, in New England, know we are in the mist of one of the, perhaps THE, best Bohemian Waxwing invasion in recorded history for Massachusetts. There was the huge numbers reported from Cape Ann and Cape Cod during the later half of the Christmas Bird Count period, but then they sort of evaporated! In past few weeks they've reemerged and appear to be wide spread across the state.

Sunday morning Chuck Caron found a flock of 122 in Fitchburg at the junction of Rtes 2A and 31, which happens to be only 3 miles from my apartment and right on my commute to work. I missed them on the drive Monday morning, but about 3 mile further on Rte 2A I saw a flock of 42, and one Cedar, right down town. On my return trip I found "Chuck's" birds, about 120, gorging on crabapples in front of a printing company(Boutwell-Ownes) at 31/2A junction.

When I got home I thought of walking back, to add them to my human powered bird list for 2008. It being late in the day I decided against it and went for a walk in the neighborhood. Not 50 feet from the end of my drive way I could sworn I heard a Bohemian call...but it was very windy. Then again....and they were... 3 BOWA's right in front of. I proceeded back in the yard, to add them the yard list, and continued with the walk!

Below are some digi-bin photos from this morning, they were still in front of Boutwell-Owens in Fitchburg. While I was taking a walk during my break at work, this morning, 7 flew overhead calling in Groton, Ma.

"bottom feeding"

Perty sleek looking

Ready to swallow
Striking a rather portly pose and looking more like a penguin, but ready to pack another one down"!
Down it goes!

Keene to Charlestown, NH 4/5

2008-04-06T07:17:00.012-04:00

Late afternoon I spent some time looking for waterfowl in Keene and then along the Connecticut River Valley in the towns of Westmoreland, Walpole, North Walpole and Charlestown.

The semi flooded corn fields on Krif Road, in Keene, provided a nice variety of puddle ducks and Wilson's Snipe. Many of the birds were relatively close to the road so the view of these birds was quite nice, such as the snipe and Blue-winged Teal below.

Wilson's Snipe at rest along Krif Road in Keene
Drake Blue-winged Teal in Keene

Birds seen and heard from Krif Road:

Canada Goose 22
Wood Duck 3
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 84
Blue-winged Teal 1
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 6
Turkey Vulture 4
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 5
Wilson's Snipe 17
Ring-billed Gull 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
American Crow 25
Black-capped Chickadee 3
American Robin 10
European Starling 5
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Common Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 1

The next stop was in Westmoreland, along Chickering Road, the dairy farmer has done a nice job of spreading manure on his fields. In the past this is done while there is still snow on the ground and it attracts excellent numbers of ground birds such as Horned Lark and Snow Bunting. There was little snow cover on this field, making finds flocks of these birds difficult.

While I was looking through the geese, a handsome Northern Harrier passed, zigging and zagging over the field. If I had ever seen this many Horned Larks at once before, I can't remember, but had I ever seen that many, I guess I would have. I estimated at least 1500 larks flying about until the harrier moved on, I was able to pick at least 2 Snow Buntings as well. There was a nice variety of waterfowl including 47 Snow Geese.

Birds seen in Westmoreland:
Snow Goose 47
Canada Goose 450
Wood Duck 8
American Black Duck 16
Mallard 60
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 12
Rock Pigeon 15
American Crow 100
Horned Lark 1500
American Robin 300
European Starling 50
Song Sparrow 1
Snow Bunting 2
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Common Grackle 50

Along North River Road in Walpole was more waterfowl, including over 60 Wood Ducks at one stop near a horse farm.

The Walpole List:
Snow Goose 3
Canada Goose 56
Wood Duck 76
American Black Duck 22
Mallard 56
Green-winged Teal 2
Killdeer 6
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
American Crow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
American Robin 562
European Starling 25
Song Sparrow 3
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Common Grackle 56
Brown-headed Cowbird 20

As I passed through North Walpole I notice 2 small fruit trees in a front yard and next door was a small flock of Bohemian Waxwings. I parked across the street, at the North Walpole Fire/Police station/Public Library (all in the same small building) to get a better look. A few of the waxwings landed in the fruit tree and I got a few digi-bin shots. Something spooked the birds and they headed toward me, I kid you not...I was nearly hit the face by them as I literally felt the breeze from their wings as they wizzed past, within a foot of my head!

