There were 51 club field trips in western Massachusetts, including two Christmas Counts, two Breeding Censuses, and Hawk Counts in the fall and spring. Twenty of the trips were all or nearly all by foot and eighteen were primarily driving trips with some walking. We took two trips by bike and one by kayak. Finally, there were five trips which were mostly non-moving watches, one each for nighthawks, whip-poor-wills, and woodcocks, and two for hawks. These trips averaged 11 participants per trip, most from 7 to 15. On all these trips we recorded 209 species, the most in the three years we have kept track.
We made ten trips to coastal Massachusetts, two to the north shore and eight to the south shore and Cape Cod. This added another 55 species to the list, bringing our state total to 264, six fewer than the previous year. We went outside Massachusetts on seven occasions, twice to Vermont and once each to Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. For all trips we reached a grand total of 285 species, fifteen fewer than 2003-2004. Last year we added Black-bellied Whistling Duck and Trumpeter Swan to our all time count, and this year it was Ross' Goose and Red-footed Falcon.
| July-August 2004 | October 2004 | January-February 2005 | May 2005 |
| September 2004 | November-December 2004 | March-April 2005 | June-July 2005 |
The year opened with our Cape Cod weekend, where South Beach started us right with 18 shorebird species, Roseate and Forester's Tern and Black Skimmer. We stayed on shore the next day, visiting Race Point and Nauset Marsh and still got Greater and Sooty Shearwater, Parasitic Jaeger, Wilson's Storm-Petrels, and a Bobwhite. Next, Plum Island was on the schedule, but we diverted to Martha's Vineyard, where the spectacular Red-footed Falcon was our bird of the year. The sandbar was flooded so we looked for shorebirds in Northampton, hitting the jackpot with a Golden Plover and Baird's Sandpiper, as well as great views of a hunting Peregrine. On our evening watch in Longmeadow we spotted 25 Common Nighthawks, Great Egret and Green Heron.
Songbirds abounded on our three Stebbins Walks, highlighted by vireos, tanagers, grosbeaks, and orioles. We got to Newburyport and Plum Island early in the month and it was special. Western Kingbird and Philadelphia Vireo were found, three Little Gulls and a Forester's Tern, and nine Glossy Ibis. Among 15 shorebird species were Western, Baird's, Stilt, and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. One week later we went to South Beach in Chatham. There were hundreds of plovers and Sanderlings and thousands of terns, including four Forester's and two Black Terns. We tried a fall Robinson Park walk and heard a Black-billed Cuckoo calling, but migrants were scarce. The annual Blueberry Hill pig roast was our only rainout all year, but we went ahead with a picnic the next day. On the morning walk we had over 50 migrant warblers of eight species, including Tennessee and 20 Blackpolls. During the day a happy crowd counted more than 800 Broadwings and 70 Sharp-shined, and also spotted a Black Vulture and Goshawk. There were unusually few warblers on the Quabbin Bike Trip
A second picnic on Blueberry Hill had fewer hawks, but we were surprised by a Red-headed Woodpecker. A tour through the meadows of Northampton produced White-crowned and Lincoln's Sparrows. Columbus Day weekend at Brigantine and Cape May is a great way to celebrate the last of the tropical landbird and shorebird migration, the early waterfowl migration, and the peak of raptor migration. Just a sample of the 131 species were seven Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, 12 Little Blue Herons, 250 egrets, 500 Pintail, 1000 Green-winged Teal, 300 Sharp-shined, 14 Peregrines, 300 Oystercatchers and 1500 Dunlin among 19 shorebird species, 60 Caspian, 200 Royal, and 1600 Forester's Terns, 1600 Black Skimmers, White and Brown Pelicans, nine warbler species and ten species of sparrow. A Local Hotline went to Northampton for more than 100 sparrows of nine species, plus Meadowlark, Bluebird, and two Harriers. Waterfowl took front stage on a trip to Ludlow Reservoir, which continued on to Turner's Falls.
