THE 1988 STATISTICAL REPORT

by Robert H. Stymeist, Statistician

In 1988, the Brookline Bird Club scheduled 202 field trips: eighty-three all-day, ninety-one morning, and twenty-five afternoon or evening trips. In addition there were three BBC weekends: April 30-May 1 in the Adirondack Mountains, July 1-4 in Machias, Maine, and September 30-October 2 on Nantucket Island. There were also two special excursions organized through the BBC hotline: one to Boxford in June to locate the Cerulean Warbler and one to Middleboro/Halifax in October to see the Swainson’s Hawk.

The Club recorded 307 species, three additional subspecies, and one escapee on 173 reported field trips. Twenty-nine trips went unreported. Two were cancelled due to bad weather. In Massachusetts, a total of 298 species (plus the three subspecies and the Blue Parakeet) was tallied.

The following write-ins to the Massachusetts Audubon Society (MAS) Checklist were reported in 1988:

Golden Eagle                                        Quabbin                 1-17

Common Raven                                   Quabbin                 1-17

Bohemian Waxwing                             Hardwick               1-17

Tundra Swan                                        Quabbin                 1-24

European Goldfinch                             Montague              2-7

Painted Bunting                                   Nahant                   5-14

Summer Tanager                                 Quincy                   5-15

                                                             Mt. Auburn            5-15

Yellow-throated Warbler                     Mt. Auburn            5-15

Sandhill Crane                                      Newbury                5-29

Cerulean Warbler                                Boxford                  6-4

Lark Bunting                                         Plum Island            7-23

Bar-tailed Godwit                                Monomoy              8-7

Sandhill Crane (again)                          Newbury                9-3

Clay-colored Sparrow                          Plum Island            9-17

Sabine’s Gull                                        Stellwagen             9-18

Eurasian Jackdaw                                 Nantucket              9-30

Northern Wheatear                             Harwich                 10-2

Swainson’s Hawk                                 Middleboro           10-15

Greater White-fronted Goose             West Newbury      10-29

And these additional birds were reported from outside Massachusetts:

Boreal Chickadee           Adirondack            4-30

Three-toed Woodpecker      Adirondack            4-30

Black-backed Woodpecker    Adirondack            4-30

Gray Jay                   Adirondack            4-30

Red-bellied Woodpecker*    Connecticut           5-28

Spruce Grouse              Maine                 7-4

Common Murre               Maine                 7-4

Atlantic Puffin            Maine                 7-4

Whip-poor-will*            Maine                 7-4

* These two species on the Massachusetts checklist were not seen in the state.
 

Missing from the BBC reports during 1988 were Northern Fulmar, Leach's Storm-Petrel, Least Bittern, Clapper Rail, Common Moorhen, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, Royal Tern, Common Barn-Owl, Chuck-will's-widow, Red-headed Woodpecker, Sedge Wren, Loggerhead Shrike, Blue Grosbeak, Fox Sparrow, Lapland Longspur, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, and Common Redpoll.

Essex County field trips comprised forty-four percent of the trips; there were seventy-four reports in this area that includes Plum Island and Cape Ann. Mount Auburn Cemetery and near-by Fresh Pond in Cambridge were visited fifty times. Cape Cod and south shore trips numbered twenty. Western Massachusetts and the Quabbin Reservoir trips totaled eleven, and Boston Harbor was visited eight times by the Club.

Seventy-eight leaders led our members around the state, and twelve leaders did it five or more times. Jim Barton was listed nineteen times, Bill and Barbara Drummond logged in ten trips, while David and Dennis Oliver and Bob Stymeist led nine times.

The Club's birding experiences are best described by our leaders as 1988 marched on.

January 10. Ipswich area. Ten inches of new snow greeted ten members, who had excellent looks at thirty to forty harbor seals.

