Friday, April 5, 2024
Lingering unusual species this week were a Western Grebe at Winthrop, and Eared Grebe in Marblehead, a Greater White-fronted Goose in Newbury, a Tufted Duck at Nantucket, a Say’s Phoebe in Belchertown, a Western Kingbird in Eastham, and Bohemian Waxwings at several locations in western Massachusetts. Notably early arrivals this week were a Caspian Tern in Woburn and a Louisiana Waterthrush in Gill.
Cape Cod highlights this week included a continuing Western Kingbird in the vicinity of Meetinghouse Road and the Cape Cod Seashore Visitor’s Center in Eastham, a Pacific Loon and a Glaucous Gull at Race Point in Provincetown, a King Eider near pier #65 in the Cape Cod Canal in the Scusset Beach Reservation in Sandwich, a Broad-winged Hawk near Shame Pond in Sandwich, a Black-headed Gull at Dowses Beach in Osterville, a Northern Waterthrush at High Head in Truro, a Yellow-breasted Chat at Fort Hill in Eastham, 2 Purple Martins at the New Seabury Country Club in Mashpee, and a continuing Dickcissel at a feeder on Minnnetuxet Way in Yarmouth Port.
Bristol County luminaries were 2 continuing Clapper Rails at the Egypt Lane Ponds in Fairhaven, a Lesser Yellowlegs on Shaw Road in Fairhaven, and 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallows at Shad Factory Pond Dam in Rehoboth.
Plymouth County was graced by the presence of 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes at Peggotty Beach in Scituate, 4 Sandhill Cranes at Burrage Pond WMA in Hanson, and two more cranes on the powerline off Laurel Street in Halifax.
Norfolk County hosted 2 Blue-winged Teal in the Squantum Marshes in Squantum, 3 Laughing Gulls at Little Harbor in Cohasset, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow at Turner’s Pond in Milton, 3 Piping Plovers at Wollaston Beach, and 2 Broad-winged Hawks at the Norfolk Airport.
Suffolk County birders tallied the lingering Western Grebe, along with 10 Bonaparte’s Gulls, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, and a Barrow’s Goldeneye at Winthrop Beach, 8 Manx Shearwaters at Revere Beach, 2 Black Vultures and a Red-shouldered Hawk at the Roslindale Wetlands Urban Wild Park in Roslindale, an American Bittern and a Common Yellowthroat at Millennium Park in West Roxbury, and 8 Lesser Scaup at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.
Middlesex County was visited by single Red-necked Grebes at Fresh Pond in Cambridge and the South Reservoir of the Middlesex Fells in Medford, 4 Red-throated Loons at the Mystics Lakes Dam in in Medford, a Caspian Tern and 2 Black-crowned Night-Herons at Horn Pond in Woburn, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and a Palm Warbler at Mt. Feake Cemetery in in Waltham, a Warbling Vireo at Torbert MacDonald State Park in Medford, and 10 Red Crossbills in the Desert Natural Area in Marlborough.
Essex County hosted a Greater White-fronted Goose, a Eurasian Green-winged Teal, and an American Bittern at Plum Island, a continuing Eared Grebe at the Little Private Beach in Marblehead, 3 Manx Shearwaters in Lynn Harbor, 4 American Pipits in a wet meadow on Scotland Road in Newbury, 22 Snowy Egrets at the Castle Neck WMA in Ipswich, and a Common Yellowthroat at the Ipswich River Sanctuary in Topsfield.
Berkshire County bright lights were a Northern Shrike at the Nathan Drury Cemetery in Florida, a Long-tailed Duck at Laurel Lake in Lee, a Northern Shoveler at Corbin’s Neck in Ashley Falls, and a Great Egret observed on Santa Maria Street in Pittsfield.
Franklin County luminaries featured 13 Bohemian Waxwings on 11th Street in Turners Falls, 20 Red Crossbills the Montague Sandplains WMA in Montague, an early singing Louisiana Waterthrush on North Cross Road in Gill, 3 Sandhill Cranes and a Pectoral Sandpiper at the Pilgrim Airport in Whately, and 2 more Sandhill Cranes on Plainfield Road in Ashfield.
Hampshire County continued to host a Say’s Phoebe in the vicinity of the Quabbin Visitor’s Center in Belchertown, and elsewhere in the county 3 Sandhill Cranes were spotted in fields adjacent to Upper Farms Path in Hatfield, a Eurasian Green-winged Teal at Great Pond in Hatfield, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow was observed from the Norwotuck Rail Trail off Station Road in Amherst.
Hampden County was visited by Northern Rough-winged Swallow at the Fannie Stebbins Refuge in Longmeadow.
Worcester County highlights were 3 Sandhill Cranes at the Bolton Flats WMA in Bolton, a Black Vulture observed in flight at Leesville Pond in Worcester, and 5 Evening Grosbeaks at a feeder in Royalston.
Martha’s Vineyard hosted an early Indigo Bunting on Dike Bridge Road in Edgartown, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Oak Bluffs, a Snow Goose at Town Cove in West Tisbury, a Bald Eagle at Aquinnah, 12 Laughing Gulls at Katama Farm in Edgartown, and 2 Northern Shovelers at Mud Creek in Vineyard Haven.
Nantucket highlights were a continuing Tufted Duck on Long Pond, a Short-eared Owl at Tom Nevers Beach, 21 Northern Shovelers at the lagoon at Great Point, a Common Raven also in the Great Point area, and a fleeting look at a Boreal Chickadee at a private feeder in Madaket.