Tag: weekinreview

Wednesday 6/4: Rock Meadow survey got canceled as we thought it was raining too heavily. Rain promptly stopped, so both Bob and I ended up at Great Meadows, although nothing exciting.

Thursday 6/5: Survey squeezed in between the fog clearing and rain starting. Nothing different and nothing else for the rest of the day.

Friday 6/6: Went to explore a bit in Weston, but the area I thought was on the right side of the line along 117 turned out to be almost all Lincoln land trust land. Nice place though with a River Jewelwing and Marsh Bluets in addition to the regular birds. Cat Rock Park after had more of the same and the parent ravens flying over.

Saturday 6/7: Poked around the duck ponds midday without anything of interest.

Sunday 6/8: Minuteman survey (very) early. Couldn’t get a Veery this year and all the singing redstarts shut up doing the actual survey periods but otherwise fairly good. Scanned for Least Bittern at the tower at Great Meadows for a few minutes after with no luck and then jogged a short distance down the trail for some close Virginia Rails (but no Sora).

Monday 6/9: Busy with other things.

Tuesday 6/10: BBN to Lot 1: 2+ ravens and a Painted Skimmer, not a whole lot else.

Wednesday 5/28: Rock Meadow survey in the rain was lousy. Went to Great Meadows after but only managed 2 Semipalmated Plovers.

Thursday 5/29: Wandered Lincoln a bit, nothing unusual. Crow mobbing a Red-tail and being mobbed by a Bobolink was interesting.

Friday 5/30: Habitat survey was quiet. Bob and I went up to Essex county after. Started with Yellow-throated Vireo, Alder Flycatcher, a few warblers, and 3 cuckoos at Martin Burns. Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers at Plum. 

And this:

Saturday 5/31: Wandered a bit in Bedford and then to the Cranberry Bog for odes. Not much of anything anywhere. Did get a few first of year odes including New England Bluet and Lilypad Forktail.

Sunday 6/1: Led a Great Meadows trip. Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a late coot were highlights.

Monday 6/2: Rock Meadow survey was overrun by young starlings. Walked through BBN with Bob after, 4 Blue-winged Warblers and a cuckoo were nice but a Fisher was a big highlight. Lousy photo but excellent views:

Tuesday 6/3: Habitat survey was fairly quiet. Went up to Dunstable for odes and stuff after. The good stuff (a spiketail and an interesting looking emerald) got away but the usual stuff was around.

Wednesday 5/21: Started at Rock Meadow, Prairie Warbler was nice but nothing else particularly exciting. Continued to Lone Tree Hill with a bit more of the same. Duck ponds similar as well.

Thursday 5/22: Redstart in the yard, Night-Heron on the Charles.

Friday 5/23: Cliff Swallow and 5 Least Sandpipers were about it at Great Meadows. Or so I thought…

Saturday 5/24: Led a walk at Prospect Hill: 4 loons, 5 ravens, 1 redstart, not a whole lot else.

Sunday 5/25: Started at BBN. Flyover Green Heron was about it to start (plus seeing the new parking area looking close to ready), so I headed over to the West Meadow and had a singing Alder Flycatcher (along with 2+ Willows and a Least plus the other expected flycatchers within a couple hundred yards). Back along BBN I added a Least (and a probable Canada Warbler). Tried one of the side trails and ended up on Concord Ave, so walked to Rock Meadow. Quiet there except for a Canada Warbler just before crossing the bridge back to BBN. Rest of the walk was fairly quiet beyond a calling cuckoo.

Monday 5/26: Great Meadows was quiet, as was Heard Pond. Sun finally came out so I moved on to Assabet River. Once things dried out, Harlequin Darners everywhere, 2 Ringed Boghaunters, a White Corporal, and a few others (but not the 17 species seen the day before).

Tuesday 5/27: Started with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling when I woke up. Habitat survey had a few Ovenbirds and thrushes (and a Luna Moth hindwing). Went to Prospect Hill later in the morning, lots of duskywings, Hobomok Skippers, etc.

Wednesday 5/14: Added 3 birds to my Charles list: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Ovenbird, and a frustrating Yellow-breasted Chat. I chased the chat up and down the edge of Flowed Meadow but never got a look.

 

Thursday 5/15: Horn Pond: Tennessee highlighted 13 warblers plus first of year Field Sparrow finally.

