25 Down, 275 To Go ... The Start of My Bay State Big Year

A Red-tailed Hawk perches on a limb near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, watching a nearby flock of Mourning Doves. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.

Despite my excitement to start my Bay State big year, I still managed to hit snooze several dozen times on my alarm clock this morning.Nonetheless, once I did manage to get out of bed and out the door I had a wonderful start to the project, with some great views of typical species and a few unexpected surprises along the way.

One of the nice things about living in Newton is that within an hour's drive I can hit not only many different Mass Audubon Sanctuaries, State Parks and conservation areas, but an impressive range of habitats too, from forest to grassland to the coast. This morning I decided to start off at Newton City Hall - it's one of the places I go birding frequently and is usually a pretty productive spot. I also had a hunch that the American Green-winged Teal might still be around, and this is also a place where I routinely see Red-tailed hawks, two species I wanted to add to the list early. I found the teal with relative ease, and the Red-Tailed Hawk was also quite cooperative, posing perfectly still atop the city hall. There was also a boisterous flock of wintering American Robins and another of European Starlings. The robins were beautiful against the bright winter landscape - flashing warm orange as they moved noisily from one tree to the next.

I decided to head over to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir next. This has proven a great place in the past for large numbers of Hooded and Common Merganser, as well as relatively high counts of Ruddy Duck (20-25 birds). This was also my first attempt at chasing a rarity - for the past couple of weeks I've been seeing reports of Redhead ducks showing up on both Hammond Pond and Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The latest report put the group of 3 females and 2 males at the reservoir. Adding a Redhead to the list was something I really wanted to do, both for the year and for my life list. I could see from the car as I approached that the water was almost entirely free of ice, and there were lots of Canada Geese and ducks visible. The Common Mergansers were a little far out, but very nice to watch as they dove for fish, surrounded by larger group of Hooded Mergansers, also making frequent dives.

In addition to the mergansers, Canada Geese, Mallards, Ruddy Ducks and Ring-billed gulls, I also saw two birds which seemed a bit out of place. I studied them through my binoculars for a few minutes and it occurred to me that in terms of their overall shape and the shape of the bill, they reminded me very strongly of Pied-billed Grebes. After a few more minutes of study and consultation with my Sibley's guide confirmed that I was in fact looking at two of these birds, wearing their dull brown winter plumage. I even managed to get a photo or two - not my best work, but you can see the overall shape and coloring.

A Pied-billed Grebe rests on the surface of Chestnut Hill Reservoir in Brighton, Massachusetts. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.

As I was watching the ducks and the grebe someone stopped on a bicycle stopped to tell me he often sees Red-tailed hawks in the area. Just as we were talking I looked up and saw the bird in the photo at the top of this post. It was on the smaller side - likely a male, and seemed totally unperturbed by all of the walkers, runners and other people passing by below. I watched this bird for a while until it made an enthusiastic but unsuccessful attempt at grabbing a mourning dove from a neighboring tree. The dove managed to escape and the hawk flew off with strong wingbeats, lifting up over the treeline and disappearing.

I continued to follow the path around the reservoir, scanning the water for any sign of the Redheads. As I made my way to the other side there were fewer and fewer ducks to be seen, but I continued on anyway and was very excited to come around a corner and see 5 Redheads sitting together in a little cove. The birds were very beautiful - my photos defintiely do not do them justice.

This small group of Redhead Ducks is an unusual sight in Massachusetts. These birds were seen feeding on the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

Moving on, a strong and very cold wind began to kick up, blowing without mercy off of the water. I wrapped my scarf around my face and trudged along, taking shelter temporarily behind one of the old pumping stations. As I was battling the wind I looked up and saw a Ring-billed gull which seemed to be taking delight in the wind, swooping and turning playfully, seemingly unaffected by the cold.  When I was almost back at my car I stopped once more to inspect a mixed foraging group, hoping that a Golden-crowned Kinglet might turn up, and in fact, one did, along with a male Downy Woodpecker and a Brown Creeper. In total I saw 21 species at the reservoir, and 7 total at Newton City Hall in the morning, which brought me to a combined total of 24 species for the day at this point.

After grabbing a quick lunch I headed over to check out a new place, Cold Spring Park in Newton. I had heard it could be a good spot, but had never made it over before. I added one new species for the day while I was there (2 really bright red Northern Cardinals) and explored the area a bit. Aside from the fact that there is a dog park there (something not usually conducive to wildlife observation) it did look like it could be promising. There was a nice mix of wetlands, streams, small ponds, forest and brush, as well as a large open area with baseball fields, so I'm guessing that a large number of species make use of the park throughout the year and especially in the warmer months.

