Flying Squirrel!

It’s been back off and on (probably depending more on how often we look). Finally got some good pictures tonight.

It's back

First one was taken from inside with only the light above the door. I was quite happy with the result for a few minutes.

Tame

Until I walked outside and found out how tame they can be.

Tame

All taken with a 50mm lens, the last two were approaching the minimum focus distance. Video next time?

WIR 11/16-11/22

Wednesday 11/16: Lot 1 had nothing unusual.

Thursday 11/17: Hardy Pond: 1 coot, 1 hoodie, 20ish Ruddy, 2 Great Blue Heron. Cambridge Res: nothing on the first scan but eventually saw a large, dark thing way off. That was a Herring Gull, but scoping that general area turned up a small flock. In the flock, I found a spectacular male Long-tailed Duck, a Red-necked Grebe, and 3 Ruddy. While trying for phone-scoped photos, I noticed something else coming into sight, which turned into a flock of 9 Black Scoter. Also present were a few more Hoodies, 3 Bufflehead, and the big flock of coot.

Lunch jackpot

Somebody returned to the feeder at night.

Friday 11/18: Prospect Hill had nothing around the back side.

Saturday 11/19: Walked through Lot 1 and the West Meadow. Two Rusty Blackbirds at the Falzone parking lot and 3 deer in the big field were about it. On to Dunback, where a Winter Wren cooperated but Fox Sparrows didn’t. Cambridge Res and Flint’s Pond in the afternoon didn’t have anything different.

Sunday 11/20: Pelagic was canceled, on the Cape.

Monday 11/21: No booby again. Herring Cove was loaded with birds with thousands of mergansers and scoters and good numbers of Razorbills. Gannets at Race Point would have made for great photos but it was too windy to attempt holding the camera steady. Again no luck with the Ash-throated and not much else at Fort Hill.

Tuesday 11/22: Figured out why my side had been sore for a couple days, a nice tick. Morning at the doctor meant no birding time.

Cape 11/20

Sunday was supposed to be the last BBC pelagic of the year (actually the Saturday before but bad weather pushed it back). At the last minute, I decided to go and then spend Monday on the Cape, finally getting around to chasing the Brown Booby and anything else that was around. Unfortunately the trip was canceled due to high wind, so I decided to head down and spend Sunday working my way out to Provincetown.

The good thing about the cancelation was that I could get up and leave at a normal hour. I reached the Cape a little before 9 and realized that the wind was going to be a problem here as well. I poked around Falmouth a bit, scanning Salt Pond and not feeling like getting out of the car at several other ponds and not seeing much.

I eventually moved on to Marstons Mills and the pond there. Looking pretty much like Lyman Pond, it was loaded with wigeon and Gadwall. Once the birds moved a bit, the male Eurasian Wigeon was very obvious. Also dug up a Bufflehead and a Hooded Merganser.

Eurasian Wigeon

Next stop were some of the beaches in Dennis, where I took one look at the people being blown around and moved on. After a stop for gas, I headed to Fort Hill to look for the Ash-throated Flycatcher that’s been hanging around. On arrival, I heard from Vin and Mike that it was seen earlier. I wandered towards the spot and ran into my friend Geoff and ended up talking to him and someone I didn’t know for an hour.

Others had been searching harder than we were and also had no luck, so we decided to move on (the other guy turned out to be Carl, who was there with Wayne and Jim) and look for the booby. After a lunch stop, we reached MacMillan Wharf and started scanning the breakwater. Wayne immediately found some Razorbills and Harlequins but nothing jumped out. We moved to the other end and found many more Razorbills, a nice Red-necked Grebe, a Common Tern, and eventually a Thick-billed Murre. There were hundreds of cormorants to sort through but we couldn’t find the booby among them (and other reports from the day were all negative as well).

Razorbill

Red-necked Grebe

Common Tern

Murre and Razorbill

We eventually decided to move on to Race Point. A flock of Snow Buntings was flying by as we arrived but they didn’t stop. On the beach, we had more terns and many gannets, plus a few ducks and Razorbills. We realized that daylight was running out and went for a run to Herring Cove and then back to the wharf. Herring Cove was busy and it was getting dark, so we turned right around and hit the wharf. Even more cormorants were present, but we scanned until it was too dark to see and couldn’t find anything among them.