Friday 5/16: Started dodging traffic at the Cambridge Res and managed to flush the Horned(?) Grebe that was in close. Socialized at Mt. Auburn for an hour and a half before actually looking for birds (Swainson’s Thrush, Cape May and Bay-breasted about it). Ruddy at Hardy Pond but no luck refinding the grebe in two attempts. Also first of year pewee while looking for (and finally finding) ravens for birdathon.

Saturday 5/17: Birdathon. Not a bad day after the pouring rain. Twenty warblers including Louisiana Waterthrush, a few thrushes, flycatchers, etc. 101 total.

Sunday 5/18: Started for Rock Meadow but had a flat tire so walked to Lot 1. Canada (which we missed yesterday) and a few other things plus a nice Common Baskettail.

Monday 5/19: Got the tire fixed, so a quick check of Forest Grove was on order. Fairly quiet but Scarlet Tanager and Tennessee Warbler were nice. Since I was halfway to Nahanton, I decided the Prothonotary was worth a stop. Heard it singing across the river pretty quickly once I got down there but it took a few minutes to come back and then played hard to see (blaring away in the bush next to me and I only saw it after it moved further away).

Tuesday 5/20: Additional stuff at Plum included several Blackburnians and Bay-breasteds, a good number of other shorebirds, and some Brant. Never made it to the beaches though. Checked Hamlin Reserve for the White-faced Ibis after, only found 40 Glossies and another Blackburnian.

Wednesday 5/7: BBN again. Prairie in the middle of the woods was out of place, first of year GC Flycatcher, Six-spotted Tiger Beetle, etc.

Thursday 5/8: Great Meadows: 10 warblers including Magnolia, Nashville, and Ovenbird. Also Green Heron, Orchard Orioles, Virginia Rail, Greater Yellowlegs, Spotted and Least Sandpipers, Blue-headed Vireo (#200 for Concord!). Actual highlights were a Blanding’s Turtle and Mink.

Friday 5/9: Early trip to Arlington Res was pretty quiet. Solitary Sandpiper and a couple Bank Swallows were the only new things.

Saturday 5/10: One scaup still at the res in the morning rain. Juvenal’s Duskywing and not much else at the duck ponds in the afternoon.

Sunday 5/11: Led the Mt. Auburn trip. Birds everywhere so it was easy. Nineteen warblers including 3 Blackburnian, 2 Wilson’s, 3 Canada, and Cape May plus Broad-winged, 2 Osprey, Least Flycatcher, etc.

Monday 5/12: BBN had lots of warblers highlighted by a singing Tennessee along with a Black-billed Cuckoo. Springtime Darner and a Beaverpond Baskettail at Fort Pond Brook plus the usual elfins.

Tuesday 5/13: Warblers, warblers, and more warblers at Prospect Hill. Bay-breasted the best but so many common ones I had trouble sorting through. Also a loon over and a Springtime Darner. And an afternoon twitch.

Wednesday 4/30: Quick check of Hardy, the res, and Flint’s had nothing of interest. Stopped at Great Meadows and had a late American Tree Sparrow, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, and a kestrel. Plus a new bird for Great Meadows: Eastern Towhee.

Thursday 5/1: Same loop except I added Nine Acre briefly and went to the Beaver Brook ponds instead of Great Meadows. Pretty much the same nothing although the scaup and Bufflehead are now considered late.

Friday 5/2: Mt. Auburn was fairly quiet. Lots of cormorants overhead, a couple Black-and-whites, an oriole or two, and a grosbeak or two. Another Black-and-white and a kingbird at the duck ponds on the way home.

Saturday 5/3: Seven species of warbler at BBN plus a few other things including a Spring Azure.

Sunday 5/4: A few more warblers at Prospect Hill plus a distant Osprey and a towhee. Scaup still at the res, including a potential Lesser (plus 6 Ruddy). Yellow, Parula, and Yellow-rumps in the yard.

Monday 5/5: Early walk around Dunback: Harrier, calling Virginia Rail, Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, grosbeaks everywhere. Catbird in the yard.

Tuesday 5/6: Charles in Watertown had the usual. First of year night-herons plus a few warblers were the highlights.

Wednesday 4/23: Nothing new at Arlington Res although I barely was halfway around before it started raining.

Thursday 4/24: Nothing much at Hardy or the res.

Friday 4/25: Blue-headed Vireo and not much else at BBN.

Saturday 4/26: Was planning on waiting out the rain but lots of western/central Mass reports got me out late morning. Nothing new at Hardy. Four scaup started things off at the res. Nothing at the first opening but a few blobs further down were enough to get out the scope. The first one was a Long-tailed Duck and at least 5 others were Horned Grebes! Plus another 4 scaup.

