Look at that bird in that tree! Tree workshop part 2 June 22nd 2014

Lelia Weinstein Stokes led the walk through bird alley at Worlds End on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, just after the summer solstice.

We used the same handouts as before and tried to figure out if the deciduous trees have either of these features: opposite compound leaves or composite simple leaves, or maybe alternate compound leaves or alternate simple leaves. By using this simple guide and the complete list of trees at Worlds End we were able to focus in on some great looking trees; Red oak has pointed leaves and white oak leaves are rounded.

While we were hoping to re-find the yellow throated warbler spotted by Phil Edmundson the day before, we had to content ourselves with some wonderful looks at great crested flycatcher, both sp. of orioles and a few other usual sights at this location. Many birds got away and, as we put it, were ‘lost in the bittersweet’

Hingham: World's End, Plymouth, US-MA
Jun 22, 2014 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Comments:     SSBC tree workshop, led by Lelia Weinstein Stokes, sunny, 75F
23 species

Double-crested Cormorant  2
Great Egret  1
Snowy Egret  2
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Herring Gull  3
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Eastern Kingbird  3
Blue Jay  2
American Crow  2
Tree Swallow  13
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Carolina Wren  1
Eastern Bluebird  2
American Robin  2
Gray Catbird  3
European Starling  2
Song Sparrow  7
Northern Cardinal  4
Bobolink  3
Red-winged Blackbird  11
Orchard Oriole  2
Baltimore Oriole  3
House Sparrow  5

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18879085

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

 

Christine Whitebread

Myles Standish State Forest in the Evening - 6/11/2014

A quick note regarding the (6/11/14) Whip-poor-will walk. A real surprise were two flyover EVENING GROSBEAKs alerting us to their presence by their call; the lead bird obviously an adult male and the second bird either a female or young. The late afternoon/early evening light lit up the male as they flew by at maybe 500 feet heading SSE.

YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO 1-this bird was calling when we arrived and after walking the fields the bird was calling again. We were able to call it out for a brief view. Uncommon in the barrens.
Whip-poor-will 11
Fish Crow 1-the crow of choice in the barrens
Brown Thrasher 1
Prairie Warbler 3
EVENING GROSBEAK 2

Glenn d'Entremont

Freetown/Fall River State Forest & SE MA Bioreserve - 6/1/2014

Eight birders joined me for a combined SSBC/BBC trip today, Sunday June 1.

The weather was glorious with temps starting in 40s and ending in the 70s, no winds.
We traveled the HQ area of Freetown State Forest over to Edmund House Trail, from Copicut Rd joining Bell Rock Rd. We checked out Doctor Mill Pond, then Wilson Rd at the north end of Watuppa Reservoir, then Blossom Rd. We added some short jaunts along trails, powerlines and Yellow Hill Rd. *The forest was unusually dry for this time of year, with many of the swampy areas having no standing water.

Highlights included: Hooded Warbler, Canada Warbler, lots of Prairie Warblers, the continuing Mourning Warbler and Acadian Flycatchers. Intriguing brief looks by some of a large hawk with pale underparts, left us wondering about possible goshawk! Unfortunately, I did not see it.

