Moosehill Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharon - 4/25, 4/30, 5/7 & 5/14

The first in a series of spring bird walks led by Glenn d'Entremont kicked off at Moosehill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon with overcast skies and some gusts of wind as a cold front passed. Bad weather at this time of year does not seem to keep birders away. Seven birders were "rearing to go" in hopes that the migration would heat up. We'll have to wait for the next trip on April 30th! Not much going on, in fact most of the chatter was from us birdwatchers. One highlight along the Billings Farm Loop included a couple of lingering Pine Siskins.


Wild Turkey 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Buteo sp. 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Tree Swallow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 7
Tufted Titmouse 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 2
Pine Warbler 2
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 3
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch 4

Round 2 began on April 30th with eight people and nice weather. Conditions were fair with calm winds and temps in the 40sF.  We started off hearing a couple of Ovenbirds, a Wood Thrush, and a Blue-headed Vireo. Did we see any of them, No! This happens often at Moose Hill given that it is mostly forested, but this forces us to learn and fine tune our audio skills. One of the highlights of the trip was a great look at a Brown Creeper gathering bark from a red cedar tree to use as nesting material. Their nests are often located on dead trees with bark that has curled out. The nest is wedged up under the bark.

2 Canada Goose
3 Wild Turkey
1 Mourning Dove
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
4 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker
3 Eastern Phoebe
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Blue Jay
5 Tree Swallow
6 Black-capped Chickadee
7 Tufted Titmouse
3 Red-breasted Nuthatch
3 White-breasted Nuthatch
2 Brown Creeper -- Gathering nesting material.
1 Eastern Bluebird
1 Wood Thrush
4 American Robin
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
3 Pine Warbler
4 Ovenbird
2 Eastern Towhee
10 Chipping Sparrow
1 Swamp Sparrow
5 Northern Cardinal
6 Red-winged Blackbird
7 Common Grackle
3 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Purple Finch
1 House Finch
1 Pine Siskin
4 American Goldfinch


Twelve people (nice turnout) participated in Round 3, birding around the Billings Farm Loop. Weather was perfect for bird watching; bright and sunny, calm winds and comfortable temperatures. Scarlet Tanager numbers are building and we witnessed 2 male tanagers chasing a female tanager at high speed. The competition begins! Later a Nashville Warbler was singing loud and clear and eventually gave nice, unobstructed views. In the same area a Northern Waterthrush was seen at close range bobbing and foraging in a small wet area. Still waiting for numbers of Orioles, Catbirds, Hummingbirds, and Common Yellowthroats.

Wild Turkey 1
Great Blue Heron 2
Mourning Dove 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Blue Jay 2
Tree Swallow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 4
Ovenbird 4
Northern Waterthrush 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 3
Black-throated Green Warbler 2
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 8
Scarlet Tanager 3
Northern Cardinal 3
Common Grackle 3
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
Baltimore Oriole 1
American Goldfinch 4


Round 4 on 5/14 attracted 11 birders on a nice, but cold morning. Warbler diversity is increasing with new arrivals like Am. Redstart, Blackpoll, and Magnolia Warblers. Often forgot about, White-throated Sparrows do migrate and a tight group of 4-5 of them were on the Billings Farm Loop Trail. The highlight had to be the resident Pileated Woodpecker. This bird covers much ground at Moose Hill's 2,000 acres, so it's always a special sight!

Chimney Swift 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1- performing courtship flight
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 1
Tree Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 5
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
Veery 3
Gray Catbird 5
Ovenbird 5
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 4
American Redstart 1
Northern Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Eastern Towhee 2
Chipping Sparrow 7
White-throated Sparrow 4
Scarlet Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 3

These reports were generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Vin Zollo