At this point, we said goodbye and I headed off to find my hotel and get ready for an early start tomorrow.

WIR 11/9-11/15

Wednesday 11/9: Rock Meadow had nothing exciting.

Thursday 11/10: Common Merganser, couple Hoodies, few Ruddy at Hardy Pond. More Ruddy and Hoodie at Cambridge Res.

Friday 11/11: Checked a few ponds midmorning. North end of the Cambridge Res had Hooded Mergansers. Flint’s Pond had Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and mergansers. Cambridge Res had a Long-tailed Duck (197), Hooded Mergansers, and the flock of coots. Hardy Pond had more mergansers, ruddy, and a cormorant.

Saturday 11/12: Fresh Pond for the easy Canvasback year tick, plus many Ring-neck, Ruddy, and coot. Also a loon but not much else. Purgatory Cove: 8 GW Teal was in the corner, 2 Wood Duck (another on the river), few coots, wigeon on the river. Many meadowhawks in the woods. Charlesbank had 50+ coot and a cormorant.

Sunday 11/13: Started with the MBC trip to Arlington Res. Red Fox, nice snipe, about the usual. On to Waltham St (couple Tree Sparrows and nothing else), UMass Field Station (Song Sparrows, geese, juncos), and Gore Place (sulphurs, no birds). Evening walk turned up the best thing of the day with a Flying Squirrel outside the door.

Flying Squirrel

Monday 11/14: Green darners and not much else at BBN.

Tuesday 11/15: Nothing at the duck ponds beyond a couple Autumn Meadowhawks.

WIR 11/2-11/8

Wednesday 11/2: Prospect Hill: 2 deer, very few birds.

Thursday 11/3: Duck ponds were having tree work so ended at Rock Meadow. Fourteen turkeys at the entrance to the gardens, a sapsucker and hermit thrush in them. Coot, Ruddies, and a Kingfisher on Hardy Pond in the afternoon.

Friday 11/4: Purgatory Cove had the usual ducks (mostly on the river) plus 5 Bufflehead. After work stop at the Cambridge Res got the coots in close. Took one picture with the phone, but Marj got better. More Bufflehead here, 35, which blows away my previous high count for the area.

Saturday 11/5: All day in Fairhaven with the BBC. Full details on the BBC trips blog but here are a couple photos:

Baltimore

Palm

Was coming home on Rt. 2 so decided to scan the north end of the Cambridge Res. No shorebirds but first Common Mergansers of the fall, plus 2 turkeys around the corner.

Sunday 11/6: Joined the MBC walk at Dunback. Was up early and it was bright, so headed to Waltham St first. Walked in and the Lark Sparrow was right there, a bit of a surprise after seeing negative reports all week. Also had first American Tree Sparrows of the fall and a couple Rusty Blackbirds. The group came back over and I managed to find the sparrow way up in one of the trees, allowing for decent scope looks. Back at Dunback we had 1 Fox Sparrow, a couple Hermit Thrushes, and my latest ever Blue-headed Vireo. Cambridge Res after had nothing new. Flint’s Pond had a few mergansers.

Lark Sparrow

Monday 11/7: BBN was very quiet. Lots of juncos, a couple darners, 1 meadowhawk.

Tuesday 11/8: Lot 1 was pretty much like BBN yesterday, plus a Tree Sparrow, garter snake, and calling frogs.

WIR 10/26-11/1

Wednesday 10/26: River walk for a change, phoebe, few warblers, nothing but mallards on the water.

Thursday 10/27: Hardy Pond and Cambridge Res in the rain: Ruddies on both, huge raft of coots on the res.

Friday 10/28: BBN at lunch: Bunch of Hermit Thrushes, phoebe, lots of common sparrows and juncos. Ran over to Waltham St after work and found the Lark Sparrow Bob and Karsten discovered earlier. Also Field Sparrow and Palm Warbler. Presuming I saw the American Golden-Plover that was at the Arlington Res a few years ago from the Lexington side, this is #200 in Lexington.

