Wompatuck State Park, Hingham

On a beautiful sunny morning, a rarity this April, eight of us and eventually a ninth joined forces to comb the paths at both ends of the park.  Until the gate opened, we poked around the area from the visitor's center to Wildcat Pond which was as full of water as I've ever seen it.  By July, it will likely be dry and well eutrophied.    Black and white warblers were plentiful along the path, and audios of blue gray gnatcatchers, a northern waterthrush, and a winter wren tantalized us but were hidden deep in the swamp.

 Once the gate opened, we parked at the far end of the park and walked the paths where Louisiana waterthrushes are often heard, but neither waterthrush species vocalized. We had spectacular looks at Board-winged Hawks and a Solitary Sandpiper in a mud flat at Holly Pond. Our warbler count reached 6 : BT green, Northern Waterthrush (audio only but well heard), Palm, Pine, Black-and-white, and Yellow-rumped.  The final teaser was a couple of Pileated Woodpeckers calling loudly near Boundary Pond, but not visible to the four of us who were still there.  These birds have been spotted in that area in recent weeks.

Join us next week as migration continues to heat up.

Sally Avery

Solitary Sandpiper

Broad-winged Hawk

Wompatuck SP, Plymouth, Massachusetts, US

Apr 25, 2019 8:30 AM - 11:09 AM

Protocol: Traveling

2.0 mile(s)

Comments:     A walk to Picture Pond, past Boundary Pond, to Holly Pond and returning via the enclosed area to the east of Holly Pond.

32 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose  2

Mallard  2

duck sp.  2     Backlit while flying away with no vocalization

Mourning Dove  1

Solitary Sandpiper  1     On mudflat in Holly Pond. Pronounced white  eye ring. 

Broad-winged Hawk  3

Belted Kingfisher  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  3

Downy Woodpecker  3

Hairy Woodpecker  1

Pileated Woodpecker  2

Eastern Phoebe  5

Blue Jay  3

American Crow  2

Black-capped Chickadee  7

Tufted Titmouse  4

Red-breasted Nuthatch  1

White-breasted Nuthatch  1

Winter Wren  2

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  6

American Robin  2

House Finch  1

American Goldfinch  3

Chipping Sparrow  8

Song Sparrow  2

Eastern Towhee  1

Red-winged Blackbird  1

Black-and-white Warbler  3

Palm Warbler  2

Pine Warbler  7

Yellow-rumped Warbler  9

Black-throated Green Warbler  1

Northern Cardinal  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55389766

Wompatuck SP--Visitor's Center, Plymouth, Massachusetts, US

Apr 25, 2019 6:20 AM - 8:15 AM

Protocol: Traveling

1.5 mile(s)

22 species

Mourning Dove  2

Herring Gull  1

Red-bellied Woodpecker  2

Northern Flicker  1

Eastern Phoebe  1

Blue Jay  5

American Crow  3

Fish Crow  1

Black-capped Chickadee  3

Tufted Titmouse  3

Winter Wren  1

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1

American Robin  1

American Goldfinch  3

Chipping Sparrow  5

Song Sparrow  1

Eastern Towhee  8

Brown-headed Cowbird  6

Northern Waterthrush  1

Black-and-white Warbler  6     Well seen and accurate  count

Pine Warbler  2

Northern Cardinal  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55383782

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

T