January 17. The Quabbin Sweep. The trip started in Petersham where Wild Turkeys were seen. At Hardwick, everyone had excellent views of two Bohemian Waxwings as an immature Northern Goshawk soared over the group. At Shaft 12, three coyotes and an adult Golden Eagle were seen. As the sunshine waned, an adult Bald Eagle flew overhead - a perfect reward for a long, cold, ten-mile hike.

February 15. Ipswich. The group thoroughly searched the shopping center marsh on snowshoes but found no rails and no snipe.

February 21. Newburyport area. Six Bald Eagles were seen along the Merrimack, and our old friend the "Ipswich" Sparrow was noted at Salisbury.

February 28. Middleboro area. Owling before breakfast produced three Eastern Screech, three Great Horned, two Barred, and six Short-eared owls for the early risers.

March 12. Newburyport. Bitter and blustery winds greeted the BBCers at 8:00 A.M. The bright sun tamed the weather into a beautiful and enjoyable afternoon. Sixty crows were harassing a Great Horned Owl at the pumping station, passerines were missing. The group loved every bird we were lucky enough to find.

March 20. Winthrop and vicinity. Very squally weather. The wind shifted from east to west and threw a short-lived blizzard at us as soon as we set foot on Belle Isle Marsh! The afternoon was lovely, sunny but cold, and we finally got to see all the good sea ducks.

April 9. Boxford to Newburyport. Louisiana Waterthrush sang at a drizzly start. An east wind became northwest in the afternoon. A Red-tailed Hawk was spotted carrying a snake.

April 10. Dunback Meadows, Lexington. There were several good courtship flights of the American Woodcock for the group of twenty-four.

April 20. Mt. Auburn Cemetery. An early spring day recorded only two Palm Warblers. A Red-tailed Hawk was being harassed by crows as we walked in. As we walked out, we found the hawk eating a crow!

April 28. Mt. Auburn. Dark, cold, and rainy. No people, no sun, no birds, no fun.

May 8. Mt. Auburn. Tough day for warblers, just two warbler species. Forty-five eager observers were begging for more.

May 14. Mt. Auburn to Nahant. A good May day with twenty-two species of warblers, including a Worm-eating and Yellow-breasted Chat. A beautiful male Painted Bunting in a dandelion field was the reward for those who joined this extended trip to Nahant.

May 14. Bolton Flats and Oxbow NWR. Twenty-five members had incredible views of Golden-winged Warbler. Rails, both Sora and Virginia, put on a show-not to be outdone by a river otter and a black racer.

May 15. Mt. Auburn. A Summer Tanager was found as well as a Gray-cheeked Thrush, and a single Red Crossbill was seen overhead. Fifty participants enjoyed the flowering trees as well.

May 21. Newburyport and vicinity. On Bill Drummond's annual "go for gold," a total of 116 species was logged in. The highlights included a late snipe and two Wilson's Phalaropes. Twenty-one species of warblers, including an early Mourning, were tallied, and a late Pine Siskin was noted in West Newbury.

May 28. The Connecticut Hunt. This was a trip sponsored jointly with the Forbush Bird Club to search out the specialties of the area. All the target birds, including a Cerulean, two Hooded, and three Worm-eating warblers, were located.

May 29. Newburyport area. A Sandhill Crane at hunting area B in Newbury was the highlight of the day and a life bird for many on the trip.

May 29. Quabbin Sweep. Disastrously buggy! Myriads of mosquitoes and black flies had their Memorial Day picnic on the BBC. Later in the day, things debugged a bit, and we had excellent views of Acadian Flycatchers on territory, a soaring and diving Raven, and three male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds on territory. The trip ended with two Barred owls dueting and more bugs.

June 4. Boxford. A special trip arranged through the hotline for the Cerulean Warbler that had been found on May 29. Also noted were a pair of Yellow-throated Vireos and a Winter Wren.

June 4. Tyngsboro. Fifteen members got close looks at two nesting Eastern Bluebirds and visited a Bank Swallow colony at a new construction site.

June 6. Plum Island. A nice sunny evening but very strong winds made finding birds and standing up very hard for the thirty members.

