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MASSBIRD for Thursday, April 10, 2008
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Subject: CT Report 04/09/2008
From: Roy Harvey <rmharvey(AT)snet.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 12:40am
From Olive Wysocki
4/09 - Hammonnassett SP, Madison -- Little Blue Heron, American
Golden Plover.
From Paul Cianfaglione:
4/09 - Wethersfield, Wethersfield Meadows -- 6 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 13
WILSON'S SNIPE.
4/08 - Farmington, Farmington Meadows -- 4 imm. WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.
From Dave Rosgen, w/ John Eykelhoff:
4/08 - Litchfield, White's Woods Rd. (White Memorial's Little Pond
Boardwalk) -- 1 AMERICAN BITTERN, 1 WILSON'S SNIPE, 2 American
Woodcock;
From Dave Rosgen:
4/08 - Litchfield, White Hall Rd. (White Memorial's Museum Area) -- 2
Purple Finches.
From Lukas Hyder:
4/08 - Litchfield, White's Woods Rd. (White Memorial's Plumb Hill) --
1 American Woodcock
From Gerri Griswold:
4/08 - Goshen, Rt. 63 (Elementary School) -- 2 American Woodcock
Torrington, Rt. 272 & Marshall Lake Rd. -- 1 Common Raven
From Dave Rosgen:
4/08 - Winchester, 121 Laurel Way (Rosgen Wildlife Sanctuary) -- 3
Purple Finches
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[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Barred Owl ~ Newburyport ~ 4/9
From: newburyportbirders(AT)comcast.net
Date: 10 Apr 2008 6:44am
Birders,
A neighbor, Larry stopped at our house this evening to report a Barred Owl. He
saw just
down the street. We headed down and quickly re-located it as it was eating
earthworms.
The bird would perch on a low branch, then, dive down, take the worm up to a
perch and flip it around some then swallow it. Barred Owls are clearly
opportunistic
hunters making a meal of most anything available and within their might to
secure. Earlier today, that lawn was covered with American Robins...
We watched this brown-eyed beauty then several other neighbors joined us as the
bird
turned and cocked its head repeatedly. We were even lucky enough to witness it
excrete
whitewash...
Good birding,
Sue
Sue McGrath
Observe ~ Appreciate ~ Identify
Newburyport Birders
44 Moulton Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-4785
newburyportbirders(AT)comcast.net
www.newburyportbirders.com
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Groton Bohemians still there
From: Tom Murray <tmurray74(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 7:52am
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
At 7:00am today, Julie Lisk called to say she saw the Bohemian Waxwings across
from the Dunkin Donuts on Main St. in Groton. The fruit trees are in the Coach
House Inn yard, right near the street.
Tom Murray
Groton, Ma.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
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----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Bohemian Waxwing Photographs from Fitchburg
From: "Jim Berry" <jim.berry3(AT)verizon.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 9:52am
Kevin's photos show Bohemian waxwings lucky enough to have found crabapples
without the stems. Maybe they were a different variety from the fruits in
the Newburyport industrial park, which are long-stemmed. I watched 60-80
there two days ago on and under the two little crabapple trees in front of
(I think) Hero Coatings on Malcolm Hoyt Drive. It looked easy, but those
birds really had to work for their food!
First, they had to detach the berries from the tree unless they picked up
the ones that had fallen to the ground. That wasn't easy because they were
firmly attached, and for every successful tug there must have been ten or
more tugs that did not work. Luckily, when the berries did come off they
came off without the stems.
Second, they had to swallow them once they had them in position. That was
easier said than done because the berries are big, most of them too big for
cedar waxwings, which is probably why there weren't any cedars in the flock.
I watched Bohemians take upwards of a whole minute to get some of the
berries down.
Third, they obviously don't like the stems and worked even harder to get
them off when they found berries with the stems still attached. This was
true, as far as I could tell, for virtually all the berries on the ground.
A few of the birds would hunt through those and look for ones without stems,
but I never saw any of them find one. Usually they would toss those aside
and keep looking, but often they would try to dislodge the stem by shaking
the berry. Not effective! Then, still holding the berry, they would swipe
the stem against the grass or a branch to try to remove it, which was just
as futile. They would usually give up after wasting several minutes. In
over an hour I saw not a single bird succeed in removing a stem. Three
times I saw a bird swallow the berry with the stem still attached, but it
was clear that was a last resort. Waxwings have apparently not solved the
problem of removing stems from valued fruits.
