THE 1986 STATISTICAL REPORT

by Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician

During 1986 the Brookline Bird Club listed 307 birds including 21 write-ins. These unusual sightings included the following:

Yellow-throated Warbler            Brewster           1-5

Hoary Redpoll                           Newburyport    3-15

Jackdaw                                    Nantucket         3-16

Eared Grebe                              North Scituate  3-22

Bohemian Waxwing                  Quincy              3-22

Common Raven                        Quabbin           3-23

Western Grebe                         Winthrop          3-29

Common Teal                            Plum Island       3-29

Fieldfare                                   Concord            5-13

Townsend’s Warbler                  Mt. Auburn       5-14

Summer Tanger                         Mt. Auburn       5-16

Lawrence’s Warbler                   Newburyport    5-17

Golden Eagle                             Plum Island       5-21

Kentucky Warbler                      Mt. Auburn       5-28

Gull-billed Tern                         Plum Island       6-16

Yellow-headed Blackbird            Newburyport    8-24

Prothonotary Warbler               Chatham           8-31

Clay-colored Sparrow                Fowl Meadow   8-31

Sandwich Tern                          Morris Island    9-31

Burrowing Owl                          Katama             9-20

Red-billed Tropic Bird                Gayhead           9-20

Missing from the field reports sent to me were the following:

Northern Fulmar, Cory’s, Greater, and Sooty Shearwaters, Leach’s Storm Petrel, Clapper Rail, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Dovekie, Chuck-Will’s-Widow, Sedge Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Connecticut Warbler, Dickcissel, Henslow’s Sparrow

Birds must be seen by the BBC group to be counted. Some newer members do confuse the annual check lists of members (personal lists) and the annual club trip list. If you believe that you saw any of the missing species on a 1986 BBC trip, please tell me and I’ll correct the records. Sometimes leaders check the wrong box in the field card. One leader forgot to write anything on the front of the card and his/her name remains a mystery.

Of special mention this season were the excellent owl reports. (9 species in fine numbers, showing much pre-planning and some good luck.) The number of Bluebirds is also noteworthy, 55 sightings in all. These were from several areas, the 32 birds reported from Quabbin on October 12 most remarkable of all. Scant reporting of pelagics is unfortunate. The reports have not been received, although I believe some of the missed species were actually viewed on at least one occasion.

As the year turned, the annual birding experience was described by our leaders in these memorable notes:

1-1 Sixteen members at Newburyport gained 51 species and renewed friendships.

1-5 Five days into January old Boreas conjured up “basic end of the world conditions with heavy and light snow, sleet; heavy and light rain, drizzle; mist, fog, and clouds”…and a solitary leader made the gallant run around Newburyport. Dick McHale listed 42 species and found a Bald Eagle, Glaucous Gull, Horned Larks, a Robin, and 8 Evening Grosbeaks not seen by the group on the 1st.

1-5 A Yellow-throated Warbler was gained at a Brewster bird feeder after a half-hour wait.

1-11 Boston Harbor birders listed an Eurasian Widgeon, 4 C. Black-headed Gulls, and a Short-eared Owl.

1-18 Quabbin weather was beautiful but too much of a good thing raised a heat haze off the ice and obscured visibility. During the eleven mile hike appeared 7 Wild Turkeys, 42 Redpolls, 5 Bald Eagles, a Goshawk, 5 Ruffed Grouse, 5 Pileated Woodpeckers, 19 Pine Grosbeaks, and an Iceland Gull.

1-19 The Hamilton-Topsfield run logged Long-eared, Barred, Saw Whet, and Screech Owls.

1-25 Newburyport was snowy and chilling with cold. Birds were difficult to see, and were seen only by a few people at each sighting, leaving most members exasperated and frustrated. On the list were Bald Eagle, Goshawk, C. Snipe, Northern Shrike, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Snowbuntings, and 5 White-winged Crossbills.

1-26 The Quabbin trip was abbreviated due to the foul weather. A lone Coyote stalked the icy shore.

2-2 February at Cape Ann treated us with a Thick-billed Murre, C. Black-headed Gull, 2 Glaucous Gulls, 2 Black Guillemonts, and a Pileated Woodpecker in nearby Manchester.

2-16 The Newburyport trip noted 9 Harbor Seals and 17 White-tailed Deer, Brant, 3 Barrows Goldeneyes, Snowy, Long and Short-eared Owls, Northern Shrike, and 15 Red and 3 White-winged Crossbills were seen.

