Winter Summary 2014

Winter 2014 continues. Now in the third week of March the impoundments at Great Meadows are still frozen and local ponds only have small sections of open water.  Much of the snowpack has melted, clearing corn fields for arriving geese. Birds are a bit late and the variety has been a bit limited due to limited migration windows (a few warm weekends with SW winds brought in some G-W Teal and Pintails to Nine Acre Corner; Killdeer are here, but in small numbers; no phoebes yet except for that February pioneer).  A very small number of Great Blue Heron have been observed arranging nests. Many Juncos are still here, although Tree Sparrows have gotten scarce.

In short, a slow start to 2014.  As of March 23, with Chuck Johnson's discovery of a Greater White-Fronted at Great Meadows, Ludlow G. has tallied 89 birds compared to 103 by the same date in 2013.  Granted, last winter we had irruptive finches and mild temperatures, but it's a stark difference.

Here's hoping for a good spring migration!

Ludlow Goes Big (again)

Yes, our virtual birding companion, Ludlow G., is at it again.  Realizing that if one year can be big, three can be bigger (and more meaningful), Ludlow will be compiling collaborative "big years" with birders in Concord during 2014 and 2015.

Gulp.

Some early comparisons between January 2013 and 2014 suggest why long-term surveys are so useful.

Winter of 2013 began mild and then snow began to pile up in February, while 2014 began very cold, with virtually no open water and some snow pack.  In January 2013, with a lot of open water, an irruption year for finches, and some lingering passerines, we had:

The amazing, continuing Rufous hummingbird, which lasted through Jan. 8
Wood duck, green-winged teal, bufflehead, mute swan
Common Yellowthroat, palm, pine, chipping sparrow, savannah, winter wren
Pine siskin, white-winged crossbill, pine grosbeak

Common Mergansers in the Assabet River, West Concord

This January we have missed all but the real cold water ducks, haven't had a winter wren yet or a barred owl, no red-breasted nuthatches, and only one reported redpoll. But birds we did not have last January are equally interesting:

Snowy and Short-eared owl (Hanscom, this year's bonus birds in early January)
Turkey vulture
Fox sparrow
Hermit thrush (numerous sightings)
Lapland longspur
Great Cormorant (amazing fly-over sighting at Hanscom)
Merlin (an active bird around Kaveski; we did finally see a Merlin in Feb. 2013)

Nevertheless, even though reporting is down a bit from a year ago, the current totals are similar (2014/2013): 73/75 by February.

Go Ludlow!

Let the Games Begin!

Rumor has it this was the demo video for a proposed sport at Sochi.  Putin rejected it, claiming "we have no crows in Sochi, and this is not funny."

For those counting, it's a hooded crow filmed somewhere in Russia.

Eagles!

On Saturday January 11th the Winstanleys found a deer carcass on the ice just below the bridge at Lowell Rd. and Liberty St.  On the carcass were three bald eagles, fighting over what was left, presumably after coyotes had gotten there first.  I arrived a few hours later to find a sub-adult eagle perched above the carcass.  It left, and very quickly a red-shouldered hawk showed up.  It was raining and foggy, thus the lousy shot.

One of the adults soon returned to have another go (compare size with the RSHA):

The juvenile then flew back in, and you can see its underwing coloring and uneven length flight feathers in the banner picture above.

Ludlow G's Excellent Adventure: Concord Birds 2013 Wrap-up

2013 was a virtual Big Year for our intrepid and omnipresent field companion, Ludlow G., who attempted to see as many birds (and assemble a deep database) in Concord and immediately adjacent areas.  Our task was in some ways quite different from a true Big Year like Neil Hayward’s, which involved extensive travel and substantial resources; Ludlow G. kept it local, with a focus on patch birding and extensive surveys of under-birded areas.  Above all, ours was a collaborative effort, with as many eyes on birds in as many places at as many times as possible.  Think of it as a year-long town CBC, with eBird as the reporting tool and Ludlow G. as the compiler, with yours truly as the impresario and secretary.

As a proof-of-concept, we succeeded well beyond our goals.  Based on a the usual total of about 200 birds encountered in Middlesex County in a given year, and on town patch totals of around 170 species by a few individuals, we set a modest goal of 200 birds for the year, hoping perhaps for a few more and the participation of perhaps a dozen birders.  By the end of June we had reached 190 birds, and passed 200 in August, with dozens of birders contributing eBird and field lists to Ludlow (and keeping me very busy during migration!).  As of December 24th, with a stunning Red-Throated Loon found on the Concord River by the Great Meadows Survey team, Ludlow G. finishes the year with a round 225 species, with 950 checklists contributed by some three dozen individuals and groups.  See a full summary (in draft) here.

While 200 birds in Concord is still within the reach of highly motivated birders (Cole Winstanley finished with 190; I finished with 188), it takes many eyes to find a string of rarities like we had this fall: American Golden Plover (Jim McCoy); Buff-Breasted Sandpiper (Lucas Hale); Grey-Cheeked Thrush and Red Headed Woodpecker (Willy Hutcheson); Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Cackling Goose, Lapland Longspur (Cole and Jalen Winstanley); Olive Sided Flycatcher, Connecticut Warbler, Western Kingbird (David Sibley); Black Scoter (David Swain); Roughleg/Rough-Legged Buzzard/Hawk (Bob Stymeist); Snowy and Short-Eared Owls (Simon Perkins); and Red-Throated Loon (GMNWR Survey).  

