Tag: weekinreview

Wednesday 10/23: Pond check turned up 4 Wood Ducks at the res and basically nothing else.

Thursday 10/24: No Grasshopper Sparrow at Kaveski, BH Vireo, 4 species of blackbirds the highlights.

Friday 10/25: Timing of the plumber meant I had to get ready early so went to Westborough. Nothing unusual, lots of common sparrows.

Saturday 10/26: Decided not to run out to Hadley. McClennen had nothing exciting. Late Solitary, Semipalmated Plover, and Nashville at Arlington Res plus a pipit. Late BT Green at Arlington Great Meadows. Very little at Waltham St and Hobbs Brook.

Sunday 10/27: Wasn’t raining early so hit Danehy for a bit. Marsh Wren was about the only thing of interest. Spy Pond in the rain had 150+ cormorants, Mystic Lakes had a flock of Hoodies.

Monday 10/28: Finally got to Farm Pond, which I’d been saying I should do all fall. Started out the causeway and pretty quickly flushed a very pale sparrow that looks good for Ipswich. My first in the county but the second one to be seen here. That took quite a bit of time, so I didn’t get to the north end. Did have a Bufflehead, 2 coots, and a pipit.

Tuesday 10/29: Nothing of note at Great Meadows.

Wednesday 10/16: Lots of the usual sparrows and Yellow-rumps at BBN but little else.

Thursday 10/17: Pond check had nothing but a few gulls at the res. Fortunately they lingered.

Friday 10/18: 3 geese at the res was it. Very late tanager, lots of Yellow-rumps, not a ton else at Forest Grove.

Saturday 10/19: Did a Plymouth county run which wasn’t the best. Elllisville Harbor was fairly good, at least along the marsh and beach. Marsh Wren, Forster’s Tern, tons of gannets, White-rumped Sandpiper, and more. The fields were quiet. Quick stop at Manomet Point had nothing, so went to Tidmarsh. Long walk around had White-crowned and Field Sparrows but still couldn’t get a Savannah. Manomet Point again was even slower, so tried Nelson Field, which also looked quiet. Checked hotspots towards home and tried the Duxbury Bogs. A bunch of Rusties and a few ducks and shorebirds but no sparrows. Buzzed the res on the way home and wasn’t surprised by 2 Black Scoters given the numbers elsewhere today.

Also lots of meadowhawks all over including an immature looking one, plus a late Bronzed(?) Tiger Beetle.

Sunday 10/20: Slight change in plans, instead of West Meadow then Rock Meadow I went straight to Rock Meadow. Also sapsucker and first local juncos of the fall. Then on to Milton. Fowl Meadow had a BT Blue, a really cooperative Red-shoulder, and lots of Yellow-rumps. Quick check of the res had a PB Grebe, Ruddy, and 4 Ring-necks.

Monday 10/21: Towhee was the best thing at Kaveski.

Tuesday 10/22: Nothing exciting at West Meadow, which left enough time to get the kingbird as commute #227.

Wednesday 10/9: Nor’easter didn’t quite materialize (at least the rain) but did a pond check anyway. Nothing on the res, absolutely nothing on Flint’s. Nothing at the bridge on Pelham Island Rd. Started with nothing but cormorants at Heard but eventually picked up a distant Ruddy. Pulled in at the other end to see if it was closer and had about 18 Rough-wings flying around. GW Teal back at the swamp.

Thursday 10/10: Thought it was supposed to be worse out so did a pond loop. Ruddy and a few Rough-wings at Heard the only birds of note (and almost the only birds).

Friday 10/11: Still a drop too nice, Great Meadows was very quiet.

Saturday 10/12: Started at Deer Island hoping for storm birds. Bit foggy/spraying for that but did have a Tree Swallow, 150+ Laughing Gulls, a few Bonaparte’s, a White-crowned Sparrow and see from ebird reports that I didn’t miss that much. Tried Nut Island next. Better visiblity but only a couple Peregrines as anything to note. Pulled in along Wollaston Beach on the way out and found one skimmer remaining. Earhart had police activity and 130+ cormorants lined up. Nothing at Spy Pond, Hobbs Brook, or the res in a quick drive around.

Sunday 10/13: Rusty Blackbird, PB Grebe, Ring-neck about it at Sandy Beach. Nothing exciting at the rest of the lakes or at Meadowbrook. Fresh Pond was quiet but had a decent number of Syrphids, although apparently all ones I’ve had this year. Quick scope of Arlington Res had nothing new and nothing in the open at Hobbs Brook (actually started the day at the res but the sun was too bad).

