1981 STATISTICAL REPORT

“My heart is warm with the friends I make

And better friends I’ll not be knowing

There isn’t a [bird trip] I wouldn’t take

No matter where it’s going!”

(with apologies to Miss Millay)

The year of 1981 will be remembered for its vagrant gypsy life. Bird gypsies, like the Sandwich Tern, encountered the BBC at Plymouth Beach. This crested beauty increased our life list to 375 species, or grand-totaled the list of identifiable birds seen by us to 397.

Bird-watcher gypsies wandered far from the planned trip areas, driving speedily to remote corners of the state for special attractions.

And then there were the moth gypsies. Vast regions of Massachusetts were munched to barren wintry-ness by the advancing hoards of caterpillars. At Great Meadows, the parking lot was criss-crossed by multitudes of them, while the sound of their eating and dropping was amazing. One member said she never appreciated the Blue Jay so much until she saw him poke some of the furry demons.

Like the birds we watched in 1981, the annual count for the past season is up in the air and hovering around 300. Our leaders reported 282 check-listed Massachusetts sightings and 18 write-ins (two of which may have been escapees). Four historically recognized species, Bullock’s Oriole, Kumlien’s Gull, Ipswich Sparrow, and Blue Goose were also seen. And then came the phalarope controversy. At sea on August 28rd many members viewed a flock of these birds on the water. Photographs were taken. What kind they were is still a matter of conjecture. The leader listed one as Red Phalarope, and so the record stands. Some thought the whole flocks were Reds and others felt all were Northerns. This is what makes birding such a challenge and gives us spirited adventures. Most of us would miss the fun of an occasional puzzler!

For your remembrance, the list of write-ins follows:

Varied Thrush                              Montgomery                      1/11

Lesser Black-backed Gull       Nantucket                            2/28

Hoary Redpoll                             Plum Island                         3/1

White-fronted Goose                  Plum Island                         5/2

Brewster’s Warbler                     West Newbury                 5/16

Summer Tanager                        Newton                                5/17

Blue Grosbeak                           Mt. Auburn                          5/18

Clay-colored Sparrow                Mt. Auburn                          5/19

Kentucky Warbler                      Martha’s Vineyard         5/22

Chuck-will’s Widow                  Martha’s Vineyard         5/23

Sandwich Tern                           Plymouth Beach             5/30

Northern Raven                         Mt. Greylock                      6/5

White Pelican                            Plum Island                         6/7

Prothonotary Warbler                 Plum Island                         8/29

Egyptian Goose                          Plum Island                         9/12

Black Vulture                             Eastham                               10/4

Brewer’s Blackbird                    Marshfield                            10/24

Ruddy Shelduck                         Plum Island                         10/24

Our 1980 report was increased to 301 species, long after the report was published. Someone remembered a Western Kingbird from a trip that was never reported. Please mail your field cards to me. There’s no telling what bird may be missed, or what early record will be lost when you fail to file.

During 1981 the BBC scheduled 232 field trips. Reports were obtained from 80 all day, 92 morning, 18 afternoon, 20 evening, four weekend, and three boat trips. Three trips were weather cancelled. Lacking four day, 11 morning, one afternoon, and one boat trip report, this summary is based upon 212 BBC events.

Seen in 1980, but missed in 1981 were 15 species, namely:

Arctic Loon                                    Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Western Grebe                               Ash-throated Flycatcher

Clapper Rail                                   Gray-cheeked Thrus

American Avocet                            Northern Shrike

Curlew Sandpiper                           Loggerhead Shrike

Black Skimmer                               Orange-crowned Warbler

Thick-billed Murre                         Hooded Warbler

Lark Sparrow

Please notify me if you can document any of these on a 1981 Massachusetts trip.

Gains over 1980 included the following:

White-fronted Goose                  Pomarine Jaeger

Egyptian Goose*                           Sandwich Tern

Ruddy Shelduck*                          Boreal Chickadee

Black Vulture                                 Varied Thrush

Goshawk                                        Brewer’s Blackbird

Red Phalarope                                Hoary Redpoll

White Pelican                                 Red Crossbill

*Perhaps these escaped, but were highly enjoyed.

Our Newburyport trips continued to lead the tally, as 48 meetings there listed 250 species. Not reported were Canvasback; King and Clapper Rail; Woodcock; Purple Sandpiper;  Marbled Godwit; Kittiwake; Arctic, Roseate, Royal, and Caspian Tern; any alcid; Barred Owl; Alder, Least, and Olive-sided Flycatcher; either shrike; Dickcissel; and Seaside, Vesper, Clay-colored, and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

Our two Nantucket visits gave us 146 species. The February excursion found 71 species including 35 Redheads, 2100 Kittiwakes, 69 Razorbills, Snowy and Short-eared Owls, and the Lesser Black-backed Gull. In October, 126 species were logged despite windy, cool weather with scattered showers. There was a sole Cory’s Shearwater, a late American Oystercatcher, eight raptor species (including a Peregrine), and 13 varieties of Sparrows, plus a Dickcissel.

From Ipswich comes some of our best reporting. The 129 species listed included Rusty Blackbird flocks in April, six Cattle Egrets at Maplecroft Farm, nesting Red-tailed Hawks, White-eyed Vireo, 16 Warbler species, Orchard Oriole, and 300 Snow Buntings. No Piping Plover or Least Tern nests were observed at the beach.

Martha’s Vineyard was the delight of May. Members cheered the Kentucky Warbler at Oak Bluffs, and found Barn Owl, American Oystercatcher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Grasshopper Sparrow, and two Chuck-will’s Widows; in all 118 species.

Our Cape Ann trippers found 116 species despite the sleet, snow, and gusty winds that seemed scheduled on BBC weekends. Enjoying the invigorating weather, in addition to Dick Hale, were two Glaucous Gulls, 60 Iceland Gulls, two Barrow’s Goldeneyes, four Harlequin Ducks, two King Eiders, and a Screech Owl, gained with regularity. Many birders lingered in the Locust Grove Cemetery for sightings of the Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers that wintered there.

Mt. Auburn leaders rued a season with only 114 species. Actually our counts there show much fluctuation. Starting with 1964, and proceeding through 1981 we have recorded 77, 90, 116, 185, 111, 112, 158, 153, 153, 128, 146, 110, 131, 117, 110, 122, 122, and 114 species. Among the features this year were Blue Grosbeak, Mourning Warbler, Glossy Ibis,

Clay-colored Sparrow, and “mystery bird overhead”. Excusing the lack of rarities, one leader sweetly remarked, “such delightful people on these trips, most of them friends who have birded with me for years.”

Plum Island evening trips were personal favorites with some of us. We enjoy the sunset reflections across the dunes and marsh pools almost as much as the Black Tern, White Pelican, and Yellow-crowned Night Herons. This season’s nine visits totaled 112 species and featured several stupendous thunderstorms.

The Greater Boston Breeding Bird Census listed 110 species, Outer Cape Cod 105, Manchester 104, Great Meadows 100, Monomoy 88, Westport 85 (with 83 Mute Swans, 12 Ospreys, and three Western Kingbirds), Berkshire Trip 82, Marblehead 80 (with two Mourning Warblers), Plymouth 79, Bolton 78 (with three Yellow-throated Vireos), Revere 74, South Shore 69, Bridgewater 68, Newton 68, all boat trips combined 61, Saugus 60, Quabbin 57, North Andover 55, Mt. Tom 58 (including six raptor species), Mystic Lake and Horn Pond 53, Maine 52, Middlesex Fells 49, Owl Prowl 48, Natick 47, Falmouth 47, Essex 44, New Hampshire 39 (with two Gray Jays and three Gray-cheeked Thrushes), Belmont 39, Weymouth 38, IRWS 37, Fresh Pond 83, Harwichport Boat 31, Plymouth Boat 31, Western Massachusetts 31, Lynnfield Marsh 30, Wellesley 26, Lynn Boat Trip 25, Needham 23, Nahant 18, Lexington eight, and Mt. Wachusett five (raptors reported only).

Species gained per month in 1981 were:

January                101        May                       94            September       3

February              20            June                        7             October         10

March                    7              July                       5             November        1

April                      39           August                  12            December         1

Honorable Mention is given for Massachusetts high totals for one day afield:

January                Newburyport                    Blaisdell              52

February             Bridgewater                       Davis                   50

March                  Newburyport                    Bouchard            51

April                    Newburyport                    Van Cor                68

May                     Newburyport                    Drummond       106

June                    GBBBC                             Stymeist             110

July                     Plum Island                        Oliver                 67

August                Newburyport                    Drummond       108

September        Newburyport                    Giriunas              108

October               Newburyport                    Blaisdell              90

November          Newburyport                    Bouchard            51

December          Cape Ann                           Corley                 49

The morning walk with the highest total: May 17, Ipswich, Giriunas, 91 species. The  afternoon walk: July 11, Great Meadows, Clayton, 48 species. Evening walk: June 1, Plum Island, Hale, 70 species. Weekend trip: October 10-12, Nantucket, Davis, 126 species.

“One moment now may give us more

Than fifty years of reason;

Our minds shall drink at every pore

The spirit of the season.”

January

All seasons are sweet to a Massachusetts birder, beginning with the grand hopes of New Year’s Day, when all birds are new creations and enthusiasms run high. This January 1, Ann Blaisdell led 16 members around fast frozen Newburyport. Inlets and ponds were iced, but lack of wind made the day quite comfortable. Fifty-two species appeared: four Red-tailed, five Rough-legged, and five Marsh Hawks plus five Kestrels and a Bald Eagle vied with two Snowy Owls for honors. A Belted Kingfisher viewed its narrowed resources. Robin, Meadowlark, and Fox Sparrow were Autumn’s remnants. Special joy was added with the discovery of Pine Grosbeaks and two Boreal Chickadees.

In Belmont, over 100 Chickadees were noted on the 8rd, while twelve members took an ambitious drive to Cape Ann, despite the numbing cold. A Glaucous Gull posed stolidly at Niles Pond, 12 Purple Sandpipers and two Black Guillemots were busily feeding at Andrew’s Point, and a pair of Harlequins was spotted off Rafe’s Chasm in Magnolia. This trip then dashed to Hamilton to view a Barred Owl, and to Ipswich for Common Snipe and Virginia Rail.

A Goshawk aroused birders at Newburyport on the 10th, but most people were intent on the search for owls between Salisbury and Plum Island. Long- and Short-eared, Snowy, and Saw Whet were all seen, plus numerous hawks and two Bald Eagles.

Quabbin birders stated that the 11th was the coldest day they had ever been afield. After watching the Bald Eagles at the spillway (5), the group drove to Montgomery for the Varied Thrush, stopping on the way home at La Fleur Airport, Northampton, for Snowy Owl, Horned Lark, Lapland Longspurs, and Snow Buntings.

Hale and hearty on the 17th, with Cape Ann conditions grueling, Dick and Dora set out through snow and 200 yard visibility to hunt King Eider, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Black-headed Gull, Kittiwakes, and Dovekies. “No such luck,” quoth Dora.

On the 24th, Steve Grinley’s Newburyport group watched a Bald Eagle on an ice float in the Merrimack River. It flew and seized a fish out of the water, then landed on another piece of ice. Two immature eagles then appeared and a fight for the fish ensued. The incident brought to mind the stories told by John Kieran and others of the eagles on the Merrimack. Many of us had never hoped to see such a sight in our lifetimes.

“The swing to Western Massachusetts was fabulous,” to quote Bill Drummond. The 25th was crisp and clear and sun-shiny. Within one minute of the beginning of the trip, Bill spotted an adult Bald Eagle and Mike Noland spotted seven Turkeys (a tom and six hens). Another view of Varied Thrush, and a Cooper’s Hawk were gained. Pileated Woodpecker and Common Redpolls were nice too.

East Boston had its own Snowy Owl on the 31st; Nahant, a Barred Owl; and four Short-eared Owls hunted around Squantum. A King Hider swam off Marblehead and two were viewed off Folly Cove, Cape Ann.

February

The courtship rituals of the Common Goldeneye stole the show for Boston area birders on February 10th, while in Wells, Maine there were especially good looks at a drake King Eider and four Harlequin Ducks.

Drizzles of rain on the 21st accompanied members up the Merrimack River to North Andover for a Great Horned Owl. Pintails had returned with their elegance to grace the last days of the winter.

By the 28th, it felt like Spring. Sunshine and balmy breezes caressed the South Shore. Red-wings clamored with enthusiasm, but best birds were a Glaucous and Iceland Gull, together for comparison at Fourth Cliff, a Ruffed Grouse, and a Short-eared Owl flying into the dusky evening.

Nantucket lured 16 members at the end of the month. They saw the Lesser Black-backed Gull, American Bittern, European Widgeon, 35 Redheads, 2100 Kittiwakes, and 69 Razorbills, 62 of which were on the Sound.

March

March 1st breezed in on the flocks of Redpolls at Plum Island. Killdeer called and the Gadwalls and Green-winged Teal sported their wedding suits.

When the Cape Ann trip time came around on the 7th, sleet and snow returned to make miserable mischief. “People began disappearing by mid-morning because they were soaking wet,” cried leader John Clancy.

Our Owl Prowlers were busy on the 8th, finding three Screech Owls (one a red phased), a Barred Owl, and three Long-eared Owls (in Lexington).

Two Snowy Owls still haunted Plum Island airport on the 14th; it was very windy and bright, as members sorted out the harbor’s many waterfowl.

Next day the small streams glazed over as the temperatures sank to 24°. A wind-blown Great Blue Heron, 94 Ring-necked Ducks, 25 Canvasbacks, and 170 Lesser Scaup were present at Lakeville.

A Meadowlark, with its bright yellow breast like a daffodil against the snow, lightened the hearts of Plum Island birders on the 21st. Ten Snow Geese were present. A breeding pair of Marsh Hawks, the female carrying nesting material, regarded the BBC without much concern.

Sally McNair led Fresh Pond birders to Wellesley and showed them a Pileated Woodpecker. Snow flurries melted into blue sky.

On the 22nd, Quabbin birders saw a Great Horned Owl on nest, a Barred Owl sunning, and a gorgeous Wood Duck. As the month closed, Phoebe, Tree Swallows and five Little Gulls had returned to Newburyport.

April

After the drabs of winter came the ornaments of Spring. BBC found three Little Blue Herons, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Brown Creeper, Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and raspberry Purple Finches to open the month at Newburyport. Pectoral Sandpipers seemed to be everywhere.

On April 7, evening walkers at Topsfield found only one Woodcock, but Mr. and Mrs. Harris of Chelmsford discovered a female Bluebird sitting on one of the sanctuary swallow boxes on the path to the rockery — our only Bluebird of 1981.

Two Ruffs held court at Newburyport Harbor on the 11th. A Turkey Vulture, Goshawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Osprey, Merlin, and Kestrel were all identified. Two Snowy Owls still drifted near the airport.

Mt. Auburn opened the Spring with two pairs of nest-building Fish Crows, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, and two Palm Warblers on April 14th. Two days later were added Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and two Pine Warblers.

On the 19th of April, the Red Coats were flying over the Fruitlands, Harvard, Massachusetts: Red-shouldered Hawk, four Red-tails, two Kestrels, and 16 Broadwings.

Despite a nice morning, no Ruffed Grouse were drumming for Ipswich trippers on the 24th. One bird flushed at Appleton Farms Grass Rides, Hamilton. (If you have not visited this Trustees of Reservations site, do so, if only for the superb vistas and splendid trees.) The black, looking-glass swamp-pools were fringed with luxurient emerald green skunk cabbage. The Red-shouldered Hawk called and circled. One expected to meet Friar Tuck around each turning, with the men of Sherwood.

At Mt. Wachusett, Paul and Julie Roberts listed five Turkey Vultures, Goshawk, nine Sharpies, five Red-tails, one Red-shouldered, seven Broad-wings, and a Marsh Hawk.

Also, an Osprey and three Kestrels, plus 14 unidentified raptors.

The Plum Island Hawk Watch on April 26 was the best in five years; 125 Sharp-shinned, 23 Marsh Hawks, five Osprey, Peregrine, 14 Merlins, and 107 Kestrels were seen.

A Solitary Vireo starred at Mt. Auburn on the 26th, and Bob Stymeist turned to supervise the fishing tactics of the Black-crowned Night Heron.

More hawks soared down Plum Island on the 28th as John Nove counted 38 accipiters in two hours. A few warblers filtered through Mt. Auburn’s trees, but it was obvious that the raptures were confined to raptors during April.

May

May 2nd found the BBC busy in three areas. Nick Komar’s party spied a Worm-eating Warbler in the dell at Mt. Auburn, while the annual pilgrimage from Crooked Pond to Plum Island attracted 18 members in 11] cars. Piping Plover, Upland Sandpiper, 80 Pectoral Sandpipers, Pine Warbler, and a White-fronted Goose were their rewards. Meanwhile, Bill Foley and seven members made their way about Marblehead. Little Blue Heron and American Bittern were nice, but Blue Grosbeak was their best sighting.

A Gray-cheeked Thrush was reportedly at Mt. Auburn on May 3rd, but not for the BBC.

Craig Jackson took a solo walk at Breakheart Reservation, Saugus, meeting a Woodchuck devouring young birch leaves, a Painted Lady, and a Red Admiral Butterfly.

When a Mt. Auburn leader footnotes, “all Rock Doves convened in the tree closest to the gate by 8:30 on the way out,” one senses a lack of rare items.

A Red-headed Woodpecker at Rowley highlighted the 9th of May, as birders mobbed Pikes Bridge Road to find the Golden-wing, Blue-wing, and Brewster’s Warblers there. Golden Alexanders bloomed along the roadside on this golden day.

Mt. Auburn noticed a wave of Northern Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and some warblers on the 14th, and on the 17th a Turkey Vulture and a sky full of noisy jet planes made the list. A pair of Blue Grosbeaks delighted members on the 18th, as the male sang from a conifer spire. Then came a strange song, an adult Clay-colored Sparrow on the 19th, Bob Stymeist’s 200th Mt. Auburn bird! As the month ended, a Mourning Warbler, a fat raccoon, and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in the same tree with three Screech Owls were all interesting mentions.

