eBird Report - 83 Hartwell Avenue, Littleton, MA 01460 , 5/29/10

Its been a pretty lax day in terms of being productive (it is Memorial Day Weekend after all), so thusly, boredom set in whilst at home. Henceforth, I decided to take a little stroll around the yard this evening and was blessed with some good birds, like a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER that is still kicking around that had arrived earlier this week. A RED-EYED VIREO was singing his heart out in our front yard, and the CAROLINA WRENS were still scrapping with the 2 resident HOUSE WRENS over the bluebird box that is in our backyard. It seems the Carolinas have become content with checking out the brush piles and shrubbery along the borders of our backyard. One pair of the 2 pairs of ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS that have made our area home made an appearance during the time I was outside (5:30 to 6 pm), happily munching away at the main bird feeder (black sunflower seed). A RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH was chillin' along our western border of the yard (facing Proctor Hill) in the pines (though pines surround our entire front and back yard). Not too shabby I would say. Just a pleasant evening mingling (of sorts) with our fine-feathered friends! Happy birding to all!!


Location:     83 Hartwell Avenue, Littleton, MA 01460
Observation date:     5/29/10
Number of species:     18

Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     2
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens     1
Great Crested Flycatcher - Myiarchus crinitus     1
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus     1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     4
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor     5
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis     1
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     2
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus     3
House Wren - Troglodytes aedon     2
American Robin - Turdus migratorius     2
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     1
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos     1
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis     2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Pheucticus ludovicianus     2
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     1
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis     6

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

eBird Report - Great Meadows NWR--Concord Unit, 5/26/10 - Numerous Marsh Wrens....JOY!

I must tell ya, Marsh Wrens are my absolute favorite wren! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all the wrens I come across immensely, but the Marsh takes the cake! Its gurgling, rattling, rolling trill makes me smile and laugh every time! And when it does pop out of the reeds, it flits around sporadically and on occasion will fly kinda like a miniature hovercraft from one section of reeds to another, gurgling the whole time! Man, ya just got to love all wrens....just zany, crazy, spunky little birds!

Anyhow, so yes, that was my highlight for today at Great Meadows NWR in Concord, being there from 8:30 am to 11 am. Sadly, no Moorhens, no Coots, no Pied-billed Grebe or Least Bittern (though I thought I might have heard the bittern's call, but am not confident about it). I must've been just a little too late in the morning. Plus, it was a bit sticky and fairly warm, and by the time I left, it was already about 90 out (its 94 now in Littleton, as of 1 pm). It was also a distinct pleasure to come across another Willow Flycatcher....just love their song (ritz-BEW!) And it was also sweet to see another small flock of another fave bird of mine, the Cedar Waxwing (Bohemians are just as amazing!). Well, enough from me, enjoy your day everybody and happy birding!

Location:     Great Meadows NWR--Concord Unit
Observation date:     5/26/10
Notes:     Marsh Wrens mainly found along center dike trail bisecting the Upper and Lower Pools, but also a few along both dike trails that parallel the Concord River; relatively small flock of Cedar Waxwings found along dike trail parallel to concord on the Lower Pool side; Willow Flycatcher found in wetlands in between Concord River and Lower Pool in small copse of deciduous trees.
Number of species:     37

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     24
Mute Swan - Cygnus olor     4
Wood Duck - Aix sponsa     3
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     3
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus     3
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     4
Osprey - Pandion haliaetus     1 (seen flying over small creek that empties from the Lower Pool)
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis     1
Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes     2
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus     1
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens     2
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens     1 (Timber Trail)
Willow Flycatcher - Empidonax traillii     1 (Lower Pool Dike Trail)
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe     1 (Bathrooms)
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus     2
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus     1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     2
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     6
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica     2 (buzzing by me along middle of center dike trail)
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     7
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     3
Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris     11
American Robin - Turdus migratorius     6
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     2
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum     11
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia     2
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla     1 (Timber Trail)
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     1 (near Overlook Tower)
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina     6
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     3
Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana     1
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis     2
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     46
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula     27
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula     1
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis     9

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

eBird Report - Martin Burns WMA, 5/23/10 - Olive-sided Flycatcher - NO, Luna Moth - YES