Their behavior was truly enjoyable to watch, though I pitied them a bit for
not having the intelligence of corvids, who would have figured out how to
stand on the stem while pulling on the berry. I have drafted a field note
that I plan to submit to Bird Observer, which will include, among other
things, speculations about why such a small percentage of waxwings go to the
ground to feed (stem issue aside), when the fruit on the ground, some of
which is still fresh, does not require nearly as much work as yanking
attached fruits from the tree. It is a question that Charles W. Townsend,
who wrote The Birds of Essex County and other works on natural history,
pondered a century ago that is still worth pondering.
Jim Berry
Ipswich, Mass.
jim.berry3(AT)verizon.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Bourinot" <kevinbourinot(AT)hotmail.com>
To: <massbird(AT)theworld.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 9:28 PM
Subject: [MASSBIRD] 4/9- Bohemian Waxwing Photographs from Fitchburg
>
>
> Many thanks to TOM PIRRO's earlier report, I observed over 70 Bohemian
> Waxwings at the Boutwell-Owens Company in FITCHBURG this afternoon. Photos
> can be seen here:
>
> http://www.pbase.com/kevbourinot/massachusetts_bohemian_waxwing_invasion
>
> Thanks again Tom,
>
> Kevin Bourinot
> KevinBourinot(AT)hotmail.com
> West Boylston, MA
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Ashburnham 4/10
From: caronenv(AT)aol.com
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:02am
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Location: BBA Ashburnham 2
Observation date: 4/10/08
Number of species: 28
Canada Goose 3
Wood Duck 3
Mallard 10
Common Merganser 3
Ring-billed Gull 7
Herring Gull 17
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Mourning Dove 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue Jay 11
American Crow 5
Black-capped Chickadee 43
Tufted Titmouse 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 2
American Robin 31
Fox Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 6
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 36
Common Grackle 22
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
American Goldfinch 1
Evening Grosbeak 16
Submitted by
Charles Caron
Westminster, MA
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Re: Bohemian Waxwing Photographs from Fitchburg
From: Tom Young <rustysnaketail(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:16am
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Jim,
During this winter, I observed a few Bohemian Waxwings taking bites of the
crabapples while they were still attached to the tree. I believe that that's
what the BOWA in this picture that I took had just done:
http://www.pbase.com/dragonhunter/image/95093607 If memory serves, it had eaten
from both the shriveled apple at bottom left as well as the stem above it with
hardly any apple left on it. Note that the bird's bill has apple mush all over
it.
Reading your account, I realize I should have paid more attention to this
behavior. I do remember that there was a flock of nearly 300 BOWAs outside our
Amherst office a few years ago, and they would more or less take turns eating
from a tree and then eating fruit off the ground.
Tom
Tom Young
Merrimack, NH
rustysnaketail(AT)yahoo.com
Jim Berry <jim.berry3(AT)verizon.net> wrote:
Kevin's photos show Bohemian waxwings lucky enough to have found crabapples
without the stems. Maybe they were a different variety from the fruits in
the Newburyport industrial park, which are long-stemmed. I watched 60-80
there two days ago on and under the two little crabapple trees in front of
(I think) Hero Coatings on Malcolm Hoyt Drive. It looked easy, but those
birds really had to work for their food!
First, they had to detach the berries from the tree unless they picked up
the ones that had fallen to the ground. That wasn't easy because they were
firmly attached, and for every successful tug there must have been ten or
more tugs that did not work. Luckily, when the berries did come off they
came off without the stems.
Second, they had to swallow them once they had them in position. That was
easier said than done because the berries are big, most of them too big for
cedar waxwings, which is probably why there weren't any cedars in the flock.
I watched Bohemians take upwards of a whole minute to get some of the
berries down.
Third, they obviously don't like the stems and worked even harder to get
them off when they found berries with the stems still attached. This was
true, as far as I could tell, for virtually all the berries on the ground.
A few of the birds would hunt through those and look for ones without stems,
but I never saw any of them find one. Usually they would toss those aside
and keep looking, but often they would try to dislodge the stem by shaking
the berry. Not effective! Then, still holding the berry, they would swipe
the stem against the grass or a branch to try to remove it, which was just
as futile. They would usually give up after wasting several minutes. In
over an hour I saw not a single bird succeed in removing a stem. Three
times I saw a bird swallow the berry with the stem still attached, but it
was clear that was a last resort. Waxwings have apparently not solved the
problem of removing stems from valued fruits.