Other May features were a Black-headed Gull hawking over the Plum Island salt pans on the 16th, Orchard Orioles in Rowley, a beautiful adult male Summer Tanager in Novitiate Woods, Newton, and two Mourning Warblers at Marblehead Neck.

The Harwichport Boat Trip logged a Northern Fulmar, 19 Greater and 25 Sooty Shearwaters, 170 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, and five Gannets.

June

Lots of good listeners and lookers attended the first Plum Island evening walk: three deer, two chipmunks, one wood-chuck, various moths and butterflies and flowers, plus a gorgeous sunset were interspersed with European Widgeon, Wood Duck with 10 ducklings, Wilson’s Phalarope, and a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

The Mt. Greylock adventurers shivered through a wet and windy weekend. Mountain mists and veils of rain saturated the forest and penetrated to the bone. No thrush chorus sang the angelus. Best birds were a Northern Raven, Turkey hen with four poults, Ruffed Grouse hen with wee chicks, and an Ovenbird nest.

Most fun of June was the appearance of a White Pelican, floating like a large inflated pool toy on the empoundment at Plum Island. Watching it feed in the shallow salt ponds was especially memorable. Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Louisiana Heron, and Little Blue Heron competed for compliments.

July

On the 4th of July, Eliot Taylor prepared to lead his annual tour of Broadmoor Sanctuary. His walk lasted about half an hour as it started to pour. “We were able to get back to the barn before getting wet. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo was our best bird and the four foot long black snake by the barn door was our second best bird!”

On July 5th the weather was awful, but a good turnout of members joined Mark Lynch and Sheila Carroll to seek Yellow-throated Vireos at Oxbow. They found three, plus newly fledged Spotted Sandpipers, and lots of cuckoos.

Great Meadows offered superb views of three Least Bitterns and an American Bittern. Virginia Rails were everywhere during the month, and Soras visible in small numbers.

August

Obviously Monomoy was the place to observe American Oystercatchers, as three pairs (each with one young) plus a flock of 25 adults appeared on the 2nd. A Western Sandpiper was in full Summer plumage. Golden Plover, seven Willets, 430 Red Knots, 125 Hudsonian Godwits, 450 Laughing Gulls, and three Kittiwakes were seen too.

Tree Swallows by the thousands congregated on Plum Island. It was like standing inside a blue and white snowstorm as they swooped and glided all around the group. A Scarlet Tanager fed young at Pike’s Bridge Road.

Heavy fog did not hamper the BBC Monomoy trip of August 15th. Three Forster’s, 400 Common, four Arctic, and 25 Roseate Terns were seen.

Three Baird’s Sandpipers highlighted the Plum Island trip of August 22.

The Lynn boat trip was the largest BBC trip ever held, as187 persons went to sea. Fifty Manx Shearwaters will long be remembered as a club event. Humpback and finback whales and a school of Atlantic white-sided dolphins were identified by naturalist Peter Alden.

On the 29th, Peregrine Falcon was the star at Stage Island Pool. Two Buff-breasted Sandpipers joined the list.

Again at Monomoy on the 29th were 12 American Oystercatchers, Marbled Godwit, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, three Black Terns, and a Prothonotary Warbler. A Turkey Vulture was seen at Provincetown on the 30th.

Boston area birders, viewing at Point of Pines, Revere and Belle Isle, East Boston, enjoyed the immaculate plumage of young dowitchers and listed Western Sandpiper, Hudsonian Godwit, and a jellyfish two feet in diameter.

September

Thirty-five people arrived at Plum Island for the September 5th extravaganza. Ida Giriunas said she couldn’t take credit for 25% of the 107 birds because she didn’t see them all. The group split into thirds and then took a tally. Four Whimbrels, three Stilt Sandpipers, 17 Warbler species, and eight Sharp-tailed Sparrows were listed.

At Monomoy the weather was perfect (overcast), and 32 members found the American Oystercatchers numbering seven, plus 25 Whimbrels, 10 Willets, two Marbled and 11 Hudsonian Godwits, 25 Roseate Terns, and two Short-eared Owls.

Jim Berry led an Ipswich morning walk to Eagle Hill, where an immature Great Cormorant was studied as it sat on a boat next to a fake horned owl (set there to keep gulls off the boat). Also encountered were eight Upland Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpiper, and a singing Warbling Vireo.

Wally Van Cor’s Plum Island trip was fantasy-land indeed. A queenly Great Egret posed like Cleopatra at the edge of the Nile, two Whimbrels carried scimitars, and the phragmites plumes waved in the breeze. Three Wilson’s Phalaropes dervished around in the phalarope pools as astonished viewers sighted an Egyptian Goose, sailing down into the South Pool with a Canada Goose escort.

A rescue at Plum Island! Messrs Bouchard and Murphy left the September 19th trip precipitously at 10:45 to take two stranded, soaked, hypothermic teenaged boys from Kittery, Maine to Anna Jacques Hospital after their 16-foot boat swamped and they spent the night drifting on the ocean. The day was rainy and drizzly, just right for a Water Pipit.

On the 20th, at Pike’s Bridge Road, members watched a kettle of UFO hawks and a kettle of 14 Broadwings. A beautiful trip replete with many Fall favorites: Whimbrel, Baird’s Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, and a Forster’s Tern.

Gloria Hotz’s Manchester-Essex ramble listed Cattle Egret, Peregrine, Northern Phalarope, and Rusty Blackbird on the 26th, while at Plum Island were six Baird’s Sandpipers and 17 Golden Plovers.

October

The BBC wandered in the rain, with conditions halfway between terrible and awful at Newburyport. October 8rd featured a zillion Double-crested Cormorants, 35 Marsh Hawks, and a White-crowned Sparrow.

Bob Timberlake’s Cape Cod trip eyed a Black Vulture, crossing Fort Hill, Eastham at exactly 10:00 a.m. on October 4.

Back at Newburyport on the 10th, members had 100 Common Eiders and 50 White-winged Scoters, Cooper’s Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, three Sapsuckers, two Winter Wrens, a flock of mixed Kinglets, and a Blue Goose.

Westport had a Turkey Vulture and a confusing fall Nashville Warbler, while at Acoaxet, a Lapland Longspur gleaned with the Horned Larks. Best were three Western Kingbirds along Adamsville Road.

Eighteen members joined Rod Sommers at Great Meadows on the sunny 17th. Three Pied-billed Grebes enjoyed diving in the high water, but there were no edges to view shore birds. Blackbird flocks of Rustys and Redwings predominated, with many gathering waterfowl.

A Western Kingbird greeted members at Wells, Maine on the 17th.

The Plymouth Boat Trip took 89 people to find four Northern Fulmar, 20,000 Cory’s Shearwaters, two Sooty and two Manx Shearwaters, 1500 Gannets, eight Pomarine and three Parasitic Jaegers, and 450 Kittiwakes.

November

“When a red squirrel is the first animal in half a mile and the group starts to collect mushrooms, you know you’re in trouble,” smiled Mimi Murphy. Nevertheless, an undaunted group of seven members persevered around a birdless Cutler Park, Needham on November 1. Not even a Song Sparrow! On to a favorite sparrow hot spot, Newton Winchester Gardens, where after half an hour was located one lonely junco, the first for the day! While some members relish the frenzy of our all-day marathons, others appreciate the good fellowship and spiritual refreshment of our leisurely after-noon walks. There is a sure satisfaction that comes, as with this November outing. Their 28 species included Great Blue Heron, Red-tailed Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, and a Tree Sparrow.

Our Revere-Winthrop birders seem especially determined; nothing escapes their scrutiny. Two King Eiders didn’t, nor did 300 Purple Sandpipers, 800 Dunlins, Long-billed Dowitcher, Hudsonian Godwit, Black-headed Gull, 15 Water Pipits, or 25 Snowbuntings.

November always finds BBC taking second and third looks, trying for some bird with a difference. The leader found November 7 “mildly interesting” at Plum Island, but Ipswich Sparrow on the road side was historically pleasing.

Gannets fished off the beach, Rough-legged Hawk appeared overhead, and Pine Siskins, 10 Tree Sparrows, 350 Snow Buntings, and the turn to prowling in the New Pines verified the changing season. Three Crossbills, briefly encountered, provoked a jolly disagreement: were they indeed Crossbills, and if so, which?

And at Ipswich there were encounters with four or five Mallard/Black Drakes on Rantoul Pond, a partial albino Killdeer at Maplecroft Farm, a dead Common Loon, and white clouds of Snow Buntings. Scaup were 15 in number, but whether Greater or Lesser was left to Mother Nature.

Lakeville on the 8th had 350 Lesser Scaup, clearly the place to study this species. Also noticed were 400 Ruddy Ducks, a merry assembly.

Great Meadows trippers watched an Osprey on the 8th, and found a last Long-billed Marsh Wren.

Plum Island changed guard with Great Cormorant, all three Scoters, 634 Dunlin, 26 Red-breasted Nuthatches, 10 White-winged Crossbills, juncos and Tree Sparrows. For good measure, a Short-eared Owl.

With increased BBC sky watching, hawks have received greater and greater notice. November 22 found the club watching Goshawk, four Red-tails, seven Rough-legs, seven Marsh Hawks, a Merlin and five Kestrels from Plum Island to Salisbury.

Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen at Cape Ann as the month came to a close, and a King Eider was life bird for at least half a dozen members at Andrew’s Point on the 28th.

John Kromer and four members could not find even one bird apiece at Belmont Hill. One Blue Jay, Common Crow, Chickadee, and Robin lingered and John rued the loss of thickets and increased use of the area.

Two Snowy Owls settled in at Plum Island on the 29th. Peregrine was still zooming the island. Two Fox Sparrows raked leaves at Hell Cat.

December

A Great Blue Heron remained at Plum Island on the 5th, but eyes were on 17 Snow Geese, a Kumlien’s Gull and 10 Crossbills at the New Pines, this time listed as Red.

On the 12th of December Chris Corley surveyed Cape Ann. Common and Red-throated Loons led the list, with Red-necked Grebe, Gannet, three Harlequins, Purple Sandpipers, and a Black Guillemot bringing the year to full circle.

A Bullock’s Oriole appeared to some prior to the trip, in Manchester. Best bird was a Kittiwake, swimming and standing on the ice at Niles’ Pond. Everyone got to see that our Kittiwake does have black legs!

The weather was impossible at Manchester when six members joined Leslie Wetterlow to bid adieu to 1981. A chill rain fell and it seemed wise to cancel before the roads glazed over. But when participants come all the way from Worcester, a leader hopes to reward their efforts. The experience of foul weather off a wintry sea was the essence of the day. Best bird was a Common Loon.

Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician

1980 STATISTICAL REPORT 

During 1980 the Brookline Bird Club observed 313 species of birds as follows: Massachusetts, 299 species; New Hampshire, two additional species; New Jersey to North Carolina, 12 additional species. The 14 species written-in on the Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List were: 

Arctic Loon                                   Newburyport                    1/1 

Western Grebe                               Plum Island                        1/12 

Summer Tanager                            Mt. Auburn                          5/6 

Prothonotary Warbler                  Needham                            5/17 

Ash-throated Flycatcher           Rowley                                5/18 

Chuck-Will’s Widow                     Martha’s Vineyard         5/23 

Kentucky Warbler                           Mt. Auburn                        5/24 

Curlew Sandpiper                           Newburyport                    5/25 

Common Raven                               Mt. Greylock                     6/8 

Lesser Black-backed Gull       Scituate                              7/27 

American Avocet                            Plum Island                        7/27 

Blue Grosbeak                                Nantucket                           9/27 

Fork-tailed Flycatcher                 Orleans                               10/5 

Clay-colored Sparrow                 Salisbury                            10/12 

“Brewster’s” Warbler (hybrid), West Newbury, 5/10; “Kumlien’s” Gull, Andrew’s Point, 1/19; and “Ipswich” Sparrow, Plum Island, 4/5 are also noteworthy, the latter two being identifiable races of the Iceland Gull and Savannah Sparrow, respectively. 

Entered on the BBC Life List were Lesser Black-backed Gull and Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Our Life List now totals 374 species for Massachusetts. Considering all sightings, including presumed escaped birds, hybrids, and those birds no longer considered as separate species since the 1973 reclassification, the list reaches 394. 

We scheduled 242 field trips this season with 84 All-Day events, 108 Early Morning risers, 25 Afternoon strolls, 19 Evening walks, 5 Weekend tours, and 1 Longer Trip South. Five trips were storm cancelled and 31 were unreported. 

Missed in Massachusetts according to current records were the following: 

Leach’s Storm Petrel                   Acadian Flycatcher 

Goshawk                                        Boreal Chickadee 

King Rail                                       Sedge Wren 

Red Phalarope                                Pomarine Jaeger 

Caspian Tern                                  Western Kingbird 

Eastern Bluebird                             Connecticut Warbler 

Red Crossbill 

If you can document the sighting of any of these on a 1980 BBC Massachusetts trip, please contact the statistician. 

Losses from 1979 included the following: 

Whistling Swan                              Lucy’s Warbler 

Gull-billed Tern                              Yellow-throated Warbler 

Sabine’s Gull                                  Lawrence’s Warbler (hybird) 

Bar-tailed Godwit                           Black-headed Grosbeak 

Great Gray Owl                              LeConte’s Sparrow 

Say’s Phoebe 

Gains over 1979 included these species: 

Baird’s Sandpiper                        Pine Siskin 

Western Sandpiper                       Black Skimmer 

Ash-throated Flycatcher           Chuck Will’s Widow 

Dovekie                                       Kentucky Warbler 

Barn Owl                                      Curlew Sandpiper 

Loggerhead Shrike                       Common Raven

Worm-eating Warbler                  Lesser Black-backed Gull 

Common Redpoll                         Fork-tailed Flycatcher 

As usual, Newburyport led our area count with 263 species in 44 trips. One list is missing. This is a gain of 17 over 1979. The 9 Plum Island Evening Walks listed 98 species and produced 3 species not seen on the all day visits. These were Yellow-crowned Night Heron, European Widgeon, and Arctic Tern. 

The Southern Sweep gained 163 species and was highlighted by the spectacular sighting of 55 Black-capped Petrels on the pelagic cruise. Also listed, for those who stayed home, were Audubon’s Shearwater, Royal, Caspian, Bridled, and Sandwich Terns, and of course the Brown Pelican, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, and Boat-tailed Grackle. 

Ipswich birders industriously listed 146 species during 8 trips. One report is missing. Northern Shrike, Cattle Egret, Virginia Rail, Piping Plover, Screech Owl, Pine Warbler, and Pine Grosbeak were seen. Best birds were a Yellow-breasted Chat on 9/1 and the famous Ash-throated Flycatcher in nearby Rowley during May. This species was first recorded by BBC on November 25, 1972, at Eastern Point, Gloucester. 

The Westport area produced 132 species on 3 visits. A Lapland Longspur in intermediate plumage was scrutinized on May 18 as it fed in the sandy-grassy beach area near the bridge at Westport Harbor. Its plumage: off-white outer tail feathers, scalloped breast, white eye ring, scaled feathering on the back, and pinkish-orange bill, was detailed by leader Dot Davis. Other area specialties were many herons, 11 Osprey at Acoaxet, Carolina Wren, Pine Warbler, Grasshopper, Sharp-tailed, and Seaside Sparrows. 

Our 7 Cape Cod reports include 4 Monomoy visits, one re-routed Nantucket trip (the ferry wasn’t running), one lower Cape trip, and the Harwichport Boat Trip. The total was 128 species. The Monomoy trips gained 93 species and the pelagic trip netted 20. Cape Ann birders listed 123 species on 12 trips. Two reports are missing. An additional 5 walks to Manchester only, found an equal 123 species, with 12 species not seen on Cape Ann proper. Alcid sightings totaled Razorbills, 20; Thick-billed Murres, 6; Dovekies, 2; and Black Guillemots, 30. Kittiwakes numbered 108 and Harlequin Duck sightings reached 24, with a high count of 4 on a single outing. 

Mt. Auburn birders found 122 species on 44 trips. There are 4 reports missing. 

Martha’s Vineyard had an enviable 121 species with 4 Barn Owls, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Chuck-Will’s Widow. Nantucket gave us 119 species and likewise offered a Barn Owl, Red Heads, Cooper’s Hawk, Peregrine, American Oyster- catcher, Whimbrels, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Blue Grosbeak. An Iceland Gull was unexpected. 

Great Meadows gave us 113 species on 12 visits. One trip was cancelled. Least Bittern was a fine observation. 16 Sora and 13 Virginia Rails were encountered, plus Pied-billed Grebe and Common Gallinule. This is an excellent area for raptors, and Red-shouldered, Red-tailed, Broad-winged, Cooper’s, Sharp- shinned, and Marsh Hawks were seen, plus American Kestrel and Osprey. 

Other area counts were Berkshires 97, Essex 72 (Loggerhead Shrike and Cattle Egrets), Canton 71, Squantum 71, Winthrop 70, Plymouth 66 (4 Arctic Terns), Middlesex Fells 65, Bridge- water 64 (Screech Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker), New Hampshire 63 (Boreal Chickadee, Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker, 5 Mourning Warblers and a Cow Moose), Saugus 63, Bolton 59, Newton 58, South Shore 52, Natick 50 (Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Orchard Oriole, and Indigo Bunting), Falmouth 49, Weymouth 47, Marblehead 46, Nahant 46, Fresh Pond 45, Mystic Lake and Horn Pond 43, Owl Prowl! 42, Maine 39, Brain- tree 39, Belmont 37, Irws 34, Lexington 34, Wellesley 33, Quabbin 30, Lynn Boat 29, Western Mass. 24, Boston 24, GBBBC 23, Lynnfield 22, Harwichport Boat 20, and Westwood 17. 

