BBC New Year’s Day Birding Trip 01/01/2022
Happy New Year MassBirders!
Mark Burns and I led our 25th “official” Annual New Year’s Day Birding Trip for the Brookline Bird Club (BBC) yesterday! At 9:00AM, 19 BBCers met at Cashman Park in Newburyport where we toasted in the New Year with sparkling apple cider, introduced ourselves, and reported on where we traveled from and what our first bird of the New Year was. Of the 19 BBCers: a splinter group of 5 went to Maine see the Steller’s Sea Eagle (good move and success for all that went), 2 stayed for the toast and camaraderie, and the remaining 12 hearty souls birded for most of the day despite the heavy fog, rain, drizzle, and temperatures in the low 40s.
We birded Salisbury Beach State Reservation, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, and River Road in West Newbury. We called it a day at 4:30PM and tallied 52 species for the Club list. Following is a complete list of the birds we saw:
Red-throated Loon – 9
Common Loon – 12
Horned Grebe – 17
Red-necked Grebe – 5
Great-blue Heron – 1
Canada Goose – 250
Gadwall – 35
American Black Duck – 130
Mallard – 40
Northern Pintail – 24
Common Eider – 60
White-winged Scoter – 1,200
Black Scoter – 120
Long-tailed Duck – 34
Bufflehead – 24
Common Goldeneye – 16
Barrow’s Goldeneye – 2 (River Road, West Newbury)
Red-breasted Merganser – 8
Northern Harrier – 6
Copper’s Hawk – 3
Red-tailed Hawk – 2
Merlin – 2
Peregrin Falcon – 1
Purple Sandpiper – 12
Herring Gull – 350
Ring-billed Gull – 100
Great Black-backed Gull – 15
Razorbill – 8
Black Guillemot – 2
Rock Pigeon – 6
Mourning Dove – 13
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 1
Downy Woodpecker – 4
Blue Jay – 10
American Crow – 55
Horned Lark – 6
Black-capped Chickadee – 9
Tufted Titmouse – 1
Carolina Wren – 4
American Robin – 45
Gray Catbird – 1
Northern Mockingbird – 12
European Starling – 275
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1
American Tree Sparrow – 14
Song Sparrow – 15
White-throated Sparrow – 2
Dark-eyed Junco – 12
Snow Bunting – 70
Northern Cardinal – 16
House Finch – 6
American Goldfinch – 15
Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy, and Birdy 2022!
Laura H. de la Flor
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Upcoming Field Trips
Field Trips / Events
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Horn Pond, Woburn
Woburn - Horn Pond - Sturgis St 98 Sturgis St, Woburn, MA, United StatesWe’ll look out and listen for breeders that have settled into the Horn Pond area like Great Crested Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanagers, Wood Thrushes, Ovenbirds, Towhee, and others. Horn Pond has a great mix of deciduous, pine, marsh, and lake habitats that attract a variety of birds including song birds, water birds, birds of prey, and
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Crane Wildlife Management Area, East Falmouth
Falmouth - Crane WMA 754 Nathan Ellis Highway, Falmouth, MA, United StatesWith CCBC leading. This unique grassland habitat is host to a rich variety of species, including Eastern Meadowlark, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, American Kestrel and possibly Blue Grosbeak. When we’re done at Crane, we can cross the road and scan Coonamessett Field for raptor activity. Those wishing to can continue on to Mass Audubon’s Ashumet Holly
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Crane Beach, Ipswich
Ipswich - Crane Beach 331 Argilla Rd, Ipswich, MA, United StatesCosponsored by the ECOC. This two-mile walk in the sand is aimed at nesting Piping Plovers, Least Terns, and Bank Swallows, as well as evening singers such as Whip-poor-wills. Be prepared for mosquitoes at sunset.
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Myles Standish State Forest, Carver – Evening
Carver - Myles Standish State Forest 181 Cranberry Rd, Carver, MA, United StatesA serene way to end the day with Prairie Warblers and Hermit Thrushes reluctantly giving way to Eastern Whip-poor-wills and, perhaps, Northern Saw-whet Owls. Target endangered breeding species: Whip-poor-will.
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CANCELLED due to schedule conflict – Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge,White Pond Rd Entrance
Assabet River NWR - White Pond Road White Pond Rd, Maynard, MA, United StatesCANCELLED due to schedule conflict. Assabet River NWR contains a diverse mixture of pine and hardwood forest, old fields, and wetlands. We will walk 2-3 miles on even, well-maintained trails in search of warblers, raptors, flycatchers and a variety of other migrants and residents. Can be buggy – insect repellent recommended. We will plan

