Lansing Bennet Forest, May 9th 2015

 

 

Nine members met on this foggy and rather cool morning to explore a new area. While the day started promising with plenty of Ovenbirds and Eastern Towhee’s vocalizing, this lovely wood proved largely quiet until we were near the boardwalk. There we were treated to wonderful looks of four Brown Creeper’s. One was singing while we watched them – always so much more gratifying. Pushing on we found a few Black & White and Pine Warblers and finally observed some interactions of Hermit Thrushes. We could not quite figure out if the actions were territorial or sexual.... whatever it was, they afforded us wonderful looks and left us with the eerie sounds of thrushes – so very much part of the soul of a forest in spring.

 

 

While walking through the spring woods we admired the Canada Mayflowers Maianthemum canadense and Lady’s slippers Cypripedium acaule just emerging, as well as the very fragrant Trailing Arbutus Epigaea repens

 

Photos by Nancy Collins (plants) and Christine Whitebread

 

Christine Whitebread

Duxbury: Lansing Bennett Forest (incl. Phillips Mill Pond), Plymouth, US-MA
May 9, 2015 7:30 AM - 11:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.4 mile(s)
Comments:     South Shore Bird Club trip
23 species

Broad-winged Hawk  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  1
Downy Woodpecker  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue Jay  9
American Crow  3
Tree Swallow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  14
Tufted Titmouse  12
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Brown Creeper  4
Hermit Thrush  4
American Robin  4
Gray Catbird  1
Ovenbird  18
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Pine Warbler  3
Eastern Towhee  11
Chipping Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  1
Scarlet Tanager  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23330495

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org

 

Fowl Meadow - Blue Hills Reservation, Milton/Canton 5/3/2015

Patty O'Neill led a group of 11 enthusiastic birders on a four mile round trip of Fowl Meadow. Here is what they had:

Canada Goose 8
Wood Duck 1
Mallard 2
Turkey Vulture 7
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Buteo sp. 1
(I believe it was a broad-wing: dramatically smaller than the TVs it was circling with, appeared to be short-tailed pers. comm. pon)
Virginia Rail 2
Killdeer 1
Herring Gull 2
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Eastern Phoebe 3Warbling Vireo 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 5
Tree Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 14
Tufted Titmouse 9
White-breasted Nuthatch 7
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 16
American Robin 11
Gray Catbird 4
Blue-winged Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 2
Ovenbird 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 22
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 9
Eastern Towhee 6
Chipping Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 12
Swamp Sparrow 9
White-throated Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 4
Red-winged Blackbird 64
Common Grackle 16
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 12

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Non-avian highlight: Henry's Elfin Butterflies (one of the better spots around this specie).

Wompatuck State Park, May 7, 2015

Nineteen birders set out at 6:30 AM in 45 degree sunny weather to catch all the wonderful migrants that have been in the park for a week or more as well as many recent arrivals.  A female rose-breasted grosbeak afforded us a good look, but the male flew off before everyone had a chance to admire his colors.  Ten different warblers were calling around the area of gate 9: the blue-winged glistened in the sun as we watched him; the redstart flitted in the understory; several yellows darted around for a few glimpses; ovenbirds were everywhere and a couple were seen by many; two magnolias were seen briefly; black-and-whites were hard to track down but eventually a few showed themselves; and a northern waterthrush posed several times for good looks.  Scarlet tanagers called from several places and two males gave us a great show, along with one female.  Wood thrushes were singing in two places but were not seen; veeries were also heard calling in a few places, and one finally appeared along the road to Holly Pond.  A winter wren sang lustily but never was close enough to search for.
Three raptors made brief appearances including a calling broad-winged hawk and one each of soaring red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks.  By the time we left at 11, the group had tallied 47 species and had shed all of our outerwear as the temperature climbed to the low 80's.

Sally Avery

Wood Duck  1     probable female based on call heard shortly before duck flushed from swamp; poorly seen but did not have the markings of a male
Mallard  1
Common Loon  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Broad-winged Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Herring Gull  1
Mourning Dove  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Phoebe  6
Great Crested Flycatcher  5
Red-eyed Vireo  2
Blue Jay  10
American Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  7
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Winter Wren  1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Veery  3
Wood Thrush  3
American Robin  4
Gray Catbird  10
Ovenbird  14
Worm-eating Warbler  1
Northern Waterthrush  2
Blue-winged Warbler  2
Black-and-white Warbler  9
Common Yellowthroat  2
American Redstart  1
Magnolia Warbler  2
Yellow Warbler  8
Pine Warbler  5
Eastern Towhee  8
Chipping Sparrow  7
Song Sparrow  2
White-throated Sparrow  3
Scarlet Tanager  6
Northern Cardinal  10
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  2     male and female
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  5
Baltimore Oriole  4
American Goldfinch  2

Squantum Wednesday May 6th

Seven members joined me for this sunny early morning walk in the Squantum area of Quincy today.

After looking around our meeting place we headed to Squaw Rock Park, which had been productive yesterday (5 Warbler sp.). Obviously those warblers had moved on, so after some futile searching which yielded just one single Northern Parula we moved on to Commander Shea Blvd and walked the new River walk around Boston Scientific out to the former airfield. Most of us were real happy to have our first look of American Oystercatchers, which were far out at low tide. At the parking lot end we attempted a “selfie” in front of a very yucky snow mountain - my bet is that this mountain will survive to the next snowfall…

The wetland at this end of Squantum Point Park held a wonderful surprise: a Solitary Sandpiper, together with some Yellowlegs. We were also rewarded with great looks at the resident Virginia Rail and three Green-winged Teal on the Neponset river, before heading back to our cars.

The trip totaled 36 species, 3 FOY for me (Oystercatcher, Chimney Swift, Solitary Sandpiper)

Christine Whitebread

Quincy: Squantum, Squaw Rock Park, Norfolk, US-MA May 6, 2015 6:25 AM - 7:00 AM Protocol: Traveling 0.2 mile(s) 13 species

Herring Gull  2
Great Black-backed Gull  1
Chimney Swift  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  5
American Robin  1
Gray Catbird  5
Northern Mockingbird  1     Heard.
Northern Parula  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Common Grackle  7
American Goldfinch  2

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23276263

Quincy: Squantum Point Park, Norfolk, US-MA May 6, 2015 7:15 AM - 9:20 AM Protocol: Traveling 1.5 mile(s) 27 species

Brant  22
Canada Goose  8
Mallard  2
Green-winged Teal  3
Common Loon  3
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Virginia Rail  1
American Oystercatcher  2
Killdeer  1
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Greater Yellowlegs  5
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Herring Gull  25
Mourning Dove  6
Black-capped Chickadee  2
American Robin  17
Gray Catbird  3
Common Yellowthroat  3
Yellow Warbler  14
Savannah Sparrow  3
Song Sparrow  9
Swamp Sparrow  1
Northern Cardinal  2
Red-winged Blackbird  4
Common Grackle  26
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
American Goldfinch  6

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23276226

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)