Boston 11/20

From Bob Stymeist:

On a BBC trip around Boston yesterday (Sun Nov 20) 7 members recorded 56 species which include FIVE WARBLER species:  Ovenbird at Post Office Square, the continuing Orange-crowned and Nashville warblers in the Fenway Victory Gardens (FVG). and a Common Yellowthroat and Yellow rumped also in the Fenway area. The Orange-crowned is TAIL less- maybe from a close encounter with one of the TWO Cooper's Hawks that are frequent there. At Post Office Square there were FOUR Hermit Thrushes together on the main lawn! It was a beautiful day with the temperature rising from a breezy 50 to a high of 72!

Canada Goose  1553  (700- Franklin, 250 UMass)

Brant  11

Black Duck  11

Mallard  197

Greater Scaup 140

Common Eider  30

Surf Scoter  22

White-winged Scoter  16

Black Scoter  1

Bufflehead  110

Common Goldeneye  81

Hooded Merganser  5

Red-breasted Merganser  26

Ruddy Duck  1  (Franklin Pk.)

Wild Turkey  7  (BNC)

Red-throated Loon  1

Horned Grebe  13

Double-crested Cormorant  35

Great Blue Heron  3

Cooper's Hawk  2  (FVG)

Red-tailed Hawk  6

Peregrine Falcon  2  (PO SQ)

American Coot   18

Ring-billed Gull  148

Herring Gull  48

Great Black-backed Gull  15

Rock Pigeon  55

Mourning Dove  18

Downy Woodpecker  8

Northern Flicker  1

Blue Jay  17

American Crow  3

Fish Crow  4  (Mattapan)

Black-capped Chickadee  26

Tufted Titmouse  5

White-breasted Nuthatch  6

Brown Creeper  1  (Olmsted Pk.)

Carolina Wren  1

Hermit Thrush  4  (all PO SQ.)

American Robin  38

Northern Mockingbird  7

European Starling  450

Orange-crowned Warbler  1  (FVG)

NASHVILLE WARBLER   1  (FVG)
Yellow-rumped Warbler  1  (FVG)

OVENBIRD  1  (PO SQ)

Common Yellowthroat  1 (Fens- MFA)

Song Sparrow  18

Swamp Sparrow  1

White-throated Sparrow  26

Dark-eyed Junco  24

Northern Cardinal  7

Red-winged Blackbird  2  (BNC)

House Finch  15

American Goldfinch  6

House Sparrow   40

 

Cape Ann and West Newbury 11/13

From Bill Drummond:

Dear Friends,
We had a fine birding day together, Sunday, Nov. 13 beginning at Fisherman's Monument in Gloucester.   Four gentlemen from Ottawa , who had come done for the pelagic trip out of Cape Cod (postpone until next weekend) were looking for the standard Cape Ann birds and also wanted to try for the Barnacle Goose at West Newbury.    Marj Watson and Dave Hursh quickly agreed to lead that group later in the day.    They were successful and many people , including the four from Ottawa, picked up a life bird.   There were also several Snow Geese and one of them was a Blue Goose.   Great team effort!
At Cape Ann we had the standard birds.  In Rockport  at Emerson Rocks there were about 40 Harlequin Ducks and then when we went to Andrew's Point there were about 40 more!   You always wonder if the same ones have moved back and forth!   There were several Purple Sandpipers at Emerson Rocks.   Several Razorbills flew by at Andrew's but we saw none in the water.  Our best  views of Black Guillemots were at Bass Rocks in Gloucester.  As expected in November, we had fine looks at Red-throated Loons.    It was a wonderful warm day at Cape Ann in November and a great day to be out together.

Good birding, everyone!

New Hampshire Seacoast 11/6

From Steve Mirick:

Jane and I led our annual November field trip today for the Brookline 
Bird Club.

We covered the coast including Hampton Harbor, Hampton Beach State Park, 
Bicentennial Park, Eel Pond, Ragged Neck, Odiorne Point State Park, and 
finishing trip at Sunset Farm on Great Bay. It was (as it has been in 
past years) a tough day for land birds as many birds have cleared out 
since last weekend. And unfortunately, the nice birds on Great Bay were 
distant and difficult to see in late afternoon as heat shimmer and winds 
made viewing difficult. Nevertheless, a great (and big!) group of folks 
and a nice warm day to get out and stretch our legs and see some birds.