Species gained per month in 1980 follow: 

January                105         May                         88          September       6 

February              13            June                        11          October               4 

March                  16            July                          6           November         5 

April                    35            August                  10            December         0 

Honorable Mention is given for Massachusetts high totals for a single day afield: 

January                 52            Newburyport                    Blaisdell

Squantum                           D. Brown 

February              47            South Shore                      Harrington

March                   56            Newburyport                    Grinley

April                      78            Westport                              Willoughby 

May                      125         Newburyport                    Drummond 

June                      120        Newburyport                    Heil 

July                         91            Canton                                   D. Brown 

August                  102        Newburyport                    Giriunas

September        103        Newburyport                    Grinley 

October                90            Newburyport                    McHale

November          74            Cape Ann                             Heil

December          46            Newburyport                    Henderson

“This day Time winds th’ exhausted chain 

To run the twelvemonth’s length again.”        Burns

Sunny New Year, happy BBC. Mark Kasprzyk smiled success and presented an Arctic Loon to cheer the day. Twenty-two members scrambled to list 52 species at Newburyport. Starting with 3 loon species, the tally soon included Gadwall, Pintail, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Red-tailed, Rough-legged, and Marsh Hawks, Ruddy Turnstones, Dunlin, Kittiwakes, a Snowy Owl, Northern Shrike, and even a pair of Towhees. 

January

5. At Cape Ann, birders greeted a pair of Harlequin Ducks off Rafe’s Chasm and visited a Lanesville feeding station for Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-winged Blackbird, and Dickcissel. A coterie of Glaucous, Iceland, and Bonaparte Gulls paraded at Brace’s Cove, their personal winter resort. 

6. Cold telescopes shook in colder hands at Nutt Island, Hough’s Neck as a bitter northwest wind fought efforts to scan the water. Soheil Zendeh found the Barrow’s Goldeneye. Great Cormorant (86) and Red-breasted Mergansers (250) were counted. A Great Horned Owl joined the list, then visits were made to a Hermit Thrush in Milton and a Lark Sparrow in Hingham. 

12. “Western Grebe off the jetty” cried the wind at Salisbury. The ocean tossed its white caps and one member wailed, “This cold is blowing right into my bones.” 

19. Many new birders joined the Hales for the Cape Ann Experience. Enhancing the beautiful ocean drive were Glaucous, Kumlien’s and Little Gull, Kittiwakes (50), Purple Sandpipers, and Black Guillemots. 

26. An American Coot lingered at Flax Pond, Lynn. 

27. Joy for Bill Drummond! His 11 car caravan traversed the state, gaining 5 Bald Eagles at Quabbin, then setting out on a Turkey hunt. After 11 years of searching, there they were—two hens and a tom—strutting across a meadow in Shelburne and right onto Bill’s Massachusetts Life List! 

February

3. Bridgewater birders spent a bracing cold day sky- searching raptors. Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Rough-legged, and Marsh Hawks (Northern Harrier), plus Merlin and Kestrel. Choice bird was a Red-bellied Woodpecker. Three Pied-billed Grebes, Screech Owl, and 47 Evening Grosbeaks were seen and 72 Blue Jays reported. 

16. Three Harbor Seals lumped on shore as members battled blinding snow and incredible winds at Newburyport and Salis- bury. Jim Barton found two Snipe, saving the day (which ended at noon). 

16. And it was snowing in Ipswich when BBC duo, Jim Berry and Dick McHale went on their own snipe hunt. No snipe. They did see three Virginia Rails. One led them a merry chase until it popped inside an old tire at the back of the shopping center. They also encountered a Northern Shrike in the Willowdale State Forest. 

23. Seven Fish Crows were gained at the West Roxbury dump. 

24. Snow flurries teased Newburyport birders who were busy comparing three Bald Eagles along the Merrimac River. Nine Barrow’’s Goldeneyes were seen at close range, with outstanding views of the three females. A Little Gull winged past the group at Salisbury as it flew out of the harbor toward the ocean. There was a Snowy Owl on the prow! at Plum Island; a winter mascot for many who visited there. 

March

2. Pussy willows and birders sensed a change toward Spring, as Cardinals, Chick-a-dees, and Song Sparrows were in full song around Quincy Bay. A Catbird survived at Forbes Hill, a Fox Sparrow was spotted, and an American Bittern prowled in the thicket. Great Horned Owl, yes; Short-eared Owl, no. Over a thousand Brant bunched up at inner Hough’s Neck.

15. This day began with Natalie King getting her car mired in water and mud—up to the doors. She sincerely thanked the eight members who came to her rescue. While they were struggling her out again, one tripper approached the leader and asked, “What are you planning to do first today?” Snow squalls came and went. Lapland Longspurs and Snowbuntings echoed winter but two Red-winged Blackbirds and a Killdeer sang Spring at Plum Island. 

16. It seemed like Spring at Bridgewater as Black-crowned Night Herons, 24 elegant Ring-necked Ducks, and 6 Hooded “” Mergansers appeared. A Woodcock sat close by a fence while flocks of raucous blackbirds lent their blessing to the air. 

16. The Owl Prowl was a fizzle. The March wind whistled a brisk note but this party ended up hearing one Barred Owl, for about one second! Even the Plum Island Snowy Owl was out of sight. 

29. A Great Horned Owl, on nest, was observed in North Andover. 

30. A beautiful 8 mile hike in the Quabbin area gained three Turkey Vultures and a day’s rest from Rock Doves, Starlings, and gull-sorting. 

April

5. Off Plum Island there were 18 seals to watch; on the island, 25 Snow Geese and two Piping Plovers; and at Pikes Bridge Road, three Ospreys. 

12. A red fox watched members at Indian Ridge Road. Great and Snowy Egrets gathered with a Louisiana Heron at Plum Island’s South Pool, where Ruddy Ducks were diving busily. Also listed were two Little Gulls, two Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Pine and Palm Warblers. 

19. Tree Swallows coursed over Plum Island in the hundreds, and two Barn Swallows were spied in the melee. Purple Martin was first encountered in Ipswich, later in the month. 

22. Mt. Auburn birders examined a Green Heron, 16 Hermit Thrushes, gnatcatchers, and early warblers, but Peter Alden was occupied with a White-crowned Sparrow as it sang from a tree without leaves and then hopped along with some White- throated Sparrows. 

26. Jim Berry’s group found a Killdeer nest with four eggs in it, aside the road to the Rowley dump. 

May

3. A Ruff and Reeve together on Joppa Flats caused a forest of telescopes to rise at Newburyport. Upland, Spotted, and Solitary Sandpipers waded favorite grasslands and pools. It was clearly fine to see the Louisiana Waterthrush and two Winter Wrens at Crooked Pond’s looking-glass brookside. 

6. A Worm-eating Warbler delighted Mt. Auburn walkers as they gazed from its subtle charms to a more flamboyant Summer Tanager.

8. Rain poured down on Rod Sommers as he made solitary rounds of Mt. Auburn’s nine Warbler species, including a private look at the Worm-eating.

10. Glenn D’Entremont logged 100 species about Newburyport. Turkey Vulture, Ruff, Cooper’s Hawk, and Brewster’s Warbler among them. 

11. Mt. Auburn: 19 warbler species. 

12. Mt. Auburn: 20 warbler species. 

13. Mt. Auburn: 22 warbler species. A tremendous wave flooded the cemetery with accompaniment of Scarlet Tanagers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, many vireos and numerous thrushes. Close to heaven, Mt. Auburn! 

14. Mt. Auburn: 19 warbler species. 

15. Mt. Auburn: 21 warbler species. 

16. Mt. Auburn: 18 warbler species. 

17. Manchester: 20 warbler species. 

17. Newburyport: 24 warbler species and a super day with Blue-winged and Golden-winged, Prothonotary, and Hooded Warbler gained, Wilson’s Phalarope female in resplendent breeding plumage, and Lincoln Sparrow. Strange that among the 125 species, only one hawk was seen, seven waterfowl, and no bitterns, ibis, or owls. 

18. Ipswich birders listed a Red-throated Loon “in winter plumage”. Ida Giriunas started birding at 5:30 a.m. and was joined by a barking dog at 8:00 a.m. It poured so after noon that opening the car windows was a disaster. Despite the drawbacks, the day was splendid she recalls. She and Ann Blaisdell (the rain finally drove everyone else home) went to the Rowley sand pits to try for Orchard Oriole and Bank Swallow. Ann spotted a bird out the rain-streaked car window. A robin, or something? Ida backed up and slowly rolled the window down. A bright rusty tail fanned out on a slender bird, smaller than a Robin. A crest and white front appeared, as it turned around. Out came the books and a discussion ensued, full of “It can’t be” and “Oh, it is, an Ash-throated Flycatcher!” Then the dilemma. What to do? Who to call? Where was the nearest phone? In a panic they drove all the way to Sportsman’s Lodge for a phone. Word spread. A dismal day brightened considerably. And best of all, it remained for many to enjoy in days to come (including me!). Thank you. 

June

1. The Harwichport Boat logged Northern Fulmar, two Greater Shearwaters, 40 Sooty Shearwaters, 150 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, and one jaeger species.

2. Our first Plum Island evening walk was held despite threatening skies, thunder rolls, and distant lightening. Twelve members skulked the marshes across from the airport, trying to spot the European Widgeon. Torrents of rain fell as a willet flashed past. Back into cars, wet birders proceeded up the harbor past the clam shack, where swam the widgeon, easily observed from the road. 

8. The Berkshire Weekend added a Common Raven to our list and featured seven Turkey Vultures, both cuckoos, Night- hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested, Yellow-bellied, Willow, Alder, Least, and Olivesided Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbird, Phoebe, and Wood Pewee. Winter Wrens, 19 warbler species (with two Mourning Warblers), and the evening chorus of thrushes made this a mountain holiday to remember. 

9. Gloves were in order at Ice House Pond. Not that listening to the Whip-poor-wills was such a formal occasion—just a very chill reception for a June evening! 

16. Plum Island trippers listed nine Green Herons and 25 Long-billed Marsh Wrens. 

22. Great Meadows trekkies found two Eastern Kingbirds on nests, a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a Sora feeding close along the dike. 

30. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron posed on a muskrat house for Plum Island visitors. Four Wilson’s Phalarope and 100 Snowy Egrets were listed.

July

6. The weather was sunny but very windy at Bolton Flats when members “saw the first rail seen at the flats in two years”. Five Virginia Rails and three Soras were gained. A pair of nesting Yellow-billed Cuckoos, plus three others, were also enjoyed. 

7. Eight willets were viewed at Plum Island. 

14. A short-tailed weasel played under and over the board- walk at Southend while members gathered to observe three Louisiana Herons, 42 Glossy Ibis, and parent Wood Ducks, Bob White, Pheasant, and Killdeer supervising their young. Twenty Cliff Swallows were counted at their adobe nests on the refuge garage. 

26. A Northern Yellowthroat fed its demanding Cowbird chick at Great Meadows. 

27. Two Avocets fascinated a group at the salt pans, Plum Island. Rivalling this was a 2’ hour look at a Least Bittern in South Pool as it slowly worked its way among reeds. Snowy Kgrets (375) and Glossy Ibis (85) made a gorgeous spectacle! Young Common Gallinule were designated “cute but ugly” by one member. 

27. The Fowl Meadows trip scooted off to Scituate, hoping to see a Rufous-necked Sandpiper. Alas, all they could find was an unexpected Lesser Black-backed Gull, added to our life list! Fowl Meadows itself was arrayed in a wealth of flowers, dragonflies, and butterflies. Bob Campbell caught a watersnake and showed the difference between it and a sunning garter snake. A smoky shrew headed the mammal list. Best birds were five Ruffed Grouse, two Bobwhite, both cuckoos, Willow and Alder Fly- catchers. Cedar Waxwings (85), 39 Common Yellowthroats, 13 Bobolinks, 14 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, two Indigo Buntings, and 27 Goldfinches added interest. 

August

2. Glenn D’Entremont petted an immature skunk at the warden’s on Plum Island, while most members kept their distance! The Avocets were still present, but could not be found on the evening of the 4th. 

10. John Nove led a visit to Eastern Point, Gloucester, finding four Broad-winged Hawks, nine Spotted Sandpipers, Pectoral Sandpiper, and two Laughing Gulls. 

10. Monomoy birders eyed nine American Oyster-catchers, 10 Piping Plovers, two Whimbrel, 30 Willets, 50 Red Knots, an early Dunlin, 52 Hudsonian Godwits, 150 Sanderlings, two Wilson’s Phalarope, and 200 Laughing Gulls. If this wasn’t enough they also counted three Kittiwakes, five Forster’s Terns, 3000 Common Terns, two Arctic Terns, 150 Roseate Terns, one Black Tern, and two Short-eared Owls. 

17. An Arctic Tern was observed, discussed, and photographed by Soheil Zendeh as Monomoy trippers logged 50 Piping Plover, two Golden Plover, and 750 Laughing Gulls. 

22. Rain cut short a Newburyport trip. It was odd not to find one warbler at Hell Cat. Baird’s Sandpiper was the great gain. 

24. A hundred members put to sea in the Lynn Boat, They had a joyous time with eight Cory’s, 450 Greater, 75 Sooty, and five Manx Shearwaters, 15 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 20 Northern Phalaropes, two Parasitic Jaegers, a Kittiwake, and a Black Guillemot in Lynn Harbor. 

31. Fog shrouded Monomoy this day but BBC sneaked through it to find two Black Skimmers and a Marbled Godwit. 

September

1. Two greenhead flies led the highlights of this trip. Pursuing shore birds about Newburyport, members found three Buff- breasted Sandpipers, but drawing most comment were two color-dyed birds, an orange Semipalmated Sandpiper wearing a band on its “left ankle” and a tangerine Semipalmated Plover, with a silver band on the left upper leg. 

13. Marblehead birders wished for something different. A Philadelphia Vireo was all they could find. 

28. A Peregrine Falcon zoomed in and landed on a telephone pole across from the Plum Island Airport, where it then sat for 20) minutes. Later, a Long-eared Owl was discovered on the trail to Hellcat’s blind. 

October

12. Bright blue skies and crimson foliage greeted BBC members as they pondered Stilt Sandpipers off Pikes Bridge Road. The Peregrine was swooping through the shorebird ranks at the Salt Pans. Gannets (25) swept close to the Plum Island ee shore. Most birders camped at Salisbury with the Indigo Bunting, Loggerhead Shrike, and Clay-colored Sparrow. 

19. Newton birders found an Orange-crowned Warbler! 

25. invigorating weather” said a former U.S. Coastguardsman, when winds blew E 15-20, gusting to 50 MPH and the rain came down with gusto. The 1000 Gannets fishing off Plum Island were spectacular! A Snow Goose, five Kittiwakes, two Lapland Longspurs, and five Snowbuntings reflected the advancing season. 

November

1. Brant and Snow Geese visited Plum Island, along with a Rough-legged Hawk, 100 Long-billed Dowitchers, one Iceland Gull, a Short-eared Ow! and 300 Snowbuntings. 

9. At Winthrop, 10,000 Common Eiders once again rafted comfortably. From Nahant, 25 Common Loons were observed. Purple Sandpipers (1100), a Pectoral and a White-rumped Sandpiper appeared and went. Members busied themselves with the sparrow clan, finding nine species, plus Ipswich Sparrow. 

22. Birders watched a Northern Waterthrush rooting in leaves aside the Ipswich shopping center parking lot. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet showed its crest. Great Blue Herons gathered on the salt marsh, and a Northern Harrier tilted across the sound. 

23. Sharp-shinned Hawk pursued Flicker into a shrub at Plum Island. The captive started to scream loudly, and thereby escaped! 23. The year’s only White-winged Crossbill was seen in Manchester! 

29. Cape Ann birders added the last two species gained for 1980, a Razorbill and a Dovekie! 30. Two Snowy Owls and a Saw Whet sat in the new pines. The weather was beautiful: a mild, sweet day when from “Gold to gray… Indian Summer fades too soon.”

December

6. Marbled Godwit lingered at the salt pans; a restless band of Common Redpolls followed the trip down Plum Island; a Seaside Sparrow gleaned aside parking lot 1. 

7. Castle Hill, Ipswich was a fine vantage point. Black-headed Gull and Pine Grosbeaks and a Pine Siskin were observed 

13. A pair of Barrow’s Goldeneyes swam in Niles Pond, Gloucester, with a Glaucous Gull and several immature Iceland Gulls. At Bass Rocks were four Harlequin Ducks. 

14. Plum Island offered another look at the Saw Whet Owl. There were two hunting Snowy Owls, one of which kited over the dunes, narrowly missing a pheasant dinner. 

27. The last walk of the year was held in Manchester by the sea. A harbor seal lounged on the rocks. A Harlequin Duck swam the Atlantic surge, and birders started dreaming about the future; snow and ice, sleet and rain—soon winter melts to spring again. 

Mary Lou Barnett

1979 STATISTICAL REPORT 

Gray birds gathered us together in 1979. Their fleeting lives were long journeys. While we wondered at the mystery of their comings, and listened to the learned explanations, didn’t we delight in the fates that carried them to Massachusetts! 

We remember large, pale terns, gray fluffs of owls, Plum island’s remarkable grebe, one tiny warbler flitting like a dust mote beside an Ipswich pond, and a gray crane stalking a frozen cornfield. All birders were mad for gray in 1979. “A little madness in the Spring, is wholesome even for the king.” For birders it does nicely at any season of the year. 

In 1979 the Brookline Bird Club identified 299 species (plus two hybrids) and listed among these 21 write-ins on the 1977 Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List. A selective list of these write-ins follows: 

Whistling Swan                        Ipswich                                  1/1 

Arctic Loon                              Cape Ann                             1/6 

Great Gray Owl                       Amherst                                2/11 

Yellow-throated Warbler          Mt. Auburn                          4/24 

Lawrence’s Warbler                 West Newbury                 5/12 

Brewster’s Warbler                  West Newbury                 5/12 

Black-headed Grosbeak          Manchester                        5/19 

Bar-tailed Godwit                    Monomoy                            8/18 

Prothonotary Warbler               Nantucket                            8/31 

Say’s Phoebe                           Plum Island                         9/8 

Gull-billed Tern                        Salisbury                              9/15 

Royal Tern                               Manchester                        9/22 

Clay-colored Sparrow              Plum Island                        10/13 

Summer Tanager                        Manchester                       10/13 

Blue Grosbeak                           Truro                                  10/14

LeConte’s Sparrow                   Salisbury                              10/20 

Sabine’s Gull                             Plymouth                             10/28 

Avocet                                       Plum Island                        11/10 

Western Grebe                          Plum Island                        11/24 

Lucy’s Warbler                         Ipswich                               12/1 

Our Life List was enriched with Great Gray Owl and Lucy’s Warbler. This gives us 371 life species, and if we consider past sightings of escaped birds, hybrids, and those species lost in AOU rearrangement of 1973, our Life List stands at 391. 

