Happy New Year!
Yesterday, Mark Burns and I led our 26th Annual New Year’s Day Birding Trip
for the Brookline Bird Club (BBC)! At 9:00AM, 24 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. We had splendid weather with clear sky,
sunshine, light breezes, and warm temps (hi of 55df). We birded Salisbury
Beach State Reservation, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Ipswich, and
called it a day at 4:30PM at Jodrey Fish Pier in Gloucester. We tallied 58
species.
Red-throated Loon – 3
Common Loon – 14
Horned Grebe – 9
Red-necked Grebe – 4
Great Cormorant – 2
Canada Goose – 44
Mute Swan – 2
Gadwall – 6
American Black Duck – 87
Mallard – 111
Northern Pintail – 20
Common Eider – 163
Surf Scoter – 10
White-winged Scoter – 62
Black Scoter – 13
Long-tailed Duck – 14
Bufflehead – 8
Common Goldeneye – 3
Hooded Merganser – 7
Common Merganser – 4
Red-breasted Merganser – 12
Bald Eagle – 2
Northern Harrier – 4
Copper’s Hawk – 11
Red-tailed Hawk – 5
Merlin – 1
Peregrin Falcon – 1
Wild Turkey – 6
Sanderling – 14
Purple Sandpiper – 37
Herring Gull – 120
Ring-billed Gull – 30
Great Black-backed Gull – 16
Black-legged Kittiwake – 3
Razorbill – 23
Dovekie – 7
Rock Pigeon – 32
Mourning Dove – 5
Snowy Owl – 1
Red-headed Woodpecker – 1 (seen by a splinter group in Appleton Farm)
Red-bellied Woodpecker – 4
Downy Woodpecker – 5
Hairy Woodpecker – 2
Pileated Woodpecker – 1
American Crow – 9
Black-capped Chickadee – 21
Tufted Titmouse – 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch – 3
White-breasted Nuthatch – 4
Eastern Bluebird – 8
American Robin – 2
Northern Mockingbird – 3
American Tree Sparrow – 4
Snow Bunting – 40
Northern Cardinal – 2
Red-winged Blackbird – 14
American Goldfinch – 10
NORTHERN LAPWING – 1 (seen by the group at Maplecroft Farm)!
Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy, and Birdy 2023!
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Upcoming Field Trips
October Mountain
Lenox - October Mountain 380 New Lenox Rd, Lenox, MA, United StatesMultiple habitats make this trip more diversified than the prior day’s Mount Greylock trip, as we begin along the Housatonic River WMA and make our way over October Mountain. Co-sponsored by the South Shore Bird Club. Target endangered breeding species: American Bittern, Mourning Warbler.
Halibut Point State Park, Rockport
Rockport - Halibut Point State Park Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA, United StatesA two-hour walk, about 1.5 miles, over easy to moderate gravel roads and trails in search of seasonal specialties. Boots advisable. Restrooms are available. In case of inclement weather check with leader night before trip (text ok). Cosponsored by DCR. For more Information see: https://www.mass.gov/locations/halibut-point-state-park
Slow Birding at Revere Beach
Revere Beach 21 Revere Beach Blvd, Revere, MA, United StatesLed by DCR Park Staff. Come observe the beautiful details of birds and their behaviors and share observations with others in the group. Pose questions and memories that observations elicit. Birds we may see include Piping Plover, Manx Shearwater, resident gulls, with Common Tern arriving by May. Suitable for adults and children 8 years+. Children [...]
Ashby & Townsend
We will explore for nesting warblers, juncos, sapsuckers, and probably butterflies and dragonflies, possibly continuing into the afternoon. We will start in Willard Brook State Forest and probably continue to Townsend State Forest, Mt. Watatic, or the Squannacook River WMA. Some trails are steep and moderately uneven.
Belle Isle Marsh and Vicinity
East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United StatesLed by DCR staff. We will search on foot up to one mile on flat, easy terrain, for migrating or resident songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, and marsh birds at this birding hotspot and state park. This is a traveling program by car or bike. Prepare for ticks and mosquitoes. Ages: Adults and kids 8 years+ with [...]