8:00 AM to 2:30 PM
30 +/- participants
Clear and mild
40F-60F winds SW 5 to 15 knots.
Rough seas offshore moderated a bit later in afternoon.
62 Species

Brant - Nice views of 3 off Hampton Beach.
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
EURASIAN WIGEON - 3 adult males on Great Bay. Distant, but distinct 
blurry blobs in the distance.
American Wigeon - A small number of distant blurry blobs on Great Bay.
American Black Duck - Including 2 doing head-bob courtship and then 
COPULATING on Eel Pond!
Mallard
Greater Scaup - Distant blurry flock on Great Bay.
Common Eider
Surf Scoter - Some nice views at Odiorne.
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck - Female close to Route 1 on Eel Pond.
Red-throated Loon - Lots along coast. Some fine views at Odiorne. 
Migration not clearly noted, but a nice flock of 5 seen migrating.
Common Loon - Lots along coast.
Pied-billed Grebe - 5 (!) on Eel Pond in Rye. Good count for pond.
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe - Nice views at Odiorne.
Northern Gannet - Only distant views.
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron - ONLY 1! And this was on Great Bay. (In contrast to 
10 we counted yesterday on coast!)
Turkey Vulture - A couple for the day.
Northern Harrier - Seen by Steve Bennett's car in Seabrook.
Cooper's Hawk - 1 young bird in Hampton.
Red-tailed Hawk - A few along coast.
American Coot - Nice flock continues on Eel Pond including 1 feeding on 
grasses near Route 1.
Black-bellied Plover - Including nice continuing LEUCISTIC BIRD seen 
from Yankee Fisherman's Coop in Seabrook.
Semipalmated Plover - 6 lingering birds in Seabrook.
Sanderling - Nice numbers from a couple of spots.
White-rumped Sandpiper - 1 flyover seen by Ben Griffith. There were 7 
lingering birds yesterday.
Dunlin
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Black Guillemot - 1 bird seen (between dives) at Odiorne Point State Park.
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher - 1 on Great Bay only.
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1 at Sunset Farm on Great Bay.
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark - 4 with buntings at Hampton Beach SP.
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin - Great flight of 750+ flying south along Route 1 in 
Seabrook in morning. Not sure if these were true migrants or birds 
coming from morning roost.
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Lapland Longspur - 2 for the day including nice prolonged close views at 
Odiorne. Another with flock of buntings at Hampton Beach SP.
Snow Bunting - 150 including flock of 145+ at Hampton Beach SP.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Tree Sparrow - 1 at Yankee Fisherman's Coop in Seabrook.
Savannah Sparrow
Savannah "Ipswich" Sparrow - 2 in dunes of Hampton Beach State Park.
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco - Only 1 for the day!
Red-winged Blackbird - 1
House Finch
Pine Siskin - 1 flyover at Odiorne heard by me only. But I don't know 
that anyone had any Goldfinches!!
House Sparrow

Also.......

Harbor Seal - Several
Gray Seal - One off Odiorne

Clouded Sulphur - A few
Orange Sulphur - One
Cabbage White - A few
Monarch - One reported by Jon Woolf

Odonates - 0 :-(

Bourne and Falmouth 11/6

From Bob Stymeist:

Some of the highlights from a BBC trip covering the Bourne- Falmouth area on Sunday starting at Scusett Beach- Herring Pond in Bournedale to Catamet. Pocasset and Megansett villages of Bourne to North and West Falmouth. A total of 75 species were noted

Highlights:

Merlin-2  one of which tried to get a Greater Yellowlegs- a bit too big and the yellowlegs dove in and the Merlin came up with a talon full of grass- great dive though!

American Coot- 100+  Herring Pond

Fish Crow- several at the Bourne Mc Donald's- Friendly's parking lot

Carolina Wren 17

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3

Hermit Thrush 5

Chipping Sparrow 2

Field Sparrow  5

Lakes of Wakefield and Lynnfield 11/6

From Dave Williams:

Birds seen on this beautiful Sunday morning trip included:

Lake Quannapowit
Pied-billed grebe - 1
Double-crested cormorant - 1
Canada goose - 75
Wood duck - 3
Mallard - 11
Ruddy duck - 1
Red-tailed hawk - 1
Ring-billed gull - 32
Herring gull - 5
Junco - 4
Song sparrow - 1
Mockingbird - 1

Crystal Lake, Wakefield
Pied-billed grebe - 1
Mute swan - 3
Wood duck - 3
Mallard - 7
Ring-necked duck - 3
Bufflehead - 2
Hooded mergansers - 3
Ruddy duck - 3
Golden-crowned kinglet - 2
Yellow-rumped warbler - 1

