WIR 1/15-1/21

Wednesday 1/15: Was a nice morning so the Pine Warbler was chipping away. Not much else there, eagle and 4 Ring-necks down by Purgatory in a quick drive through.

Thursday 1/16: Too rainy, pond check came up pretty empty.

Friday 1/17: Too cold and running errands but 10 minutes along the river in Watertown didn’t find anything.

Saturday 1/18: Bit too cold for much walking. Res had a few mergs then a turkey dropping down from the office park. Wood Ducks but no scaup at Leverett Pond. That was because it moved to Jamaica Pond, so first county bird of the year. Also a few Greater Scaup, lots of Ring-necks, a few Ruddies here. Nothing much at Chestnut Hill. Hammond and Kendrick Ponds were frozen. Almost went to Nahanton for towhees but decided to just check the Charles quickly. Mallards, geese, and Ring-bills at Norumbega. Mallards at Charlesbank but one was part pintail, first male of that hybrid combo I’ve seen.

Pintail x Mallard

Sunday 1/19: Waltham St had 65(!) Red-wings. Dunback had another 12 but not much more.

Monday 1/20: Midday check of the Charles had a goldeneye by Newton St and the Pine Warbler (presumably the same one) at Landry Park.

Tuesday 1/21: Hermit Thrush was the only thing of any interest at Habitat, no luck with any Fox Sparrows.

WIR 1/8-1/14

Wednesday 1/8: Falzone had a GH Owl and the Yellow-rump Cliff had on the CBC.

Thursday 1/9: Hermit Thrush and a chipmunk at the Wayland Community Gardens.

Friday 1/10: Kingfisher and Merlin at Forest Grove.

Saturday 1/11: Nice Coyote near Forest St, then started at Alewife with a flyover eagle and 2 GW Teal. Continued to Draw Seven which had nothing, Sylvester Baxter which had the usual ducks, and Earhart where I talked to Bob and saw about what was at Draw Seven. We debated a coastal swing in the wind but I decided to try Fresh Pond instead, which was pretty quiet too.

Sunday 1/12: Eagle at Hardy. Went out to get the RH Woodpecker for January, which was easy. Also had a pair of ravens and a few other things. Did the Middlesex bit of Oxbow after, nothing of note there. And nothing much at School St, Flint’s, or the res.

Monday 1/13: Nothing in the snow at BBN.

Tuesday 1/14: Chipping Sparrow (almost expected at this point) at College Pond.

WIR 1/1-1/7

Wednesday 1/1: Joined the BBC trip as usual. Was a bit cold and windy but Snowy Owl, Turkey Vulture, and King Eider were nice.

Thursday 1/2: Started with a long loop of BBN, didn’t find much beyond 2 Winter Wrens. Had some time to check Purgatory and Forest Grove after, Peregrine was the best there.

Friday 1/3: Two Yellow-rumps at Dunback.

Saturday 1/4: Common Mergansers and Ring-billed Gulls it at Spy Pond. Got the whole(?) Chipping Sparrow flock at Meadowbrook plus a couple Red-wings. Mystic Lakes were pretty much empty, except way up at Sandy Beach where there were a couple Wood Duck in addition to mergansers and Bufflehead. Nothing at Draw Seven and not much more across the river. Ring-neck at the res in the fog.

Sunday 1/5: Did a loop out to Nagog then through Nine Acre etc without seeing anything. Continued to Norumbega which had a few ducks, then nothing at the res.

Monday 1/6: Got the Virginia Rail and a Marsh Wren at Great Meadows but no Sora.

Tuesday 1/7: Nothing much at Moody St or Purgatory.

WIR 12/25-12/31

Wednesday 12/25: Very quiet CBC scouting at Ricci Field. Nothing in a quick check of Hanscom, then nothing at School St. Lots of Canadas at Nine Acre (and the prison field, although those weren’t checked overly carefully). Deer lying on the ice at the res but no birds beyond gulls.

