eBird Report - Hubbardston Wildlife Management Area , 5/21/10

I decided to take up the offer and join Lydia Rogers and Dan Stimson of Sudbury Valley Trustees on a ramble through the woods and wetlands of Hubbardston Wildlife Management Area. This was my first time being there and was looking forward to the experience! While Dan and Lydia were focused on tracking animals that had been through the area (ie fox, deer, moose, raccoon, porcupine, beaver, etc.), I of course was interested to see/hear what birds could be found there! I would have to say Hubbardston is as diverse bird-wise as Bolton Flats is, though of course, there are is a much greater wooded area than the aforementioned.

Highlights of the excursion (from Noon to 4 pm) were the Black-throated Blue and Green Warblers, Eastern Wood-Pewees (though sadly, only heard....damn foliage) and my truly ultimate "Nemesis Bird", the Winter Wren (again, only heard....boooooo). I am so mesmerized and enthralled by that wee-little wren's explosive, complex and long song....just amazing....yet, sadly, no matter how many times I have heard that dastardly little bird (like the numerous Winter Wrens heard up at Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge in Jefferson, NH), I can NEVER GET ON IT!! GAAARR!!! Oh well, such is life. However, I plan on getting on one at Pondicherry....it will occur goddammit! Okay, enough ranting. Hubbardston is a wonderful area, comprised of "600 acres of hills and valleys" of "mixed hardwood and conifer forest interspersed with agricultural and brushy fields with some alder and grass hummock marshes" (State of MA Fish & Wildlife). Please note, do bring some bug spray and prepare to do a little bushwhacking (plenty of fallen trees down, probably still from the ice storm of 2008)!!

Directions: take Route 2 west to Exit 25 for Routes 2A & 140. Take 140 S/2A W briefly, then take a right onto 2A W/Main St. (at traffic light for on-ramp to Route 2 eastbound). About .75 miles on 2A, take a left onto South St. Follow this road (South St. will become New Westminster Road at Mare Meadow Reservoir) for a total of 6.4 miles. There will be a parking lot on your road just before the bridge spanning Joslin Brook. (Please note, there is a placeholder for a sign that would mention you are at Hubbardston WMA, but at present, it is not up yet.)

Location:     Hubbardston Wildlife Management Area
Observation date:     5/21/10

Notes:     Please note we only heard the following species: Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Brown Creeper and Winter Wren.

Number of species:     24

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     1
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura     2
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     1
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon     1
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus     1

Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus     1 (heard only)
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens     3 (heard only, but unmistakable)

Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus     3
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus     2
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     1
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     2
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     3

Brown Creeper - Certhia americana     1 (heard only)
Winter Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes     1 (heard only.....damn you little bird!!)

Veery - Catharus fuscescens     2
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     1
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens     2
Black-throated Green Warbler - Dendroica virens     4
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla     5
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     6
Scarlet Tanager - Piranga olivacea     3
Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana     1
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     3
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula     1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/massaudubon/)