Category: nature

Wednesday 8/13: Braved the rain for a quick check of Hardy and the res. Combined totals: 2 swans, 1 Canada Goose, 8 cormorants, 2 Herring Gull, 3 Barn Swallow (plus 8 more geese and the egret at the Hobbs Brook end).

Thursday 8/14: Great Meadows was fairly quiet beyond a possible Least Flycatcher. More of the same at Knox Trail.

Friday 8/15: Poked around Arlington a bit. Too many dogs at Menotomy Rocks Park, nothing exciting at Spy Pond. Bobolink and a hummingbird at McClennen weren’t bad, along with a few Broad-winged Skippers. Stopped at Arlington Great Meadows on the way home without anything terribly exciting.

Saturday 8/16: BBN, 2 Black-and-whites, 4 Redstarts, not much else.

Sunday 8/17: Great Meadows was fairly quiet. A few yellowlegs and stuff over and a distant eagle.

Monday 8/18: Prospect Hill was fairly quiet birdwise, 1 Canada Warbler, 1 Chestnut-sided, a few redstarts and Black-and-whites, and a raven or two. Some insect excitement though, more soon.

Tuesday 8/19: Started at Dunback where an Olive-sided was more or less expected.

At the big tree in the middle of the fields

And up close heading towards Clarke.

Continued to Prospect Hill to confirm the beetles from yesterday.

Wednesday 8/6: BBN had a redstart and most of the expected stuff. Quick stop at the duck ponds had a Solitary (and Bob with nothing to report from the other pond).

Thursday 8/7: Dunback had 2+ Cliff Swallows and a Bank Swallow.

Friday 8/8: Both yellowlegs and a few other things at Great Meadows.

Saturday 8/9: Walked to BBN. Ended up with 6+ warblers (migrant redstarts and Chestnut-sided plus Pine, Yellow, Blue-winged, and Yellowthroat, and a probable Canada) and finally got a pigeon for the year there.

Sunday 8/10: Knox Trail had a few juvenile Least Sandpipers plus an Indigo Bunting and a few Rough-winged Swallows. Dragonhunter, Broad-wing, and not much else at Fort Pond Brook.

Monday 8/11: Indigo Bunting (finally) at Rock Meadow, also gnatcatcher and a couple Yellow Warblers in the garden. Walked up Lone Tree Hill (redstart) and then through Habitat (Green Heron) and back (turkey head and a couple feathers). Stopped at the duck ponds on the way home and had a Merlin.

Tuesday 8/12: Started at Alewife. Not a ton overall but a late Orchard Oriole and a Northern Waterthrush were nice (and a bunch of other things were additions to my Cambridge list). Walked to Blair Pond which only had 2 Killdeer and 2 Least Sandpiper. Decided to stop at Danehy after. Still rush hour so the 5 minute drive took a good 15 and pretty much all I found was a yapping dog.

Wednesday 7/30: Waited around most of the day for a Verizon tech. Ran to Purgatory Cove and had a few Wood Ducks and a Spotted Sandpiper.

Thursday 7/31: Knox Trail again was about the same. Stopped at Hobbs Brook on the way home, water level way up but there was a Great Egret on the edge.

Friday 8/1: Great Meadows midday. Stayed on the tower, few Killdeer, 1 Spotted, 1 Least, 1 Great Egret.

Saturday 8/2: Checked res and Hardy without anything.

Sunday 8/3: Cranberry Bog trip. Not much exciting for odes but a Silver-bordered Fritillary was the first I’ve come across in MA. Stopped at Knox Trail briefly on the way home with nothing different.

Monday 8/4: Lots of expected stuff at Rock Meadow. Solitary and not much else at the ponds.

Tuesday 8/5: Had to wait aorund for Verizon again, although he actually came close to the beginning of the window. Prospect Hill eventually after. Not much in bugs but a Chestnut-sided Warbler was nice. Probable Swamp Darner over the yard towards dusk.

Wednesday 7/16: Couldn’t get to the duck ponds, nothing at Hardy or the res before the rain.