Two Mallards take advantage of an open stream at Cold Spring Park in Newton, Massachusetts. Image Copyright Daniel E Levenson 2013.

All in all I was very pleased with the first day of 2013 - the Redheads, Pied-billed Grebe and brown Creeper were all unexpected surprises and to be able to get so close to the Red-tailed Hawk at the reservoir and the continuing American green-winged Teal in Newton was a lot of fun. It was also interesting to have so many people stop and ask me about the birds right in front of them, or to tell me about a bird they had just seen in the area. I think this is going to be a very interesting year.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.

A Bit of Bay State Big Year Strategery

Yes, I know "strategery" is not a word, but I like the way it sounds do I decided to use it in the title of this blog post about my plan for birding across massachusetts in 2013. In this post I would like to share my general plan for my 2013 Bay State big year, and I would definitely welcome any feedback or suggestions from fellow birds and/or nature enthusiasts, both in terms of interesting places to see in the Commonwealth and potential birding spots. I have no doubt that life (and the weather) will intervene and change the course of my plans, so I guess we'll just call this a rough draft and see where I end up.

January-February

I'm still keeping an eye on weather reports for January 1 and where I go will probably depend, in part, on whether there is any open water around. My goal for the fist day of my big year is to get 20 species of birds, ideally a mix of ducks, common "feeder" birds and if I'm lucky, some of the key winter species.

In general, in the early part of the year I plan to make regular trips to some of my favorite local suburban locations in the Newton/Brookline area, including the Chestnut Hill Reservoir which is usually a pretty good bet for wintering ducks, including mergansers and Ruddy Duck, and to the Newton City Hall park where I have recorded close to 70 different species in the last few years. These locations are not far from where I live, and with limited daylight they are spots I can check with some frequency. I also plan to try and add whatever species of grosbeak, cross bill and siskin that I can, to both my life and year lists, so I will likely head to some of the more heavily forested areas I know well, such as Moose Hill and Broadmoor wildlife sanctuaries. I'd also like to get in at least one or two trips to Plum Island, again, for wintering ducks, and I'll be keeping a sharpy eye out for reports of snowy owls.

March-April

As much as I can, I plan to get outside and look for migrants in parks and cemeteries. No doubt seasonal allergies will put a damper on some of my planned birding, but I also intend to hit Stony Brook wildlife sanctuary, a place I've had good success in the past with warblers and early returning swallows and blackbird species.

May-June

Unfortunately my allergies tend to stick around into May, but I plan to still be on the lookout for late migrants, and by June I will be heading to Moose Hill Farm in Sharon to look for grassland and forest birds. This is a terrific spot to see Bobolinks and Grosbeaks in the wide open fields, orioles along the forest edge and woodpeckers and forest birds in the thickly shaded woods. I also plan to return to the north shore in June,  head out to the middle part of the state to revisit Wachusett Meadow wildlife sanctuary and hopefully go a bit further west and finally get to Arcadia wildlife sanctuary. As the days get longer and there is more daylight after work hours I plan to also start chasing rarity listings on the e-bird alert list.

July-August

As the weather heats up I will likely try to get more birding in toward the start and the end of the day, and I'll probably use my kayak more often to look for waterfowl and wading birds at places like Lake Cochituate State Park and on the Charles River. I'm also hoping to squeeze in a pelagic trip or two, something which will probably be crucial in my attempt to hit 300 species this year. I'd also like to get out to the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and to Nantucket over the summer.

September-October

Fall migration will probably be my focus as the summer winds down and we move into Autumn. During this period I would like to get back out to western Massachusetts again, maybe to the Berkshires. Hawk migration is also something I would like to make a point of seeing - every year I notice announcements for various hawk watching programs and I have yet to actually join one.

November-December

I imagine I'll spend the last two months of the year chasing after rarities and species that have eluded me up that point. If I can make myself get up early enough I'd also like to do another pelagic trip, and I would love to get back to World's End on the south shore to look for ducks.

So that's the basic idea -subject (and very likely) to change - I would love to hear from anyone else out there who has attempted a big year in Massachusetts and has some thoughts/advice to offer.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

A Final 2012 Outing to Broadmoor

The woods and fields were frosted this morning, covered with a few inches of powdery snow, as I walked along the trails at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, Massachusetts.  Above me, the sky was a soft gray and the sun, a round, bright smudge masked by cloud, back-lit the entire landscape in muted metallic tones of silver and white.  Near the nature center I spent time standing quietly, watching the activity around the bird feeders. The usual suspects were present, along with a beautiful Red-bellied Woodpecker who made repeated visits to pick up sunflower seeds. I watched this bird for a while and it appeared to be caching the seeds in the bark of a tree, something quite common for nuthatches, but which I had never seen a Red-bellied Woodpecker do before. A little searching online revealed that this is in fact a behavior which the Red-bellied shares with other woodpeckers in the same genus, which was interesting to learn.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker inspects the bark of a tree at the Mass Audubon Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, Massachusetts. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

In addition to the Red-bellied Woodpecker I also spotted a male Downy Woodpecker, several American Goldfinches, Red-Breasted Nuthatch and both Song and American Tree Sparrow.