Bohemian Waxwings in North Walpole

N. Walpole list:
Canada Goose 135
Wood Duck 25
American Black Duck 10
Mallard 90
Killdeer 6
Horned Lark 90
Bohemian Waxwing 8

Continuing north to Charlestown where big numbers of waterfowl have been reported recently, I was hoping for perhaps a Cackling Goose or some other fancy fowl. That would not be the case, but there was certainly good numbers of Canada Geese, a few Snows (including one Blue form of the Snow Goose), lots of Mallards and other dabblers. One oddly plumaged Canada Goose was present, having a normal neck and head but with a frosty white body (see the digi-scope photo below). There were a few mergansers along the river and I had a nice view of a River Otter eating a fish on the edge of the ice.

Leusistic Canada Goose in Charlestown, NH

The Charlestown list:

Snow Goose 6
Canada Goose 1600
Wood Duck 30
American Wigeon 4
American Black Duck 20
Mallard 125
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 6
Hooded Merganser 14
Common Merganser 12
Great Blue Heron 3
Turkey Vulture 2
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 6
Ring-billed Gull 20
Mourning Dove 1
American Crow 10
Common Raven 1
Horned Lark 20
American Robin 50
European Starling 25
Song Sparrow 5
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 25
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
House Sparrow 5

Sun-set along the Conn. River in Charlestown, NH.

Bolton Flats 4/03

2008-04-04T21:18:00.006-04:00

Dirt road along the north side of Rte 117, along Bolton Flats

I had a nice walk at Bolton Flats located, in Bolton and Lancaster, Ma., the evening of 4/3. With recent rains and spring snow melt the "flats", a series of wetlands and corn fields along the Nashua River are partially flooded. This is one of the best locales for spring waterfowl and shorebirds in Worcester County, shin high boots are helpfull...hip boots even better!

Just on the south side of Rte 117 I counted nearly 200 Wood Ducks in one small area, I am convinced there were many more hidden in the portions of uncut corn stalks....quite a sight. Along with the Woodies were many Mallards, a few Black Ducks, 50+ Green-winged Teal, a dozen Northern Pintails and a pair of American Wigeon. I flushed an American Woodcock and saw a single Wilson's Snipe near the woodies.

On the north side of Rte 117, I had expected to see more Snipe, I saw none but a single of each Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs was very nice! Many Killdeer were moving about and calling and more Green-winged Teal were in the lower portions of the field. My first Blue-winged Teal of the year were nearly hidden behind thick brush as were a few Ring-necked Ducks in deeper water. I never made it into the pond, which is well hidden by brush and difficult to get to without hip boots....I had none and wanted to stay dry.

Steve Anderson was walking the dirt road and while we chatted, a Peregrine Falcon (which has been present for the past week or two) came "steaming" across the corn field causing a panic and took a quick swipe at a flushing American Robin. At first, I thought it caught one as something was dandling from its feet. This "item" did give an appearance of a thin piece of grass rather than a prey item. The bird perched, about 300-400 yards out, and fiddled with something...it didn't seem to be eating. We scanned the area to see if a falconer might be in the area, as it occured to us this "dangling object" could be a jesse. With poor light and a distant bird we could not make out enough detail to solve the "mystery.

Looking west across the flooded corn field, nice spring waterfowl and shorebird habitat and not a bad sunset.

Attention was redirected to the Lesser Yellowlegs was "stretched" out in a horizontal posture trying to be "one with the water" and avoid being dinner. As Steve and I got back to the parking area, an other birder Chuck Johnson, had just seen the Peregrine perched close, but it took off before he could get his scope on it. The 3 of us chatted a bit and the Peregrine was seen again, this time passing directly overhead and low...and solving our mystery..while we didn't see the straps as it was nearly dark, were could hear the jiggling of bells coming from the passing bird ... and the erasing of Peregrine Falcon off my Worcester County year list.