Their behavior was truly enjoyable to watch, though I pitied them a bit for
not having the intelligence of corvids, who would have figured out how to
stand on the stem while pulling on the berry. I have drafted a field note
that I plan to submit to Bird Observer, which will include, among other
things, speculations about why such a small percentage of waxwings go to the
ground to feed (stem issue aside), when the fruit on the ground, some of
which is still fresh, does not require nearly as much work as yanking
attached fruits from the tree. It is a question that Charles W. Townsend,
who wrote The Birds of Essex County and other works on natural history,
pondered a century ago that is still worth pondering.
Jim Berry
Ipswich, Mass.
jim.berry3(AT)verizon.net
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin Bourinot"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2008 9:28 PM
Subject: [MASSBIRD] 4/9- Bohemian Waxwing Photographs from Fitchburg
>
>
> Many thanks to TOM PIRRO's earlier report, I observed over 70 Bohemian
> Waxwings at the Boutwell-Owens Company in FITCHBURG this afternoon. Photos
> can be seen here:
>
> http://www.pbase.com/kevbourinot/massachusetts_bohemian_waxwing_invasion
>
> Thanks again Tom,
>
> Kevin Bourinot
> KevinBourinot(AT)hotmail.com
> West Boylston, MA
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Hummers
From: "larry berk" <larry.berk(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 12:12pm
Get those feeders ready--they're already in Southern New England:
http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Larry Berk
Newton, MA
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Fitchburg Bohemians
From: caronenv(AT)aol.com
Date: 10 Apr 2008 12:08pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
It is interesting to note that the Bohemian Waxwings in Fitchburg are feeding on
a crab apple tree that has always been avoided by other birds.? I have covered
that area for the Westminster CBC for about twenty years, and pass by that
location regularly at other times.? The tree in question is almost always
sagging under the weight of crab apples and I always check it for birds.? Until
I found the Bohemians there on Saturday, however, I had never observed a single
bird feeding on it (not even Starlings).
The tree is located close to a very busy road, and that may be the deterrent
most of the time.? It is also possible that there is some issue with the taste
or quality of the fruit that has caused birds to avoid it.
I suspicion that the fact that the Bohemians are feeding there is an indication
that they are getting desperate for food.? Most of the fruit bearing trees in
this area were stripped of fruit earlier in the winter by Pine Grosbeaks and
Robins, leaving little food for frugivores.? Even though it is starting to feel
like spring, the wild food supply is probably at its lowest point of the year
right now and won't improve until significant numbers of insects emerge.
Charles Caron
Westminster, MA
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Essex County 4-10-08
From: "Jeffrey Offermann" <offermann(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 3:42pm
Massbirders,
Here are my sightings for Essex County today, 4-10-08
Parker River NWR:
Great Blue Heron -1
Canada Goose -4
Green-winged Teal -2
Mallard -6
American Black Duck -10
Bufflehead -1
Osprey -1
Northern Harrier-1
Sharp-shinned Hawk -1 flying near Hellcat
Killdeer -7
Piping Plover - 2 Sandy Point SR
Great Black-backed Gull -2
American Herring Gull -6
Mourning Dove -8
Great-horned Owl -1 on nest
Short-eared Owl -1
Downy Woodpecker -1
Eastern Phoebe -1
Tree Swallow -40
Golden-crowned Kinglet -18 These guys were everywhere in Hellcat and both
Pines Trails. Probably an undercount.
American Robin -12
Black-capped Chickadee -8
Brown Creeper -1 Hellcat
Blue Jay -2
American Crow -12
American Tree Sparrow -2
Song Sparrow -10
White-throated Sparrow -1
Dark-eyed Junco -1
Northern Cardinal -1
Red-winged Blackbird -16
Eastern Meadowlark -2
Common Grackle -25
Brown-headed Cowbird -1
Plus I got a new mammal species that I hadn't seen on the island before, the
Groundhog (Woodchuck).
Scotland Road, Newbury:
Killdeer -12
Wilson's Snipe -8
Blue-winged Teal -2
American Wigeon -2
Mallard -8
Cherry Hill Reservoir, West Newbury
Bufflehead -2
Ruddy Duck -2
Common Merganser -4
Crooked Pond (Bald Hill State Park), Boxford
Canada Goose -2
Wood Duck -8
Mallard -2
Northern Goshawk -2
Red-shouldered Hawk -1
Broad-winged Hawk -1 imm. (seen 4-8-08)
Mourning Dove -2
Red-bellied Woodpecker -4
Downy Woodpecker -1
Hairy Woodpecker -2
Pileated Woodpecker -2
Eastern Phoebe -4
Winter Wren -2
American Robin -4
Black-capped Chickadee -8
Tufted Titmouse -6
White-breasted Nuthatch -4
Brown Creeper -4
Blue Jay -3
American Crow -4
American Goldfinch -3
Pine Warbler -2
Song Sparrow -4
Red-winged Blackbird -8
Common Grackle -12
Best,
Jeffrey Offermann
Cambridge
offermann(AT)comcast.net
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Male Red-Winged Blackbird with Peachy Throat:
Secret Revealed
From: "LaPite, Constance" <Constance.Lapite(AT)m-e.aecom.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 7:30pm
I contacted David Sibley and NC Audubon concerning the striking bird we
saw at the Pea Island NWR last week (see the April 8 post). The
biologist at NC Audubon placed me in touch with John Gerwin, the Curator
of Birds at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh NC.
