Wrentham & Norfolk - 11/24/2013

Brutal wind!

3 hardy people joined me for a fun trip exploring Wrentham and Norfolk. The weather was not in our favor - temp 22F degrees when we began and 26F when we finished, along with cold, gusty winds. With the wind chill it was probably about 0F degrees. However, our goal was to see good birds despite the weather and we did. We managed to squeak out 47 species of birds including 9 species of ducks and 6 species of sparrows. Our favorite bird was a Sharp-shinned Hawk that perched in a small tree in front of our car. From the warmth of the vehicle we were able to appreciate it's field marks and marvel at how much of birding is being in the right place at the right time. Other favorites included a Bald Eagle who flew over us at Lake Pearl, a Fox Sparrow around the feeders at Stony Brook, and a bright yellow Pine Warbler at Shear St. Surprising misses included Great Blue Heron, Mourning Dove and Northern Mockingbird.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

I'll end with a summary haiku -

Bitter cold. Cruel wind.
Cheerfully looking for birds
We found them. Good day.

Nancy Swirka

Checklists included in this summary:
(2): William Rice Athletic Fields, Wrentham
Date: Nov 24, 2013, 8:07 AM
(3): Compost area, Wrentham
Date: Nov 24, 2013, 8:26 AM
(4): Model Airplane Fields (Norfolk/Wrentham)
Date: Nov 24, 2013, 8:59 AM
(5): US-MA-Wrentham-50-98 Shear's St (across from model airplane field)
Date: Nov 24, 2013, 9:35 AM
(6): Lake Pearl
Date: Nov 24, 2013, 10:14 AM

(7)  Wrentham Industrial Pk (off rt140)

Date:  Nov 24, 2013, 12:15PM

(8)  Stonybrook Wildlife Sanctuary, Norfolk

Date:  Nov 24, 2013,  1:20PM

(9)  Old Norfolk Airport & environs

Date:  Nov 24, 2013, 2:15PM

58 Canada Goose -- (6) (8), (9)
11 Mute Swan -- (6), (8), (9)
2 Wood Duck -- (6)
2 American Wigeon -- (6)
5 American Black Duck -- (6), (8)
61 Mallard -- (6), (8), (9)
10 Lesser Scaup -- (6)
22 Bufflehead -- (6)
11 Common Goldeneye -- (6)
20 Hooded Merganser -- (6), (8), (9)
3 Ruddy Duck -- (6)

1 Sharp-shinned Hawk (7)
1 Pied-billed Grebe -- (6)
1 Cooper's Hawk -- (5)
1 Bald Eagle -- (6)
7  Red-tailed Hawk -- (3),(6), (7), (8)
25 Ring-billed Gull -- (5),(6)
50 Herring Gull (American) -- (4), (9)
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker -- (6)
7 Downy Woodpecker -- (4),(5),(6), (8)
2 Hairy Woodpecker -- (4), (9)
3 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) -- (4),(6), (9)
14 Blue Jay -- (4),(6), (8)

1 American Crow - (8)
1 Common Raven -- (6)
41 Black-capped Chickadee -- (3),(4),(5),(6)
17 Tufted Titmouse -- (4),(6),(8)
11 White-breasted Nuthatch -- (4),(6), (8)
1 Brown Creeper -- (6)
4 Carolina Wren -- (5),(6)
10 Golden-crowned Kinglet -- (4),(6),(7)
62 American Robin -- (3),(4),(5), (8), (9)
31 European Starling -- (5), (7)
5 Cedar Waxwing -- (4)
1 Pine Warbler -- (5)
1 American Tree Sparrow -- (5)
2 Field Sparrow -- (5), (7)

1 Savannah Sparrow - (9)

1 Fox Sparrow - (8)
6 Song Sparrow -- (3),(5), (9)
9 White-throated Sparrow -- (4),(5), (8)
69 Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) -- (3),(4),(5),(6), (7), (8), (9)
14 Northern Cardinal -- (2),(4),(5), (7(
1 Brown-headed Cowbird -- (3)
12 House Finch -- (2),(4), (8)
2 American Goldfinch -- (4),(6)
18 House Sparrow -- (4), (8)

This trip summary was created using the BirdLog app for iPhone and iPad.
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