Fourteen birders joined Wayne Petersen on this traditional search for early spring migrants and late winter lingerers in interior Plymouth County.
We started the day at Burrage Pond WMA, hit several spots in, Pembroke, Halifax and Bridgewater, headed down to Lakeville and ended the day back at “Cumbies”.
We can report that the migrants are back; we had good numbers of Tree Swallows at Burrage Pond, watched Great Blue Herons at the Rookery on Pleasant Street and ended the day with American Woodcocks displaying at Cumbies.
Lingering migrants were also still to be found: American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, both Scaup, Goldeneye, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, as well as Rough legged Hawk, to name just a few.
While birding sometimes felt a bit slow and the lakes looked pretty but empty, we were as always learning more about birds and the areas we were visiting as Wayne generously shared some of his vast knowledge.
For me the highlight of the day was the arrival of the Great Horned Owl landing in a tree with the orange sky behind (“like clockwork orange” to quote Wayne) while we were watching the Woodcocks. Unfortunately it flew before Steven could get that photo, so here is a shot of the owl flying, with just a hint of the orange sky remaining.
Great Horned Owl Photo by Steven Whitebread
We racked up a substantial list of 63 species by the end of this wonderful day. Not bad for fairly leisurely birding!
Below is an extract from ebird with the birds and
locations. E-bird lists have been shared to all participants, our thanks to Vin
Zollo for keeping the list.
Many thanks to Wayne for leading this excellent trip
Christine Whitebread
| Canada Goose | Cumberland Farms |
| Mute Swan | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Wood Duck | Cumberland Farms |
| American Wigeon | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| American Black Duck | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Mallard | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Northern Pintail | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Green-winged Teal | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Ring-necked Duck | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Greater Scaup | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Lesser Scaup | Oldham Pond, Pembroke |
| Bufflehead | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Common Goldeneye | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Hooded Merganser | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Common Merganser | Great Sandy Bottom Pond, Pembroke |
| Ruddy Duck | Oldham Pond, Pembroke |
| Horned Grebe | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Great Cormorant | Oldham Pond, Pembroke |
| Great Blue Heron | Cumberland Farms |
| Turkey Vulture | Great Sandy Bottom Pond, Pembroke |
| Northern Harrier | Cumberland Farms |
| Cooper's Hawk | Oldham Pond, Pembroke |
| Bald Eagle | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Hanson |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Great Sandy Bottom Pond, Pembroke |
| Rough-legged Hawk | Cumberland Farms |
| Killdeer | Cumberland Farms |
| Wilson's Snipe | Cumberland Farms |
| American Woodcock | Cumberland Farms |
| Ring-billed Gull | Shaw's Plaza, Hanson |
| Herring Gull | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Great Black-backed Gull | US-MA-Hanson-270 Main St - 42.0440x-70.8520 |
| Mourning Dove | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | Cumberland Farms |
| Great Horned Owl | Cumberland Farms |
| Downy Woodpecker | Pleasant Street |
| Hairy Woodpecker | Circuit Bogs |
| American Kestrel | Elm Street |
| Blue Jay | Great Sandy Bottom Pond, Pembroke |
| American Crow | Cumberland Farms |
| Horned Lark | Cumberland Farms |
| Tree Swallow | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Assawompsett Ponds complex |
| Tufted Titmouse | Pleasant Street |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | US-MA-West Bridgewater-84-258 Pleasant St |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Eastern Bluebird | Cumberland Farms |
| American Robin | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Northern Mockingbird | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| European Starling | Cumberland Farms |
| American Tree Sparrow | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Dark-eyed Junco | ocean Spray Headquarters |
| White-throated Sparrow | Cumberland Farms |
| Savannah Sparrow | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Song Sparrow | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Northern Cardinal | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Red-winged Blackbird | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Common Grackle | Burrage Pond WMA, Hanson |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | Cumberland Farms |
| American Goldfinch | Cumberland Farms |
| House Sparrow | Shaw's Plaza, Hanson |