We scheduled 260 field trips this season with 86 all-day outings, 121 early morning risers, 29 afternoon strolls, 19 evening walks, and 4 weekend excursions. There was also a Century Run during May. The BBC went White Mountain climbing, prowled for owls, sought nests, collected shells, examined wild flowers, hawk-watched, rediscovered Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine, and held 4 boat trips to view pelagics on the fishing banks, all with superb results. Six trips were storm cancelled. This year 30 leaders failed to file their reports. 

Our totals would have been higher had we not missed the following: 

King Rail                                        Boreal Chickadee 

Baird’s Sandpiper                           Short-billed Marsh Wren 

Western Sandpiper                        Loggerhead Shrike 

Red Phalarope                               Worm-eating Warbler 

Black Skimmer                              Common Redpoll 

Dovekie                                         Pine Siskin 

Barn Owl                                       Red Crossbill 

Acadian Flycatcher                       Connecticut Warbler 

Many walks were not reported; if you can document the sightings of any of these on a 1979 Massachusetts trip, please notify the statistician. 

Our Newburyport trips equalled last year’s performance with 246 species plus the much heralded Pikes Bridge Road company of Lawrence’s and Brewster’s Warbler hybrids. Introduced Bobwhite raised new coveys at Plum Island where Wilson’s Phalarope made history by nesting at the salt pans. Willet nesting was suspected in the refuge area. 

Cape Cod visits gave BBC 167 species, specializing in American Oystercatchers, Marbled, Hudsonian, and a Bar-tailed Godwit or two, terns, and pelagics. The Harwichport boat trips found 30 Fulmars, 10 Greater, and 25 Sooty Shearwaters on June 3rd, and on September 30th gained 30 Cory’s, 20 Greater, 3 Sooty, and 1 Manx Shearwater. 

Cape Ann-Manchester birders listed 157 species this year, including 5 Harlequin Ducks, 16 Black Guillemots, 7 Razorbills, and 1 Thick-billed Murre. An Arctic Loon was observed off Dolliver’s Neck, a Kumlein’s Gull at Brace’s Cove, and on January 14th, members counted 12 Glaucous and 60 Iceland Gulls. 

The Century Run logged 144 species on May 12th, gaining the season’s only Least Bittern and Goshawk. 

Nantucket Island was visited twice, giving us 138 species. On the August-September weekend, 35 Black Terns were counted. 

Ipswich birders found only 132 species this year, plagued with windy weather. A Red-breasted Nuthatch was seen on two trips. Piping Plover and Least Tern nests were observed and 8000 Tree Swallows were estimated on September 9th. 

Mt. Auburn birders were almost cheerless with 122 species but only one write-in, the Yellow-throated Warbler. Orange-crowned, Hooded, and Mourning Warblers were also encountered. 

Great Meadows walks found 104 species but saw just 1 Virginia and 1 Sora Rail. 

Martha’s Vinevard birders found 101 species and somehow counted 75 Red-eyed Vireos! Louisiana Heron, Arctic Tern, and 6 Grasshopper Sparrows were seen. 

Marblehead gave us 93 species including a Louisiana Waterthrush on April 2nd, previously reported there in May 1974.

Westport’s 80 species featured 14 Ospreys, Turkey Vulture, Marbled Godwit, and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 

Plymouth Beach walkers discovered 78 species with 6 Common Loons and 80 Snowy Egrets on August 25th. 

Two trips to Maine netted 77 species; Squantum only 66 with much of the area no longer accessible; Lakeville-Bridgewater found 66; Rhode Island 66; Mystic Lake-Horn Pond 65 with 2 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Ruddy Ducks and Woodcock; Middlesex Fells 64 with Black-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, and 2 Broad-winged Hawks; Revere-Winthrop 62 with Long-billed Dowitcher, Marbled and Hudsonian Godwits, and 3 Black-headed Gulls; Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary 59 with Ring-necked Ducks, Woodcock, and Red-headed Woodpecker; Newton 54, Essex 51 with Great Horned Owl and Short-eared Owl; Natick 50; North Andover 50; Saugus 50; Fresh Pond 44; Quabbin 44; Ow] Prowl] 44; Dover 43; White Mountains 41; Marshfield 41; South Shore 41; Belmont 40; Mt. Tom 38; Nahant 38; Melrose 35; Pleasure Island 34; Wellesley 30; Lynn Boat 22; Boston Harbor 16; and Mt. Wachusett 10, with raptors only. 

Species gained per month in 1979 follow: 

January                92            May                         78            September       11 

February             14            June                        8               October               6 

March                 26            July                          4               November         4 

April                   44            August                  10            December         2 

Massachusetts high totals for a single day afield are given mention: 

January               48            Newburyport                    Stephen Grinley 

February             44            Newburyport                    Philip Arrigo 

March                 49            Bridgewater                       Dorothy Davis 

April                    72            Newburyport                    Joshua Murphy 

May                     102         Newburyport                    Herman Weissberg 

June                     102         GBBBC                                   Robert Stymeist 

July                       66            Newburyport                    Herman Weissberg 

August                  88            Newburyport                    William Drummond 

September        101        Newburyport                    Stephen Grinley 

October                88            Newburyport                    Oliver Komar 

November          73            Newburyport                    Brian Cassie 

December          54            Newburyport                    Ida Giriunas 

“On the thirty-second day of the thirteenth month of the eighth day of the week, 

“On the twenty-fifth hour and the sixty-first minute, we’ll find all things that we seek.” 

January Ist enticed ten members to Newburyport, while everyone else was at Salisbury looking for an absent Boreal Owl. A Clapper Rail, Little Gull, Long-eared Owl, and Northern Shrike provoked the brightest smiles, while a side visit to Ipswich for Mute and Whistling Swans, Gadwall and the dependable State Bird of Massachusetts, Black-capped Chickadee, raised our total to 41 species at day’s end. 

Squantum birders eyed 3 Double-crested Cormorants on January 7, right under their noses from the Long Island Bridge. For some members came the joy of seeing their first adult drake King Eider, at close range. 

January 13th seemed a good day to read bird books at home by the fireplace. Snow flurries and poor light plagued everyone but a roly-poly Snowy Owl sitting on a telephone pole next to Plum Island Bridge, looking snug and satisfied. Three Red-breasted Nuthatches were seen, in case you, like me, missed them in 1979. 

Cape Ann birders watched a Short-eared Owl and a pheasant on Straitsmouth Island, listed 5 Harlequin Ducks, 60 Purple Sandpipers, 4 Ruddy Turnstones, and 14 Sanderlings. No alcids at all! 

Bill Foley reported vast flocks of eiders in Lynn Harbor on January 27. 

January closed with a wild Turkey hunt in Great Barrington. Two were seen, plus a Red-bellied Woodpecker at Southwick, Pine Grosbeaks, and an adult Bald Eagle. 

February winds raged and shivered members and despite the cheering throngs of longspurs at Salisbury on the 10th, Ruffed Grouse in West Newbury, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and more Pine Grosbeaks, the general comment was “Brrrr.” 

Seven walking bundles birded Plum Island on February 17. The temperature was zero. The wind was biting cold with a chill factor of minus forty degrees. Iceland Gull, Snowy Owl, and Rough-legged Hawk were etched with icy fingers on the list of 33 species. 

Four soggy members slogged through the rain on February 24, looking for two Surf Scoters seen the previous day. But Manchester was lost in the fog. 

March 3rd trippers found “hardly any ducks around Ipswich, except Blacks,” checked-off another Red-breasted Nuthatch and mourned, “Where are the blackbirds?” 

Nantucket birders fared well with Barrow’s Goldeneye in the Harbor, 2 Harlequin Ducks, 2 Carolina Wrens, and 16 Razorbills (spotted from the boat). 

Luck of the Irish’ Lesser Scaup swimming the Merrimac on March 17^th. 

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary marshes bespoke winter but small patches of open water reflected sky. Wood Ducks chased overhead. Rusty Blackbirds squeaked from the thickets. Birders chased after, walking at top speed to keep warm. 

The Owl sleuths prowled out 2 Screech Owls in Topsfield, 2 Barred Owls at Crooked Pond, 2 Great Horned Owls in West Newbury, and a Snowy Owl at Plum Island. 

Lakeville birders exchanged smiles on March 25 where, despite heavy showers, there were Tree Swallows, Osprey, and Great Egrets. 

The winter being over, in order came Bill Drummond and a resurrected BBC walk into Quabbin at gate 43, formerly led by Brad Blodgett. Two Bald Eagles, 6 Turkey Vultures, and a Red- breasted Nuthatch were viewed, all on April Fool’s Day. 

On April 7th, Steve Grinley saw a Grackle at Rodgers Street which had a large amount of white in the head, tail, and wings. He said he saw one like it the previous year. (I saw one like it at Pike’s Bridge Road on April 13, 1980.) A Glaucous Gull sat whitely among the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls at the Rice Marshes, and a Catbird met the group at West Newbury. 

Looking up into clear, cloudless and birdless sky, Mt. Auburn birders noted elm and maple buds set to open on April 8th. Forsythia blossoms and Golden-crowned Kinglets glinted olive and gold in the sunshine. 

“Suddenly all the sky was hid, as with the shutting of a lid.” One by one rain drops began falling on Plum Island birders, just as the group began to admire a King Eider off Emerson’s Rocks on April 14. 

Rain, mingled with snow, splattered members at Squantum as they compared 30 Horned Grebes in various stages of breeding plumage. 

This year’s first Purple Finch was listed at Mt. Auburn on April 19th. Winter Wren and Palm Warblers were also entries on that historic day. Perhaps their ancestors watched the Redcoats coming! 

Marblehead walkers found a Louisiana Waterthrush, their first since 1974. 

BBC’s early spring was not euphoric. One leader commented, “Not a very good day for birds but some interesting people, one of the things that keeps me active in my limited way.” Another, finding only 7 Blue Gray Gnatcatchers, 2 Rough-winged Swallows, and 2 pairs of nesting Tufted Titmice, penned, “Boring Cold Morning!” 

At Marshfield, the echo was “No Warblers. Good Grief.” My favorite May field note has a Holmesian quality: “At least 1: means that at least 1 was identified and there was evidence of additional numbers.” Under this delightful mysterious category were listed Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Fish Crow, Indigo Bunting, and Lincoln’s Sparrow! 

Oliver Komar saw and heard singing a Mourning Warbler on May 24 as he and one companion toured Mt. Auburn. 

Great Meadows’ Willow Flycatchers were singing on May 28 as members counted 4 Mallard and 4 Wood Duck ducklings. A pair of Wilson’s Phalarope dallied at the Concord sewer beds. 

A Green Snake and 3 White-tailed Deer surprised members at Plum Island on May 27, with sudden appearances. A Common Nighthawk flew over at noon. A Laughing Gull followed. Olive- sided Flycatcher and Mourning Warbler were also gained. 

The fragrance of the wild roses at Plum Island was one memory of last spring. Perfume drifted on the air and I recall two foreign visitors stopping and asking what the delicious scent was and where it came from. 

A Great Horned Owl was mobbed by 20 crows on May 30th at Mt. Auburn. Other than that “we had little to crow about.” 

This year’s Greater Boston Breeding Bird Census listed 102 species and admitted finding nests or fledglings of 51 species. They didn’t say whose nests and children they found so I cannot tell you. 

Ipswich Beach is one of BBC’s favorite walking places. On June 17th the rewards were 9 Common, 2 Roseate, 12 Least, and an Arctic Tern, plus 5 Piping Plovers. 

A Scarlet Tanager’s nest was observed on Barker Road, North Andover, June 24. 

A Ruff was seen poking about the Plum Island salt pans on July 2nd. And two adult Wood Ducks swam with 8 ducklings in the Hellcat North Empoundment. 

Eliot Taylor’s July 4th trip drove through the gypsy moth defoliated area in Sherborn where the trees looked like a winter woods or worse, since even the pines were needle-less, “needle-less to say.” After supper at the Sherborn hamburger stand, members walked through newly cut hayfields on the Hildreth Farm, to see 25 Bobolinks and Meadowlarks. Then they drove to Framingham and counted 104 Chimney Swifts entering the 50 foot chimney to roost for the night. 

A Snowshoe Hare appeared to birders on the second White Mountain Climb. Two adult Spruce Grouse with 5 chicks were seen. Also on record were 3 Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, 11 Winter Wrens, Wood, Hermit, 20 Swainson’s, and 15 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, 11 Warbler species, and 12 White-winged Crossbills. 

Astonished birders spied a beaver at Plum Island on July 16 and learned that several were transported there by the management. At dusk Judge Jodrey took everyone to a concert at Ice House Pond. Featured were Whip-poor-wills— accompanied by a particularly mellow bull frog. 

During August’s steamy heat wave, we watched 6 Cedar Waxwings feeding with 4 Common Gallinules in the lily pads at Great Meadows. Two Spotted and 2 Solitary Sandpipers, Northern Waterthrush, a sunlit Indigo Bunting, and a Bonaparte Gull were listed. 

Birders spent an hour and a half at Plum Island salt pans hoping for a Bar-tailed Godwit. They did find a Buff-breasted Sand- piper on the flats south of Hell Cat Dike. Uncountable clouds of Tree Swallows filled the sky. 

It poured misery on Revere, and 15 Laughing Gulls teased birders who logged only 18 species on 8-12. 

The Monomoy trip was cancelled by the same storm, but birders took the option to walk Morris Island, then journey to Barnstable and Plymouth. No one grumbled over the 20 Cory’s and 45 Manx Shearwaters that flew past. No one minded seeing 8 American Oystercatchers, 15 Northern Phalarope, and 5 Parasitic Jaegers either! 

Bob Timberlake shared his Plymouth Beach walk with but 2 members on 8-25. They saw 2 adult Black Terns, Golden Plover, and 2 color dyed and several banded sandpipers. 

The last hours of August brought a wave of warblers to Nantucket’s Moth Ball Pines. An adult male Prothonotary led the list of 21 warbler species. High counts were 85 Cape Mays and 35 Bay-breasted Warblers. This trip also saw 14 Oystercatchers, a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and 35 Black Terns. 

On September 2nd an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron was verified at Mt. Auburn by Cliff Marks, when it flew with 4-5 inches of yellow legs trailing its tail. 

Marblehead Neck trippers drew lots to report what was described as “another uneventful trip.” Since they saw Yellow and Black-billed Cuckoos, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, 2 Philadelphia Vireos, Golden-winged, Blue-winged (and 9 other) Warbler species and 2 Red Knots, one guesses they rued the lack of Connecticut Warbler which was there but kept in hiding. 

Paul and Julie Roberts logged 970 raptors on 9-9, and 551 on 9-16. All from Mt. Wachusetts: the two trips totaled 9 Turkey Vultures, 165 Sharp-shinned, 1 Coopers, 9 Red-tailed, 3 Red- shouldered, 1225 Broad-winged, and 8 Marsh Hawks, 50 Osprey, 1 Merlin, 8 Kestrels, and only 42 unidentified species. 

On 9-15 leaders moaned, “Access to Squantum Airport prohibited. Use of Moon Island Causeway and Long Island Bridge prohibited. Clam Bake at Squaw Rock.” 

The lovely Gull-billed Tern hawked over Salisbury Marshes on 9-15 and then reappeared at Plum Island on 9-22. 

Mirthful birders on October 6th listed (off Plum Island) ¼ ton Great Black-backed Gulls, 1 ton Herring Gulls, and 1/2 ton Ring- billed Gulls. Although 2 Peregrines were best birds, it proved to be a herony day with 9 Great Blue, 1 Green, 5 Little Blue, 1 Louisiana, 4 Black-crowned Night, and 1 Yellow-crowned Night Heron, plus 8 Great and 87 Snowy Egrets and 3 Glossy Ibis.

On October 8th Great Meadows was chilly and windy. Merlin, Kestrels, 2 Osprey, 3 Sharp-shinned and 2 Red-tailed Hawks were seen. 

One Ipswich Sparrow, For Auld Lang Syne, was listed near Emerson’s Rocks on October 13th. Flapping over Plum Island’s dunes came 52 Black-crowned Night Herons, while a Peregrine tailed a Rock Dove at the Warden’s area. A side trip to Manchester gathered in a Summer Tanager, another Orange-crowned Warbler and a Screech Owl. 

Blue was the color of October 14th; bright blue the weather; bright blue 2 Blue Grosbeaks and 10 Indigo Buntings gained at Truro. 

November 3rd rained steadily all day as 6 members birded Plum Island, blotting their lenses and chasing 3 flocks of Snow Buntings. They tried to catch a good look at one dark and different bird, but could not. Twenty Gannets gleamed white against a dark gray sea, 9 Snow Geese and a Forster’s Tern added interest and beauty to a dark day. 

Brian Cassie tried to collect shells at Plum Island on 11-4 but the extreme high tide made birding more successful. Five American Bitterns were sighted at one time, 6 in all, plus 32 Great Blue Herons and a bevy of other birds seeking high mounds in a flooded marsh. 

One of Fall’s treasures was an Avocet that spent 11-12 on the Plum Island Marsh. Members scratched its name on the road-side with a large arrow pointing at the bird. 

Later in November the notables were Razorbills and a Western Grebe off the seaward jetties at the north end of Plum Island. Thick-billed Murres were seen off Emerson’s Rocks. Short-eared, Long-eared, and the New Pines Saw Whet Owl were seen on 11-24. Snow Buntings continued to flurrie near the Polio Camp and Water Pipits were glimpsed behind the Old Pines and elsewhere. 

“Thou waitest late, and com’st alone

When woods are bare and birds are flown,

And frosts and shortening days portend

The aged year is near his end.”

