Brookline Bird Club – America’s most active bird club!

BBC Massachusetts Big Day Count Follow Up

BBC members birded every county and every corner of the state this year, recording a total of 193 species. (See the eBird trip report.)Essex County led the way over Plymouth, but only by a single species. Suffolk was third, helped by a couple of county Big Day efforts. The first birds of the day were reported from Savery Pond in Plymouth County (Whip-poor-will, Eastern Screech Owl and Great Horned Owl), with an American Woodcock at Marconi Station on Cape Cod the last to be added to our list.

2026 Massachusetts Big Day Checklist Location Map
2026 BBC Massachusetts Big Day Checklist Locations

Here is the count by county:

  1. Essex – 136 Species
  2. Plymouth – 135 Species
  3. Suffolk – 126 Species
  4. Middlesex – 122 Species
  5. Barnstable – 99 Species
  6. Bristol – 84 Species
  7. Berkshire – 84 Species
  8. Worcester – 74 Species
  9. Norfolk – 74 Species
  10. Nantucket – 62 Species
  11. Hampshire – 57 Species
  12. Hampden – 30 Species
  13. Dukes – 9 Species

Highlights include

  • Summer Tanager (Mt Auburn Cemetery)
  • American Golden-Plover (Scituate)
  • Razorbill (Stellwagen whale watch)
  • Wilson’s Phalarope (Plum Island)
  • White-faced Ibis (Scotland Road, Newbury)
  • Little Blue Heron (Nantucket)
  • Sandhill Crane (Burrage Pond)
  • Prothonatory Warbler (Wompatuck)

Top 10 reported species by number of checklists:

  • 1st -American Robin
  • 2nd -Song Sparrow
  • 3rd – Gray Catbird
  • 4th – Red-winged Blackbird
  • 5th – Northern Cardinal
  • 6th/7th – Blue Jay, American Goldfinch (tie)
  • 8th – Common Grackle
  • 9th – Baltimore Oriole
  • 10th – Mourning Dove

Species appearing on a single checklist or at a single location:

  • Black-billed Cuckoo
  • Whimbrel
  • American Woodcock
  • Wilson’s Snipe
  • Purple Sandpiper
  • Manx Shearwater
  • American Bittern
  • Least Bittern
  • Black Vulture
  • Eastern Screech-Owl
  • Winter Wren
  • Pine Siskin
  • Lincoln’s Sparrow
  • Worm-eating Warbler
  • Canada Warbler
  • Cerulean Warbler

What did we miss? Not much, but Broad-winged Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Hooded Merganser, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Sora, Horned Lark and Blue-winged Teal would have taken us to 200 for the day. Saltmarsh Sparrow and Eastern Wood-Pewee reached the state in decent numbers just a day or two later.

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th

BBC daily field trips to Mount Auburn are back!

It’s that time of year again! The Brookline Bird Club will be leading daily birding trips through Mount Auburn Cemetery, an oasis for migrating birds, this spring from Wednesday April 17th through Sunday May 26th

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Today

  • Bring Back Boblinks: Bobolinks at Heard Farm, Wayland (New!)

    Wayland - Heard Farm Conservation Area 12 Heard Road, Wayland, MA, United States

    New addition to our Bring Back Bobolinks conservation series. This gem works its way into the rotations of many birders once discovered. It is managed for dog walking (no dogs on this walk please) and bobolinks, which in a good year can number 100 or more. We will be using dirt trails and boardwalks. Trails

  • Bring Back Bobolinks: Codman Estate Farm (Was Drumlin Farm) (New!)

    Codman Community Farms - Donelan's parking 145 Lincoln Rd, Lincoln, MA, United States

    This walk was planned for Drumlin Farm but more Bobolinks can be seen at this nearby location so we've moved the walk to Codman Farms. Adding to our Bobolink conservation series. Join Ilija to observe and appreciate Bobolinks in breeding habitat! Bobolinks are migratory grassland birds found across Massachusetts. The Bobolink is listed as a

  • Fruitlands Museum, Harvard

    Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United States

    Cosponsored with Boxborough Birders. All the nesting birds will still be around, with good views of young out of the nest being fed by parents: Veery, Indigo Bunting, Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Tree Swallow, Bobolink, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, and Warblers. Expect to walk about 2 miles on trails through meadow and woods with some steep

  • Southwick WMA

    Southwick WMA - Suffield WMA entrance Point Grove Road, Suffield, CT, United States

    We will hike the fields focusing on grassland breeders, particularly Eastern Meadowlark and Grasshopper Sparrow.

  • Half-Day Seabirding and Whale Watching, 7-Seas, Gloucester

    Gloucester - 7 Seas Whale Watch 63 Rogers Street, 7 Seas Wharf, Gloucester, MA, United States

    The BBC has reserved a limited block of discounted group tickets on these public tours. These tours are open to all. Register online at https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=329 Registration opens June 19. Additional info at the company site: https://www.7seaswhalewatch.com/ For registration, use our site. If you have registration problems, contact us at fieldtrips@brooklinebirdclub.org.

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