eBird Report - Rock House Reservation, 7/4/10 - Quite the variety near da Quabbin!!

It is often best for anyone to visit new places and experience new sights as often as one can, for there is just so much to thoroughly take in and enjoy here in Massachusetts! Today, on the birthday of our nation, was one of those days. I seldomly venture out to western Mass, but since my father had invited me to join him on this day while he fly-fished the Swift River near the southern end of the Quabbin, how could I refuse?! For my part, I had to come up with a local place to visit while my Dad spent hours on end fishing in the crisp and refreshing waters of the Swift River that flows out the back end of the Quabbin Reservoir. So, I perused through my Trustees of Reservations guidebook and came up with the closest piece of land they had, that being Rock House Reservation in West Brookfield.

I knew it was going to be a hot day, as all the meteorologists had forecasted for not only this weekend, but the whole next week as well. Still, since it was higher in elevation and humidity levels were still in the comfortable range, hiking Rock House was quite pleasant, despite the incessant and bothersome flies. The most striking features of Rock House are the numerous and massive glacial erratics dispersed throughout the property, as well as Carter Pond (that was man-made, but picturesque nonetheless; I was kinda hoping a Solitary Sandpiper might be around, since the environs seemed like it would be ideal for one to show up....but alas, no luck there). Highlights for birds observed were certainly a few pleasant surprises, such as a Common Raven calling and flying overhead near the back edge of Carter Pond, a male Blackburnian Warbler flitting the treetops and singing, and an absolutely striking male Indigo Bunting singing from the powerlines that bi-sect the reservation. All told, I spent 2 and a half hours traversing the approximately 3.3 miles of trails that criss-cross Rock House Reservation. Yet another fine property that is in the hands of The Trustees of Reservations. Hehehe, the only gripe I had was the fact that there were no trail brochures left for the property at the information kiosk near the main parking lot off of Route 9. Oh well, thats what exploring is for isn't it?! Happy birding to everyone and I hope ya'll had a killer Independence Day weekend!

Location:     Rock House Reservation
Observation date:     7/4/10
Number of species:     36

Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     1
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens     1
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus     1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) - Colaptes auratus [auratus Group]     1
Eastern Wood-Pewee - Contopus virens     2
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe     1
Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus     1
Red-eyed Vireo - Vireo olivaceus     4
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     3
Common Raven - Corvus corax     1
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     5
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor     7
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis     2
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     3
House Wren - Troglodytes aedon     1
Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus     1
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     3
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum     4
Yellow Warbler - Dendroica petechia     3
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Dendroica caerulescens     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata     1
Black-throated Green Warbler - Dendroica virens     1
Blackburnian Warbler - Dendroica fusca     1
Prairie Warbler - Dendroica discolor     1
Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla     2
Common Yellowthroat - Geothlypis trichas     1
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus     5
Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerina     3
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     1
Scarlet Tanager - Piranga olivacea     2
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis     2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Pheucticus ludovicianus     1
Indigo Bunting - Passerina cyanea     1
Purple Finch - Carpodacus purpureus     1
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis     6

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

Here are some general directions copied and pasted directly from the Trustees website for getting to Rock House: From the Mass Turnpike (Exit 8), take Rt. 32 North toward Ware where it joins Rt. 9. Stay on combined Rt. 32/9. When the routes separate, follow Rt. 9 East for 1.1 mi. to entrance and parking (12 cars) on left.