The evening's bird list:

Canada Goose 40
Wood Duck 195
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 12
Mallard 125
Blue-winged Teal 3
Northern Pintail 12
Green-winged Teal (American) 120
Ring-necked Duck 2
Common Merganser 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Killdeer 20
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Wilson's Snipe 1
American Woodcock 2
Ring-billed Gull 15
Mourning Dove 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
American Crow 10
Tree Swallow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Eastern Bluebird 2
American Robin 75
American Tree Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 12
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Common Grackle 2750
American Goldfinch 3

Nashua River waterfowl 3/18/2008

2008-03-19T10:57:00.003-04:00

After moving and squaring away my former house I am finally starting to settle back into a "normal" schedule. I viewed the Nashua River during my lunch and went back after work to look for puddle ducks in a few depressions in a corn field adjacent to the river.

The noon-time list, from behind the horse track:
Canada Goose...50
Mute Swan...2
Wood Duck...16
American Wigeon...1
American Black Duck...4
Mallard...4
Canvasback...5 (an uncommon migrate in this area)
Ring-necked Duck...14
Common Goldeneye...15
Hooded Merganser...48
Common Merganser...20
Great Blue Heron...1
Red-tailed Hawk...2
Ring-billed Gull...1
Great Black-backed Gull...4
Belted Kingfisher...1
Tree Swallow...2
Black-capped Chickadee...2
Tufted Titmouse...1
White-breasted Nuthatch...1
Brown Creeper...1
Eastern Bluebird...1
Song Sparrow...1
Northern Cardinal...1
Common Grackle...2

The list from the evening from 2 different vantage points, Gardner Farm and behind the horse track, most of the puddle duck were are Gardner Farm:

Canada Goose...400
Mute Swan...3
Wood Duck...8
American Black Duck...30
Mallard...300
Northern Pintail...3
Green-winged Teal (American)...11
Ring-necked Duck...24
Bufflehead...1
Common Goldeneye...3
Hooded Merganser...60
Common Merganser...75
Great Blue Heron...3
Great Black-backed Gull...3 (one had a small Largemouth Bass)
Mourning Dove...1
Tufted Titmouse...2
White-breasted Nuthatch...1
Eastern Bluebird...1
American Robin...15
European Starling...400
Song Sparrow...2
Red-winged Blackbird...20
Common Grackle...2
House Sparrow...5

It is alway nice to watch groups of Mergansers displaying courting behavior, the drake Hoodies "throwing" their heads back while the Commons are involved in animated chases on the water. Also seen were 3 or 4 Muskrats and a River Otter.

Gardner to Thorofare, NJ 2/20 and 2/21

2008-02-22T16:00:00.006-05:00

I took a recent business trip to visit one of the company planta in Thorofare, NJ., I chose to make the solo trip behind the wheel vs. the Boston to Philly flight. The air trip takes nearly as long as driving by the time I'd drive to the airport, wait, board the jet...and wait, fly for an hour, get a rental car and drive to the plant. The drive gave me an oppertunity to listen to some music and do some casual birding from behind the wheel.
The first good bird bird was a red-shouldered Hawk the passed over the vehicle just into Conn.(on rte 395), a few miles later a Northern Raven was a nice surprise. Though Ravens have expanded their range south and east in New England so I doubt it was "out of place". A big surprise was the fact I did not see a Red-tailed Hawk until I was well into New York, in the Tapan Zee Bridge area. Afterwards I saw my fair share of "tails", then several Turkey Vultures once I was within New Jersey.
Once near Thorofare, which just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, were 3 Black Vultures, flapping and soaring just to the west of rte 295. I had a few free minutes before my 1PM meeting and drove a few side streets near Paulsboro, NJ...near the Delaware River. There were many Canada Geese, Black Ducks, Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks, a few Buffleheads, Hooded and Common Mergansers. A red-throated Loon was on the river and a few Great Blue Herons. Gulls numbers were dominated by Ring-billed along with few Herring and Great Black-backed.