7 Canada Goose
1 Wild Turkey
2 Great Blue Heron
1 Great Egret
1 Green Heron -- Flyover at meeting spot
2 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle -- Adult on nest (N. Watuppa Res.)
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 hawk sp. -- Brief look by a couple of people had them thinking N. Goshawk.
6 Mourning Dove
3 Yellow-billed Cuckoo
5 Chimney Swift
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
3 Downy Woodpecker
1 Hairy Woodpecker
1 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
7 Eastern Wood-Pewee
3 Acadian Flycatcher -- Calling from different spots along Blossom Rd.
1 Eastern Phoebe
10 Great Crested Flycatcher
5 Eastern Kingbird
12 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Blue Jay
1 Common Raven
4 Tree Swallow
4 Black-capped Chickadee
11 Tufted Titmouse
4 Red-breasted Nuthatch
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
1 Carolina Wren
5 House Wren
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
22 Veery
1 Hermit Thrush
6 Wood Thrush
9 American Robin
29 Gray Catbird
1 Northern Mockingbird
5 European Starling
10 Cedar Waxwing
25 Yellow Warbler
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
28 Pine Warbler
15 Prairie Warbler
12 Black-and-white Warbler
22 American Redstart
56 Ovenbird
7 Northern Waterthrush
1 Mourning Warbler -- Continues. Singing consistently from same perch, giving great views.
22 Common Yellowthroat
2 Hooded Warbler -- Water hole 7 and heard in different location within a white cedar swamp
1 Canada Warbler -- Water hole 3
60 Eastern Towhee -- * one of the best locations in the state for this species
18 Chipping Sparrow
2 Field Sparrow
2 Song Sparrow
4 Scarlet Tanager
3 Northern Cardinal
1 Indigo Bunting
5 Red-winged Blackbird
6 Common Grackle
15 Brown-headed Cowbird
4 Baltimore Oriole
1 House Finch
1 American Goldfinch
6 House Sparrow

Lynn Abbey

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Willow Brook Farm Preserve, May 31, 2014

Nine folks trod the paths of Willow Brook Farm Preserve turning up 39 species in the process.  The weather was sunny and cool with quite a bit of wind, which may have kept down the number of land birds seen.  Since so many birds were heard rather than seen, the highlight was probably the well-seen and heard Indigo Buntings in a few places.  The audio on the Yellow-billed Cuckoo was promising, but never repeated as we got closer to the source. No one had a camera to snap pictures for the blog.

Sally Avery

39 species

Canada Goose  18
Wild Turkey  1
Great Blue Heron  4
Red-shouldered Hawk  1     seen three different times in different parts of preserve. Assumed to be same bird
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Yellow-billed Cuckoo  1     audio only
Downy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3
Eastern Phoebe  2
Great Crested Flycatcher  7
Red-eyed Vireo  5
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  4
Barn Swallow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  5
Tufted Titmouse  4
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  2
Veery  5
Wood Thrush  1
Gray Catbird  13
Cedar Waxwing  3     heard in three separate areas; probably many more birds
Ovenbird  8
Blue-winged Warbler  3
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  7
American Redstart  1
Yellow Warbler  5
Pine Warbler  2
Eastern Towhee  4
Song Sparrow  5
Swamp Sparrow  1
Scarlet Tanager  5
Northern Cardinal  7
Indigo Bunting  3
Red-winged Blackbird  2
Common Grackle  4
Brown-headed Cowbird  4
Baltimore Oriole  2


Sally Avery

Plymouth Day - 5/25/2014

Just highlights here. Yesterday I had four (!) organizations meet me at first Plymouth Beach and then Plymouth Airport. The change over from terns to gulls continues. 1200 terns were estimated and 300 Laughing Gulls. No Arctics and it might be possible there are no nesting Arctics in MA anymore (including the Monomoy colony). There are adult Herring Gulls present and there were black-backed gulls, too. The cordoning off of the tern colony leaves no dry path at high tide, so beware. We could not walk along the ocean side as time did not permit us to wait out the tide (future note: if high tide, bring South Beach footwear!).

A-Airport

Brant 5
Red-throated Loon 2 late, non-breeding plumaged birds
Common Loon 1
Black-bellied Plover 66
Piping Plover 7
Ruddy Turnstone 12 (this is so low-used to get counts like 200)
UPLAND SANDPIPER 3-A Has to be the highlight of the airport trip. Three birds flew in and remained visible for the entire trip.
PURPLE SANDPIPER 6 Somewhat regular here late, but usually fewer.
Sanderling 125
Laughing Gull 300
Common Tern 1200
Roseate Tern 2
American Kestrel 1-A (after most people left, seen from Plane Jane's Restaurant)
Horned Lark 4 (3-A)
Bank Swallow 10 (nesting out on the beach)
Brown Thrasher 1-A
Prairie Warbler 2-A
Field Sparrow 1-A
Savannah Sparrow 4-A
VESPER SPARROW 2-A
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW 1-A (heard only, by several of us)
EASTERN MEADOWLARK 2-A

Glenn d'Entremont