Monday 10/14: Nothing exciting at a brief stop along the Charles in Watertown and at Waltham St.

Tuesday 10/15: Tennessee or two, Purple Finch, 3+ Field Sparrows at the Wayland Community Gardens.

Wednesday 9/25: Finally had a decent flock of warblers at BBN including several Parula, BT Green, B+W, Nashville, Prairie, and Blackpoll (plus a few more BT Green elsewhere). Didn’t have time to check the upper parkway or sort through other flocks unfortunately.

Thursday 9/26: First White-throat of the fall at Rock Meadow but little else there and at the duck ponds.

Friday 9/27: Ton of Monarchs, a Tennessee, etc at Heard Farm. Lesser Yellowlegs at the Pelham Island Rd bridge.

Saturday 9/28: Suffolk run. Started at Deer Island, where I had a Tennessee Warbler, BT Green, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and not a ton else. Monarchs and ladies everywhere. Winthrop Beach next, a dog ran through the flocks before I got to them so not too much. Fisherman’s Bend had the American Golden-Plover but it was too windy (and the tide too high and too sunny) for much else. Drove along Revere Beach without much then stopped at Earhart (one Snowy Egret) on the way home.

Sunday 9/29: Joined Marj’s MBC walk that ended up at Dunback. Slowish start, eventually had a pocket with towhee, BT Green, Parula, and Black-and-white. At the bridge we had a slightly cooperative Connecticut (slightly as in 3 of us had brief views and a couple others saw and heard it fly). Back at the clearing, we had a few more warblers including Magnolia and Pine plus BH and RE Vireos, oriole, RB Grosbeak.

I continued to Hobbs Brook, which was very slightly down finally and had a Greater Yellowlegs then Arlington Res which had good numbers of the usual shorebirds plus a Pied-billed Grebe.

Monday 9/30: Went to Forest Grove. Got to the bridge, started to spish and a Blue-winged Warbler came right in. Fairly quiet the rest of the way around, so I had time to go back and try for better photos. No Blue-winged but a Nashville was nice.

Tuesday 10/1: Got out to Westborough again finally. No CT (but Tim didn’t have any after I left either). Did finally get a Lincoln’s for Worcester county plus sapsucker, 3 Indigos, etc.

Wednesday 9/18: Dunback was fairly quiet although I shouldn’t have listened to Marj and gone into the woods instead of down Bacon… Had a work function in Needham, ducked over to Millennium after, nothing really noteworthy.

Thursday 9/19: Sedge Meadow was fairly quiet, redstart, B+W, not much else.

Friday 9/20: First of fall pipits and Palm Warbler at Barrett’s Mill Farm.

Saturday 9/21: Started at Danehy. No Lark Sparrow but a nice Philadelphia Vireo. Earhart had 7 Semipalmated Plovers and 3 Snowy Egrets. Nothing at Waltham St.

Sunday 9/22: Walked to BBN. Did manage 10 warblers although none terribly exciting, a perched Broad-wing, and fairly quiet otherwise.

Monday 9/23: Dunback was totally dead, a Syrphid the only thing of any interest.

Tuesday 9/24: Got an oil change so only had a few minutes on Pelham Island Rd. Indigo Bunting, 2 Solitary, 1 Spotted Sandpiper about it.

Wednesday 9/11: Absolutely nothing at Elm Brook and Kaveski/Meriam’s. Did have a grosbeak in the yard though.

Thursday 9/12: Avoided the rain at Pelham Island Rd but got a good bit at Heard Pond, nothing exciting at either.

Friday 9/13: Prospect Hill was pretty dead except for another screech-owl responding to the scold.

Saturday 9/14: Led an MBC walk at BBN: GW Teal, Prairie Warbler, not a ton else. Buckeye was the only thing of note in a quick check of Waltham St. Went to Gloucester for the afternoon, walked Magnolia Point and checked Rafe’s Chasm without seeing much.

Sunday 9/15: Went to the hawk watch on Watatic. Pretty slow day, although it picked up enough in the afternoon to not be a complete waste. Had a moderate selection of warblers on the way up and a couple grouse on the way down.

Monday 9/16: All the usual shorebirds at Arlington Res.

Tuesday 9/17: Parula, Field Sparrow, Sharpie, and a probable Mourning Warbler were it at Wayland Community Gardens.

Wednesday 9/4: Great Meadows for passerines was a waste of time.

Thursday 9/5: Not much at Heard Farm.

Friday 9/6: Decent flock of warblers got away at BBN, then not much after.

