Blue Hills Breeding Bird Survey - 6/29/25

On Sunday, June 29, 2025, the South Shore Bird Club held its annual breeding bird survey. This year, we covered the Blue Hills Reservation, which includes over 7,000 acres in the towns of Dedham, Milton, Canton, Braintree, Randolph, and Quincy. We had 17 participants split up into 6 small teams to cover as much of the area as possible. Thank you to all those who helped out that day.

We saw 74 different species and managed to confirm breeding for 19 of those, with another 49 Possible or Probable breeders. We were able to log a couple of nocturnal species this year, with an Eastern Whip-poor-will heard singing in the early morning and multiple Barred Owls seen or heard, including a fledgling.

Barred Owl Fledgling by Laura Markley

Some of the rarer species surveyed this year included a singing Louisiana Waterthrush, a singing Black-throated Green Warbler, and 3 Worm-eating Warblers. Each of these warblers only breeds in a handful of locations in eastern Massachusetts now.
Other interesting sightings were several Pileated Woodpeckers, many singing Scarlet Tanagers, and many Wood Thrushes, including at least 3 fledglings in 3 different locations.

Wood Thrush Fledgling by Peter Galvin

The full species list is below and an eBird trip report with all of the details is available at:
SSBC Blue Hills BBS 2025 - eBird Trip Report

Name	Count	Highest Breeding Status Observed
Canada Goose	16	Confirmed
Wood Duck	5	Confirmed
Mallard	1
Mourning Dove	37	Probable
Eastern Whip-poor-will	1	Probable
Chimney Swift	49	Probable
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	1	Possible
Killdeer	3	Probable
American Woodcock	1	Possible
American Herring Gull	4
Green Heron	2	Possible
Great Blue Heron	4
Turkey Vulture	4
Cooper's Hawk	2	Possible
Broad-winged Hawk	3	Possible
Red-shouldered Hawk	2	Possible
Red-tailed Hawk	1
Barred Owl	6	Confirmed
Red-bellied Woodpecker	17	Confirmed
Downy Woodpecker	36	Confirmed
Hairy Woodpecker	6	Confirmed
Pileated Woodpecker	5	Possible
Northern Flicker	9	Possible
Eastern Wood-Pewee	29	Probable
Eastern Phoebe	13	Confirmed
Great Crested Flycatcher	35	Probable
Eastern Kingbird	10	Possible
Warbling Vireo	9	Possible
Red-eyed Vireo	54	Probable
Blue Jay	94	Confirmed
American Crow	2	Possible
Common Raven	8	Probable
Black-capped Chickadee	102	Confirmed
Tufted Titmouse	98	Confirmed
Tree Swallow	34	Probable
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	3
Barn Swallow	17	Confirmed
White-breasted Nuthatch	41	Probable
Red-breasted Nuthatch	1	Possible
Brown Creeper	7	Probable
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	5	Probable
Northern House Wren	4	Possible
Carolina Wren	6	Possible
European Starling	19	Confirmed
Gray Catbird	97	Probable
Eastern Bluebird	14	Confirmed
Veery	4	Possible
Wood Thrush	43	Confirmed
American Robin	129	Confirmed
Cedar Waxwing	45	Probable
House Sparrow	10	Probable
House Finch	4	Possible
American Goldfinch	81	Probable
Chipping Sparrow	93	Confirmed
Field Sparrow	4	Possible
Song Sparrow	18	Possible
Eastern Towhee	38	Probable
Baltimore Oriole	16	Confirmed
Red-winged Blackbird	102	Possible
Brown-headed Cowbird	20	Probable
Common Grackle	46	Confirmed
Ovenbird	80	Probable
Worm-eating Warbler	3	Possible
Louisiana Waterthrush	1	Possible
Blue-winged Warbler	1	Possible
Black-and-white Warbler	4	Probable
Common Yellowthroat	30	Confirmed
Yellow Warbler	8	Possible
Pine Warbler	52	Probable
Prairie Warbler	5	Probable
Black-throated Green Warbler	1	Probable
Scarlet Tanager	28	Possible
Northern Cardinal	32	Probable
Indigo Bunting	7	Possible