2-17 On the Ipswich trip, members saw a Wood Duck, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered, 2 Red-tailed, and a Rough-legged Hawk, Carolina Wren, White-crowned Sparrow, Pine Grosbeaks, and a Barred Owl in Hamilton.

3-1 Mystic Lake-Horn Pond trippers marked a pair of Hooded Mergansers.

3-2 Newburyport birders listed 6 species of Owls, 12 Ring-necked Ducks, and 2 Little Gulls.

3-9 In the Bridgewater area BBC gained 14 Wood Ducks, 8 Canvasbacks, 4 Field Sparrows, 92 Evening Grosbeaks, and 5187 Starlings!

Nantucket Weekenders were excited over the flight of 525 Red-throated and 50 Common Loons which passed in a five minute period. For good measure they added a Barn Owl, 4 Pine Warblers, 5 Razorbills, 4 Woodcock, and 2 American Oystercatchers.

3-15 A Harlequin Duck was observed up the Merrimac River 14 mile beyond the Shawmut-Gould Factory. fide Ida Giriunas.

3-22 This Newburyport trip went to Quincy Center for a Bohemian Waxwing and to North Scituate for Eared Grebe. April produced the Fieldfare and a Common Teal, but footnotes were scanty.

4-19 Jim Berry spend most of this Ipswich venture deep in the woods. Despite winds playing in the trees, a Ruffed Grouse was heard. A Goshawk and 3-4 Pine Warblers appeared at Willowdale and a Barred Owl at the Grassrides. The same day a Goshawk was seen at Crooked Pond, plus one Rusty Blackbird.

3-20 Mt. Auburn squirrels outnumbered birds, 3 to 1.

5-3 A pair of Wood Ducks sat on a chimney in Beverly Farms.

5-4 Mt. Auburn was wet and miserable and many persons reported driving through snow on their way to the walk. A Northern Waterthrush put on a fine show at Spectacle Pond.

5-13 Pleasure Island birders watched a pumping American Bittern and listed Green-backed Herons, 4 Virginia and 2 Sora Rails.

5-14 Mt. Auburn continue its fickle moods as the Empidonax Flycatchers were silent and a possible Townsend’s Warbler appeared after the BBC left. Of course 21 warbler species were seen, including a male Hooded. This did not make the AM footnote but was starred in the evening report.

5-17 produced 113 species in the greater Newburyport area. Best were a Summer Tanager at Plum Island and Lawrence’s Warbler on Turkey Hill Road. Gray-cheeked Thrush and Orchard Oriole were also recorded.

5-21 Mt. Auburn featured a weird Grackle which was wearing a black and white tail, white wing patches, and a white belly.

5-25 Plymouth Beach displayed an adult Glaucous Gull and a summer Kittiwake. Piping Plover and Roseate and Arctic Terns were nice too.

6-2 Monomoy joys included breeding plumaged Red Phalarope, 3 Black Terns and 2 Black Skimmers, and a Grasshopper Sparrow in North Falmouth.

6-9 Ipswich Beach walkers noted 85 Little Terns at the colony. A pair of Ospreys flew northward along the coastline. 4 Piping Plovers, Woodcock, Nighthawk, and the Bank Swal- low Colony were appreciated.

6-14 The Berkshire Trip enriched the list with a Cooper’s Hawk, 5 Common Ravens, and 6 Bluebirds. Missed were the old stand-bys like Mourning Warbler, Winter Wren, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Gray-cheeked Thrush. The evening thrush chorus used to be the annual highlight of this trip. (Have newer members heard of Bicknell’s Thrush and the mission of this trip to find it?)

6-16 A Gull-billed Tern found Bill Drummond’s Plum Island evening trip on this date again this year.

7-4 Broadmoor Sanctuary treated members to Cooper’s and Broad-winged Hawks at their nests. The leader also did a little teaching for newer birders… helping them distinguish the songs of Pine Warblers, Purple and House Finches, and the Warbling Vireo.

7-5 Plum Islanders saw 2 adult Little Blue Herons at the Old pines, observed a Black-headed Gull at Stage Island, and counted 2 Piping Plovers eggs by telescope.

7-7 Virginia Rails were enjoyed on the Plum Island Hellcat Marsh Trail as the air zoomed with dragonflies. The sunset flight of 50 plus herons and 25 Glossy Ibis was enchanting.

