Wompatuck State Park, Hingham

Eleven people set out for the first of five Thursday morning treks through Wompatuck Sate Park. Although still early in the season, we had a reasonable look at an ovenbird, one of two heard, singing in a pine tree.  As we walked along the esker toward Wildcat Pond, we saw and heard many palm and pine warblers, a brown creeper, and two winter wrens, one of which afforded us good looks on a stump. Black-and-whites were calling but not easily spotted. A northern waterthrush was calling incessantly, and finally two of the group spotted it high in the tree canopy just before it flew down and out of sight.  Our next stop at Gate 5 did not produce a Louisiana waterthrush, so we headed to Picture Pond.  The Louisiana started calling immediately, and after several fleeting glimpses of it moving around on territory, it settled high in a canopy and sang repeatedly as all the remaining group had really good looks at the bird.  An 8-warbler day to close out the month of April was indeed a highlight.

Christine Whitebread's photo of the group searching for a Pine Warbler

Common Loon  1
Double-crested Cormorant  25
Great Egret  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Herring Gull  1
Mourning Dove  2
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  5
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Eastern Phoebe  3
Blue-headed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  3
Fish Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  15
Tufted Titmouse  9
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Brown Creeper  1
Winter Wren  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Hermit Thrush  2
American Robin  4
Ovenbird  2     one seen and heard in tree near visitors center; a second was heard on esker near wildcat pond.  Teacher-teacher-teacher call unmistakeable.
Louisiana Waterthrush  1
Northern Waterthrush  1
Black-and-white Warbler  5
Yellow Warbler  1
Palm Warbler  7
Pine Warbler  12
Yellow-rumped Warbler  3
Eastern Towhee  6
Chipping Sparrow  6
Song Sparrow  1
White-throated Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  1
Northern Cardinal  6
Brown-headed Cowbird  6
American Goldfinch  5