Mr. Sibley and Mr. Gerwin provided consistent explanations: The bird is
leucistic. The text of Mr. Gerwin's email, which I found to be very
interesting, is presented below:
"many birds will show such "chromatic aberrations" (someone just sent me
an image of a nearly white turkey vulture of all things, here in
Raleigh). In this case, with this patch of white, it's called "leucism",
and the bird "Leucistic" (as opposed to "partial albinism). Albinism
and these derivatives are genetic-based. Albinism is considered "all or
nothing", so technically there's no "partial" to it; that's leucism
("leuco" = white). Albino's not only are all white, they also lack
normal skin/eye pigments, so a bird like that has very pink feet and
eyes.
Redwings are well-known for showing a fair amount of leucism. Or,
perhaps we just see it in them more because they are relatively easy to
see, and are so common. We have a handful of specimens in the
collection that show various patches of white in various locations. I
do think that it look really good on an adult male blackbird! Better
contrast than say on a Robin or House Sparrow.
Another interesting thing is that this "trait" can be triggered at
different times; for example, this summer a particular 'normal' Cardinal
began its usual molt, but after a couple weeks it was clear he would no
longer be normal; something happened, and there was a significant loss
of one of the pigments, and this bird became pink. I'll attach one of
the images I got. It was quite striking when he finished, by October.
He hung around until early March, and I haven't seen him since.
"Finches" of all sorts are also known for their common pigment shifts.
One of our local raptor rehab centers told us they had an adult
red-tailed hawk that one year sprouted a nearly white tail............"
Thanks to everyone who helped.
http://picasaweb.google.com/PeteorConstance/WeirdRWBB
Constance Lapite
Beverly, MA
Shaka_pete(at)yahoo.com
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Bohemians in Groton - 4/10
From: Barbara Volkle and Steve Moore <barb620(AT)theworld.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 7:34pm
Thanks to Sandy Selesky for the following post.
Barbara Volkle
Northboro, MA
barb620(AT)theworld.com
* * *
>Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:46:49 -0400
>From: Sandy Selesky <selesky(AT)fas.harvard.edu>
>Subject: Bohemians in Groton
>
>Groton Bohemians - April 9
>I read Jim Berry's report about the Bohemians trying to get the crab
>apples
>off the trees with interest. I went to Groton yesterday afternoon
>on my day
>off and spent 3 hours (2:30 - 5:30 p.m.) taking pictures of them in
>the small
>crab apple trees there as extremely heavy traffic (cars and huge,
>noisy trucks)
>went zooming close by them since the trees are right up against
>119). They
>would only occasionally flush when a particularly noisy truck went
>by or when
>they wanted to get a drink from a puddle in the parking lot of the
>nearby
>restaurant. There were about 30 Bohemians and I did photograph a
>couple of
>them eating apples with stems on them but most had finally removed
>ones without
>the stems. As Jim says, they had to work very hard for those they
>did manage
>to get off the stems and I also wondered why only a few of the birds
>would go
>down to the ground where there were so many fallen crab apples to be
>had there.
>Those that did go down to the ground seemed to find crab apples
>without stems
>immediately from what I saw and gobbled them down pretty quickly.
>
>I had a wonderful time taking over 200 photos of these beautiful
>birds and
>found that after over 25 years of birding and bird photography this
>was actually
>a life bird for me. I had missed seeing them in other years. This
>time they
>were only 15 minutes from my home. Thanks Mike Resch for posting
>this
>wonderful find! They didn't seem to be bothered by my presence at
>all (I didn't
>move around too much). A couple of joggers didn't even flush most
>of them.
>They did flush, however, when someone walking a dog along the
>sidewalk
>came by at one point.
>
>Sandy Selesky
>Westford, MA
>selesky(AT)fas.harvard.edu
>
>
>"I find penguins at present the only comfort in life. One feels
>everything in the world so sympathetically
> ridiculous; one can't be angry when one looks at a penguin."