After spending about 6 hours at Plum, Kirk and myself ventured over to Martin Burns WMA in Byfield for 2.5 hours to see if we could chance upon the Olive-sided Flycatchers that had been seen there recently. Sadly, chance upon we did not. Nonetheless, Martin Burns WMA is another wonderful property managed by the State of MA Div. of Fisheries & Wildlife....in fact, I daresay I like it more than Bolton Flats WMA! Just wonderful habitat allowing for all sorts of birds and insects there. Highlights were FOY INDIGO BUNTINGS, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Prairie Warblers! After such a great day, I nonetheless felt incredibly drained thanks to not protecting myself from the effects of the sun and cursing the meteorologists, for I thought they had forecasted mostly cloudy conditions with a slight chance of showers in the afternoon. Kirk and I joined up with Brian Cassidy (?) with his assumed better-half and John (Nelson?), and while together, we came across a LUNA MOTH, though it was in pretty rough shape, but it was the first Luna Moth I have ever seen! Good luck to those who try to find the Olive-sided Flycatchers, I hope you have better luck than we did!


Location:     Martin Burns WMA
Observation date:     5/23/10
Number of species:     24

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     1
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura     3
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens     1
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus     1
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     1
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     1
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius     3
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     2
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum     5
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia     1
Chestnut-sided Warbler - Dendroica pensylvanica     3
Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor     2
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     2
Scarlet Tanager - Piranga olivacea     1
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus     2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     1
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea     3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     2
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula     1
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula     2
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis     3

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

eBird Report - Parker River NWR, 5/23/10 - 4 more Lifers!

Today's weather sure was interesting during our time at Plum. Kirk nor myself expected the island to be socked in like it was with fog and mist, but it surely was! Despite this, it was still a good day of birding at Plum (it usually is this time of year anyhow).

I was able to obtain 4 more Life birds today, that being several COMMON TERNS (yes, I did not have a single tern up until today...I rarely get out to the seacoast), a SORA (absolutely fantastic looks along Marsh Loop, the little bugger walking along near the left side of the boardwalk going towards the old blind), a WILLOW FLYCATCHER ("fitz-bew"!), and 2 cute little PIPING PLOVERS at Sandy (and yes, I know Sandy Point is not a part of Parker River)!

I would write more about our time at Plum, but I am thoroughly exhausted (the sun kicked my gluteus maximus, and yes, its my own fault).

Also, please note that a SANDWICH TERN was observed at Sandy Point around mid-morning (sadly, we could not get on him; Wetmore received a call while Kirk, myself and a bunch of fellow birders, including that of Wetmore were trying to get on a Canada and Mourning Warbler that had been seen down close to the old blind) and Kirk and I also couldn't get on the Roseate Terns that were there (either they had all moved on or the fog obscured our chances of seeing them). We also ran across Pamela Sowizral at Hellcat, and we could not get on birds that she came across, like the Least Bittern (heard) and Virginia Rails down along the Marsh Loop. Wilson's Phalaropes had been seen down in Bill Forward Pool somewhat near the dike, but we also could not get on them (again too late....just bad timing for us I guess).

Anyhoo, happy birding everyone!

Location:     Parker River NWR
Observation date:     5/23/10
Number of species:     48

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     8
Mute Swan - Cygnus olor     1
American Black Duck - Anas rubripes     4
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     6
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus     3
Great Egret - Ardea alba     2
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula     3
Sora - Porzana carolina     1
Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus     2
Piping Plover - Charadrius melodus     2
Willet (Eastern) - Tringa semipalmata semipalmata     3
Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes     1
Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla     5
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis     1
Common Tern - Sterna hirundo     7
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     2
Willow Flycatcher - Empidonax traillii     1
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus     12
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus     2
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     1
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     2
Purple Martin - Progne subis     4
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     2
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica     1
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     1
Marsh Wren - Cistothorus palustris     1
American Robin - Turdus migratorius     4
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     6
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos     1
Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum     3
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum     2
Northern Parula - Parula americana     1
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata     1
Black-throated Green Warbler - Dendroica virens     1
Blackburnian Warbler - Dendroica fusca     1
Blackpoll Warbler - Dendroica striata     1
American Redstart - Setophaga ruticilla     1
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     3
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus     5
Swamp Sparrow - Melospiza georgiana     1
Bobolink - Dolichonyx oryzivorus     3
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     32
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula     21
Brown-headed Cowbird - Molothrus ater     1
Baltimore Oriole - Icterus galbula     1
American Goldfinch - Carduelis tristis     4
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus     2

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