Thursday 12/26: Did a Cape Ann run finally this year. Halibut wasn’t too exciting, 11+ Yellow-rumps the best land bird and the usual sea things. Andrews had a flyby Dovekie. Usual at the various Gloucester stops, finally got a guillemot for December at the Elks Club. Decided to try Andrews again and see if the King Eider was showing but the only thing of note was another guillemot. A few Brant at Plum Cove rounded out the day.

Friday 12/27: Went to Great Meadows. Flyover pipit, 3 Winter Wrens, and finally heard one of the Virginia Rails the survey group had yesterday.

Saturday 12/28: “Scouting” for the Concord CBC, did almost the whole loop. Phoebe at Ricci was by far the best but decent numbers all around. Went back out to Ayer and got the RH Woodpecker after.

Sunday 12/29: No phoebe but I think that was the only bird I missed. Added Field Sparrow, turkey, Hairy Woodpecker too.

Monday 12/30: Far too nasty but did pull in at Heard Pond and had a Great Black-back on the ice, 152 for the SRV commute year.

Tuesday 12/31: Too nasty, usual stuff in the yard.

WIR 12/18-12/24

Wednesday 12/18: Was nice out so of course the Pine Warbler was chipping away along the river. One of two count week birds along the Charles today and not quite as good as the Townsend’s found in Watertown. Also a Ruddy and otherwise about the same.

Thursday 12/19: Too cold, did scan the res very quickly, nothing new.

Friday 12/20: Busy

Saturday 12/21: Finally tried for the Townsend’s, no luck obviously. Nothing terribly exciting along the river, RC Kinglet was the most exciting at Mt. Auburn after.

Sunday 12/22: Usual at Horn Pond. Goldeneye on Upper Mystic Lake was surprisingly a first for me on the lakes. Only found one of the Chipping Sparrows at Meadowbrook. Very little open water on the res, Ring-neck, couple Hoodies, couple goldeneye, and a few gulls.

Monday 12/23: Riverwalk was dead.

Tuesday 12/24: Started by Watertown Square again. No Townsend’s but got the Yellow-rump and catbird that had been seen over the last few days. Continued to the east and had another Yellow-rump. Continued from there to Magazine Beach for some reason, which was totally dead.

WIR 12/11-12/17

Wednesday 12/11: Nothing exciting in the yard.

Thursday 12/12: Eagle flying over BBN was a very overdue patch bird.

Friday 12/13: Barred Owl about it at Dunback.

Saturday 12/14: Thought it was going to be a washout, but the rain stopped late morning. Started for the res, realized it was fogged in, so went up to Norumbega and worked my way down to the river walk, finding nothing at any point. It had gotten quite a bit brighter so headed back to the res to find it still foggy. Did pick out a few Ring-necks and goldeneye but I’m sure most of the birds were out of view.

Sunday 12/15: Greater Boston CBC in the wind. Quiet at Dunback, missed a Yellow-rump at Lot 1. A distant scaup at Hardy Pond, so we drove around and walked in from Graverson. Scaup confirmed as a Lesser then a Field Sparrow popped up on the way out, both new for the sector. Nothing terribly exciting after that, field station, Gore, and along the river.

Monday 12/16: Wasn’t windy so of course I found 4 species at BBN that we missed yesterday: Chipping Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, and Hairy Woodpecker.

Tuesday 12/17: Snowed in.

WIR 12/4-12/10

Wednesday 12/4: Nothing on a quick buzz of Cambridge Res.

Thursday 12/5: Wood Duck among the regulars at Pelham Island Rd.

Friday 12/6: Quiet on the riverwalk.

Saturday 12/7: Same ducks on the res. Slogged through the snow at both ends of Waltham St and found nothing. Mostly the usuals at Moody St but a chip alerted me to a Pine Warbler. Chased the meadowlarks at Hanscom without any luck.

Sunday 12/8: Tried for the meadowlarks again, only had 4 Field Sparrows and an eagle. Another eagle plus a GB Heron at the res, which was close to freezing over.

Monday 12/9: Merlin and 3 Wood Ducks at Forest Grove.

Tuesday 12/10: Barred Owl at Lot 1.

WIR 11/27-12/3

Wednesday 11/27: Winter Wren and not much else at the West Meadow.