Saturday 9/7: Started with a hope for storm-related birds at Great Meadows but since the rain had stopped and it wasn’t all that windy I didn’t have high hopes. Great Egret, eagle, not a whole lot else. Continued to Hobbs Brook which had another egret and nothing else, then Arlington Res (wigeon) and Waltham St (nothing).

Sunday 9/8: Attempted a pelican chase. Went to Marblehead Neck first. Fairly decent there, 10 species of warblers and a kingbird. Went towards Salem and promptly got stuck in a road race, after 20 minutes of going nowhere I gave up. Stopped at Bare Meadow in Reading on the way home, not much.

Monday 9/9: Pretty quiet at BBN except for a Screech-Owl responding to the scold tape, site #161.

Tuesday 9/10: Went to Westborough for a change. Lots of birds although nothing exciting. Highlights were 3 singing YT Vireos, a Red-shoulder, and a thrasher.

Wednesday 8/28: Nothing unexpected at Gaining Ground/Hanscom.

Thursday 8/29: Finally got a Semipalmated Sandpiper at BBN, otherwise the same plus a fisher or mink running across the parkway. Solitary Sandpiper flew past the yard in the evening.

Friday 8/30: Wayland Community Gardens were pretty dead. Three Osprey at Heard Pond. Finally had a couple nighthawks at home.

Saturday 8/31: A short local loop had a young Field Sparrow at Waltham St and more of the same at BBN. Out to Otis where I eventually wandered off to Colebrook Lake. On the quiet side but a couple Semipalms (both plovers and sandpipers) and 3 Greater Yellowlegs plus a Canada Warbler (GB Heron and Mallard were Berkshire county birds too somehow).

Sunday 9/1: Did the walk to Upper Spectacle before heading out. May have been too early, really dark in the woods most of the way. Ten warblers including Magnolia, 2 Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, 9+ BT Blue plus a probable Red Crossbill.

Monday 9/2: Did a Squantum area run. Squaw Rock park had about 3 migrants but the Wilson’s Warbler and Yellow-billed Cuckoo were ones I needed for Norfolk and the Tennessee was nice too. Not many birds at Passanageset but I got distracted by a large number of Twelve-spotted Tiger Beetles. Back to Squantum where Commander Shea Blvd was pretty slow (one probably Saltmarsh Sparrow and one hole to step in), nothing at Orchard Beach, and just small numbers of the normal sandpipers at the marshes. Traffic wasn’t too bad, so went up to Draw Seven and Earhart on the way home, 2 ravens were the only things of note.

Tuesday 9/3: A few redstarts, a BT Green, a kingbird, and 2 Least Flycatchers at Dunback.

Wednesday 8/21: Absolutely nothing at Forest Grove. Cruised by Heard Pond on the way home in case the rain had dropped something in. Nothing there but noticed the water level was down on the river so stopped for a few seconds and had a snipe, 2 Least, and 2 Solitary before the rain picked up again.

Thursday 8/22: Lesser Yellowlegs finally at BBN, not a whole lot beyond.

Friday 8/23: Solitaries and Least at Pelham Island Rd. Should have skipped that as ran short on time at Heard Farm where there was a Lesser Yellowlegs, Canada and Black-and-white Warblers, a redstart, and a bunch of swallows.

Saturday 8/24: Thought radar looked good overnight but minimal migrants on the ground. Headed to Alewife but they’re doing work so Acorn Park and the first bit of path was inaccessible. Danehy instead had an Indigo Bunting and Least Flycatcher but little else. Thorndike Field was being mowed so nothing there. With no migrants, skipped on trying near Dilboy and went to Torbert MacDonald instead. RB Grosbeak, gnatcatcher, lots of mockingbirds, one interesting shorebird that flew around at a distance. Snowy Egret was visible in front of the casino from Draw Seven but when I went over I couldn’t find it again. Did have 25ish Semipalmated Sandpipers and a Peregrine.

Sunday 8/25: Did the long walk to the duck ponds. Started nicely with a Blue-winged and Yellow Warbler along with Great Crested Flycatcher at Falzone. Nothing else at Lot 1, nothing on the boardwalk, no different sandpipers at BBN (Pec was there yesterday), and nothing on Mackerel. Rock Meadow was quiet. Greater Yellowlegs at the duck ponds appears to be my 150th bird on foot from home (Lesser was #149 earlier). Nothing else at Rock Meadow or BBN on the way back, walked down Trapelo instead of back through the West Meadow. Redstart and 3 Green Heron fledglings at Lot 1 on the way out.

Monday 8/26: One redstart was about it at Prospect Hill.

Tuesday 8/27: More of the same at Nobscot.