I haven't been posting too much, as my house sold and I had to find a new place to live which will be in Westminster (locals call it Westminister... an extra "i") the next town to the east of Gardner. So... So...while the corporate headquarters, of "Birding North Central Massachusetts...and beyond", is changing...I woun't have to change the blog name :)

The species list of the Jersey trip:
Canada Goose
Black Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Mute Swan
Red-throated Loon
Great Blue Heron
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Turkey Vulture
Black Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Raven
Downy Woodpecker
Americna Robin
Northern Mockingbird
Junco
White-throated Sparrow
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird

Bohemian Waxings in Townsend, Ma. 1/31/2008

2008-01-31T14:34:00.000-05:00

Occassionally, I like to make a few quick stops along West Meadow Road in West Townsend, during my commute to work. Over the years, I've found some nice birds such as Northern Shrike, Cackling Goose, Glaucous Gull (years ago, when there was a dump nearby), and 4 Sandhill Cranes last spring.

Cedar Waxwings and a Bohemian
Yesterday, 1/30, there was a flock of 50 Cedar Waxwings working some oriental bittersweet across the corn field to the north. I stopped again today and about 75 Cedars were "teed up" by the road about 50 yards away. While scanning the flock, I heard a Bohemian Waxwing calling and was able to find it a minute or two later. The flock moved a few hundred feet away and joined more waxwings, I heard a Bohemian call again and I finally found another. Half the birds flew off, circled and perched beside the road about 75 feet away. The digi-bin photo (below) does not do this bird, in the early morning sun, proper justice.

One of my winter favorites!

The Superbowl of Birding 1/26/2008

2008-01-29T10:51:00.000-05:00

Here is the list of birds seen and/or heard by the "Burger Kinglets" superbowl team between 5AM and 5PM in Essex County, Ma. (north of Boston) on Saturday 1/26. Our route consistied of Owling in Ipswich and Essex, then, Flax Pond in Lynn, Nahant, Lynn/Swampscott (waterfronts), Cape Ann (Gloucester/Rockport), through Essex/Ipswich, West Newbury, Plum Island concluding with a few stops along the Merrimac River to the Chain Bridge. I left the camera at home as there is little time to snap pictures during a day of fast paced birding.

Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe (Nile Beach)
Great Cormorant
Great Blue Heron (Cashman Park)
Turkey Vulture (Ipswich)
Canada Goose
Brant (Nahant)
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck (Niles Pond)
Greater Scaup (Swampscott)
Lesser Scaup (SwampScott)
King Eider (Atlantic Drive , Elks Club stop)
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck (Andrew's Pt)
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Oldsquaw
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser (Flax Pond)
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Bald Eagle (Merrimac River)
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk (Plum Island a few birds)
Merlin (Draw Bridge to plum island)
Peregrine Falcon (Gloucester)
American Coot (Flax Pond)
Black-bellied Plover (Brace Cove)
Sanderling (Brace Cove)
Purple Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull ( a few in East Gloucester, one w/ a bad foot)
Great Black-backed Gull
Black Guillemot
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Eastern Screech-Owl (several in Ipswich and Essex, we had one trilling away in the early afternoon in Ipswich)
Great Horned Owl (a few in Ipswich and 1 in Essex)
Snowy Owl (Plum Island)
Long-eared Owl (Harrassed by crow near Niles Pond, 3 members of the team had good a look while it was perched before it was flushed by the crows for a second time), our only real surprise of the day.
Short-eared Owl (a few at plum Island)
Northern Saw-whet Owl (Island Road in Essex)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Shrike (Good harbor beach, Gloucester and Plum Island)
Blue JayAmerican Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Pine on Plum Island)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Winter Wren (Nahant Thicket, seemed like it was the only land bird in all of Nahant...guess the exterminator must missed this one!)
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird (Town Farm Road Ipswich)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Town Farm Road Ipswich)
House Finch
Common Redpoll (Emery Lane small flock flew overhead)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Here is a link to the Massachusetts Audubon Superbowl web site .