7-14 Birders were at the Salt Pans, Plum Island when an evening storm began. Gusty winds, black clouds, and pouring rains flooded the world with darkness. Then all was over and a gorgeous rainbow arched the blue sky. Two Yellow-crowned Night Herons and 2 Stilt Sandpipers were seen.

7-19 Great Meadows drizzled in mist as members observed 2 recently deceased Star-nosed Moles. Birdnotes included 11 Virginia and 4 Sora Rails and a Moorhen.

8-2 22 Hudsonian Godwits were harbored at Newburyport as birders compared two Black Terns at Hellcat. One was in breeding plumage and one was not.

8-4 Least Bittern, 15 Great Egrets, a Laughing Gull, and a female Black Scoter added variety to Plum Island.

8-9 Monomy offered a Pomarine Jaeger, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, 42 American Oystercatchers, and 9 Piping Plovers. Birders in Maine saw a Royal Tern.

8-16 Heard Farm danced with uncut fields of Boblinks as members watched a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak feeding young and an Indigo Bunting chasing a Robin.

8-31 Monomy trippers dashed to Chatham to see a Prothonotary Warbler in Wallace Bailey’s birdbath.

9-1 T’was a nice day but the great-looking large accipiter remained unidentified. 19 Cattle Egrets ranged at Appleton Farms, Golden Plover joined the Black-bellied at Maplecroft, and 2 Blue-winged Warblers were seen at Don Bosco. Broadmoor birders also noted a large accipiter and listed it as Coopers.

9-7 The sea trip located a lone Manx Shearwater, 3 Right Whales, a Silver-haired Bat, and a Hummingbird.

9-13 Bolton Flats-Oxbow hikers enjoyed tasty wild grapes as gunfire from Fort Devens surrounded in the distance. Seen were Tennessee Warblers, Philadelphia Vireos, and the Yellow-throated Vireo… an area regular.

9-20 Martha’s Vineyard gave two exotic write-ins plus Clay-colored Sparrow.

9-27 A glistening, sparkling early fall atmosphere cheered all. A mink was seen crawling in the rocks at Cherry Hill Reservoir.

10-12 Quabbin leaders listed Gray, Red, and N. Flying Squirrels, Porcupine, White-tailed Deer, and a Short-tailed Weasel. They also counted 32 Bluebirds.

10-25 Somebody thought he heard a Gyrfalcon!

11-1 Gannets soared off Ipswich Beach and members added Eurasian Widgeon at Rantoul Pond, Golden Plover, Barred Owl, and Snow Buntings.

11-2 A Horned Grebe was seen at Horn Pond!

11-5 2 female Redheads joined the 287 Canvasbacks at Fresh Pond.

11-8 Report of a Snowy Owl at Plum Island came over the CB Radio and Ipswich birders dashed over after lunch. Imagine looking at a Snowy Owl in shirt sleeves!

11-29 Stellwagen Boat Trippers logged a Short-eared Owl at Lynn Harbor, 6 Razorbills, 1 Minke Whale, and a Pomarine Jaeger.

12-7 A drake King Eider, very close on a calm sea day, sat on a rock beside a drake Common Eider for a textbook comparison as Nahant to Boston birders had a superb day. 8 Black-headed Gulls, a Great Horned Owl mobbed by crows in a dead tree, one of the Logan Airport Snowy Owls, and a Yellow-breasted Chat in Nahant earned attention. Also seen were Winter Wren, Orange-crowned Warbler and a Fox Sparrow.

12-7 Our last hurrah came in Windsor as BBC gained a Boreal Chickadee for the annual list.

I should like to thank the many leaders who have assisted with the statistical work since I began it in 1964. It has been an enriching experience birdwise and peoplewise. One gets to know a lot about you just by pouring over your field cards… who finds snakes, notices butterflies, who holds the walk no matter how few show up…and finds something great anyway… who goes home when it rains… who makes neat, concise, scientific remarks, and who decorated each field card on all sides with exuberance and poetry… who is witty, who is so prepared that every bird is tied down and ready to sing on cue, who hates mosquitoes, who notices wild flowers, the turtles, the weather, clouds and sky. Who doesn’t mind the bitter cold and icy roads. Who always misses the biggies in the area and is so apologetic. I’ll miss you all on paper but hope to see more of you in the field. I know Bob will do a great job in my stead and look forward to his updated concepts. Now I’ll have more time for birding and hope to see you all along the way.