November-December 2004
Top of Page
The Lake Champlain and Dead Creek featured 21 species of waterfowl, most prominent the thousands of Snow Geese. Rough-legged Hawk went on the list plus 35 Common Loons and ten Horned Grebes. Long-tailed and Ruddy Ducks, Pintail and American Wigeon were the prizes on our tour of the Berkshire Lakes. After finding three Fox Sparrows at South Quabbin, we checked out Ludlow Reservoir to discover 18 Ruddy Ducks. With winter fast approaching it was time to visit the coast, Cape Ann being our first destination. There Gannets, scoters, Guillemonts, and Harlequin Ducks were special enough, but added were Black-headed Gull, Kittiwake, and Razorbills. More Razorbills were on the South Shore and a Snowy Owl posed for us on Duxbury Beach. The scoters, Harlequins, Brant and more than 25 Red-throated Loon also filled our glasses. Cape Cod completed our trifecta of fall coastal trips with more of the same, adding five Canvasbacks and 300 Greater Scaup. The Christmas Counts had decent weather. The tally in Springfield was 71 species, highlighted by American Wigeon, Pintail, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Merlin, Pine Warbler, Fox Sparrow, and Towhee. First ever for the count was a Greater Yellowlegs. Best birds of the 65 species on the Westfield area count were Common Loon, Snipe, and Rusty Blackbird.
January-February 2005
Top of Page
A Red-headed Woodpecker at a feeder in Leverett was the reward on the next Hotline Trip. Sleet and snow forced us to postpone the Cape Cod trip to mid-month, but it was worth waiting for. There were Purple Sandpipers, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Razorbills, as well as scaup and Canvasback. For the Rhode Island Blitz it was cold enough to put ice on most bays and ponds, but there were 300 Horned Grebes, 1000 Greater Scaup, Black-headed Gull, 30 Razorbills, four Thick-billed Murres, Hermit Thrushes, Catbirds, and Thrashers. Another hotline went to Agawam and Turners Falls, picking up Great Cormorant, Iceland and Glaucous Gull along the way. Our third winter coast trip is to Cape Ann and Plum Island, and we picked up the usual masses of loons, grebes, scoters, and other sea and bay ducks. Special were King Eider, Eared Grebe, 50 Harlequins, 4 Kittiwakes, 25 Black Guillemonts, and 2 Razorbills.
Our coastal hotline choice was Cape Cod, where we missed some targets, but did find Thick-billed Murre. We finally found our Eurasian Wigeon on the Connecticut Shore, along with 300 Bonaparte's Gulls, and 60 Monk Parakeets. Spring finally arrived in the valley and ducks were everywhere on the Local Ponds. Among the 15 waterfowl species were 2 Gadwall, 12 American Wigeon, 3 Pintail, and a Red-breasted Merganser. Topping it off was a Peregrine Falcon in Holyoke. At least a dozen Woodcocks put on a show in East Longmeadow. Threatening weather did not deter a hardy few to venture to Northampton, Hatfield and Turners Falls. Ducks were scarce, but we did manage three American Wigeon, nine Bufflehead, 200 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Peregrine at Mt. Sugarloaf. We tried a new place in mid-April, but closed roads limited the Ware River trip. Winimussett Wildlife Management Area had Osprey, Meadowlark, and Rusty Blackbirds. The Spring hawkwatch at Blueberry Hill was plagued by cold and east winds, but wandering Black Vultures, resident eagles, Goshawks, and Red-shoulders helped to keep us content. Our best days were April 6-7 when we counted 16 Ospreys, 11 Harriers, 97 Sharp-shined, 7 Cooper's Hawks, 15 Redtails, 24 Kestrels, and a Merlin. Our big Broadwing day was April 22 with 207 birds seen. Drizzle canceled the picnic on the hill, but we did find 3 Virginia Rails, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Vesper Sparrow in Southwick. The drizzle continued on the Wilbraham Rice Farm walk, but we did get some spring arrivals and a look at a beautiful piece of land preserved with the help of our own Phelps bequest. Feeding beavers were the highlight of the Amherst Rail Trail walk. We ended the month with the Stanley Park walk, where continued cold weather gave us only a hint of arriving spring birds.
