Starting the Year Off with the BBC
On January 1 Laura de la Flor and Mark Burns led their our 29th (maybe 30th) Brookline Bird Club New Year’s Day birding trip! I’ll let Laura take it from here…
We started leading this trip on the cusp of the ‘technological boom’ so some of our earliest records are either in notebooks or an old AOL account (remember dial-up modems!). Nonetheless, one of our oldest and dearest birding friends came up to me and said: “You do know this is your 30th year!”… I’m checking our records.
It was a perfect winter day with snow squalls in the morning, temps that hovered around 23°F, and winds that gusted throughout the PM. We birded Cashman Park, the Merrimack River, Salisbury Beach State Park, and Parker River NWR, and tallied 59 species for the club list.
Highlights include: 3 Barrow’s Goldeneye and 4 Bald Eagles seen along the river during a snow squall, a Long-eared Owl roosting in cedars, 2 Snowy Owls hunkered down in the marsh among ice and snow chunks, and both a Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl hunting the marsh beneath a near full moon.
eBird trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/457805




As always, I loved spending time with old friends and new. Here’s to a very Happy New Year! 


News Categories
Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
-
-
Pine Hill Road Grassland
Lancaster - Pine Hill Road Grasslands Pine Hill Road, Lancaster, MA, United StatesThis trip will focus on finding some of the unusual birds that nest at Pine Hill - Grasshopper Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, and Eastern Whip-poor-will. Easy walk over flat sandy roads. Rain cancels walk.
-
Rocky Narrows in Sherborn
Sherborn - Rocky Narrows (TTOR) - Forest Street Parking 100 forest Street, Sherborn, MA, United StatesMixed habitat - fields, woods river and swamp. A good variety of birds here. We’ll be mostly concentrating on the swamp and the Charles River. If we have a wet spring folks should check in with the leader as to whether rubber boots would be advised. There are spots that do flood. Of course we
-
Bring Back Boblinks: Bobolinks at Chestnut Hill Farm, Southborough
Southborough - Chestnut Hill Farm (TTOR) Chestnut Hill Rd, Southborough, MA, United StatesWe’ll walk about 2 miles around the protected grasslands of this wonderful Trustees property in search of Bobolinks, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and more. Parking in the lot after the main entrance here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/87yAzpeBs6WPnx6K6
-
Bring Back Boblinks: Bobolinks at Ocean View Farm Reserve
Dartmouth - Ocean View Farm Reserve (DNRT) 28 Allen Neck Road, Dartmouth, MA, United StatesPart of our Bring Back Boblinks conservation series. Co-led by Linda Vanderveer, Land Manager, DNRT. A combined walk with Brookline Bird Club and Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust. Registration is required. Please go to https://dnrt.org/event/bobolink-walk-2/ to register. Registration opens on May 14. Bobolinks are migratory grassland birds found across Massachusetts. The Bobolink is listed as a
-
Millennium Park
Boston - Millennium Park Canoe Launch 300 Gardner Street, Boston, MA, United StatesJoint with Mass Audubon BNC. Join us to observe resident birds and spring migrants in a unique urban habitat that is a favorite for many bird species, including uncommon and rare flycatchers, swallows & warblers. Birders of all levels welcome. The trails are generally flat and easy to walk, with some rough patches. A water