> John Ruskin, English art
> critic and writer, 1819-1900
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Hummingbirds
From: sharonstichter1(AT)comcast.net
Date: 10 Apr 2008 7:44pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Dear massbirders,
New England Hummers will again be recording Ruby-throated hummingbird arrivals
in New England in 2008. As noted, there have been two reports already, one from
RI and one from MA, so it is probably time to put our feeders up! To
participate in the study, you can report your first sighting of a male hummer,
and your first sighting of a female, at http://www.nehummers.com . Or just post
them here on massbird.
Thank you.
Sharon Stichter
Newbury, MA
New England Hummers
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Eurasion Wigeon, Pine Warbler, N. Chatham
From: "Charlie Thompson" <cot(AT)cape.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 8:00pm
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Today I found the Eurasion Wigeon in the upper pool at Frost Fish Creek =
he then flew to the lower pool and seemed a bit spooky. A pine Warbler =
was also singing and feeding on the Ridge Trail above the creek trail. =
These trails form a loop from the very end of the creek trail.
Charlie Thompson
South Orleans, MA
cotatcape.com
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Moe on feeding Waxwings
From: "Douglas Chickering" <dovekie(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 8:18pm
Massbirders:
Back on March 25, 2000, Lois Cooper and I watched a group of around
sixty-five Bohemian Waxwings feeding in some crab apple trees in Turners
Falls. Like those described by Jim Berry these Waxwings had a strong
aversion to apples with the stems attached. However the Turners Falls birds
seemed a little more decisive than the ones in Newburyport. They would
reach up, grab an apple and after a few tugs pull them free. Immediately
each waxwing made its decision. If the stem stayed on the tree then the
bird would gobble down the fruit, if the stem came off with the apple, the
waxwing would drop it wihtout hesitation. Apples with stems were completely
abandoned and none of the Waxwings bothered to try further to remove the
stems.
Doug Chickering
Groveland
dovekie(AT)comcast.net
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Catbird in Lakeville
From: KAWOLFTRAP(AT)aol.com
Date: 10 Apr 2008 8:46pm
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
Dick Turner, biologist at the Southeast District Headquarters,
MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, just reported to me that
he had seen a Gray Catbird at Tamarack Park overlooking
Lake Assawompsett on Route 105 in Lakeville today.
No guarantee that it wasn't a winterer, but both he and I have
been in the area often this winter and had not seen a catbird.
Kathleen S. Anderson
Wolf Trap Hill Farm
22 Winter Street
Middleboro, MA 02346
Tel.: 508-947-0218
E-mail: kawolftrap(AT)aol.com
**************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides.
(http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016)
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Plum I. & Newburyport; Thurs., 10 April 2008.
From: Richard Heil <rsheil(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 8:58pm
THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2008:
PLUM ISLAND & NEWBURYPORT HARBOR & Scotland Rd., Newbury (0605-1725 hrs.)
Weather: Mostly clear, SW>WNW 10-20 mph, 44-68 F.
All observations from Plum Island (including about four hours
'migration watching' at Lot One), unless indicated otherwise.
Snow Goose (4; 2ads., 2 imms.)
Brant (1)-Nbpt.
Canada Goose (43)
Mute Swan (8): 4-P.I., 4-Nbpt.
Gadwall (32): 24-P.I., 8-Nbpt.
American Wigeon (2)-Newbury.
American Black Duck (115)
Mallard (16): 8-P.I., 8-Nbpt.
Blue-winged Teal (1m.)-Newbury.
Northern Shoveler (3; 2m., 1f.)-Pans south of Cross Farm Hill.
Northern Pintail (3)
Green-winged Teal (27): 13-P.I., 12-Nbpt., 2-Newbury.
Greater Scaup (2m.)-Newbury.
Common Eider (9)
White-winged Scoter (48)
Black Scoter (5)
Oldsquaw (632): 520-Nbpt. Harbor, 112-P.I.
Bufflehead (154): 140-Nbpt. Harbor, 14-P.I.
Common Goldeneye (400)-Nbpt.
Common Merganser (6)
Red-breasted Merganser (34)
Red-throated Loon (8)
Common Loon (2)
Red-necked Grebe (1)
Double-crested Cormorant (3): 2-Nbpt., 1-P.I.
Great Cormorant (3-1st yr.)-Nbpt.
Great Blue Heron (8): 7-P.I.(5 migrating); 1-Newbury.
Great Egret (6): 5-P.I., 1-Nbpt.