It has been a pleasure and vicarious thrill to receive and read every report, get your text messages from the field, and track your observations on MassBird or using the BirdTrax tool on my blog, BirdingwithLudlow.blogspot.com.  I hope I have acknowledged and thanked you for them all.  I take this opportunity to thank my friends in Concord and the extended MassBird community for their interest and support of this project.

Good Birding in 2014!

David Swain and Ludlow G.

Concord, MA

Ludlow's End-Game: Theoretical Birds for Fall and Winter

Back in late August, before my day-job brought all things birding to a virtual halt, my collaborator on Concord Birds 2013, Cole Winstanley, and I compared theoretical lists of remaining birds for fall and winter.  At that point Ludlow G. was at 204 birds.  Our dream list was pretty predictable:

Winter geese:  Greater White-Fronted, Barnacle, Pink-Footed, Brant (hoping for a fly-over or a one-day wonder at Great Meadows).

aythya ducks:  Redhead, Scaup, and Canvasback (we needed a stronger report than one spring sighting)

Long-Tailed duck

Black Scoter (most likely of the scoters; in 2012 we had a one-day flock at Great Meadows)

Golden Eagle (why not dream?)

Goshawk (maybe, maybe)

Shorebirds:  White-Rumped and Baird’s

Black Tern, Common (we needed a hurricane)

Northern Saw-Whet Owl

Olive-Sided Flycatcher (a real one! not a molting phoebe)

Ash-Throated (why not dream?)

Western Kingbird (we are due)

Philadelphia Vireo

White-Eyed Vireo

Bicknell’s Thrush (night-time flight calls)

Gray-Cheeked (flight calls

Bohemian Waxwing (long shot, given the finch forecast)

Orange-Crowned Warbler

Connecticut Warbler

Mourning Warbler

Chat

Blue Grosbeak

Dickcissel (good sightings)

Clay-Colored Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Grasshopper Sparrow

Nelson’s Sparrow

Lapland Longspur

Hoary Redpoll (unlikely given the finch forecast)

We estimated that of this list, maybe 17-19 were actually possibly, which might get Ludlow to the low-to-mid 220s. Since those estimates,  quite a number have fallen into place:

Mourning Warbler (heard by David Sibley at Kaveski, Aug. 13)

Dickcissel (heard by David Swain at Great Meadows, Aug. 15)

American Golden Plover (seen by many at Great Meadows for a week after Aug. 23)

Little Blue Heron (Great Meadows; seen by many and now annual)

Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher (found by the Winstanleys at their home, Aug. 27)

Buff-Breasted Sandipiper (2 found at Kaveski Farm by Lucas Hale on Sept. 2)

White-Rumped Sandiper (solid report from Great Meadows on Sept. 2)

Grey-Cheeked Thrush (at Middlesex School by Willy Hutcheson, Sept. 8)

Red-Headed Woodpecker (also by Willy on Sept. 8)

Baird's Sandpiper (several sightings on Sept. 8 at Great Meadows)

Olive-Sided Flycatcher (seen by David Sibley at Barrett's Farm on Sept. 14)

Philadelphia Vireo (seen by the Winstanley brothers, Sept. 15, at Estabrook Woods)

Connecticut Warbler (seen by David Sibley at Annursnac Conservation Land on Sept. 20)

Orange-Crowned Warbler (photographed by Christian Gras at Kaveski Farm, Sept. 25)
Dunlin (found by the Great Meadows survey crew on Oct. 14)
Lapland Longspur (heard and recorded by Jalen Winstanley at Great Meadows, Oct. 14)
Greater White-Fronted Goose (found by Will Martens in the Concord Rotary fields, Oct. 19)
Cackling Goose (photographed over Kaveski Farm by Jalen Winstanley, afternoon of Oct. 19)

These bring Ludlow to 220 birds, and there might still be some ammodramus sparrows to be found as well as ducks and other vagrant geese.

Stay tuned!

Fall Migration Underway

Ludlow G. cleared 200 birds in Concord during 2013 nearly two weeks ago with a Snowy Egret, several of which are now being seen daily at Great Meadows in Concord.  Joining them is an elusive juvenile Little Blue Heron.  But the star of the show, so to speak, was an American Golden Plover which arrived over the weekend and has attracted a lot of attention, as it appears to be the only one seen so far in Massachusetts. (this has since changed, with small flocks appearing along the coast).  AGPL usually leaves its last staging area in eastern Canada and heads out over the Atlantic for its very long migration to southern South America, but some stay inland a bit longer and touch down in New England before heading out.

The count since 200 looks like this:

201:  a fly-over, calling dickcissel at Great Meadows

202:  American Golden Plover, still in breeding plumage (last reported on 8/26, with rumored re-sightings)

203:  Little Blue Heron, juvenile, associating with Snowies

and just this morning,

204:  a hatch-year Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher

and this afternoon (8/27), much to my chagrin,

"205":  a juvenile Olive-Sided Flycatcher, or so it seemed to my desiring eyes.  It was, in fact, an adult phoebe undergoing heavy molt.  Use your imagination!

In our next post we will forecast a theoretical total for 2013 based on current needs and what has historically shown up during fall and early winter in Concord.