On Sunday afternoon I only had a little time to look for birds, so I decided to stop off at the Kohl's parking lot in Burlington. Massachusetts. to see if I could find the continuing Yellow-breasted Chat which people have been posting about on various birding list serves. Before we got on the highway, however, my girlfriend Joanna and I spotted two Mute Swans in an open section of water in the Charles River, across from the Charles River Canoe and Kayak rental location in Newton. We pulled over for a few minutes and I took a good look at the swans through my binoculars. The Swans were species #43 for the year, and while there we also counted a number of Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls and Mallards, along with one solitary Rock Pigeon.
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| Two mute swans swim on the Charles River while Mallards venture onto shore in the foreground. Image copyright Joanna Barker 2013. |
Back on the road we saw three Red-tailed hawks perched along the highway, and when we got to the Kohl's parking lot there there were already a few birders there searching for the chat. We spent about 25 minutes peering into the brush and trees beside the parking lot, but the chat failed to make an appearance. I would be very curious to know if anyone else saw it tyesterday.
We did see several American Robins while searching for the chat and I was happy to add bird #44 for the year, a gorgeous Cooper's Hawk which I got an excellent look at as it flew over the marsh behind the parking lot. At first I wasn't sure if it might be a Sharp-shinned, but it had a very obviously rounded tail and seemed larger than the Sharp-Shinned hawks I have seen before.
So, sadly, no Yellow-breasted Chat for me this weekend. I plan to keep an eye on the list serves though, and if it pops again I will defintely try to see it.
Thanks for reading.
Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.
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