June 11. The Berkshires. Clear blue skies and a few clouds allowed the sun to warm us up. Between 5 and 7 A.M., we were wearing hats, gloves, and down parkas. It was wonderful to find Mourning Warbler again.

June 13. Crane Beach, Ipswich. Beautiful weather, mediocre birds with the usual exception of the Least Terns and Piping Plovers. A total of 175 nests of Least Terns was staked out, and eight pairs of Piping Plovers were found.

June 19. Sudbury River Valley. Fourteen members were treated to a wide selection of nesting birds, including Yellow-throated Vireos, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and three pairs of Northern Orioles.

July 1-4. Down East, Machias, Maine. This was a great trip with 123 species reported, including excellent views of Spruce Grouse, Boreal Chickadees, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray Jay and 1600 Atlantic Puffins, 5 Common Murres, and 600 Razorbills. The food was superb. Great job, Ida!

July 11. Plum Island. Ninety-nine degrees and at least ten greenhead flies, two mosquitoes, and a gnat for every square inch of body surface. But for the pain, a just reward of three Yellow-crowned Night-Herons and a Caspian Tern.

July 16. Great Meadows. Great views of five adult and two downy Virginia Rails. Thirty-two observers had a great time as the rails fed in front of us. Very few land birds were found.

July 25. Plum Island. Rain kept down the greenheads but not the birders' spirits as the Club had excellent looks at an adult Lark Bunting.

August 7. Monomoy. Good shorebirds, including a Bar-tailed Godwit that had been present during the week. A ferry service to the now many islands of Monomoy provided almost a whole day at sea.

September 18. Mt. Tom. The weather was lousy but at Arcadia the group found an American Bittern and had good looks at a Connecticut Warbler. In the Northampton Meadows, all six swallow species were seen, including late Roughwings and a Purple Martin. Not many hawks at Goats Peak.

September 18. Pelagic trip. A wonderful day at sea for ninety-four birders. We had excellent views of Sabine's Gull as well as good numbers of shearwaters and Wilson's Storm-Petrels.

September 25. Wachusett Meadows. Fifty-five species on a beautiful fall day. Over fifty Eastern Bluebirds were counted at the sanctuary.

October 2. Cape Cod. A beautiful day to be out walking and discovering birds. A vacationer had noticed an interesting bird walking along the stones at Red River Beach in Harwich and reported the bird at the Birdwatcher's General Store. The Club made a detour to check it out and after a bit of searching the beach wound up with a Northern Wheatear. A great ending to a great day.

October 15. Middleboro/Halifax. A special hotline trip for forty-one birders to see the Swainson's Hawk. Everyone had an excellent look.

October 22. Plum Island. Stormy day, winds blowing from the northeast. The marshes were flooded, and the shorebirds were being blown off their feet right onto the road. The fog rolled in so we were unable to get a good ocean list. A Blue Parakeet was found in the middle of the campground.

November 13. Three BBC 75th Anniversary Celebration field trips:

Pelagic trip cosponsored with the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the New England Aquarium. A full boat of BBC anniversary celebrants left the dock but had to turn back five miles off Minot Light. Participants did get looks a Little and Common Black-headed gulls and found two Razorbills.

Cape Ann. There was an unexpected but fine show of alcids at Halibut Point where forty-five members saw three Thick-billed Murres, two Razorbills, and four Black Guillemots.

Brookline and vicinity. The group started at Putterham Meadows Golf Course, formerly the first Brookline Bird Club sanctuary (1926). Members had excellent looks at a Great Horned Owl through telescopes from the parking lot. Two more Great Horns turned up during the day along with calling Barred and Eastern Screech owls and an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Red-necked Grebe, an unusual bird for Brookline.

November 26. Essex area. A beautiful day for New England. Bright sun, brisk winds, wonderful companions, great scenery, and even a few birds. A Northern Saw-whet Owl highlighted the day. To quote Ida, it was the typical magic that happens on a BBC trip.