Happy New Year MassBirders!

Mark Burns and I led our 28th Annual New Year’s Day Birding Trip for the Brookline Bird Club (BBC)! At 9:00AM, 18BBCers 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 rain and drizzle for most of the day, temps that hovered around 44df, and little to no wind. We birded the Merrimack River, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, and Salisbury Beach State Reservation and called it a day at 4:15PM.  We tallied 64 species for the Club list. Following is a complete list of the birds we saw:

Red-throated Loon –  3 

Common Loon –  1 

Horned Grebe –  7 

Red-necked Grebe –  1 

Great Cormorant – 1 

Great Blue Heron –  1 

Canada Goose –  64 

Mute Swan –  5 

Gadwall –  9 

American Black Duck –  125 

Mallard –  89 

Northern Pintail – 40 

Green-winged Teal –  2 

Ring-necked Duck – 10 

Greater Scaup – 2 

Lesser Scaup – 2 

Northern Gannet – 4 

Common Eider –  313 

Surf Scoter – 252 

White-winged Scoter –  313 

Black Scoter –  401 

Long-tailed Duck –  13 

Bufflehead –  5 

Common Goldeneye –  87 

Hooded Merganser – 11 

Common Merganser –  15 

Red-breasted Merganser –  82 

Northern Harrier –  7 

Red-tailed Hawk –  1 

Merlin –  2 

Killdeer – 1 

Sanderling –  2 

Purple Sandpiper – 3 

Dunlin – 25 

Herring Gull –  108 

Ring-billed Gull – 86   

Great Black-backed Gull –  5 

Black-legged Kittiwake –  1 

Rock Pigeon –  3 

Mourning Dove –  3 

Barred Owl – 1 

Short-eared Owl – 1 

Red-bellied Woodpecker –  1 

Downy Woodpecker –  1 

Blue Jay – 2 

American Crow – 8 

Comon Raven –  1 

Black-capped Chickadee –  4 

Tufted Titmouse – 1 

White-breasted Nuthatch –  1 

Horned Lark – 12 

Carolina Wren – 2 

American Robin –  3 

Northern Mockingbird – 2 

Hermit Thrush – 1 

European Starling –  3 

American Tree Sparrow – 2 

Song Sparrow – 4 

White-throated Sparrow –  2 

Dark-eyed Junco – 5 

Northern Cardinal – 2 

House Finch – 2 

American Goldfinch – 3 

House Sparrow –  20 

Wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy, and Birdy 2025!

Laura H. de la Flor

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Upcoming Field Trips

Halibut Point State Park, Rockport

Rockport - Halibut Point State Park Halibut Point State Park, Rockport, MA, United States

Beginners encouraged. A two-hour walk over easy to moderate trails in search of seasonal specialties. Chance of seeing nesting Green Herons. Boots advisable. Co-sponsored by DCR.

The Quiet Beauty of Birding at Winthrop Beach

Winthrop - DCR Winthrop Beach Reservation - Sturgis St 59 Winthrop Shore Drive, Winthrop, MA, United States

Join DCR park staff for a leisurely walk across sandy stretches and areas of loose rocks at this Massachusetts State Reservation, a well-known hot spot for birdwatching. We'll be on the lookout for shorebirds, waterbirds, and gulls. Binoculars are recommended. Suitable for adults and children ages 8 and up (with an accompanying adult). Sponsored by [...]

Belle Isle Marsh Marine Ecology Park, Winthrop

Winthrop - Belle Isle March and Marine Ecology Park Banks Street, Winthrop, MA, United States

Join the Brookline Bird Club in collaboration with Boston Nature Center to look for birds in a unique urban habitat that often draws numerous uncommon and rare birds. Target species include bobolinks, dunlin, egrets, falcons, hawks, herons, ibis, oystercatchers, plovers, ravens, sandpipers, sparrows, swallows & swifts, terns, warblers, vultures, and yellowlegs. Birders of all levels [...]

Shorebirds & More at Parker River NWR

Parker River NWR - Lot #1 Refuge Rd., Newbury, MA, MA, United States

We will be looking for Shorebirds and other Refuge specialties. We will drive and walk to various places on the Refuge. Note that an entrance fee or pass is required. Restroom available.

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