Birders came to Cape Ann in December, to view the European Widgeon at Niles Pond. A Snowy Egret drifted alone. In late morning an exuberant Herman Weissberg located members at Pebble Beach, Rockport. In excited bursts he relayed news of Luey’s Warbler near Clark’s Pond, Ipswich, for which many extend warmest thanks. While we watched diminutive Lucy in a multiflora rose bush, someone gazed away across the street, where perched a brilliant Western Kingbird in a sumac grove. 

Revere-Winthrop birders turned to shore birds on 12-2. They counted 300 Purple Sandpipers, 900 Dunlin, Killdeer, Black- bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones, Yellowlegs, long-billed Dowitchers, and 200 Sanderlings. 

A lone towhee was scratching at Plum Island as birders turned their zest to area Christmas Counting. 

1979 came to a quiet conclusion on a sunshiney December 30th behind Manchester Town Hall. A Hooded Merganser drake swam with the town Mallards. According to Leslie Wetterlow, he behaved most aggressively when people tossed bread upon the water, stayed plump and sleek, and there spent the winter. BBC members readied their new check lists and prepared to meet wintry weather, which seemed a little slow in coming. 

“deep in brambly hedges dank 

small birds nipped about to say 

Brother, the Spring is not so far away.” 

Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician

1978 STATISTICAL REPORT 

When he came to grene wode,

In a merry mornynge

There he herde the notes small

Of byrdes mery syngynge.

 

Two wayward birds joined the BBC Massachusetts Life List in 1978. The first. a brilliant yellow, black, green, and white male Townsend’s Warbler, appeared on the morning of May 4th at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, but was gone next day. A timely photographer confirmed this first-for-the-state sighting. Craig Jackson’s frank article in Bird Observer (Vol. 7, No. 1) fosters wishful looks at all Black-throated Green Warblers in future treetops. If Martha Reinstein hadn’t compared her very first BTG with Robbins’ field guide, and hadn’t provoked a discussion, all of our winning smiles would be wreathed around a stout, starling-sized beach runner. 

Wilson’s Plover is a regular feature of our Maryland-Virginia Weekend. After meeting the bird on its nesting ground, Ida Giriunas regaled Bay State birders by discovering one on the path at Plymouth Beach. June 3rd was the memorable day. 

During 1978, BBC identified 297 species of birds in Massachusetts, including 16 additions to the Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List, as follows: 

Boreal Chickadee                    Holyoke                       2/12 

Gyrfalcon                                Newburyport              3/12 

Varied Thrush                         Melrose                       3/18 

Townsend’s Warbler               Mt. Auburn                  5/4 

Red-bellied Woodpecker        Natick                          5/6 

Summer Tanager                    Melrose                       5/20 

American Oystercatcher         Martha’s Vineyard      5/27-29 

Wilson’s Plover                        Plymouth Beach          6/3 

Northern Fulmar at sea, off    Chatham                     6/4 

Common Raven                      Mt. Greylock                6/10-11 

Sabine’s Gull                           Stellwagon Bank         8/27 

Cerulean Warbler                   Nantucket                   9/1-4 

White-fronted Goose              Plum Island                 9/23 

Caspian Tern                           Plum Island                 9/30 

Lark Bunting                           Salisbury                     9/30 

Whistling Swan                       Plum Island                 11/19 

 

Missing from the reports this year were Leach’s Storm Petrel, European Widgeon, Clapper Rail, Red Phalarope, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, Worm-eating Warbler, and Dickcissel. 

We scheduled 269 field trips in 1978; 90 all-day, 110 morning, 46 afternoon, and 19 evening walks. There were 4 weekend excursions. Thirty-four leaders filed no report. Seven leaders reported trips cancelled due to poor weather. 

Forty-two Newburyport area trips led our regional counts with 246 species, a drop of 9 from 1977. Five leaders did not respond and two trips were snowed out. The height of May’s migration swelled the tally to 116 on May 20th. By May 28th the list was a reasonable 77, but with 18 different species! Among these were Great Egret, Least Tern, Willow and Alder Fly- catchers, 10 Cliff Swallows, and a Mourning Warbler. On wings of September 2nd, 5 Forster’s Terns came to the Plum Island salt pans where 2 bizarre Semipalmated Plovers posed like un- fortunate Easter chicks in orange-dyed feathers. Ten area trips viewed one or more Northern Shrikes. Brief hope for a Loggerhead came when two members reported one on Plum Island. Others as firmly believed it to be another Northern, and a troubled leader, who missed the bird entirely, listed it as “one shrike”. 

Nine Cape Cod and Monomoy trips yielded 150 species. Two trips did not report. Finds included 5 Harlequin Ducks at Orleans in January, Ruffed Grouse, Sandwich, in April, Winter Wren at Wellfleet during September, and an October Yellow-breasted Chat. Our Monomoy visits, viewed apart, gave us 57 species, 17 seen there but not on the mainland cape. Most typical of Monomoy’s allures were the larger shore birds, Black Skimmers, Sharp-tailed and Seaside Sparrows, and nesting Least Terns and Piping Plovers. Unexpected was the good view of a Red-breasted Merganser with a duckling on July 30th. 

Eight Ipswich trips supplied 137 species this year. What an occasion June 5th provided at day’s end! A Whippoorwill flew in and sat on a branch to sing at the Ipswich Beach parking lot. Virginia Rail, Great Horned Owl, White-eyed Vireo, and Pine Warblers were gained. Members watched a Goldfinch feeding young on September 9th at the shopping center. 

Westport, in 3 trips, reported 120 species. Twelve pairs of Ospreys heightened April 30th; 75 Mute Swans were counted on October 8th. 

Cape Ann offered 112 species from 10 trips; two reports are missing. Eastern Point was gainful on September 17 with Cooper’s and Red-shouldered Hawks, Merlin, White-rumped Sandpipers, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. The Rockport alcid count was limited to a few Black Guillemots save for the December Newburyport trip which extended itself rather successfully. 

As our Mt. Auburn trips declined to 38 reported visits, the count dropped to 110 species. Nine trips were uncommunicative and one was rain cancelled. A few sad comments were made about awful weather, small attendance, and the general apathy that came when May 4th’s Townsend’s Warbler failed to herald a dazzling season. A Hooded Warbler was viewed on May 11th. The highest warbler count was 19 on Virginia Day’s May 13th walk. 

Martha’s Vineyard (105) and Nantucket (101) vied for honors. The Vineyard offered Sooty Shearwaters, Parasitic Jaeger, Barn Owl, 4 Long- and 1 Short-eared Owls, 20 Carolina Wrens, Orchard Oriole, and 10 Grasshopper Sparrows. Nantucket — featured a Peregrine, 10 American Oystercatchers, Stilt Sandpiper, 17 warbler species, and 80 Savannah Sparrows. 

The BBC explored Great Meadows 13 times, 1 report missing, and encountered 99 species of birds plus snakes, small mammals, turtles, and frogs. Long-billed Marsh Wren nests were observed along the dike. Trying to identify peeps and an obscurely marked Wilson’s Phalarope, Eliot Taylor found how shore birds are strangely “un-sure” birds in the environment of Great Meadows! 

Manchester trips gained 97 species during 7 visits, all reporting. Bridgewater-Lakeville birders described 85 species in 6 visits. Pencils were busy on November 11th jotting down 24 Pied-billed Grebes, 800 Ring-necked Ducks, 300 Canvasbacks, 400 Greater Scaup, 120 Ruddy Ducks, 450 Coots, and 65 Water Pipits. 

Other areas contributed to the annual list, sometimes finding the first-for-the-year. Their totals were Arnold Arboretum 78, Milton-Canton 78, Mt. Greylock 76, Middlesex Fells 76, Squantum 76, York, Maine 73, Thompson’s Island 71, Mystic Lakes-Horn Pond 70, Newton-Needham 66, Revere-Winthrop 61, Sherborn 61, Plymouth Beach 60, Melrose 59, Mt. Tom 59, Essex 55, Marshfield 54, Nahant 52, boat trips 51, Bolton Flats 51, Natick 50, Andover 49, Saugus 45, New Hampshire 45, South Shore 44, Dover 43, IRWS 43, Fresh Pond 37, Manomet 36, Belmont 30 (only 4 of & trips responding), Mt. Wachusett 20, Wayland 15, Wellesley 14, Quabbin 11, and Mt. Watatic, in the rain, 4. 

Species gained per month in 1978 follow: 

January            108      May                 87        September      9 

February         10        June                 9          October           3 

March              18        July                  8          November       1 

April                 35        August             7          December       2 

 

Massachusetts high totals for a single day afield are given mention: 

January            55        Newburyport              D’Entremont 

Cape Cod                    Baines 

February         54        Bridgewater                Davis 

March              59        Newburyport              Giriunas 

April                 70        Newburyport              J. Murphy 

May                 116      Newburyport              Weissberg 

June                 62        Ipswich                        Berry

July                  66        Plum Island                 Soucy 

August             87        Newburyport              Giriunas 

September      93        Newburyport              Kasprzyk 

October           72        Newburyport              Arrigo 

November       64        Ipswich, Essex, etc.     Nove 

December       54        Newburyport              Henderson 

 

Special appreciation is given to three members who so faithfully submit descriptive reports. To Eliot Taylor, whose humor can brighten the “fowlest” weather; to Jerry Soucy, who describes Plum Island so movingly; and to Dora Hale, who can squeeze more information on one field card than you could imagine, many thanks. Your 1979 efforts are eagerly awaited! 

“A year is made up of a certain series and number of sensations and thoughts which have their language in nature. Now I am ice, now I am sorrel. Each experience reduces itself to a mood of the mind.””—Thoreau. 

The rough-year-just-awake mocked opening day enthusiasts through veils of snow. It was peer and pray and pound your toes at Cape Ann. The peerers arrived in 21 cars and Judge Jodrey crossed his fingers as he led them over icy roads past an obscured sea. When light faded the list had reached 33, led by 1 Common Loon. In 1968 the first Cape Ann trip found 15 Common Loons and rued the lack of an Arctic. Now that a decline in our loon population has been publicized, each is viewed with concerned appreciation. Fighting the raw northeast wind, members found 1 Pintail, 6 Harlequins, a lone Purple Sandpiper, 18 Iceland Gulls, 2 Black Guillemots, the Eastern Point Red-headed Woodpecker, and a bevy of well-fed House and Goldfinches. 

On the same day at Mystic Lakes and Horn Pond, 3 members likewise tallied 33 species, 16 different from the Cape Ann count. They too saw 1 Pintail, then 2 Wood Ducks, 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, a Common Gallinule, 4 A. Coot, a Northern Shrike, 7 Pine Grosbeaks, and a Field Sparrow. 

The next day was milder and welcomed walking at points overlooking Boston Harbor. “Whoopee,” cried David T. Brown as a beautifully plumaged Harlequin Drake was spotted by Bob Timberlake off Long Island. It was January’s sleet and snow that curtailed the BBC in 1978; six trips were called off. Falmouth offered ponds of wintering ducks, 2 Snowy, 2 Saw Whet, and 1 Short-eared Owl hunted Newburyport-Salisbury, and winter finches assembled at many feeders. Bridgewater hosted the BBC on January 22 with 2 Red-shouldered Hawks, a Water Pipet, and 2 Palm Warblers. 

On January 29th, Cape Ann birders busily counted Red-necked Grebes. One of the 43 seen was feeding with a group of Canada Geese in Goose Cove, less than ten feet away from the road.

A new month arrived and we longed for something unique. What came was not a spectacular write-in but the monumental blizzard of ‘78. Unbelievably only 2 trips were cancelled during — February. Response to the storm fury was a surge of energy. Seven members drove to Quabbin with Herman D’Entremont for 2 Bald Eagles and a Rough-legged Hawk. Then it was “on to Holyoke” for a Boreal Chickadee! 

Two weeks after the storm, Plum Island was silently snow bound, but a warm, windless, hazy morning drew members to Newburyport. A Starling performed at the Sportsman’s Lodge, Singing a beautiful Wood Thrush melody and then piping a Flicker call, enchanting all the group. This was probably the best audience a starling ever had! 

A durable Hermit Thrush met Boston area birders on February 19th. There were 15 Common Redpolls at Squantum and 15 White-winged Crossbills at Arnold Arboretum. 

Craig Jackson and friends went shore birding at Winthrop on February 26th. Their reward: 50 Red Knots, 100 Purple Sandpipers, 100 Dunlin, and 500 Sanderling. 

Truly, March couldn’t come soon enough! Thirty Robins were found in the march of cedars at Conomo Point, Essex, and Gloria Hotz supplied a Brown Thrasher at her Manchester feeding station. South Shore birders gazed at a Rose-winged Parakeet on March 11th. 

Then on March 12th a spectacular dark-phased Gyrfalcon sent pulses racing as it coursed over the Newburyport Harbor, selected a Black Duck for dinner, and enjoyed a two-hour meal. Members watched in fascination. 

Plum Island roads were still impassable on March 18th, so after sighting a Goshawk, Lesser Yellowlegs, Little Gull, and a flurry of Snowbuntings, BBC diverted its attention to Melrose and a Varied Thrush. 

Infuriating winds shook binoculars and shunted birders round Cape Cod on March 19th. Ponds were still iced over. A lone Tree Swallow blew past a noisy flock of Redwings conversing at Eastham. 

A sedentary Woodcock was scrutinized for five minutes on the March 25 Newburyport trip. Glossy feathered Green and Blue-winged Teal, resplendent Shovellers, 2 Phoebes, and Fox Sparrows reflected the changing season. 

April Fools Day rained and shined as The Reverend Holman glimpsed Spring at Mystic Lake and Horn Pond. An Osprey, Merlin, Red-headed Woodpecker, and a Rusty Blackbird were assuredly not mirages. 

The next day shivered back to the low 30s and discouraged lightly dressed walkers at Marblehead Neck until a side trip to South Peabody yielded a Barred Owl at the Girl Scout Camp.

A Bluebird delighted members at Woburn on April 8^th; a Blue Goose appeared at Newburyport amid the Snows. 

Squantum birders were pleased to find 14 Glossy Ibises near the marina on April 15th. Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets were gained on Long Island. 

April 22 was the discovery date for an adult male Hooded Warbler at Marblehead Neck Sanctuary. Starved for something special, birders scrutinized the area for several days with binoculars, scopes, tape recorders, cameras, and very wet shoes (mine) as this gorgeous bird flirted its tail and threaded the wooded swamp. 

The Roberts’ Hawk Watch at Plum Island on April 22nd struggled to find 1 Sharp-shinned, 1 Marsh Hawk, 2 Merlins, and 6 Kestrels moving against a north-northeast wind. Conditions were improved next day at Nutting Hill, Ashburnham: 113 individuals were logged, with 3 Turkey Vultures, 14 Sharpies, 1 Cooper’s, 64 Broadwings, 1 Marsh Hawk, 7 Ospreys, and 4 Kestrels. 

Mt. Auburn birders watched a Merlin on the ground within 25 feet, eating a Red-winged Blackbird on April 29th. Bob Stymeist reported a great, long, leisurely look! 

A Reeve stood near the Sportsman’s Lodge for 45 minutes, but left before most of the BBC arrived on April 29th. Louisiana Heron, Pectoral Sandpiper, and 8 Purple Martins were seen.

May arrived with unexpressed desires. At Marblehead the birds were scarce again and a silent thrush led part of the walk. In Natick a male Red-bellied Woodpecker climbed out of a nesting hole to address May 6th trippers. The leader asked, “What sounds like a tree toad but has feathers? A Red-bellied Woodpecker—the tree toad woodpecker, that is.” 

Mt. Auburn birders were second-looking everything after the Townsend’s report had circulated. One trip saw a Redstart with orange on the chest, below the black, and with white under the tall. May sped along. The Worm-eating Warbler, seen by Ruth Emery at the Plum Island roadside between South Pool and Emerson’s Rocks, was missed by the club. A Turkey Vulture left Pike’s Bridge Road before the walk arrived. An American Bittern pumped up and down and a frowning Dora Hale shrugged, “Not even a boom.” It seemed a splendid time to take a Maryland Weekend. 137 species later, those who went were happily remembering a montage of Gull-billed Tern, Chuck Wills Widow, Acadian Flycatcher, Black Vulture, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, Yellow-throated Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Boat-tailed Grackle, Prothonotary Warbler, Black Rail, Blue Grosbeak, Royal Tern and other delights.

Back at Pine Bank Park, Melrose, BBC found a Dixie visitor for the members who had to remain in Massachusetts. A Summer Tanager sang for them as they watched it closely for 15 minutes on May 20th. 

As yellow tree violets carpeted Newburyport’s Oak Hill Cemetery, the pace quickened. Herman Weissberg’s trip found 25 species of warblers in the area, with Nighthawk and Olive-sided Flycatcher. Many check lists were covered with the date, May 20th. 

Gusts of wind blew a gorgeous Black Tern past members at Great Meadows on May 2Ist. Spotted, Solitary, and Pectoral Sandpipers softly “tred the marge”. There were pairs of — Chimney Swifts, Eastern Kingbirds, Willow Flycatchers, Warbling Vireos, and 10 Cedar Waxwings. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was singing along the rivercourse.

 A Mourning Warbler visited the Newburyport Cemetery between 7:00 and 7:45 a.m. on May 28th. Mt. Auburn birders found an Alder Flycatcher at Willow Pond on May 31st! 

“They sailed away in a sieve they did

In a sieve they sailed so fast

With only a beautiful pea-green veil

Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail

To a small tobacco-pipe mast.”—Lear

 

The BBC put to sea on June 4th, to sport with 15 Humpback Whales and to view pelagic birdlife. Five Northern Fulmars, 500 Greater, 1450 Sooty and 3 Manx Shearwaters, 100 Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 14 Pomarine and 3 Parasitic Jaegers, and 132 Kittiwakes attended the meet. 

Our Mt. Greylock weekend (June 10-11) featured perfect weather. Three Common Ravens, 2 Turkey Vultures, Goshawk, 7 Red-tailed, 4 Red-shouldered, and 4 Broad-winged Hawks, plus a Kestrel, kept eyes skyward. The song of a Winter Wren trilled — from the forest.