Thursday 7/17: Went to Plum finally and basically struck out on the rare terns. Probably had the Royal as the first bird out of the car, but other than a few Stilt Sandpipers not much else.

Friday 7/18: Nothing unusual at BBN.

Saturday 7/19: Dunback had a kestrel.

Sunday 7/20: Nothing at Great Meadows. The pond at Knox Trail is pretty dry and had loads of shorebirds. No sign of yesterday’s Semipalmated Plover but did get a few Semipalmated Sandpipers in addition to the more common stuff, plus the Ospreys were out of the nest.

Monday 7/21: Prospect Hill was dead.

Tuesday 7/22: Tried Knox Trail again, about the same. Moved on to the sand pits, where odes were few and the only butterfly of note was a Horace’s Duskywing. However, while moving between access points on the brook, I snapped a couple of shots of a turtle. It turned out to be a state-listed Wood Turtle.

Finished by checking the bog at Hugh Cargill. Got a Bog Copper but no Elfin Skimmers. Also got a boot full of water.

And a hummingbird in the yard.

Wednesday 7/2: Checked out College Pond in Weston. Looks like it has potential for birds and odes although I didn’t have a ton. YB Cuckoo, 2 singing Winter Wrens, and a Hermit Thrush were nice.

Thursday 7/3: Mostly too hot but a quick walk around Purgatory Cove had 3 BC Night-Herons and 2 (1 young I think) of Orchard Orioles.

Friday 7/4: Quick check of Hardy Pond and the res had a roosting eagle and 3 turkeys causing a traffic jam.

Saturday 7/5: Great Meadows was dull.

Sunday 7/6: Ode walk at the Cranberry Bog. Couldn’t get the emerald in close enough, but started with catching a Prince Baskettail and a Black-tippd Darner. A Cyrano Darner was still patrolling in the corner, Racket-tailed Emeralds were in the woods, and a few Unicorn Clubtails were along the far edge (couldn’t find any Lilypads though). On the way back, Alan had a large darner in the middle and walked down after it. I followed and picked up something large and reddish: Golden-winged Skimmer! On the county list but I don’t know any details of the record(s).

Better photos from Soheil.

Also 26 species from the yard today including probably 2 Broad-wings.

Monday 7/7: BBN had a Great Horned Owl (in the open! but no camera) and 2 likely migrant Orchard Orioles.

Tuesday 7/8: Not a whole lot at Rock Meadow, first Clamp-tipped Emerald of the year about it.

Wednesday 6/25: Lazy day but got the Broad-wing over the yard again.

Thursday 6/26: Went to the Cranberry Bog. Not overly exciting but a couple more FOY odes.

Friday 6/27: Great Meadows was very quiet so went over to see if the Osprey nest on the Concord/Acton line was still active (appeared to be).

Saturday 6/28: Charles in Watertown was quiet.

Sunday 6/29: Swamp Darner at BBN, first Black Saddlebags of the year at Rock Meadow.

Monday 6/30: Poked around AGM (mostly the usual, no Blue-wings and no Alder). First of year Mocha Emerald and a Holopogon robber fly. Brief stop at the duck ponds had nothing.

Tuesday 7/1: Prospect Hill was hot and quiet.

Wednesday 6/18: Explored the Old Rifle Range in Concord for the first time in a couple years. Heard a waterthrush, otherwise nothing terribly exciting.

Thursday 6/19: Went northwest. Lots of warblers at Willard Brook plus dragonflies and butterflies all over.

Friday 6/20: Eagle and Broad-wing from the yard.

Saturday 6/21: Walked to Lot 1 and the West Meadow. Finally got a patch Pine Warbler for the year plus 2 Blue-fronted Dancers and a Snapping Turtle.

Sunday 6/22: First Familiar Bluets of the year at Prospect Hill and that was about it.

Monday 6/23: Usual stuff Rock Meadow, Lone Tree Hill, and duck ponds. Nice Leptogaster flavipes at LTH.

Tuesday 6/24: Mary Cummings Park was fairly quiet. Not sure I’ve seen a Bank Swallow away from water or a colony before.