Lynnfield Marsh
Red-tailed hawk - 1
Canada geese - 85
Hooded merganser - 2
Coot - 150
Bald eagle - 1
Swamp sparrow - 1

Suntog Resevoir, Lynnfield
Great blue heron - 1
Mute swan - 1
Ring-necked duck - 11
Lesser Scaup - 17
Scaup species - 11
Bufflehead - 3
Hooded merganser - 5
Ruddy duck - 48
Coot - 38
Bald eagle - 2  1 of them was probably the bird we saw earlier at Lynnfield Marsh

Essex to Salisbury 11/5

From Ida Giriunas:

Greetings:

Highlights of the 11/5/11 trip from Island Rd in Essex through Ipswich , then to Salisbury, Scotland Rd in Newbury,  Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury and finally to Plum Island consisted of several enthusiastic birders, of hot sider and sider doughnuts at Russell’s Winery, looking out over Pavilion Beach in Ipswich and trying to I.D. all the ocean ducks  (lots of Eider, 3 species of Scoter, grebes, etc.)  over 2 dozen drake Hooded Mergansers in breeding plumage in Clark’s Pond in Ipswich, many ducks in all the ponds, tripping over 2 or3 AMERICAN WOODCOCK in the Salisbury pine grove, seeing our first SNOW BUNTINGS of the winter , getting a report of the CATTLE EGRET on Scotland Road and seeing it (Thanks, Linda F. and Doug), seeing our first TREE SPARROWS of the winter on Plum Island and the wonderful treat of all the shore birds at Emerson Rocks including the Godwits and Red Knots.    Total species seen were 68.

Fairhaven 11/5

From Bob Stymeist:

I was leading a BBC trip to Fairhaven today, after a cold and windy start at 7:30- eight of us had a wonderful time doing the thickets and shores of Sconiticut Neck talling 83 species and only traveling 18 miles- 5 on foot and 13 in the car!! Five warbler species in November is noteworthy and all of us got good looks at all including the chat. After the trip a Yellow-billed Cuckooo was seen on Shaw Road.

Sconiticut Neck, Fairhaven, Bristol, US-MA
Nov 5, 2011 7:30 AM - 3:45 PM
Protocol: Traveling
18.0 mile(s)
Comments:     5 miles on foot 13 by car Bike path and Neck chilly and windy 40-55F
83 species

Canada Goose  280
Mute Swan  2
Gadwall  2
American Black Duck  58
Mallard  12
Greater Scaup  32
Common Eider  20
Surf Scoter  16
White-winged Scoter  26
Long-tailed Duck  14
Bufflehead  64
Common Goldeneye  2
Hooded Merganser  5
Red-breasted Merganser  460     large concentration=- only a part of what was probably present
Red-throated Loon  2
Common Loon  4
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Horned Grebe  34
Red-necked Grebe  3
Double-crested Cormorant  18
Great Cormorant  6
Great Blue Heron  5
Turkey Vulture  1
Northern Harrier  3
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Cooper's Hawk  3
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Red-tailed Hawk  4
American Coot  8
Black-bellied Plover  4
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Sanderling  6
Dunlin  1
Bonaparte's Gull  20
Laughing Gull  6
Ring-billed Gull  X
Herring Gull  X
Great Black-backed Gull  8
Common Tern  5     Part of a feeding frenzy of birds off West Island- which included several Bonies, Laughing Gulls as well as others
Forster's Tern  2     Part of a feeding frenzy of birds off West Island- which included several Bonies, Laughing Gulls as well as others
Rock Pigeon  46
Mourning Dove  17
Eastern Screech-Owl  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Downy Woodpecker  14
Northern Flicker  6
Blue Jay  5
American Crow  14
Black-capped Chickadee  16
Tufted Titmouse  5
White-breasted Nuthatch  3
Carolina Wren  24     ACTUAL COUNT
Winter Wren  2
Golden-crowned Kinglet  1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Eastern Bluebird  2
Hermit Thrush  4
American Robin  95
Gray Catbird  10     Actual count- less than usual at this location
Northern Mockingbird  11     Seven together - part of family group
Brown Thrasher  1
European Starling  390
Cedar Waxwing  22
Orange-crowned Warbler  1
Blackpoll Warbler  1
Palm Warbler  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler  19
Yellow-breasted Chat  1
Eastern Towhee  3
Field Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow  1
Fox Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  38
Swamp Sparrow  7
White-throated Sparrow  86
Dark-eyed Junco  5
Northern Cardinal  38
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Baltimore Oriole  1
House Finch  77     Probably twice as many!!!  Everywhere!1
American Goldfinch  16
House Sparrow  66