The month began with another new trip to Wilbraham's Hollow Road, but only a few migrants had arrived. After rain hampered the first Wednesday Stebbins Walk, birds and walkers were plentiful at the next three. Flycatchers, vireos, thrushes, warblers, tanager, grosbeaks, and orioles were everywhere. A spring Black-crowned Night-Heron was a big surprise. Landbirds were still scarce in Granville and Blandford, but we did have an American Bittern, 3 Virginia Rails, and a few warblers. Even Mother's Day could not improve things on the Robinson Park Walk, as only species arriving a week earlier were present. The migrants finally arrived by the May Census, when 27 observers recorded 153 species. Unusual finds were two Blue-winged Teal, a White-winged Scoter, Hooded Merganser, American Bittern, Merlin, five Sora, Semipalmated Plover, Snipe, Barn Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Marsh Wren, two Hooded and a Mourning Warbler, and a Rusty Blackbird. We counted almost 1600 warblers of 26 species. Record high counts were made for Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Pine Warbler, and Baltimore Oriole. The Worm-eating Warbler was at Skinner Sate Park as well as a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. We tried an afternoon walk through Forest Park for families and even bad weather did not dampen plans to expand this program. This was the first spring we went north to Monhegan Island, Maine and got close to hungry warblers feeding on the grass and rocks at our feet. There were 21 warbler species and over 200 individuals seen, including a Bay-breasted and two Hooded Warblers. Add to that Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrows, and ten White-winged Crossbills. By month's end the sun shone for the Tyringham Valley Walk, when we spotted Snipe, seven Black-billed Cuckoos, an Olive-sided Flycatcher, and 115 warblers of 15 species. Two more trips in May were the Covey WMA Walk and the South Quabbin tour, where resident songbirds were numerous.
Our only Kayak paddle was at Quaboag Marsh, where we got close to a Common Loon and heard Alder Flycatchers. There were 13 observers in the field for the second Breeding Bird Census of the Little River IBA. We again tallied 119 species with 3728 individuals. Warblers were the stars with nearly 1200 of 21 species noted. There were 288 Ovenbirds, 117 Chesnut-sided, 115 Black-throated Blue, 60 Black-throated Green, 105 Redstart, 96 Blackburnian, and 87 Black & White. The birds sang as we biked up the Westfield River in Chesterfield, where flycatchers, warblers, and vireos were abundant. A new trip to Hatfield and Williamsburg produced nesting Cliff Swallows and nice views of Virginia Rail. The biker club in Montague Plains helped us find a Whip-poor-will that flew and perched in the open. Then we moved on to hear a Grasshopper Sparrow sing at the nearby airport. Tom Swochak pioneered Becket for us with the usual residents. On our October Mt. tour we had a Ruffed Grouse family, three Virginia Rail, both cuckoos, an Olive-sided Flycatcher singing mightily, and a Mourning Warbler. There was some rain but no wind on Greylock, so our long walk on the Saddleball was a delight, producing both cuckoos, three Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, eight Swainson's Thrush, two Nashville, and 20 Blackpoll Warblers. We extended the trip to Brielman's Swamp in Pittsfield for Virginia Rail and Sora, then moved to Richmond for Marsh Wrens. The White Mountains were a tough climb in hot, humid conditions, but a stubborn crew reached the top of Jefferson and Moosilauke, then braved the insects of Pondicherry Refuge. Some of the gang got Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Bicknell's Thrush, but warblers and Winter Wrens were the highlight. A windy day after night rain greeted us in Southern Vermont but we enjoyed the singing Swainson's Thrushes, Parulas, and Blackpolls, as well as the picnic with barbecued ribs at day's end. One last foray in to the hills of Plainfield was wet underfoot but windless. We heard perhaps our last Hermit Thrush and Winter Wren song of the year, and soaked in the Evening Grosbeak at the feeder as we left.