Ipswich Beach trip leader, Jim Berry, said the “Whippoorwill stopped calling at 4:40 a.m., one-half hour before sunrise.” His June 17th walk found a Kingbird nest, too high to peek into, watched 3 White-tailed Deer, listed 2 Great Horned Owls, and 5 Pine Warblers, and made a fine census of the breeding birds of the area. 

Warm July drew members to Great Meadows but most of the birds were hiding in the cooling trees and 2 Red-shouldered Hawks commanded the sky. A Snapping Turtle was busy with the remains of a Black Duck. 

July 2nd’s Lancaster-Bolton visit drew 35 members. The highlight in a sky parade of raptors was the spectacle of a Red- tailed Hawk under attack by two Eastern Kingbirds, one of which lit on its back. The same Red-tail was later chased by a Kestrel. 

Independence Day brought Broadmoor Sanctuary a pelting rain storm. The dauntless leader went forth and “instead of sunglasses and sun lotion, salt tablets and drinking water, we took wool pants, wool sweaters, rain boots, rain suits, and ear muffs.” As it poured, they walked—5 1/2 miles—tentatively listing “5 Dovekies, 2 Puffins, 6 Storm Petrels, 2 Iceland Gulls, 1 Snowy Owl, 15 Snow Buntings, and 5 Water Ouzels!!” The leader, who shall remain nameless, pointed out that these are unofficial reports, but if anyone else saw them in the Natick area in July, they saw them first! “P.S., it was difficult to see in the rain. Maybe they were all pigeons.” 

On July 9th, the Blue Angels were flying at Hanscom Field. Birders at Great Meadows counted 5 for their check list, cowering as the jets zoomed low over the refuge. Concord birds were all in hiding. 

“Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines.” July 10 found Jerry Soucy leading 20 members around Plum Island in suffocating heat. Despite the Greenhead Fly attacks and a blinding dust cloud following each car, the group had a joyous time watching Piping Plover chicks spinning over the sand at South End. Roseate and Forster’s Terns sat on the beach too. A pair of Willets poked around the Plum Bush. At evensong, a dark Little Blue Heron led a flock of Snowy Egrets on the nightly flight to Manchester. 

One of the season’s most innovative trips was the July 15-16 trek through the White Mountain National Forest. Birding with a northern air introduced members to Spruce Grouse, a pair with 6 chicks, 2 Northern Three-toed Woodpeckers, 5 Gray Jays, 5 Common Ravens, Boreal Chickadee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Winter Wren, and 2 Wood, 1 Hermit, 40 Swanson’s, and 20 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, plus 3 Veerys in their Boreal Forest habitat. A Snowshoe Hare in summer brown was observed. Different was a Hairy Woodpecker with an orange head patch. 

Two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds joined the iridescent dragonflies and bright butterflies in Concord’s wild garden of flowers as summer turned into August. Great Meadows was decorated with Great and Snowy Egrets and Glossy Ibises picked their way through the duckweed. Virginia and Sora Rails with downy young, were glimpsed. The warm soporific air hummed and buzzed as 10 Common Gallinules swam lazily through the lotus pads, nodding and talking together. 

Least Bittern and Louisiana Heron made it worthwhile to climb the South End Tower at Plum Island. On August 12th, a Peregrine was chased by Common Terns past members assembled on the dike at Hellcat. On the salt pans behind the old pine grove stood 2 adult Little Blue Herons with a pied youngster. The sight of 4 Whimbrel and 8 Stilt Sandpipers was splendid.

Very hot August 19th brought beachers to Plum Island and the nature study areas were clogged with their cars. Our frustrated leader found that even the high tide was against her and alternate areas were non-productive. Parking on the road, to get a chance at the tower overlooking South Pool, was risked. A Pied-billed Grebe with 6 young and a Coot with her babes-in-the-marsh, won many hearts. 

The August 27th Lynn Boat Trip was thrilling. The sailing weather was superb. A Cory’s, 300 Greater, 6 Sooty, and 7 Manx Shearwaters (close on the water), 750 Petrels, 2 Northern Phalarope, Pomarine Jaeger, and a Sabine’s Gull that flew on cue, right over the boat, kept elbows jabbing one another. The leader also reported 9 Fin, 2 Humpback, and 1 Minke Whale. For the landlubbers came a Northern Waterthrush, flying close by the boat. 

A September Nantucket holiday offered members an immature Cerulean Warbler at Mothball Pines. A Merlin chased crows and gulls in sport, then perched to be admired. An Orange-crowned Warbler was interrupted as it took a bath. 

The bird reports this year emphasized raptors as more members joined the Hawk Watch. On September 17th Mt. Wachusett spotters logged 668 migrating hawks, the majority being 408 Broad-wings. A Turkey Vulture sailed over Chatham on the 23rd. Mt. Auburn birders found a Red-tail with an injured wing on the 27th. 

Wellesley afternoon walkers were driven to distraction by flocks of hard-to-glimpse, confusing fall warblers. “Not a sparrow was seen,” decried the leader. 

Plum Island birders said good-byes to September as 15 Caspian Terns passed overhead. Snow Geese were feeding on the refuge. A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilled in the pines. Three Vesper, 1 Lark, and a Lincoln’s Sparrow were pursued. Thirteen Whimbrel paused briefly as the winey airs of fall fast approached.

“The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkens, the curlew calls;

Along the sea sands, damp and brown

The traveller hastens toward the town,

And the tide rises, the tide falls.”—Longfellow

 

In sparkling October the BBC went to York, Maine. Baird’s and Western Sandpipers were “watched together for an hour or so”, and White-rumped Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers added to the score. A Great Crested Flycatcher was present and 40 Yellow-rumped Warblers were enjoyed. 

On October 8th, 52 Great Blue Herons migrated over the heads of Essex birders. 

A wave of Sharp-shinned Hawks passed over Cape Cod on October 15th, flying in two-somes. One paused to dive-bomb the only Black-crowned Night Heron in sight. 

Thanks to a late report received on January 10th, we gained a King Rail for the BBC 1978 check list. It was viewed at Plum Island during October. 

Marsh wrens were still singing at Great Meadows on November 5th. The area produced none on November 11th, but 238 Canada Geese, 6 Mallards, 12 Blacks, 15 Pintails, 120 Green- winged Teal, 40 A. Widgeons, 8 Shovellers, 3 Wood Ducks, 2 Canvasbacks, and 30 Coot kept Rod Sommers busy. A Snowbunting flew over the dike, flashing its tell-tale wing pattern. 

An adult Whistling Swan was identified by George Gove at Stage Island Pool on November 19th. One assumes it moved to Ipswich, where most people saw one later in the month. 

This swan was the only new entry on the check list for gray November. It grew colder and ponds iced over. It was clearly 

“That time of year… 

When yellow leaves… do hang 

Upon those boughs which shake against the wind 

Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.” 

 

December 3rd found members at Newburyport-Salisbury counting 22 Common Loons and 2 Red-throated Loons, Razorbill, Snowy Owl, Northern Shrike, and undulating, restless flocks of Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs. 

December 9th brought 2 Common and 74 Red-throated Loons past Andrews’ Point, Rockport. Between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., 68 Dovekies were logged, plus 8 Thick-billed Murres and 2 Razor- bills. 

Fresh, beautiful snow greeted members at Nahant on December 10th. Sharing the white landscape were 115 Sanderlings, 300 Bonaparte Gulls, and a diminutive Ruby-crowned kinglet.

Cutler Farm, Wayland, invited 8 members to share a perfect December day. Two inches of snow silenced footsteps. Common winter birds were listed, with Hairy Woodpecker, Tufted Titmouse, Mockingbird, Cardinal, Junco, and Tree Sparrows among them. The importance of our afternoon walks to those who find them such refreshment to the spirit, deserves special mention. For added pleasure, this trip discovered an immature Northern Shrike and made a close study through the scope on December 16th. 

A Pileated Woodpecker met club members as they assembled for the final trip of 1978. It appeared at the meeting place, just off Route 128 in Manchester, so close that binoculars were unnecessary. Hundreds and hundreds of Common Eiders were observed along the coast. One female Hooded Merganser loafed with the dozen and a half, always hungry, Mallard Ducks that paddle around Manchester’s inner harbor. December 30th ended. A new beginning beckoned.

Many thanks to all of our good leaders for their fine reporting of the past year. Best wishes for a filled check list in 1979! 

Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician

1977 STATISTICAL REPORT 

The Brookline Bird Club identified 296 species of birds in Massachusetts during 1977, including 17 additions to the Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List as follows: 

McCown’s Longspur               Bridgewater                1-16 

Sandhill Crane                        Bridgewater                1-22 

Red-bellied Woodpecker        Southwick                   2-13 

Gyrfalcon                                Newburyport              3-5 

Steller’s Eider                          Scituate                       4-3 

Yellow-throated Warbler        Mt. Auburn                  5-3 

Kentucky Warbler                   Newburyport              5-14 

Turkey                                     Martha’s Vineyard      5-27/28 

American Oystercatcher         Martha’s Vineyard      5-27/28 

Acadian Flycatcher                  Martha’s Vineyard      5-27/28 

Curlew Sandpiper                   Newburyport              5-28 

Northern Fulmar                     at sea, off Chatham    6-5 

Caspian Tern                           Plum Island                 6-27 

Sabine’s Gull                           Lynn Boat Trip            8-28 

Yellow-headed Blackbird        Nantucket                   9-2/5 

Common Puffin                      Gloucester Boat Trip   10-30 

Fulvous Whistling Duck           Plum Island                 11-20 

With snow two feet deep, the temperature 12 degrees above zero, and our scheduled leader halfway to Hawaii, substitute leader Eliot Taylor extended the January 16th Weston trip to Bridgewater, thereby gaining McCown’s Longspur for our BBC Life List. Our second Life Bird was the Steller’s Eider, distantly glimpsed by Mt. Auburn trippers—who side-lighted their April 3rd cemetery walk with a run to Scituate.

Missing from our 1977 check list are Leach’s Storm Petrel, European Widgeon, King Eider, Clapper Rail, Red Phalarope, Razorbill, Long-eared Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, Worm-eating Warbler, Dickcissel, and Lark Sparrow. 45 trips were not reported to me this year. If you attended a BBC trip which saw any of these missing birds, please drop me a note and I’ll adjust the records. 

We scheduled 284 field trips in 1977; 99 morning, 85 all day, 74 afternoon, 21 evening, and 5 weekend trips. Nine weather cancellations were reported. A few Spring reports were not received until Fall. Thank-you to the majority of leaders who submitted excellent, detailed reports this year. 

Forty visits to Newburyport totaled 255 species in 1977, an increase of 9 over last season. Five trips were not reported, 1 was rained-out, and 1 trip extended from Ipswich. Amazing is the fierce pride and determination of some leaders to bird on Plum Island. In January a beautiful Black-headed Gull with striking red bill and red legs was the reward for braving snow, icy streets, and brutal 4 degree cold. In February, 12 members walked 6 miles on Plum Island’s closed-to-traffic, icy roads. Dressed for the Arctic, they nearly roasted in 50-degree sunshine. They found no crossbills, just a dead Hermit Thrush in the new pines. April 9th was “colder than Hattie” and the wind blew so wildly that members couldn’t hold their scopes upright. It was drizzling and pouring on the 24th with 50-mph gust rocking the cars and the Gannets, which appeared along the surfline. On June 6th, evening trippers clad in winter attire, met a Willet at Hellcat. It rained greenhead flies during the 90-degree heat of July, rained rain in August, and was foggy in September, with poor visibility ending one trip. A very cold December leader suggested the BBC “ban winter birding”, but the calling power of Plum Island is already in his blood and he’ll be back! 

Listing 178 species, Cape Cod trips reported 7 visits to the mainland, 2 sea voyages, and 3 excursions to Monomoy Island. Two trips were unreported. October 16th trippers spent 4 hours at the Truro chicken farm, gaining Peregrine Falcon and Western Kingbird. 

The Springtime trip to Maryland and Virginia gained 148 species. 

Ipswich and environs produced 136 species with leaders reporting all 11 trips. Trekking Ipswich beach during the June 11th Nor’easter, John Nove reported the largest Least Tern Colony was destroyed by the tide storm and the other two seemed abandoned. Piping Plover nests were also washed away. His June 20th trip found that many of the Least Tern nests had been re-established. 

Westport trips advanced to 121 species although only 4 of the 6 scheduled walks reported. The November 13th group saw 2 Barn Swallows swooping across the beach as they watched 28 Snow Geese on the front lawn of a large Acoaxet estate. 

Mt. Auburn birders weren’t as gleeful this year, listing only 117 species during 39 reported trips. One visit was rain cancelled, but 14 walks failed to report. Bests were the Yellow-throated Warbler of May 3rd, Kentucky Warbler of May 23rd, and the Gray-cheeked Thrush of May 25th.

In 6 trips, Manchester reported 116 species, plus side trips to see the Magnolia Harlequins and the Red-bellied Woodpecker at Eastern Point. A Dickcissel was in the area on the day preceding the February 19th trip. 

Members reported all 10 Cape Ann trips this year and the count increased thereby to 109. Virginia Albee’s December 4th trip reported a pigeon in the famous Screech Owl hole in the Lanesville Cemetery and a dog-walker informed them that “a kid shot the ow] during the week.”

Six Marblehead walks were held (one was rained out), giving a superb tally of 108 despite an unsuccessful search for the Black and Gray Warbler in Peabody. 

The Lancaster-Bolton area was twice covered, with 108 species. Harold Merriman’s May walk gained 102 species, which no other club member showed up to share. He saw Bobwhite, Wilson’s Phalarope, Pileated Woodpecker, Pine Warbler, Indigo Buntings, and a Lincoln Sparrow. Best were excellent views of a singing Mourning Warbler and a Brewster’s hybrid which sang like the Golden-wing. 

Martha’s Vineyard weekenders also found 108 species. One Sooty represented the shearwater tribe, 13 Turkeys, 3 Barn Owls, a Red-headed Woodpecker, and an Acadian Flycatcher were observed. 

Great Meadows leaders did an especially fine job of covering their area but fell back to 107 species. All 17 reports were received. 

From Nantucket came 108 species. A Peregrine Falcon chased the pigeons at Bartlett Farm. A Gray-cheeked Thrush here was the second of but two sightings of the species by BBC in 1977.

Half of our South Shore trips responded (5), and listed 82 species. Leaders were dismayed by unusually low attendance and wondered if members wish to keep this area on the schedule.

Bridgewater-Lakeville and environs was certainly popular. We gained 78 species during 6 visits. The waterfowl and hawk counts were major drawing cards. A Winter Wren appeared as well.

Fresh Pond’s 70 species were gained from 9 visits. One trip was snowed out. Mrs. Emery feels that the scaup routinely listed here as Lesser Scaup are indeed Greater Scaup. Some clarification from leaders would be helpful. 

One trip to Dorchester and Thompson’s Island equalled 70 species. 

Sixty-eight was the Broadmoor-at-Natick tally and all 5 trips reported. Mike Duffy gained a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Lincoln Sparrow on October 2nd. 

Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary gave us 66 species from 4 reported trips. Three visits did not respond.

Middlesex Fells walks listed 64; among them were Broad-wing Hawk, Black-billed Cuckoo, and 2 pairs of Blue-gray Gnat-catchers. 

The Mt. Greylock campout listed 60 species this June, a Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, Winter Wren, and 13 Warbler species including Mourning Warbler. Two-hundred Robins led the thrush count which petered out to 2 Wood Thrush, 2 Swainson’s Thrushes, and 6 Veerys. 

Squantum birders gained 58 species during 6 visits. One report is missing. 

The Charles River tour discovered 53 species, mainly on Novitiate land in Newton. A singing Orchard Oriole was a life bird for 3 participants. 

Sherborn’s one trip gained 52 species, highlighted by a pair of Bluebirds on Russett Hill Road, and 15 Bobolinks in the fields at Pleasant Street and Western Avenue. 

One visit to Pine Bank, Melrose found 51 species, among them 3 Solitary Sandpipers, Great Crested Flycatcher, 12 Warblers, and a White Crowned Sparrow. 

Other areas adding to our total acquisition were Mystic Lake and Horn Pond, 46; Brooksby Farm, Peabody, 46; Arnold Arboretum, 44; Belmont, 42; Newton, 36; Wellesley, 39; Needham, 39; Lynnfield Marsh, 38; Revere, 34; Mt. Wachusett, 30; Nahant, 30; Quabbin, 26; Reading, 25; Lynn Boat, 23; Leverett Pond, 21; Wayland, 19; Mt. Tom, 18; and Mt. Watatic (in the rain), 11—but including 10 Sharp-shinned and 1 Red-tailed Hawk, an Osprey, and a Peregrine Falcon.

Massachusetts High Totals for the month, for a single day in the field are given special mention:

January            63                    Falmouth                                 Clark 

February         52                    Newburyport                          Hale 

March              58                    Cape Cod                                Campbell

April                 78                    Newburyport                          Grinley 

May                 160                  Century Run*                          Stymeist 

121                  Newburyport                          Weissberg 

June                 62                    Plymouth, Marshfield             D’Entremont 

July                  68                    Lancaster-Bolton                    Merriman 

August             81                    Plum Island                             Giruinas

September      91                    Newburyport                          Grinley 

October           82                    Plum Island                             Hale 

November       74                    Plum Island, Salisbury            Hale 

December       54                    Newburyport                          Miliotis 

Species gained per month during 1977 follow: 

January            106                  May                 95                    September      4

February         12                    June                 8                      October           3 

March              11                    July                  4                      November       3 

April                 36                    August             12                    December       2 

Leaders commented upon the small attendance on some trips this year in contrast to the throngs at Newburyport. Of 168 trips which did report attendance, 102 listed 10 or fewer participants and 53 reported 5 or less, including the leader. Nine all-day trips had from 1-5 members attending. On 6 trips the leader was the only participant. If you are weary of cavalcade birding, consider widening your horizons by venturing into new areas for birding. In this spirit, this year’s highlights feature many trips to less-traveled ways. 

The blessed morn has come again; 

The early gray 

Taps at the slumberer’s window-pane 

And seems to say, 

Break, break from the enchanter’s chain, 

Away! Away! 