Our team, "The Burger Kinglets", was comprised of the following members:
Paul Meleski (Team captain)
Dan Berard
Chuck Caron
Rodney Jenkins
Tom Pirro

Possible Cackling Goose (Ipswich, Ma.) 1/24

2008-01-25T09:54:00.000-05:00

Chuck Caron and I found a small white-cheeked goose along the Ipswich River yesterday 1/24/2008. It looked very good for being a Cackling Goose, small size 2/3 that of nearby Canada (but maybe just a tad larger than some other Cacklers I have seen), over all a frosty appearance, blocky looking head shape. However, the bill did not appear to be as stubby as I would expect based on previous Cacklers I have seen, field guide illustrations and Internet photos I have reviewed. Here are a few digi photos I took. So is this feature within the "range" of a "normal Cackling Goose", could it be a hybrid or another form within the Canada "clan" or am I looking too deeply into this, comments to ALURAP@VERIZON.NET are welcomed.Possible Cackling Goose
Possible Cackling Goose

Note: in addition to the comment below, 2 others feel this would fit a smaller form on the Canada side of the Cackling/Canada complex. Mainly, based on the lack of a stubby bill and head shape.

Barred Owl 1/20/2008

2008-01-22T07:52:00.000-05:00

I was leaving home sunday morning, and heard 2 American Crows making a lot of noise in the back yard. They were harrassing a Barred Owl perched about 5 feet off the ground in the back corner of my yard. Soon 2 crows became 3, then 4 and the owl moved to another tree higher up and eventually moved along after the 5th crow arrived. Hopefully it found the spruce grove down the hill where it could hind from the crows.
There has been many reports of dead Barred Owls found on the road sides, in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, this winter. There has also been reports of this species from places like Cape Cod, were they are very very uncommon, so perhaps this species "irrupted" from the north adding to our normal resident population.

Barred Owl (digi-binned), was a first for me in my yard!

In Keene, NH, was a flock of over 200 Cedar Waxwings. I carefully looked through the flock for a Bohemian but could not find one. I digi-binned a few photos below. Cedar Waxwing about to swallow a crabapple.
"put the camera down, and nobody gets hurt!"

Gardner 1/19/2008 (HP)

2008-01-19T19:10:00.000-05:00

This afternoon's 7 mile walk was an effort to add to my human powered list for 2008, or BiGBY birding "if you will". Getting off to a nice start where 2 new birds in my yard, 2 White-throated Sparrows and a Red-breasted Nuthatch.

There was little else of note until I reached the bike path parking lot, across from Mt. Wachusett Community College, approximately 15 Pine Grosbeaks showed well. It seems nearly every time I'm out and about, in town, I see at least a few and I am not yet "sick of them". They are more widespread and abundant since I moved to Gardner in 1988! A few of today's grosbeaks were skermishing with each other and making a raspy buzzy "warning" if one approached another too closely.
Moving in for the "kill" Female type Pine GB
This male Pine Grosbeak had some "splotchy" orangey coloration

Moving past the college I noticed a few American Robins but little else. On Raymond Road I found a few more Pine Grosbeaks, these were feeding on, what appeared to be, "buds" of a Black Spruce tree. There are few houses and fewer feeding stations along this road, a few chickadees , crows and a Hairy Woodpecker was about it, late afternoon walks can be quiet.

The return walk home was uneventfull with the exception of picking up another bird for the BiGBY list, a Great Black-backed Gull. Since the closure of the landfill, in 2005, this species is no longer a "gimme bird" in the dead of winter. My human powered list now stands at 37 species, I will be lucky to crack 50 by the end of February, then things will begin change.

This afternoon's list:

Red-tailed Hawk....1
Great Black-backed Gull....1
Mourning Dove....29
Downy Woodpecker....3
Hairy Woodpecker....1
Blue Jay....1
American Crow....6
Black-capped Chickadee....15
Red-breasted Nuthatch....1
White-breasted Nuthatch....3
American Robin....9
American Tree Sparrow....3
White-throated Sparrow....2
Dark-eyed Junco....12
Northern Cardinal....2
Pine Grosbeak....19
American Goldfinch....2
House Sparrow....1

Cape Ann 1/13/2008 Thayer's Gulls

2008-01-14T07:32:00.000-05:00

A glassy Gloucester Harbor from Jodrey Pier
Sunday 1/13, Paul Meleski, Chuck Caron and I visited Cape Ann for the typical winter "circuit", however we planned on spending extra time working on gulls. The Slaty-backed Gull, present since just before Christmas, is still being seen intermittently. With the gulls being scrutintized by a plethora of highly skilled birders, perhaps its no surprise that a Thayer's Gull was "pulled" out of the scrum. Upon arrival at Jodrey Pier, in Gloucester, we noted the calm and unseasonably mild weather, but also very low numbers of gulls. Only a single Iceland Gull was seen by another group, but the "regular" Peregrine Falcon was perched on the town hall clock tower, which seems to be leaning east a bit!

