Hometown Birds

A bit behind on this, but I got two new birds for Waltham this week.

I headed to Met State (which I should really start referring to as Beaver Brook North now) Tuesday on my way to work. I planned to loop around the marsh but turkeys were displaying on Turner Field so I left them alone and headed up the hill. I found my first Wilson’s Warbler of the year up near the Gaebler building and then wandered down to the middle section.

Down below, I heard a song that I wasn’t placing. Chasing after it for a few minutes, I finally located the singer: a Tennessee Warbler, which is only my second in Waltham. The views weren’t the best but I was quite happy. I was even happier a minute later when it flew to squabble with another bird, which showed the orange throat of a Blackburnian Warbler, #175 in Waltham! Unfortunately, both disappeared quickly.

Thursday, I headed for Prospect Hill. I thought the radar had looked good, but there were very few birds around. Several Indigo Buntings were singing and I had a couple of the common warblers. I decided to try the Pine Ledges Trail, which I only recently noticed. I believe that it ends inside my BBA block, so I wanted to go down to the end and see about accessing it without a long hike down the side of the hill. I found the end and started back up without seeing or hearing much of anything. Almost back at the top, I realized that the song I had heard on the way down was a bit odder than I had originally thought and decided that I should bushwhack up the hill and find the source.

It took a bit of effort to track down, but was well worth it when I found a Hooded Warbler! I got a quick view as it moved through the trees before deciding to get out into the open and try to look back. That turned out to not work, so I bushwhacked back in and was able to watch it for a minute. Not only my first for Waltham, but the first one I’ve found on my own in Massachusetts. That made it an excellent day, regardless of the lack of everything else.

Since I don’t take my camera to work, the previous post holds.

Birdathon report coming (which will mostly be insect photos) but since I have to be at Mt. Auburn at 6AM tomorrow (likely in the rain), so that will take some time.