Bird Sightings: The Voice of Audubon

To submit bird sightings call
(781) 259-2150.

The Voice of Audubon offers regular updates on birds sighted across the state to introduce you to the wide variety of species Massachusetts has to offer.

Below are the most recently published sightings. Sightings in the past month are also available.

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Cape Cod

Monday, December 29, 2008

Highlights from the Truro Christmas Bird Count held on Monday were 188 pine siskins, 80 white-winged crossbills, 4 common redpolls, a fox sparrow, a common yellowthroat, 3 bohemian waxwings, over 10,000 American robins, 2 northern shrikes, a snowy owl, an Iceland gull, 831 black-legged kittiwakes, an Atlantic puffin, 10 dovekies, 3 common murres, 4 thick-billed murres, a rough-legged hawk, an American bittern, a sora, a saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow, and a seaside sparrow.

On the Buzzard's Bay count, also held Monday, the notable birds included an eared grebe in Falmouth, 11 yellow-breasted chats, 3 red-shouldered hawks, a snow goose flying by the Falmouth Mall, 2 short-eared owls, a Baltimore oriole, 3 white-winged crossbills, 20 pine siskins, 12 common redpolls, 2 peregrine falcons, and a Barrow's goldeneye.

The occasionally-seen golden eagle was reported from the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary this week, and other birds reported from here and there included a snowy owl at South Cape Beach in Mashpee, 2 Barrow's goldeneyes in Falmouth, an orange-crowned warbler at a feeder in Mashpee, a fox sparrow at a feeder in West Barnstable, and a chipping sparrow and 5 eastern towhees from a yard in East Sandwich.

If you have questions about these sightings, or want to report a sighting, call the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or send e-mail to sightings@massaudubon.org.

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Eastern Massachusetts

Monday, January 5, 2009

A Yellow-headed Blackbird was seen today at a feeder near the end of Dock Lane in Salisbury.

Weekend reports from Salisbury Beach State Reservation and Plum Island included 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Snowy Owl, 1 Long-eared Owl, 25 Horned Larks, 15 Lapland Longspurs, 170 White-winged Crossbills, and 30 Common Redpolls, and noted along the Merrimack River between Lawrence and Haverhill were 34 Common Goldeneye, 2 Bald Eagles, 3 Peregrine Falcons, and 1 Northern Shrike, plus 11,500 American Crows and 35 Fish Crows coming into an evening roost in Lawrence.

Seen in Gloucester were 2 Ring-necked Ducks, 1 King Eider, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 30 Purple Sandpipers, 1 Black-headed Gull, 3 Thayer's Gulls, 27 Iceland Gulls, 2 Glaucous Gulls, 1 Common Murre, 1 Thick-billed Murre, and 1 Snowy Owl, and a report from Saugus included 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 2 American Kestrels, 2 Northern Harriers, 5 American Pipits, and 40 Red-winged Blackbirds.

In Falmouth there were 2 Eurasian Wigeons, 2 Redheads, 1 Barrow's Goldeneye, roughly 200 Hooded Mergansers, 1 Killdeer, 1 Black-headed Gull, and 1 Yellow-breasted Chat, and reports from Fairhaven included 2 Snow Geese, 1 Barrow's Goldeneye, 3 Northern Harriers, 1 Killdeer, 1 Short-eared Owl, roughly 200 Horned Larks, 28 American Pipits, and 7 Eastern Meadowlarks.

Miscellaneous reports from the weekend included a Pacific Loon in Wellfleet, 2 Black-headed Gulls at Nantucket, 2 Bald Eagles in Bourne, a Bald Eagle and a Short-eared Owl at Plymouth Beach, 4 Northern Harriers and 4 Rough-legged Hawks at the Daniel Webster sanctuary in Marshfield, a Barrow's Goldeneye at the Fort Point Channel in Boston, another Barrow's Goldeneye on the Charles River in Waltham, 17 Red-winged Blackbirds in Ipswich, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Rough-legged Hawk in Essex, and roughly 80 Harlequin Ducks and 2 Dovekies in Rockport.

 

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Western Massachusetts

Monday, January 5, 2009

Winter has settled in firmly and driven most of the lingering summer residents south and out of our region. Even northern visitors are finally resorting to feeders for food and waterfowl are hanging out at the few spots that haven't been covered with ice.

A rare gray jay, which normally is found in the boreal forests of Canada, was seen on Friday at the Moran Wildlife Management Area in Windsor.

Two northern pintails, a northern harrier, a Cooper's hawk, a northern flicker, 200 horned larks, five snow buntings, three Lapland longspurs, a savannah sparrow, and 50 pine siskins were found in the meadows of Northampton.

A lesser scaup and two hooded mergansers were found in a small pond on Ferry Street in Easthampton.

A horned grebe, 27 mute swans, three lesser black-backed gulls, and an Iceland gull were reported in Turner's Falls..

A northern harrier and Cooper's hawk were seen in Hadley, a rough-legged hawk was reported in New Braintree, and 25 pine siskins were found in Granby. Eight red-winged blackbirds and a field sparrow were found in Belchertown. Twenty white-winged crossbills were reported in Northfield, and a sharp-shinned hawk, an American kestrel, and a belted kingfisher were seen in Chicopee.

Two hooded mergansers, six common mergansers, a belted kingfisher, two golden-crowned kinglets, and 20 American robins were reported in West Springfield.

Two ruffed grouse, three eastern bluebirds, a fox sparrow, two white-winged crossbills, and 45 pine siskins were seen in Amherst.

A northern shrike was hunting around feeders in Pittsfield. An evening grosbeak was at a feeder in Savoy. A golden eagle was seen in the town of Mount Washington, and a rough-legged hawk was found in Great Barrington.

Two black vultures, 200 horned larks, five snow buntings, and 30 pine siskins were seen in Sheffield.

 

 

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About the Voice of Audubon

These bird sighting reports are transcripts of recorded messages from each of three regional bird hotlines maintained by Mass Audubon, known as the Voice of Audubon. Beginning November 1, 2006, the phone number for the Voice of Audubon is (781) 259-8805. The toll-free number will no longer be in service, but all three recorded reports from throughout the state will continue to be accessible through the new number, and the transcripts will still be available anytime on our website (www.massaudubon.org/voa). The Voice of Audubon is the oldest phone-based bird alert in the United States, first established on December 1, 1954 (original phone number, KEnmore 6-4050). See the original 1954 press release*.

These reports are intended to provide a "snapshot" of the noteworthy bird activity in each region within Massachusetts. Sightings incorporated into these reports include, for example, rarities, early/first-arriving migrants, late-departing migrants, high counts, unusual sightings (e.g., a seabird found on an inland lake), or simply those that represent exemplary sightings for the time and place.

The Boston Globe publishes one or more of these transcripts (with limited editing) each Sunday. To submit bird sightings call (781) 259-2150.

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