“Old January, wrapped well, in many weeds to keep the cold away” came on a chill northwest wind, paling the neutral landscape with light snow. Three members kept tryst with the New Year at Squantum and entered a White-crowned Sparrow at the airport feeder and an adult Little Gull, from the end of Long Island, upon the checklist. Other finds were 320 Brant, 600 Common Eiders, a Goshawk, Short-eared Owl, 45 Horned Larks, and 7 Song Sparrows; 22 species and a great beginning. 

On January 8th, Judge Jodrey became the year’s first solitary observer, due to a snowstorm at Cape Ann. His list of 27 included 10 Cowbirds, an array of feeder birds, and all the bobbing sea ducks he could count between snow flakes. 

On January 16, 5 members scoured Falmouth, Mashnee Island in Buzzards Bay, and East Sandwich. Most ponds were iced over, but birders enriched the list with Red-throated Loon, Pied-billed Grebe, 6 Great Blue Herons, a rich panoply of waterfowl including 10,350 scaup, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Merlin, Common Snipe, Glaucous Gull, 6 Thick-billed Murre, and a number of lingering passeriformes. 

Nahant birders examined a large loon as the month ended. It appeared “sharply black and white with the black extending down over the eye. The bill was upturned and a pretty, pale green. 

February began its cold rule as cold birders, back at Long Island on the 6th, picked up a Thick-billed Murre—dead—and acquired the skull. Sixteen Black-legged Kittiwakes joined the list.

Hunting the Boston Harbor Islands on February 19 were a Red-tailed Hawk and a Kestrel; an adult Northern Shrike kept changing its perch in the bushes and trees by the Jordan Marsh Warehouse. 

Reading’s Feeding Stations gave us the year’s first Pine Grosbeak on February 20th, plus 31 Purple Finches. 

A Great Meadows exploration on the 21st featured a Winter Wren thread the tangle of deadfalls along the stream and counted 7 Robins upon thawed ground near the outflow.

Highland Farm walkers reveled in “the first of the warm Saturdays” on the 26th. A lovely day was spent on snowy Belmont Hill with Eliot Taylor on hand to gather in the Chickadees, “which everyone enjoys all over again.” 

A late-in-the-month Newburyport trip, sans leader, drew lots and Dick and Dora Hale won the honors. Red-winged Blackbirds, tuning up for Spring, drove out winter glooms, and a pair of Wood Ducks and 2 Green-winged Teal lent an exotic vibrancy to the muddy bank of the Merrimack River. 

On March 5, Newburyport was invaded by an army of birders. It was 2:30 p.m. at the Water Street Boat Ramp. The large group had walked to the coal yard to hunt a Glaucous Gull. Herm Weissberg stayed behind and while scoping Woodbridge Island, saw everything going up. Jim Barton also watched as a white-phased Gyrfalcon flashed over the marsh sending clouds of ducks, gulls, and geese into the sky. At least the main group did get a Redhead, Snowy Owl, 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes, and the Glaucous Gull. 

An early Lesser Yellowlegs stalked the Newburyport area on March 12th. 

Natick trippers saw a Snapping Turtle, fresh square holes made by the Pileated Woodpecker in a Hemlock Tree, and gained another White-crowned Sparrow at Broadmoor’s feeding station, where it had spent the winter. 

The highlight of April 2nd’s Newburyport trip was a fine and extended view of a Short-tailed Weasel on Pikes Bridge Road, found by Alan Smith of Revere. 

“Soon o’er their heads blithe April airs shall sing A thousand wild flowers round them shall unfold.” Keble 

Rev. John Holman found that April was still fooling, as the uncertain glory of April 2nd flung sleet and snow into faces watching Fresh Pond. A Pied-billed Grebe surfaced, Ring-necked Ducks and Canvasbacks were lustre-less, a Phoebe endured, and Redwing Blackbirds and Grackles sat in black flocks in the trees. 

On April 9th, Rev. Holman gained a Tree Swallow at Horn Pond, Woburn, and added 6 Rusty Blackbirds before pleading, “Where is Spring?” 

April 18th presented Hammond Pond, Chestnut Hill birders with hope in a flurry of 25 Yellow-rumped and 50 Palm Warblers. 

Few hawks braved awful weather on 4-23 to watch birders at Plum Island. Present were 10 Glossy Ibis, 5 Ruddy Ducks, 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a black and white Warbler. 

The August Boat Trip to Stellwagon Bank gained 500 Greater, 25 Sooty, and close encounters with 8 Manx Shearwaters. Northern Phalarope, 3 Parasitic and 5 Pomarine Jaegers, 20 unidentified jaegers and an adult Sabine’s Gull kept binoculars busy. Calm seas prevailed and no one was seasick. 

Nantucket birders saw a Brown Bat, hanging like a pine cone in the Moth Ball Pines when they stopped for a Yellow-breasted Chat. 

Jim Berry’s September 10th walk at Ipswich flushed a 4 Marbled Godwit at Eagle Hill to see the cinnamon wing linings.

Mt. Wachusett, Princeton was the site of a hawk watch on September 18th. Turkey Vulture, 22 Sharp-shinned, 5 Red-tailed, 345 Broad-winged, and 3 Marsh Hawks, 12 Ospreys, and 6 American Kestrels were the reward. 

Gloria Hotz often sends unusual observations along with Manchester reports. On September 24th her group noted a pair of Gray Catbirds at Allen’s Pond. One had typical black eyes and the other had brilliant amber eyes, like a thrasher! 

A thrilling spectacle for Plum Island birders on October! came with 5000 Double-crested Cormorants, passing overhead strings of three to four hundred. 

No one braved the pouring rain to join Steve Grinley at Westport on October 9th so he decided to “go it alone”. He surveyed a lone Osprey fishing in the river, counted 141 and 27 Mute Swans at Acoaxet, and watched the gulls following a fishing trawler in rough seas off shore. A few Gannets passed as did an unidentified shearwater. Seven Laughing Gulls came along, and a flock of Dunlin. Everything got progressively wetter—Common Loon, Kingfisher, and a very wet Great Egret sitting in the marsh at Dartmouth. So a wet and depressed Steve turned and went home. 

Another Osprey was seen catching a fish at Fresh Pond on October 15th, as flocks of Canada Geese headed South. Twelve Lesser Scaup were studied and their dusky sides noted, 25 Killdeer were viewed together, and 15 Semi-palmated Plovers kept company with a lone Common Snipe. 

“Orleans to Truro and back” was the slogan on October 16th. A Peregrine Falcon perched on a wire long enough for all to view him/her through the scope. A Western Kingbird added to the fun and members counted Savannah, Sharp-tailed, Vesper, Chipping, White-throated, White-crowned, Swamp, and Song Sparrows. 

A Gloucester October boat trip enticed 128 people out to sea for a dark phased Northern Fulmar, Common Puffin, 10 Greater Shearwaters, Gannets, and Black-legged Kittiwakes. The list ended with one Snowbunting but doesn’t say whether by land or by sea. 

November 6th gave us a grand total of 40 Common and 70 Red-throated Loons! 

One of the hazards of leading a larger group is that everyone doesn’t see all the birds. How frustrating it was on November 5th to have 12 pairs of Shovelers at the roadside edge of the Plum Island salt pans, only to have them all fly away as the cars pulled up! Seventeen Red-breasted Nuthatches investigated the new pines as a fruitless search was made for a Saw Whet Owl. Peregrine Falcon and Northern Shrike raised spirits, but a Gull-billed Tern, reported by Ruth Emery and George Wilson, could not be found in the fading light at Salisbury. 

Delight of the November 20th Plum Island trip was an immature Bald Eagle with heavily mottled wing linings, dark beak and head, and basal 3/4 of the tail white with a dark terminal band. A Fulvous Whistling Duck was stationed at the feeder on the Hellcat boardwalk. One hundred and five Pine Siskins added a sprightly touch. 

On December 3rd at Lanesville, 14 Snow Buntings landed in a plot of short green grass, bringing life bird excitement to one trip participant. A Red-headed Woodpecker at Eastern Point added to the delight. 

Watchers at Revere and Winthrop were busy on December 4th, counting 22 Horned Grebes, 35 Purple Sandpipers, 64 Dunlin, 325 Sanderlings, 21 Laughing Gulls, 150 Bonaparte Gulls, and a Water Pipit. 

A Sharp-shinned Hawk was bombing an adult Red-tailed Hawk at Salisbury on the same day. Fifty Evening Grosbeaks and 4 Pine Siskins were spotted at Plum Island, and a Common Redpoll and 8 White-winged Crossbills were added to the checklist. 

December 17th bathed Wayland in wintery sunlight. A corn field of 50 Tree Sparrows rendered icicle tunes prophetic of frostier days. Three flocks of geese passed overhead toward their nightly bivouac near Heard’s Pond. The sky gradually filled with wings as lines of gulls made their late afternoon flight to Boston Harbor. 

The final trip of 1977 was a morning visit to Manchester and Magnolia on December 31st. Harbor Seals basked on the rocks in Manchester’s Outer Harbor and at Rafe’s Chasm, 5 Harlequin Ducks played in the surf. Members said their “Good-byes” until next year and prepared for another beginning. 

Checking the annual list there were a few empty spaces. Echoing Wordsworth, one was apt to sigh: 

“To seek thee did I often rove 

Through woods and on the green; 

And thou wert still a hope, a love; 

Still longed for, never seen.” 

Ah, but just wait until next year! 

Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician

1975 STATISTICAL REPORT

During 1975 the Brookline Bird Club identified 804 species (plus two hybrids) and listed among these, 22 write-ins on the Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List. A selective list of these write-ins follows:

Western Tanager                                            Annisquam                                        1-4

White Pelican                                                  Harwich                                           1-25

Sandhill Crane                                                Eastham                                             2-1

Black-backed Three toed Woodpecker       Swampscott                                       2-2

Varied Thrush                                                 Athol                                                 2-15

Tufted Duck                                                    Salisbury                                           3-1

Ross’ Gull                                                        Newburyport                                    3-16, 4-5, 5-3

Kentucky Warbler                                           Mt. Auburn                                        5-6

Summer Tanager                                             Newburyport                                      5-24

Brewster’s Warbler                                          West Newbury                                   5-31

American Oystercatcher                                 Martha’s Vineyard                           5-31

Prothonotary Warbler                                      Plum Island                                        8-30

Caspian Tern                                                   Monomoy                                          8-31

LeConte’s Sparrow                                          Great Meadows                                9-1

Short-billed Marsh Wren                                 Plum Island                                        9-6

White Ibis                                                         Westport                                             9-7

Wheatear                                                          Nantucket                                           9-20

Clay-colored Sparrow                                      Plum Island                                        9-28

Boreal Chickadee                                             Plum Island                                        10-4

Sabine’s Gull                                                    Provincetown                                     10-25

Whistling Swan                                                Westport                                             11-23

Ivory Gull                                                         Salisbury                                            12-27

In 42 reported trips, Newburyport led the count with 255 species, plus Brewster’s Warbler and one hybrid teal. The oft-described celebration of Ross’ Gull was an exhilarating spectacle. Will you ever forget the masses of down-clad, bundled birders, standing in the biting cold, grasping fluttering pink paper “News Flash from Mass. Audubon” in one mitten and binoculars in the other? The reception was also splendid when an Ivory Gull appeared for a share of the adulation in December.

Our 15 Cape Cod ventures gained 181 species. American Oystercatchers were seen on all 4 Monomoy Island trips, 6 on July 19, 9 on August 2, 11 on August 16 and 9 on August 31. The BBC always hopes to see Caspian Tern, Black Skimmer and the large waders on the Cape. We weren’t disappointed in 1975. Adding White Pelican, Sandhill Crane and Sabine’s Gull to the list caused more than one member to remark, “This year the birds came to see us!”

Eight South of Boston cavalcades totaled 146 species; two trips were not reported. There were hundreds of Brant in March. Twenty White-rumped Sandpipers, Mourning Warbler and Lincoln’s Sparrow were added in September, and 10 Redheads and 43 Canvasbacks joined the list there on December 7th.

Westport’s 6 trips stretched over the entire season. January 31 Mute Swans swelled to 120 in April. A Whistling Swan was added in November. One Little Blue Heron, a Cattle Egret and a Clapper Rail were gained at Dartmouth on April 27, but Red-headed Woodpecker was missed. The September 7 trip visited a heron roost counting 20 Little Blues and 50 Great Egrets, among other species, and adding the White Ibis.

The BBC total “heron” count for 1975 was as follows:

Great Blue Heron          272                          Black-crowned Night Heron                246

Green Heron                 164                          Yellow-crowned Night Heron                1

Little Blue Heron           82                            Least Bittern                                         16

Cattle Egret                    23                            American Bittern                                  26

Great Egret                     79                            Glossy Ibis                                           180

Snowy Egret                  1030                        White Ibis                                             1

Mt. Auburn trips listed 110 species. A Worm-eating Warbler was heard and later verified. The best warbler tally was 19 on May 20. (PI birders saw 20 species on May 17.) No great waves appeared to torment and give stiff necks to the novice birders, but the sight of wings and tails high up in the foliage, late in the month, was enough to frustrate even Bob Stymeist, who reported, “can’t see a darn thing, even in the oaks. 80% of the birds, heard!”

Manchester birders gained an impressive 105 species during 8 trips. Gray-cheeked Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, and 4 Indigo Buntings were featured.

Ipswich reported, in 4 trips, a fine 90 species. On January 12, a Green-winged Teal was discovered with the Black Ducks in Norman’s Pond, and 3 Hooded Mergansers were at Clark’s Pond. That day there were also Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Rough-legged, and Marsh Hawks, and 8 American Kestrels. Two Harbor Seals basked on the rocks at Little Neck.

Cape Ann’s count was 80 this year, as only 6 reports were available. One trip was cancelled due to snow, one group decided to go to Newburyport instead (then missed the Ross’ Gull), and a third trip did not report. Winter specialties did include 8 Guillemots, Razorbill, Harlequin Duck, Kittiwake and Purple Sandpiper. And two write-in species were much enjoyed.

The Martha’s Vineyard trip gave 78 species, including a Short-eared Owl and 12 Grasshopper Sparrows.

This year’s Berkshire Campout added a Turkey Vulture to the check list, and tallied 74 species. It was nice to see Gray-cheeked Thrush on the list.

From Weston, 4 trips reported 74 species, finding Goshawk, Prairie Warbler and twice, Worm-eating Warbler.

Five walks around Arnold Arboretum totaled 66 species in that lovely tree-park, including the year’s first Lincoln Sparrow.

Sherborn-Natick birders reported 64 varieties, with Broad-winged Hawk and a Louisiana Waterthrush.

Groton’s Pine and Blue-winged Warblers brought that count to 56, in 2 completed trips.

Only one Wayland trip was held. It listed 53 species.

The Newton birders found 50 species during 2 walks, and gained the year’s first Spotted Sandpiper.

Unfortunately, 2 trips to Mystic Lake were stormed out and one is missing. The total reached 47.

Boston Harbor Islands gave us 46 species on 4 trips, and featured Brant and other waterfowl, several Owls and Redpolls. Fresh Pond gained a similar 46 species in 10 trips. Three trips there were cancelled and 1, unreported.

Belmont reported the season’s first Woodcock and tallied 43 species in 6 trips. Two walks were cancelled and 1 not heard from this year.

Other areas contributed: Charles River, 42; Revere, 41; Middleboro, 40; Mt. Tom, 32 (with 428 Broad-winged Hawks); Lynnfield, 32; Wellesley, 32; Marblehead, 27; Lexington, 25; Quabbin, 20 (but including 2 Bald Eagles and a trek to Athol for Varied Thrush); Nahant, 17; and IRWS, 14.

Our trips to Needham, Milton and Andover were either cancelled or unreported in 1975.

High totals for the month depend partly upon luck, but usually upon the excellence of the leader and the persistence of the participants. Special mention is given to the following for a single day of birding:

January               44            Larry Jodrey, Cape Ann; Jim Berry, Ipswich; and Anne Clark, Falmouth

February             48            Dick and Dora Hale, Cape Ann

March                 49            Jerry Soucy, Newburyport

April                   69            Jim Berry, Ipswich to Newburyport

May                   111        Herm Weissberg, Newburyport

June                    78            Herman D’Entremont, Plymouth; Cy Simmons, Plum Island

July                     73            Bill Drummond, Plum Island

August                78            Bill Drummond (for Giriunas), Newburyport

September        130         Bill Drummond, Newburyport

October               92            Dick and Dora Hale, Newburyport

November          67            Rick Heil, Newburyport

December          52            John Nove, Manchester to Cape Ann

It is also interesting to note that at least one new species was gained each month during 1975.

January               90            May                       92            September       12

February             23            June                        6             October             7

March                 11            July                         4             November         6

April                    41            August                  11            December         1

Birds missing from the Massachusetts Audubon Society Check List, despite all efforts to find them, were: Louisiana Heron, Pomarine Jaeger, Red-headed Woodpecker, Lark Sparrow, European Widgeon, Thick-billed Murre, Western Kingbird.

Reviewing the past year has been fun. There has been a wealth of material to choose from, as many more leaders made notes and included trip summaries in their reports. Thank-you. One small plea: please give a detailed description when you record write-in species, and most especially when you add a life bird to the BBC list.

As “the dusky night rode down the sky and ushered in the morn”, 30 birders grabbed check lists, pencils, binoculars, and scopes, and headed for the South Shore. New Year’s Day had arrived with a little snow and, alas, little else. They found 20 species, not even a bird apiece, with 200 Bonaparte Gulls foremost among them. But birders live on hope, and it was great to begin. 

On January 4, members met a Ruddy Duck at Mystic Lake, counted 20 Coot at Horn Pond, and entertained a good natured disagreeement over a female duck with hidden speculum, never satisfactorily identified. Meanwhile, Cape Ann birders wrote-in Western Tanager at Annisquam, watched a solemn Common Merganser, and played “he’s up, he’s down” with various Guillemots. And at Lexington feeding stations, 15 members added birds to the annual checklist from a panoply of Evening Grosbeaks, House Finches, Goldfinches, Cardinals, Mourning Doves, woodpeckers, nuthatches, Tufted Titmice, Chickadees, Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, Juncos and sparrows. A Fox Sparrow and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet were underlined. An American Kestrel did some watching of its own.