Lark Sparrow

Saturday 10/29: Started with a walk through Lot 1 and the West Meadow. Lots of Hermit Thrushes and 200+ Cedar Waxwings, plus fighting turkeys but not much else. Around the Cambridge Res next: 1 Black Scoter (3rd scoter and 150th bird in Waltham this year!), 1 Greater Scaup, 2 Pied-billed Grebe, a presumed Bald Eagle. Home for lunch and then a quick swing for geese trying to beat the rain. Did more or less beat the rain but it was too dark and the geese were way out so nothing good among them. Also nothing at Flint’s Pond.

Sunday 10/30: Birds in the snow

Monday 10/31: Gore Place for a change, nothing particularly exciting. One sulphur and one darner survived the snow at least.

Tuesday 11/1: BBN had lots of the usual. Huge flock of red-wings down the street in the morning.

Snow Birds

Some highlights from a snow-filled Waltham St. Fields today.

Killdeer

Unhappy Killdeer

Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow posing nicely

Palm Warbler

‘Yellow’ Palm Warbler

Dickcissel

Dickcissel

Dickcissel

Lark Sparrow

Lark Sparrow continues

Lark SparrowLark SparrowLark Sparrow

Have a suspicion that there were two birds, although these photos are all of one.

WIR 10/19-10/25

Wednesday 10/19: Hardy Pond had 1 Ring-neck.

Thursday 10/20: Purgatory Cove: 7ish Green-winged Teal, 1 Blue-winged Teal, 1 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon, 15ish Wood Duck, 4 Coot.

Friday 10/21: BBN was quiet.

Saturday 10/22: In Westport for the day but not birding. Did have a Peregrine, many Tree Swallows and a few other things driving around.

Sunday 10/23: All over. Started at Great Meadows where there were no good sparrows but did have a Sora and a few Rusty Blackbirds plus a snipe overhead. On to the School St fields and prison fields where the Cattle Egrets have moved on (guess I should have rushed over Saturday afternoon). Decided to check Meriam’s Corner for them too (thousands of grackles and not much else) and Nine Acre Corner. Cambridge Res on way home turned up a Surf Scoter, finally getting one for Waltham. Up the Charles after lunch with parents where we had 24 coots and 2 Pied-billed Grebe at Charlesbank and about the same ducks as Thursday at Purgatory Cove (new Gadwall though).

Monday 10/24: Rock Meadow. Was hoping to find a good sparrow but Anna Piccolo beat me and had already found 2 Clay-coloreds. Good views and I think the first time I’ve heard one.

Tuesday 10/25: Back side of Prospect Hill. One busy flock of chickadees and stuff included a Hermit Thrush and some Golden-crowned Kinglets but not much else around.

WIR 10/12-10/18

Wednesday 10/12: Purgatory Cove: 9 Wigeon (5 cove, 4 river), Hooded Merganser, 3 Green-winged Teal

Thursday 10/13: Hardy Pond: First of fall Ruddy.

Friday 10/14: Duck Ponds: lots of grackles, robins, yellow-rumps.

Saturday 10/15: Led MBC walk to Waltham St. Fields and Dunback. Not a whole lot of birds at either. Best with the group was a Bobolink at Dunback, but I had a Dickcissel walking out by myself. Afternoon walk around Arlington Res got the Great Cormorant sharing a rock with the Double-crested plus 2 shoveler, 2 Wood Duck, 3 Green-winged Teal, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, 2 Solitary Sandpiper.

Sunday 10/16: Rock Meadow early. Not a whole lot, highlights: 1 bluebird, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 White-crowned Sparrow, 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, 1 towhee. Eight Ruddies on Hardy Pond in the afternoon.

Monday 10/17: Paine was very quiet. Managed to phone-bin a Shadow Darner but that was about it.

Tuesday 10/18: Prospect Hill: Golden-crowned Kinglet, 2 Hermit Thrush, Red Admiral.