We headed over to view 10 Pound Island, typically a good stop for Barrow's Goldeneye but not today. Just down the street we quickly found the Eared Grebe off Niles Beach and a Carolina Wren and Gray Catbird across the street in the thicket. This Eared Grebe, presumably the same bird, has been returning here since the winter of 1995!
Low tide is a good time view Harbor Seals hauled out.
Niles Pond, near Eastern Point has been the focus of gull study in recent weeks. There were hundreds of gulls on the pond and hundreds more on the exposed rocks in Brace Cove. At least 3 Glaucous Gulls were present but very few Iceland Gulls. We spoke with Eric Neilson who had seen 10 species (at Niles Pond) of Gulls the previous day including the Slaty-backed and Thayer's Gull! A trawler that was headed in toward Gloucester harbor had at least a 1,000 gulls "in tow", as it approached some of these birds headed to Niles Pond and Gloucester Harbor. The gulls come and go all day here, so the mix of birds would change all day.

After an hour and a half we decided to try a few other spots on the planned route and we'd return to Niles later. Off Atlantic Drive we had nice looks at a small flock of Purple Sandpipers, a Black Guillemot and a few Red-necked Grebes, but we miss the drake King Eider recently reported. We miss the Townsend's Solitaire at the Rockport golf course but managed a Yellow-rumped Warbler (a "ho-hum" consolation!).
Purple Sandpipers off Atlantic Drive

At Andrew's Point, one of the best seabird stops on Cape Ann (particularly in strong east winds) it was also slow. Harlequin Ducks are regulars here and we enjoyed these colorful sea ducks as they worked the surf and rocks. Chuck and Paul manage to find the previously reported female King Eider and we saw a few Razorbills.

Upon returning to Niles Pond, there are still hundreds of gulls on the pond, but now there are good numbers of Iceland and a few Glaucous Gulls in the mix. Scanning through a group of birds a few hundred feet away, we come up with a minimum of 28 "white-winged" gulls, 2 or 3 are Glaucous and the balance Iceland (Kumlien's ) Gulls. There is a dizzying array of ages and plumage variations. We speak with Phil Brown and he informs us of two things, one...the Slaty-backed gull has not been seen and two...he is freezing and he's headed home. Phil leaves but checks in with other birders down the road, also studying the gulls, and passes the word to us that a Thayer's gull has been found.

We "caugh up" with the birders that had it in view and we are able to get a decent look at this first year gull. Eric Neilson is in contact with James Smith , a few hundred yards away, and James and Scott Surner have TWO additional Thayer's at closer range. We quickly join James, Scott and the 2 additional Thayer's less then 100 feet away! I manage a few (poor) digi-scope images, one is below. Check out James' blog for nice photographs and commentary and links on the finer points of Thayer's Gull ID.
First Winter Thayer's Gull

Our day List:

From Rockport:
King Eider...1
Common Eider...25
Harlequin Duck...8
Surf Scoter...5
White-winged Scoter...5
Common Goldeneye...8
Red-breasted Merganser...8
Common Loon...3
Great Cormorant...15
Ring-billed Gull...5
Herring Gull...500
Great Black-backed Gull...200
Razorbill...1
Rock Pigeon...20
Blue Jay...2
American Crow...10
Black-capped Chickadee...5
Tufted Titmouse...1
White-breasted Nuthatch...1
American Robin...2
Yellow-rumped Warbler...1
Song Sparrow...1
White-throated Sparrow....2
House Sparrow.....10