A Red-breasted nuthatch forages on a tree at Broadmoor in Nartick, Massachusetts. These comical little birds often join mixed foraging flocks in the winter and can be seen moving through the forest canopy (and at feeders) with chickadees, titmice and other small birds. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson,

As I moved away from the nature center the forest became quieter, but there was still plenty to see. Most of the wetlands along the boardwalk were frozen, although in the center I could see a little open water. There were no ducks to be found, and the resident swans were nowhere in sight. 

Later the sun came out, electrifying the snow-covered trees and bringing a little warmth to an otherwise chilly afternoon. In all, I counted 16 species of birds and was happy to get a few photographs of species I haven't captured on (digital) film before. It was a nice day to be outside.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

Two Nature Websites To Check Out on a Snowy Winter Evening

With the snow piling up outside on this cold winter evening, it seemed like a good time to take a look around the web and check out some different birding blogs and websites. Below are two sites I have come to enjoy over the last year and would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in natural history.

The Massachusetts Audubon Society website is one of my mainstays for online local nature news and information. I personally have a rather abysmal record when it comes to attending Audubon programs - out of 5 scheduled outings, one attempt to see Snowy Owls ended with my car stuck up to the doors in sand in the middle of a snow storm, another outing in search of woodcocks was failed to produce any sign of avian life, a planned evening of owling fell victim to torrential rains, and most recently I had a Saturday morning trip on the South Shore canceled because not enough people signed up. Still, I love Mass Audubon, and I would highly recommend checking out their website. In addition to information on birds and birding its also a great resource for general wildlife information. My only criticism is that I think the site would be even more useful if the sections for each individual sanctuary were updated occasionally and also had more specific information about programs going on at each location.

The website of naturalist, author and illustrator David Sibley is another site I like to check out from time to time. Sibley's filed guides have been my most valuable tool since I started birding, on both the east and west coast. The site appears to be updated only once or twice a month, but Sibley shares both his elegant, accurate illustrations and the things he learns from close observation, with readers. When I took a look this evening I saw that he had posted an interesting piece on telling the difference between male and female Juncos by watching their body posture and behavior while feeding. I really enjoy this kind close look at a bird which is fairly common in Massachusetts in the winter - it's a good reminder that even with species we think we know, there is always something more to learn.

Thanks for reading.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

Adding Birds #90 and #91 to My Year List

A light dusting of snow covers a field at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon, Massachusetts. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

I recently made it out to Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon, Massachusetts, for a quick birding trip. Moose Hill has always been a special place for me, I've been going there practically my entire life, and when I was in college I worked as a counselor at the nature camp one summer. While I may not often have as many species at the end of a typical outing at this location as I would perhaps at other places, it does offer diverse habitat, including pine and mixed woodlands, wetlands, streams and fields. In the spring and summer it's one of my favorite spots to watch Tree Swallows, Eastern Blue Birds and Baltimore Orioles and in the winter I can always count on lively mixed foraging flocks and occasional surprises.

On this most recent visit I spent about fifteen minutes outside the nature center watching the feeders. In addition to the usual suspects - Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Juncos and American Goldfinch, I was also delighted to come across a Carolina Wren, which was bird number 90 for me for the year. As I continued watching the feeders I heard a familiar grunting/croaking call overhead - I immediately thought "raven !"  and looked up to see a large black bird soaring overhead. Through my binoculars I could see its wedge-shaped tail, and as the bird turned and made an acrobatic dive, wings held gracefully back, I was sure I was looking at a bird I have seen many times in southern California and the Middle East, but only rarely in New England. With that sighting I hit 91 species for the year.