Turkey Vulture (6)
Osprey (8): 6-P.I. (1 migrating), 2-Nbpt.
Northern Harrier (6)-P.I., incl. one ad male; 2-3 migrating.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (4)-migrating.
Cooper's Hawk (4): 2-P.I., 2-Nbpt.
Red-tailed Hawk (5): 4-P.I., 1-Nbpt.
Rough-legged Hawk (1-lt. morph)
American Kestrel (20): migrating.
Merlin (2)
Peregrine Falcon (1 imm. tundrius type)
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER (1-basic)-Nbpt., opposite airport; present
since late March.
Killdeer (8)
Greater Yellowlegs (16): 3-P.I., 13-Nbpt.
Dunlin (295)-Nbpt.
Wilson's Snipe (20)-Newbury.
Bonaparte's Gull (2 ads.)-Nbpt.
Ring-billed Gull (350): 330-Nbpt., 20-P.I.
Herring Gull (250): 200-Nbpt., 50-P.I.
Lesser Black-backed Gull (1 ad.)-Nbpt.
Great Black-backed Gull (40): 20-Nbpt, 20-P.I.
Rock Pigeon (15)
Mourning Dove (14)
Great Horned Owl (1): On nest.
Downy Woodpecker (1)-Nbpt.
HAIRY WOODPECKER (1)-P.I.
Northern Flicker (6)
Eastern Phoebe (12): 11-P.I., 1-Nbpt.
Blue Jay (6)
American Crow (31): 19 migrating.
Horned Lark (1)
Tree Swallow (37): 11 migrating.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1)-migrating.
Barn Swallow (1m.)-migrating.
Black-capped Chickadee (14)
TUFTED TITMOUSE (2-3): 1-2 'Hidden Forest' to Lot One, another at 'Old Pines'.
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1)-'Old Pines'
Brown Creeper (1)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (12)
Hermit Thrush (1)
American Robin (45)
Northern Mockingbird (4)
European Starling (23)-migrating.
BOHEMIAN WAXWING (151+): The unprecedented Spring flight continues:
135 at 0605 on crabapple along Mulliken Way in the Newburyport
Industrial Park, 1 northbound heard and seen (in that order) over
P.I. around 0800, then 150+ on crabs along Opportunity Way in the
industrial park around 1300.
Cedar Waxwing (23)-migrating.
'Yellow' Palm Warbler (2)
Eastern Towhee (1m.)-singing.
American Tree Sparrow (1)
Field Sparrow (1 singing.)
Savannah Sparrow (1)
Song Sparrow (55)
White-throated Sparrow (4)
Dark-eyed Junco (4)
Northern Cardinal (10)
Red-winged Blackbird (130)-migrating.
Eastern Meadowlark (4): 2-Nbpt., 2-P.I.
Common Grackle (565)-migrating.
Brown-headed Cowbird (225)--migrating.
Purple Finch (3)
House Finch (6)
American Goldfinch (32): 25 migrating.
House Sparrow (10)
--- 89 species.
Also: 3 Eastern Comma: 1-Newburyport, 2-Plum I. (Hellcat).
Richard S. Heil
S. Peabody, MA
rsheil(AT)comcast.net
This report was generated with the aid of eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: CT Report 04/10/2008 BOHEMIAN WAXWING
From: Roy Harvey <rmharvey(AT)snet.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 9:26pm
From Milica Ivovic and Nancy LaFleur via Chris Elphick:
4/09 - Storrs, UConn campus -- BOHEMIAN WAXWING.
From Bob Bitondi:
4/10 - Storrs, UConn campus, Glenbrook Road between Storrs Hall and
CLAS building -- 8:30 AM, BOHEMIAN WAXWING.
From Chris Elphick:
4/10 - Storrs, UConn campus -- at least one BOHEMIAN WAXWING at 9:15.
All sightings of the Bohemian have been in the fruit trees by the CLAS
building, which is just across Glenbrook Road from Swan Lake in the NE
corner of campus (bottom right on this map:
http://www.sp.uconn.edu/%7Eucbsg/map.gif which is oriented such that
North is to the right. The fruit trees are on the west side of the
building.
From Glenn, Beth, Madeleine, and Eliza Williams:
4/10 - Storrs, UConn-CLAS Building -- (3:55-4:25pm) BOHEMIAN WAXWING
at previously described location, though in coniferous tree west and
across the street from the crabapple. It was in the presence of about
20 Cedar Waxwings. It remained in the large conifer except to come to
the ground to feed on dropped crabapples underneath the conifer. We
never saw it go to the fruit tree.
