Thursday, April 25, 2019

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

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Turkey Hill/Weir River Farm, Hingham, Saturday, April 20, 2019

After debating whether to cancel this trip due to dire weather predictions of wind-driven rain, I decided to show up in case the reports were not accurate. Four others took the same chance and it turned out to be a rather pleasant morning with temperatures in the mid-60's, little rain, not so high winds, and singing active birds unlike the lack of activity two days previous. We followed my usual route up from the 3A parking lot to the top of Turkey Hill, down through the Weir River farm along the river, back uphill across Turkey Hill Lane to the Whitney/Thayer trail and across One-Way Lane continuing on through the Holly Grove. Instead of returning up Turkey Hill Lane to the top, we followed the lane downhill to Side Hill Road and picked up the trail that returned to the parking lot at the base of the hill. That move netted us a FOY black-and-white warbler! Other highlights on the WR Farm included a mail kestrel flying between posts, a lone male bluebird singing and foraging in the grass beneath a tree, a hard-to-see pair of towhees scratching in the leaf litter from the bridge, and an equally hard to see Carolina wren in the brush.

Sally Avery


Turkey Hill/Weir River Farm/WhitneyThayer Woods, Norfolk, Massachusetts, US
Apr 20, 2019 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.75 mile(s)
Comments: Tracker got stopped inadvertently. Overcast with occasional showers and gusty winds around 20
34 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose 3
Wild Turkey 2
Herring Gull 5
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Egret 3
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 3
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 2
American Kestrel 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 10
American Crow 6
Fish Crow 4
Tree Swallow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 7
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 4
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 9
European Starling 4
American Goldfinch 5
Chipping Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 10
Eastern Towhee 4
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Black-and-white Warbler 1 Heard first and then seen well near marshy area off side hill road
Pine Warbler 6
warbler sp. (Parulidae sp.) 1 Sounded like a weak song of northern waterthrush in appropriate wetland habitat, but only sang twice and couldn’t be seen
Northern Cardinal 10
House Sparrow 8

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S55168222