From Gloucester:
Canada Goose....75
Mute Swan....2
Gadwall....10
American Black Duck....20
Mallard....50
Ring-necked Duck....2
Greater Scaup....8
Lesser Scaup....2
Common Eider....100
Surf Scoter....20
White-winged Scoter....25
Black Scoter....1
Long-tailed Duck....15
Bufflehead....25
Common Goldeneye....15
Red-breasted Merganser....100
Common Loon....8
Horned Grebe....6
Red-necked Grebe....2
Great Cormorant....12
Sharp-shinned Hawk....1
Cooper's Hawk....1
Red-tailed Hawk....1
Peregrine Falcon....2
Purple Sandpiper....12
Ring-billed Gull....20
Herring Gull....2000
Thayer's Gull....3
Iceland Gull....25
Lesser Black-backed Gull....1
Glaucous Gull....3
Great Black-backed Gull....750
Black Guillemot....1
Rock Pigeon....100
Blue Jay....3
American Crow....20
Horned Lark....12
Black-capped Chickadee....10
Tufted Titmouse....3
White-breasted Nuthatch....1
Carolina Wren....1
Gray Catbird....1
American Robin....1
Northern Mockingbird....1
European Starling....50
Song Sparrow....4
Northern Cardinal....3
House Sparrow....20

"Chair City" Birding 1/6/08

2008-01-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

Gardner "The Chair City" from an alternate vantage point

As a conscious effort to do more local birding, on foot or bicycle, this year I started from home today and walked 9 miles of city streets. While many of the birds encountered today are typical feeder type/city birds, I got to build a winter base to my human powered bird list for 2008 and added a few species I didn't expect until the March/April time frame.

Plenty of these "guys" today

A nice flock of Pine Grosbeaks were near the Gardner veterans ice rink, this species continues to "show strong" in the area. A Northern Flicker, very uncommon in this area during the winter months, was an early addition to the local year list at Crystal Lake Cemetery.

Near Wickman Drive 25 Blue Jays appeared to be "stirred up" and "concerned", after walking a few more streets I saw the instigator, a Cooper's Hawk (below), perched in a Maple Tree. The other two "expected" city raptors put in appearances, a Sharp-shinned Hawk soaring over Rte 2A and a Red-tailed Hawk in the same general area.

Cooper's Hawk on Wasa Street

On my way toward the Gardner Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), in hopes of some waterfowl, was a single female type Purple Finch (a fairly uncommon winter species), mixed in with House Finches. I was hoping the large flock of Common Redpolls, present on 12/23, would still be near the (WWTP), they were not. The warm effluent from the WWTP keeps this section of the Otter River open through the winter, but there was no waterfowl present, but a Belted Kingfisher was a nice replacement for expected Mallards.

I did manage to walk a few streets I had never been on, in 20 years of living in Gardner. After stopping in "Jumping Juice and Java" coffee shop, I returned home and found 2 White-breasted Nuthatches "Frozen still" in my yard. I took a few digi-bin photos then looked around for a raptor, but never found one. When I returned near the feeders, the two nuthatchs still hadn't moved, these birds held their "frozen" posture for over 5 minutes!

A "Frozen Nut"

Today's list:
Sharp-shinned Hawk...1
Cooper's Hawk...1
Red-tailed Hawk...2
Ring-billed Gull...4
Herring Gull...2
Rock Pigeon...125
Mourning Dove...61
Belted Kingfisher...1
Downy Woodpecker...8
Hairy Woodpecker...2
Northern Flicker...1
Blue Jay...38
American Crow...10
Common Raven...1
Black-capped Chickadee...37
Tufted Titmouse...13
White-breasted Nuthatch...13
Brown Creeper...1
American Robin...1
Northern Mockingbird...1
European Starling...78
American Tree Sparrow...8
Dark-eyed Junco...21
Northern Cardinal...8
Pine Grosbeak...20
Purple Finch...1
House Finch...11
American Goldfinch...37
House Sparrow...166

New Year's Day Grouse 1/1/08

2008-01-02T19:22:00.000-05:00

My girlfriend Laura and I had a nice snowshoe hike at Pisgah State Park, in SW New Hampshire on New Year's Day. We started out about 10:30AM and planned to hike the 5.5 mile Kilburn Loop, which is 99% forested. Other snowshoers had broken a trail for about a mile until we headed south on the "loop portion" of the Kilburn trail and the next 4+ miles were through virgin snow.