Thursday 11/28: Looped out as far as Nagog without anything of note.

Friday 11/29: Charles by Watertown Square was pretty quiet. Nothing exciting at Torbert McDonald, nothing at Draw Seven. Eventually found Jonathan’s Long-tailed Duck by the casino but no interesting sparrows. Big Ring-neck flock at the res but nothing else among them beyond Hoodies.

Saturday 11/30: Made the brilliant decision to try Wachusett Res. Freezing, windy, and pretty birdless. Rail trail had very little and no hybrid hawk. Gave up and worked my way home, stopping at Fort Meadow Res, Hager Pond, Heard Pond, and Norumbega without much.

Sunday 12/1: Usual at the res. Rusty, Winter Wren, and a Yellow-rump among the usual at Dunback. A good 50+ Red-wings at Waltham St as I drove by. Apparently walked by the Lark Sparrow at Earhart, got the Long-tail for December, then found the sparrow on the way back. Hundred+ mergansers on Spy Pond plus a few Ruddy, Hardy almost frozen.

Monday 12/2: Snowed in, White-throat, junco, Song Sparrow about it.

Tuesday 12/3: Snowed in, 2 Song Sparrows but no White-throat.

WIR 11/20-11/26

Wednesday 11/20: Fish Crows and a Fox Sparrow at Forest Grove.

Thursday 11/21: Late(ish) catbird and lots of blackbirds at Dunback.

Friday 11/22: Made it back to Farm Pond. Snow Bunting on the causeway, eagle over, creeper at the other end.

Saturday 11/23: After a quick check of the res, went down for the Franklin’s Gull. No luck (I sort of assumed it was long gone), so went to Great Pond next. Usual big flock of diving ducks but not a ton else, Palm Warbler the highlight. Made a quick scan for the Snow Goose then started towards the Barnacle (but without checking directions, so I just headed back towards the gull). Saw John and Audrey scanning as I drove by, then while I stopped to check details noticed it had been reported again so doubled back. Nice to walk up to a bird in the scope. Watched for a bit, then went to the other side of the golf course for better views. Quick stop picked up the Barnacle Goose too, then home with a very quick confirmation the the Snow flock was elsewhere still.

Sunday 11/24: Too rainy for anything but a pond loop. Nothing at the res, flock of cowbirds but no interesting geese at Nine Acre, Ruddies at Spy, eagle at Mystic Lakes, RN Grebe at Fresh Pond, nothing at Hardy.

Monday 11/25: Another catbird and not a whole lot out at Hanscom/Gaining Ground.

Tuesday 11/26: Barrett’s Mill had 2 Field Sparrows among a lot of more common stuff. Lots of Canadas and pigeons at Wetherbee.

WIR 11/13-11/19

Wednesday 11/13: Pond loop had a few Ring-necks at the res and nothing elsewhere.

Thursday 11/14: Nothing much at Purgatory.

Friday 11/15: Yellow-rump and a late Phoebe at BBN.

Saturday 11/16: Too cold for much, so another pond loop. Lots of Ring-necks and Hoodies at the res. First bird I saw at Flint’s was some sort of Hooded Merganser hybrid that’s still under debate.Nothing at Nine Acre or the prison fields. More mergs at Nagog and more of the same at Hardy.

Sunday 11/17: Plan was to poke around a bit then hope for better photos of yesterday’s thing. Res had more Ring-necks and a few wigeon. Nothing at Spy Pond. Red-necked Grebe and a loon at Fresh Pond. Nothing at Earhart. Decided to go to Millennium for the Audubon’s Warbler. PB Grebe and lots of sparrows as I walked over, warbler showed briefly immediately then disappeared (MA #384.5). Saw the White-fronted Goose report so headed to Nine Acre on the way to Flint’s. Got the geese and a harrier, but no duck at Flint’s (without getting out of the car).

Monday 11/18: Nothing new at the res. Duck was back at Flint’s, geese were still at Nine Acre, nothing at Heard.

Tuesday 11/19: Too rainy to do anything but another pond loop. Usual at Hardy. RT Loon at the res, nothing at Heard.