Continued to Flint’s and Heard Ponds but nothing beyond swallows at either.

Sunday 4/27: Tern and other stuff.

Monday 4/28: Prospect Hill: ravens looked pretty big in the nest, 5 deer, not a whole lot else.

Tuesday 4/29: First Chimney Swifts at Purgatory Cove but not too much else.

Wednesday 4/16: Tern

Thursday 4/17: Rock Meadow and the duck ponds, lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a gnatcatcher at both.

Friday 4/18: Loon was the only bird on the water at Flint’s. Snipe and not much else at Nine Acre. More of the same at the res.

Saturday 4/19: Late afternoon trip to Great Meadows was fairly quiet, lots of Palms, Gnatcatchers, Yellow-rumps, Tree Swallows, and a few Barns.

Sunday 4/20: Gnatcatcher at Arlington Res was the only new thing there (suppose Common Mergansers too). Nothing much at the duck ponds.

Monday 4/21: BBN was pretty quiet, although I did get 4 year birds for Waltham (Gnatcatcher, Palm, Chipping, Savannah so not exactly exciting).

Tuesday 4/22: Nothing much at Dunback.

Wednesday 4/9: Pine Warbler, 2 Hermit Thrushes, and 3-6 Turkey Vultures at Prospect Hill and a Fox Sparrow at the duck ponds.

Thursday 4/10: Checked conditions at BBN and didn’t see much beyond a Turkey Vulture and a few Swamp Sparrows.

Friday 4/11: Palm Warblers and Barn Swallow at Arlington Res. Savannah Sparrows and nothing else at McClennen Park.

Saturday 4/12: Joined the MBC trip at Horn Pond, pretty quiet. Breeding plumaged Horned Grebe at the res on the way home. The less said about the Purgatory Cove trip in the afternoon, the better.

Sunday 4/13: Only able to get out for a couple minutes and didn’t find much of anything on the Cambridge Res or Flint’s.

Monday 4/14: Didn’t get out.

Tuesday 4/15: Loon at the res plus Arlington Res.

Wednesday 4/3: Walked around Forest Grove while waiting for an oil change. At least 2 Fox Sparrows, 4 scaup, etc. Quick drive through NAC after found fewer geese.

Thursday 4/4: Started the day with a Yellow-rump in the yard.

Decided to explore Bedford a bit (for the project). Started at Fawn Lake where the first two birds out of the car were a phoebe and Osprey. Also a big flock of Ring-necks with some Bufflehead and a Hooded Merganser mixed in, a bluebird, and a few other things. Walked the biking trail from there hoping to find Buehler’s Pond. I think I did, although it was totally frozen. Two Hermit Thrushes on the bike trail and a Barred Owl on a side trail made it worthwhile. From here I tried to find some conservation land along the river without luck and then went to the frozen pond behind Shawsheen cemetery. Finally, I stopped at Waltham St and flushed a snipe.

Friday 4/4: Started at Rock Meadow. Lots of Tree Swallows but not too much else most of the way around. Some scratching just before crossing to BBN had me expecting a Fox Sparrow. Instead, a catbird popped up! BBN was quiet, although I spent a good bit of time talking to Knut instead of birding as we went back to Rock Meadow and couldn’t refind the catbird. Quick check of the res had some scaup, but I didn’t feel like scoping to confirm as Greater. Mourning Cloak flyby along Trapelo.

Saturday 4/5: Confirmed the scaup as Greater plus had a Red-breasted Merganser at the res. Common Loon on Flint’s. Usual at Nine Acre. Tried to check Heard Pond but Pelham Island Rd was flooded so I continued to Forest Grove instead. A Rough-winged among the Tree Swallows and a single scaup were about it. Quick check of Hardy Pond on the way home had another scaup, 20+ Bufflehead, and 3 Ruddy.

Sunday 4/6: Joined the MBC trip to Arlington Res (4 snipe, 2 phoebe, etc). Quick check of the res and Hayden Woods after had nothing of note.

Monday 4/7: Cat Rock Park had a nice Fox Sparrow and I was able to see a raven landing on the Prospect Hill tower.

Tuesday 4/8: Checked the res and Flint’s and had almost nothing at both. Nine Acre was about the same. Spent 30 minutes at the tower at Great Meadows without much worth mentioning. At least one Rusty singing at the end of the street in the afternoon.