Wintery Scene along the Kilburn Loop, in Pisgah State Park

About 1/2 way through the hike, I noticed a line in the snow about 8 feet long and 6 inches wide. I stopped about 10 feet from the mark and pointed out to Laura, "it looks like something tunneled under the snow". I took another step, still a bit away from the marking in the snow, and a Ruffed Grouse exploded from under the snow about 6 inches from the toe of my snowshoe, just missing my knee as it shot through the woods. I had read about grouse roosting in the snow, and had hoped to see it one day and yesterday was it!

Laura negotiates a stream crossing near the end of our hike

The last 2 miles of the hike were up hill and we, me in particular, were pretty tired. The "low-light" for me was crossing one of those narrow hiking bridges over a muddy seep. These work quite well for hiking shoes but entirely different for snowshoeing, I managed to fall into the only stinken mud hole in southern NH, fortunately feet first! But, now my snowshoes were carrying about 10 lbs of snow each as the wet muddy "shoes" acted as a snow magnet, we scraped off the mud and trudged on out! The fall was a minor inconvenience and this was a very nice start to the New Year.
This was not a birding trip and only 4 species were seen or heard, but little diversity would be expected out here in winter: Ruffed Grouse 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Black-capped Chickadee 5 and Golden-crowned Kinglet 15.

Uxbridge, Ma. CBC 12/30/2007

2007-12-31T08:53:00.000-05:00

I joined my friend Paul Meleski to cover his territory for the Uxbridge, Ma. CBC, this count circle is in southern Worcester County and has a small portion in northern Rhode Island. We cover a section in the town of Douglas, Ma.. Four am came early, after staying up to watch the NE Patriots game. The owling is slow, but we manage to hear a Saw-whet Owl in Douglas State Park.

Day break

As day breaks, we start a 1/2 mile walk over crusty, noisy, icy snow to check a small area for waterfowl, miserable walking conditions and only 13 Mallards and a bunch of domestic fowl. But, on the return we get a few Golden-crowned Kinglets, which have been in short supply on the northern Worcester County CBC's. Two dozen Wild Turkeys flying down from their over night roosting sight, in White Pines, is impressive.

We continue along making numerous stops adjacent to feeding stations, playing a screech owl recording on the boom box, and seemingly vacuuming birds from the surrounding woodlots. We do well on Chickadees, Titmice, W-B Nuthatches and Juncos! Other than Juncos, sparrows are in short supply in our area and we miss Amercian Tree Sparrow and only have 1 Song Sparrow.

Mouning Dove, one of 60 during the count

Southern Worcester County is typically not a "hot-bed" for winter finches, but with this year's wide spread incursion we are hopeful. At a small field, I hear a single Common Redpoll fly overhead and a bit late we both hear a few Evening Grosbeaks (it sounds like more than 1 but less than 5, so we call it 2!).

There is a small portion of open water on Wallum Lake and there are 2 female Common Goldeneyes on the water and then 3 Common Mergansers fly over head. We do pretty well on Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a bird that was a "big deal" 20 years ago, now in southern Worcester County they out number Hairy Woodpeckers on CBC's! Eastern Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush and Purple Finch are nice additions during the afternoon.

Hemit Thrush (digi-binned)

As the day winds down we spot a single bird off Hemlock Road, tee'd up atop a tree, unfortunately just a starling. We drive another 1/4 mile to the Rhode Island border, the edge of our territory and turn around. Returning to we notice 4 birds tee'd on the tree, 3 more starlings. Paul has a better view from the passenger's seat and a better look is in order. The 3 new birds are waxwings, starling size, gray and dark undertail coverts! We enjoy these 3 Bohemian Waxwings through the scopes and get a few fuzzy digi-scope photos.

Bohemian Waxwing on Hemlock Road in Douglas, Ma. (Which was a new species for this CBC)

The list from our section (ONLY) during the Uxbridge CBC, 12/30/2007 (click on the image to enlarge)