From Jerry Connolly
4/10 - Hammonasset State Park -- AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER (continues),
PECTORAL SANDPIPER (with plover)
From Jan Collins:
4/10 - Somers, Durkee Rd, Scantic Riparian Area -- 10-12 RUSTY
BLACKBIRDS.
Hutton Rd. field -- 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Also of note, the first report of Louisiana Waterthrush. (If you care
about the state of the migration you should be reading CTBirds too.)
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[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: FW: eBird Report - Bolton Flats WMA , 4/10/08
From: "S Sutton" <bookwarbler2(AT)msn.com>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:28pm
I made a last-minute decision to check out the Bolton Flats tonight, so
here's the report. There are more areas I could have checked with more time,
but this shows a good chunk of what's there.
>Location: Bolton Flats WMA
>Observation date: 4/10/08
>Notes: 4:00 to 7:10 PM; 70 degrees F to start, & sunny.<br>Water level
>is down somewhat from 4/7, and numbers of most waterfowl are down
>significantly. Shorebirds are coming in now, though.
>Number of species: 42
>
>Canada Goose 5
>Wood Duck 40 +
>American Black Duck 19
>Mallard 60 +
>Green-winged Teal 210 approx.
>Ring-necked Duck 35
>Double-crested Cormorant 1 adult
>Great Blue Heron 2
>Turkey Vulture 1
>Osprey 1
>Red-tailed Hawk 1
>Peregrine Falcon 1 presumably same imm. seen for past 2-3 weeks.
>Killdeer 17 all in first field at Entrance 3 (main entrance)
>Greater Yellowlegs 1 Still present
>Lesser Yellowlegs 1 still present; staying together very closely
>with the Greater
>Pectoral Sandpiper 1 First of the year here.
>Wilson's Snipe 86 Good number of snipe today. There was one that
>sat so still in the mud & water in an odd posture, even after 40 other
>snipe flushed, that I walked over thinking it was injured. But when I got
>there it was gone, so it must have been okay and flushed with some of the
>later ones.
>Ring-billed Gull 28 Including one adult with bright red wing tags
>that read "A8". Present when I got to that field at 4:45PM, flew off at
>5:50 PM.
>Rock Pigeon 1
>Mourning Dove 2 incl. singing (s)
>Belted Kingfisher 1
>Downy Woodpecker 2
>Northern Flicker 1 s
>Eastern Phoebe 2
>Blue Jay 1
>American Crow 8
>Tree Swallow 30 approx.
>Black-capped Chickadee 2
>Tufted Titmouse 1
>American Robin 10 s
>European Starling 1
>Savannah Sparrow 3
>Song Sparrow 11 s
>Swamp Sparrow 1
>Dark-eyed Junco 1
>Northern Cardinal 4 s
>Red-winged Blackbird 50 s
>Rusty Blackbird 3 (2m+f) these were staying low in the marsh until
>I came along; then they perched up and became quite vocal, calling and
>singing. One male still had faint rusty edges to many feathers; female
>mostly dark grayish. Later all three were together, and flew off to the
>spot where I had some RUBBs on 4/1.
>Common Grackle 1000 rough estimate (I counted 350, estimated the
>rest)
>Brown-headed Cowbird 2
>House Finch 1 s
>American Goldfinch 8 s now becoming bright yellow
Steven Sutton, Lancaster
bookwarbler2(AT)msn.com
>
>This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Request for Photos of Fenway Red-tails
From: Paul Roberts <phawk254(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:36pm
> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.
----INCLUDING text/plain MIME SECTION----
If anyone has photographed the famous (or infamous) Redtails of Fenway at
any time over the past five or six years, during which time, they, or at
least this specific female, have been nesting in the vicinity of Fenway and
Boston University, please contact me offline at phawk254(AT)comcast.net.
Thank you.
Paul
Paul M. Roberts
Medford, MA
phawk254(AT)comcast.net
----DELETED text/html MIME SECTION----
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Even more about Bohemian Waxwing feeding
From: Steve Mirick <smirick(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:53pm
Jim's and Doug's posts are interesting in that we noticed a similar
situation when we watched the Bohemian Waxwings feeding in a fruit tree
in Bradford last weekend. Jane noticed it first that the birds were
having problems with the stems. Either the fruit would not come off the
tree or the fruit came off with the stem and the bird had to try to
remove it. It seemed a lot of effort was going into the feeding
behavior with relatively little success. Perhaps, this late in the
season, the secondary fruit trees with more difficult fruit are all that
is left.
