1/1/12 -- New Year's Day trip, Worcester
The Forbush Bird Club, which celebrated the 80th anniversary of its founding
in 2011, held its annual New Year's Day bird trip in Worcester on January 1,
2012 with 12 members attending. John Shea assisted trip leader Joan Zumpfe.
John has graciously agreed to be next year's trip leader. The weather was
similar to last year's trip with temperatures around 50, a sunny sky and no
wind at the noon start. It cooled slightly, with a 5 to 10 mph occasional
breeze, by trip end at 4:30 pm. The difference from 2011 was the lack of any
snow cover and the unseasonably preceding warm month of December causing
most bodies of water to be mostly open with less concentration of waterfowl.
Highlights were a Red-tailed Hawk devouring a Chipmunk while perched on a
telephone pole, a Merlin seen from Lake Park, a Hooded Merganser gulping
down a fish and a Peregrine Falcon (first spotted by Sue Moynagh) sitting on
a window ledge just below the People's Bank sign on the old
Mechanics Bank building. Mike Bellows continued the tradition of generously
offering us delicious, holiday decorated cookies so cleverly prepared by his
wife Nancy. Two CSX freight trains also traveled through the city as we
observed the following 26 species:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan 6 (2 young at Coes Reservoir)
Gadwall 4 (2 pairs)
American Black Duck 6
Mallard
Northern Pintail 1
Green-winged Teal 11
Hooded Merganser 27
Common Merganser 2 (a pair)
Great Blue Heron 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Merlin 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher 2
American Crow 8
Black-capped Chickadee 1
European Starling
Song Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 3
American Goldfinch 1
House Sparrow
(trip report from Joan Zumpfe).
For previous sightings, see
Trip Reports 2011