I spent the next 45 minutes or so wandering around, taking in the quiet, snow-dusted scenery. As I walked along I was accompanied most of the way by the cheerful song of chickadees and the semi-maniacal calls of the nuthatch. It was a nice day to be outside.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

Starting to Plan for My 2013 Bay State Big Year

Part of the appeal of doing a "big year" (on a small scale) for me is the chance to work on my overall birding skills and learn more about avian life in general

As I start to think about my plans for a 2013 Bay State Big Year I've begun to do a little research into how other birders have tackled this sort of project and so far it's been a lot of fun to read about the different approaches people have tried and the adventures they have had along the way. It seems like the one unifying element across the board is a desire to see as many birds as possible in a given geographic area over the course of a calender year. For me, my goals are as follows:

1. To try and see 300 species of birds in Massachusetts.

2. To explore and experience new places in the state.

3. To improve my birding skills.

4. To gain a deeper knowledge of the varied habitats that birds (and other wildlife) call home in the Bay  State.

5. And last but not least, of course I want to have fun along the way.

Right now I am doing some research online, but I also keep a stack of birding books on my night table to look through each night before I fall asleep. At the moment, I have the two books in the photo above: Kenn Kaufman's Field Guide to Advanced Birding and The Shorebird Guide, as well as Sibley's guide to birds of western North America - my much-loved and well-worn Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America tends to never leave my car, a safeguard against forgetting it when going out birding. This last book is definitely my constant companion and go-to field guide when I'm outdoors. I find the illustrations extremely useful in making identifications when I encounter unfamiliar birds and overall it's easy to use.

I'm also starting to think about the places I want to check out in the coming year, from familiar haunts such as Broadmoor and Stony Brook wildlife sanctuaries to places I've been meaning to get back to, including Plum Island and the Halibut Point State Park, not to mention spots I've yet to visit on Cape Cod and in western Massachusetts.This weekend I'm hoping to get outside and perhaps add a few more last-minute species to my list for 2012. Maybe I'll even find some promising places to continue my search in 2013 as I embark on my adventure.

In the meantime, I'd like to share a few links to some birding blogs which touch on this rather strange yet wonderful notion of a big year. Happy reading !

1. Lynn Barber writing on the ABA blog about big year strategies

2. John Vanderpoel chronicles his 2011 big year.

3. Robert Mortensen offers some strategic thoughts on planning for a big year.


Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

The Eurasian Teal Shows Up for a Photo and a Large Red-tailed Hawk Appears

I had limited time today but I still managed to get over to the Newton City Hall Plaza, with the goal of getting some photos of both the continuing flock of American Green-winged Teal and the male Eurasian Teal which has been seen around Newton for the last few weeks. We were lucky enough to come across the American Green-winged Teal almost right away, feeding at the edge of some thin ice in a small, compact group. After trying to take half-decent photos through the branches my girlfriend Joanna pointed out an open spot in the brush and as I moved in to take a picture I realized that I was looking at the male Eurasian Teal, which was exciting.

A male Eurasian Teal swims along the edge of the ice, searching for food. This bird has been seen regularly around Newton, massachusetts, over the past few weeks. Unlike the American Green-winged Teal, the Eurasian Teal has a horizontal white strip running along its side, and no vertical stripe, as is seen on the former. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

Capturing the Eurasian Teal with my camera was very exciting, not to mention a good reminder that whenever I go birding I have no idea I will encounter, so it's probably a good idea for me to idea to bring my camera along on every outing. As I was watching the teal I counted the group several times and noticed that there were only 9 birds in the group (plus the Eurasian Teal) while the last few times I had been there I noticed 10 (plus the Eurasian Teal, for a total of 11 teal). I suppose it's possible that a predator might have gotten one of the birds or that it was feeding in another spot I couldn't see, but its absence occurred to me almost immediately as I watched these small ducks feeding hungrily through my binoculars.

As we were walking over one of the footbridges something very big lifted off from a branch near the water, catching us by surprise. I watched the bird take off and saw right away that it was a large Red-tailed Hawk. The bird flew a short distance, landing on another limb, before taking flight again and coming to rest about 30 feet up in the branches of another tree, where it sat still long enough for me to take a few photos. The light wasn't too cooperative, and these images defintiely did not capture the impressive size or presence of this bird, but from the image below you can get some idea of what we saw.

A large Red-tailed Hawk, likely a female, perches in a tree in Newton. Image copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.

There are a number of resident Red-tailed Hawks in and around Newton Center, and I've watched them over the past couple of years, often as they've sat perched on tree limbs or at the peaks of tall buildings. It's a real delight to see them glide along on invisible tracks of air as they hunt for small mammals, birds and other prey.

We finished off the morning with a quick stop at Lake Massapoag in Sharon, Massachusetts, where I added Hooded Merganser and Bufflehead to list for the day. There was also another a group of very intriguing ducks fairly far from shore, which I was not able to identify, mixed in with the Bufflehead and some Canada geese. They looked like they might have been Ring-necked Ducks or Scaup, but without a scope it was hard to tell. I defintiely plan to return soon for a closer look.

Thanks for reading.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2012.