On a similar note, I recall an e-mail that Steve Hale posted to NH.Birds
a couple of years ago about "cranial inertial feeding" of Bohemian
Waxwings and copied it below. His comments related to this photo I
posted back then:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stevemirick/VideoShots2/photo#5187682152498818466
Amazing how much can be learned by simple observation!
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
Dear List,
Steve Mirick's photo shows very nicely the Bohemian Waxwing in the act
of cranial inertial
feeding. Of course, birds lack teeth for chewing and their forelimbs are
nearly solely devoted to locomotor functions, so how do they stuff food into
there mouths? This is even more an issue in birds trying to handle food
sizes approaching their gape width. When trying to feed on very large food
items, the tongue can get in the way and must be depressed to maximize gape
size, therefore the tongue may be of little use during prey transport into
the pharynx.
Steve's photo shows the bird has slightly "tossed" the fruit into the air.
The next step in this sequence would be for the bird to rapidly drive its
head forward. The inertia from the head overtaking the fruit causes the
fruit to pass through the gape. In instances where the item becomes lodged
in the gape, the caudal (rear) portion of the hyoid (bony tongue) can be
elevated (by muscles) and expel the item for another try. Once past the
gape, the tongue can assist in compressing the fruit and driving it into the
esophagus.
For birds trying to handle relatively largely prey, like fish eating
cormorants and herons, a similar situation arises. Here, however, instead
of tossing the prey into the air, the head is tilted skyward, so that
gravity can pull the item through the gape. As the prey slides downward,
one can observe the bird still quickly and repeated pushing its head over
the prey item.
Steve
Stephen R. Hale, Ph.D.
Complex Systems Research Center
Institute for Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
Morse Hall
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824-3525
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Origin of White-tailed Hawk in Hadley
From: "Scott Ricker" <ptbagger(AT)verizon.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 10:40pm
MassBirders,
I was looking over some of the photos that were shot of the White-tailed
Hawk in Hadley from 2006. Shawn Carey’ photo of the bird in flight really
shows what a beautiful bird this was! Does this photo really lean towards a
bird that was in captivity or were the significant wear marks on the
primaries a result of some extreme conditions that the bird had to endure to
arrive almost 2500 miles from it’s residence? A few of the other photos show
the bird perched in a tree with golden brown shoulders and a nice bright
white tail.
I consider this bird to be a very special sighting and one of the most
exciting life birds that I have seen, Thanks Surner.
Scott Ricker
Southwick, MA.
Ptbagger(at)verizon(dot)net’
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.22.12/1372 - Release Date: 4/10/2008
5:36 PM
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: early brood
From: derek brown <devananga(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Apr 2008 11:30pm
This morning we picked up a cold but living mourning dove nestling,
close to a site where tree felling was occurring. After warmth and food
the bird seems o.k. We guess (checking BNA online) that he or she is
about 10 days old, also has secondary feathers, open eyes and calls for
food. . Given a brood time of two weeks, that would put egg laying as
mid march.
derek brown & april manganiello
conomo point road
essex
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: HSR: Plum Island MA (08 Apr 2008) 1 Raptors
From: reports(AT)hawkcount.org
Date: 10 Apr 2008 11:44pm
Plum Island MA
Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA
Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 08, 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
Black Vulture 0 0 0
Turkey Vulture 0 8 8
Osprey 1 1 3
Bald Eagle 0 0 0
Northern Harrier 0 0 4
Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 0 1
Cooper's Hawk 0 0 0
Northern Goshawk 0 0 0
Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0
Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
Red-tailed Hawk 0 0 1
Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
Golden Eagle 0 0 0
American Kestrel 0 15 23
Merlin 0 1 1
Peregrine Falcon 0 0 1
Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0
Unknown Buteo 0 0 0
Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
Unknown Raptor 0 0 0
Total: 1 25 42
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Observation start time: 10:00:00
Observation end time: 14:00:00
Total observation time: 4 hours
Official Counter: Craig Jackson
Observers: Ted Mara
Weather:
Wind -- East (2-3); temperature -- 9-12°C; clear skies
Raptor Observations:
only one raptor
Non-raptor Observations:
all observations made by Ted Mara
========================================================================
Report submitted by Craig Jackson (crleja(AT)yahoo.com)
Plum Island, Parker River NWR, MA information may be found at:
http://massbird.org/EMHW/
Site Description:
coastal barrier island
Directions to site:
Site is Parking Lot #1 of the Parker River National Wildlifee Refuge on
Plum Island, Newburyport, MA
Take Plum Island Turnpike, cross bridge and take first right onto road
leading to refuge. Parking Lot 1 is on left, shortly after passing refuge
entrance
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