The January 11 Westport trip rained-out at noon. Luckily, the morning allowed views of 2 Redheads, 150 Canvesbacks, a Carolina Wren and a Common Yellowthroat.

Late on January 12, Philip Parsons and Herman Weissberg stopped at the clam shack, Newburyport, to look over some gulls. A small one, tinged pink, caught their attention. Then of course it vanished! The integrity of their observation became clear in March. For a great interview with the discoverers of Ross’ Gull, read “A Ross’ Gull Round Table” in the Jan.-Feb. Bird Observer, and to re-savor the details of the verification, see “The Massachusetts Ross’ Gull” in the June issue of American Birds, both 1975 publications.

A Short-eared Owl joined the list at Squantum on the 19th, and flocks and flocks of ‘Lapland Longspurs coursed the wind.

It was raining hard at Falmouth on January 25, but birders went anyway, for 4 Pied-billed Grebes, 12 Redheads, 90 Canvasbacks, 33 Ruddy Ducks, 11 Tufted Titmice and much more. By afternoon the rain let up and one of Falmouth’s famous fogs began to roll over the landscape, wrapping up birds and birders in a cold, damp blanket. Some of the group made it to Harwich just in time to see the White Pelican.

Happily the Long-eared Owl checked in earlier this year, on January 26. Snowy Owls kept Nature balanced at Plum Island. Rough-legged Hawk and Red-tail sky patrolled. It didn’t pay to be a “wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie”. Black-headed Gull and 50 Bonaparte Gulls were seen, but nary a pink feather.

So many waifs this year, fulfilling their destinies far from their own kind. Ice skinned Cape Cod ponds seemed strange hostelry for a Sandhill Crane, White Pelican and Little Blue Heron, all seen on February 1.

A Black-backed Three-toed Woodpecker was Swampscott’s celebrity on the 2nd of the month. Birders tried to find a King Hider off 40 Steps, Nahant, but 400 Common Eiders swam without one. The beaches were covered with ice and people, but 50 Sanderlings managed to run along the tide margin.

During a mild blizzard, Bill Drummond urged his February 9th trip “on to Rafe’s Chasm”, Magnolia. Snug on the rocks sat 6 Harlequin Ducks. A party of 10 “lords and ladies” cavorted in the surf there on the 16th, and 6 Red-necked Grebes, Razorbill, Western Tanager and Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Shrike and Snowy Owl gave birders a lively stop-go drive around Cape Ann.

Great Meadows is not just a summer place. On February 17, a Pileated Woodpecker flew over the woods at the SW end of the refuge, its large, white wing patches flashing a semaphore in the sky. A young Red-tail practiced take-off and landings near the sewer beds, where 5 Snipe were observed.

Belmont walkers found February 22 “beautiful, but dull”. Bird news slowed a bit at the end of the month. In retrospect, it seems the calm did come before the storm.

Blustering March pounced in, lashing snow squalls into the faces of the Newburyport group. Two cars slid down the icy roads from Athol, to join members at Salisbury, where a Tufted Duck was favoring the salt water creek near the toll booth. Despite the low tide, there he was, in scarcely enough water to wet his long, beautiful tuft. Jim Baird and party had seen an Eared Grebe earlier in the day and BBC was alerted. Conditions deteriorated, and a “suspiciously different grebe” could not be identified positively by us. Good things did come, in threes: 3 Goldeneyes, 3 Glaucous Gulls and 3 Snowy Owls. Flocks and flocks of larks, longspurs, and Snowbunting, whirling into the sky, made feather flurries of their own.

An adult, winter plumaged Ross’ Gull was identified and verified at Salisbury on March 2nd; the pilgrimage of 1975 was underway. It was thrilling, a very special time. Two thoughts come to mind: how fortunate that the bird appeared where it did; how missed were certain faces in the crowd.

The Bird wasn’t the only bird around. There were more than enough Bonaparte, Black-headed and Little Gulls to bedevil the searchers. An albinistic Snowbunting at Salisbury, March 16, started a mild panic when someone wondered if it might be a McKay’s Bunting. It wasn’t.

Spring was returning, one rain drop at a time. Two skunks skulked along the marsh carefully avoiding birders. A Snow Goose joined the building flocks of Canadas at Newburyport and huge rafts of scaup and goldeneyes choked the mouth of the Merrimack.

Seventy-five Canada Geese were seen flying over Horn Pond in a perfect V formation. An early Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drilled in the pines at Plum Island. It was March 29, and members chuckled to view 2 Coots walking clumsily on the land. Some had never seen Coot feet. One asked, “How would you like to have feet that are yellow and green and huge like snowshoes?” At that, one Coot flew and landed on the ice, sliding a long way on its tummy.

Three Phoebes waved their tails like royal dames to April Plum Island trippers, despite weather described as “awful, miserable and atrocious”. Twenty-seven Snow Geese cheered hearts a little, 22 Killdeer and 5 Greater Yellowlegs made the best of it, and 500 Robins signaled Spring, somewhere. Redwings, Rusty Blackbirds, Grackles and Cowbirds turned up, as Leader Phil Parsons gallantly offered another look at Ross’ Gull.

The sun came out on April 12 and Plum Island birders finally found the Saw Whet Owl!

Winds shunted birders across the dikes at Great Meadows on the 21st, toward tail-wagging Palm Warblers and other Spring arrivals. A variety of swallows coursed the wind.

On the 26th, Sora Rail responded to a tape recording and walked up to members at the Ipswich Shopping Center. A Ruff was discovered at Sportsmen’s Lodge and a Louisiana Waterthrush appeared at Broadmoor Sanctuary. The list of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers grew and grew as the month ended.

May started cool and gray at Mt. Auburn. Even the birds were gray—Chimney Swifts, Phoebe, Mockingbird and 2 gray-headed Solitary Vireos. It seemed evident that “Man is ever weary, weary—waiting for the May’, even with the new page on the calendar.

The May 3 Crooked Pond to Plum Island trip recorded the first Green Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers. Another Ruff was seen, and no one minded another gaze at Ross’ Gull. For many, the prize was three-fold—Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine, on one trip.

A Kentucky Warbler woke Bob Stymeist at 5:15 on May 6. He watched it for 45 minutes as it sang in the hawthorne tree outside his window. At 6:00 a.m., he dashed to the Mt. Auburn gate, gathered up the BBC, and sped them back to his house. Many lists gained a life bird that morning.

Mt. Auburn birders polished their lenses and spotted a Great Egret in a tree at Willow Pond on the 7th, and a few days later, some watched a Herring Gull catch and eat a goldfish there.

Betty Cushman located a Phoebe’s nest in back of the Polaroid Building in Newton on May 10th.

Three American Bitterns were seen standing together in the grass by the Sudbury River on May 17, and 5 Nighthawks called and flew overhead.

Crows on the wing mobbed a large white bird at Mt. Auburn on May 27. This report was offered in support of a Barn Owl sighting there that day.

Our Southern Weekend listed 78 species in Maryland and 80 species in Virginia, with many highlights; Blue Grosbeak, Wilson’s Plover, Black Vulture, Gull-billed Tern, Swainson’s Warbler and other area specialties, plus 4 Black Rails.

Best birds on the Cape Cod trip of May 31 were 15 Sooty Shearwaters, moving north off Nauset Beach. A Bank Swallow colony, an occupied Kingfisher hole, and a nest of House finches were noted. A partial albino Chipping Sparrow joined the long list of aberrant birds seen this year.

Virginia Rails and Pied-billed Grebes, both chicks, delighted members on the last May Newburyport trip. This developed into a super trip, with Brewster’s and Mourning Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, King Rail, 2 Willets and anything else you wanted!

Whippoorwill walkers tried the Dover Dump this June since Sherborn’s own night-jars seem to be either thinning out or getting wise to whistling birdwatchers. Two birds responded at the dump. A Veery was also heard. The leader wondered if 2 species constituted a record for the BBC. I seem to recall a blushing “one confusing fall warbler” from Marblehead, but that trip was declared a rain-out!

Steve Grinley’s comments are too good to be missed. From the Berkshire Campout comes this: “On Saturday, while looking for the Mourning Warbler along the road to the summit, one member was asked to move his car to allow someone to jump off the mountain. All 16 members watched in awe as not one, but 6 men jumped off the mountain—on hang gliders! Several members had to assist the last flyer as he fell into a bush on his first attempt. But like a young fledgling just out of the nest, he gave it a second try and was soaring with a pair of Red-tails!” The Mourning Warblers were located, together with 2 Barred Owls, and a number of nesting species.

The Plum Island boat trip of June 21 frolicked with 3 whales and a Manx Shearwater, and managed to list 6 Wilson’s Storm Petrels—the grand day and sunset-return to port making up for the dearth of birds.

Hot, dusty, Plum Island might have been home to a singing White-eyed Vireo, but birders, scratching away the bugs, felt dirty and itchy on the 23rd. A White-tailed deer, running through the marsh at dusk, brought a moment of beauty.

A Kingbird celebrated July 4 at Broadmoor by landing on a Broad-winged Hawk and riding it piggy-back for 80 feet. Much later, while driving away from Waseeka Sanctuary in Hopkinton, Eliot Taylor saw two pink eyes at the side of the road. He stopped the group, and whistled out a Whippoorwill that flew up and down the road and landed in a near-by tree.

A Plum Island evening trip by-passed the dike for the first time on July 21, to keep a Royal Tern watch at Emerson’s Rocks. Members watched and watched and nothing turned up. When the leader reached home he had a phone call. “Sorry I missed you at the airport. Did you see the 2 Black Skimmers at the dike?”

An Osprey, fishing at Great Meadows on July 19, held the attention of a group bent on counting waterfowl children. Their tally: 4 Woodduck with 18 ducklings, 3 Gadwalls with 16 ducklings, Black duck with 10 young, and 2 Virginia Rails with 5 little black chicks.

The objective of another Plum Island trip was a Curlew Sandpiper. Never has an assemblage of shore birds received such scrutiny. Each time a fresh flock arrived, hopes raised and lowered with the row of binoculars. It just wasn’t to be seen.

When the “plumed goldenrod flaunts her train and lifts her golden head along the way”, you will find a funfilled coterie of birders exploring the kettle holes, squishing in the marsh, and brushing away the flies and mosquitoes on Plum Island evening trips. It’s a special time. On August 3, a sneak through aromatic “soup” led to 7 Sharp-tailed and 4 Seaside Sparrows in the tall marsh grass beyond Plum Bush. Singing out Whimbrel, Willet and Godwit was almost as delightful as seeing them. 250 Snowy Egrets flapped in, to roost for the night at Stage Island Pool. Final reward was a Black Skimmer, sitting on the sand at South End as the setting sun flamed the sky.

The August 9th boat trip logged 2 Greater, 2 Sooty’s and a Manx Shearwater, about 300 Wilson’s Storm Petrels and 35 Northern Phalarope.

Monomoy birders noted their gains very carefully on August 16: 159 Semipalmated Plovers, 67 Piping Plovers, 94 Red Knots, 5 Marbled and 80 Hudsonian Godwits, 1470 Great Black-backed Gulls, 45 Laughing Gulls, 72 Roseate Terns and dozens of other species.

A motorcycle and 10 cars made up the August 23 parade from Newburyport to Pikes Bridge Road. Two Buff-breasted Sandpipers caused a celebration. Swallows filled the air. Finally, a Solitary Sandpiper was gained for the annual list, as well as the year’s only Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Three Wilson’s Phalarope and a Black Tern made this a superb trip. 

The month ended back at Monomoy. Stiff northeast winds had blown most of the shore birds away. A Ruddy Duck, in molt, proved interesting. The piece de resistance was a Kentucky Warbler, identified by John Wall.

On September 6, Evelyn Pyburn found a Short-billed Marsh Wren at Plum Bush, setting the morning off to a good natured challenge cup race. Larry Jodrey announced, “Yellow-crowned Night Heron flying over” at Hellcat. From then on it was frantic for the tally keeper, as 130 species appeared, best of 1975.

At Westport, a White Ibis posed for club members on the 7th, at 6:50 p.m. It flew from Allen’s Pond to the heron roost on Big Ram Island in the Westport River. Bob Stymeist saw a Louisiana Heron in the area, but it was missed by the BBC. The group did enjoy 25 Whimbrel at Dartmouth, and skies and skies of swallows.

Birders watched a weasel at the Warden’s, Plum Island on September 18, while a Connecticut Warbler favored Stella Garrett with a solo appearance. The species was also gained by the September 20 group, along the new elevated marsh walk at Hellcat. A Western Tanager stopped traffic between Kettle Hole and the compound.

Nantucket fog disrupted plans for the pelagic bird search—just one Manx Shearwater was seen. The highlight of the year’s trip was discovered when Dick Hale made a wrong turn, separating his car from the main party, but joining up with a Wheatear. The leaders of the trip were at their cottage, wondering what was keeping the group. A handsome photograph resulted from co-leader Jerry Soucy’s successful dash to the bird!

A card from Great Meadows listed 29 Golden Plovers for the 21st, but commented on the low numbers of waterfowl, “due to the warden’s having frightened them away because of mysterious waterbird kill in the area.”

September ended on an exuberant note. The boat trip from Harwichport, on rainy, foggy September 27, gave us 8 Red Phalarope and 2 Parasitic Jaegers, plus views of 3 Cory’s, 75 Greater and 6 Sooty Shearwaters. The next day, a Clay-colored Sparrow and 3 Peregrine Falcons astonished Plum Islanders.

And then bright, blue, brisk October began. Boreal Chickadee was easy to find in the Old Plum Island Pines, and 24 Shovelers, Peregrine, Osprey, Willets and Winter Wren satisfied members who had missed them. A Clapper Rail ended the trip.

Belmont-at-Highland-Farms trips are routinely plagued with noisy people and dogs. Due to the first American League play-off baseball game, all the people were at home, watching TV. The dogs must have been with them. Thus a peaceful stroll ensued, featuring a Sharp-shinned Hawk, Palm Warblers, a Scarlet Tanager and a flock of White-throated Sparrows.

Members counted 51 Great Blue Herons at Fort Hill, and added number 52 behind the Acme Laundry, during a drive from Chatham to Truro on October 5. A Pectoral Sandpiper fed in the pig pen at Corn Hill, running the gamut from Lesser Yellowlegs to Upland Sandpiper, before it took a bath in the brook and revealed its true identity. Two Bluebirds, scarce this year, were seen at Truro. Ten species of Sparrows were recorded including a Vesper, 1000 Juncos, 10 White-crowned, 50 Whitethroats and a Lincoln’s. The season’s only Hooded Warbler was gained on this trip.

On the anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America, one birder explored The Glades, Scituate. He discovered 15 Water Pipits before heavy rain sent him home. A Hermit Thrush lingered behind him, in appropriate solitude.

Osprey and Kingfisher fished Mystic Lake giving the birding party the hope that the water is clearing there. Not seeing or even hearing a chickadee or nuthatch was considered noteworthy.

Great Meadows once again stirred with waterfowl on October 13. An immature Double-crested Cormorant was surprised at Borden’s Pond.

Rainy day birding is hard to endure, and the Westport October 19th trip could endure it only till 11:30 am. Before everyone left for home, 8 Gannets passed close by Gooseberry Neck, one unbelievably close. A Red-necked Grebe was a fine acquisition for the area.

This year’s weekender on the lower cape was dazzling, from 100 Common Loons to Snowbuntings. On the list were 5 Cory’s, 105 Greater and 1 Sooty Shearwater, 610 Gannets, 2 Turkey Vultures, 16 Kittiwakes, Forster’s Tern, 2 Razorbills, 3 Dovekies and 2 Dickcissels. For members who already had these, came a Sabine’s Gull.

Plum Island enchanted some with a whirl of 42 Red Crossbills, singing, flitting and spiriting a merry chase through the pines, old and new. A line of Snow Geese made black and white poetry.

Pine Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills met Plum Island birders on November trips, and vast flocks of Snowbuntings rose up on twinkling, twittering wings at Salisbury. One group, satiated with Snowy Egrets, was glad to see but one remaining, and enjoyed the more wintry fare. Some people talked about measuring wooly bears, noted the height of hornet nests and predicted a wild winter. But the weather was warm and the company, mellow. A fellow birder from Ohio checked off 8 lifers, giving everyone a share of his excitement!

Cape Ann’s ocean was covered with gulls on the 22nd, thousands of them. Rough-winged and Barn Swallows appeared on one hand; Kittiwakes and a Leach’s Storm Petrel, the other. At Horn Pond, 11 Canvasbacks cruised their elegant profiles across a perfectly lit surface.

On the 23rd, three Ipswich-type Savannah Sparrows appeared at Dartmouth. Autumn was closing. Swallows were still flying, but Purple Sandpipers had repossessed the rocky shore. An adult Whistling Swan drifted like snow at Richmond Pond. At Arnold Arboretum, 2 Boreal Chickadees led the report, another harbinger of winter.

Yet the warm Fall prevailed. At East Boston, 7 Great Blue Heron stood around in no apparent hurry.

The December 7th trip to Quincy Bay was terminated at noon because the leader’s car and 8 passengers became marooned on Long Island with a Barn Owl.

From the Plum Island Polio Camp came another sighting of Kittiwakes, on the 18th. 4 Snowy Owls stared with yellow tiger eyes. Both Crossbills and 4 Boreal Chickadees were available. At Squaw Rock, Squantum, 8 Redpolls fed daintily upon birch seeds.

The north winds suddenly arrived, with a memorable snowstorm, just in time to postpone the Annual Christmas Bird Census. Snow and Ice put a crunch into the walking and excitement into the driving.

December and 1975 ended in elegance, with the sublime grace of a young Ivory Gull at Salisbury. It flew with power from the jetties, rode the ice floes and glided low over the heads of assembled birders. On the 27th, a Barred Owl sat hunched in the bend of the old willow tree near the boat ramp, bringing a premier year of birding to a memorable conclusion.

Mary Lou Barnett, Statistician