Forbush Bird Club 2009 Trip Reports


The following are highlights of selected field trips of the Forbush Bird Club, listed in reverse chronological order:

6/7/09 -- Barre Falls/Ware R. watershed
    Observers:16 
    Weather:Partly cloudy 
    Temp:55-70 68 
    
    Species seen or heard:
    
    Wood Duck
    Mallard
    Great Blue Heron
    Turkey Vulture
    Mourning Dove
    Ruby-throated Hummingbird
    Red-bellied Woodpecker
    Downey Woodpecker
    Hairy Woodpecker
    Northern Flicker
    Eastern Wood-Pewee
    Willow Flycatcher
    Least Flycatcher
    Eastern Phoebe
    Great Crested Flycatcher
    Eastern Kingbird
    Blue-headed Vireo
    Warbling Vireo
    Red-eyed Vireo
    Blue Jay
    American Crow
    Common Raven
    Tree Swallow
    Barn Swallow
    Black-capped Chickadee
    Tufted Titmouse
    White-breasted Nuthatch
    Brown Creeper
    House Wren
    Winter Wren
    Golden-crowned Kinglet
    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
    Eastern Bluebird
    Veery
    Hermit Thrush
    Wood Thrush
    American Robin
    Gray Catbird
    Cedar Waxwing
    Blue-winged Warbler
    Yellow Warbler
    Chestnut-sided Warbler
    Magnolia Warbler
    Black-throated Blue Warbler
    Black-throated Green Warbler
    Blackburnian Warbler
    Pine Warbler
    Prairie Warbler
    Black-and-white Warbler
    American Redstart
    Ovenbird
    Common Yellowthroat
    Scarlet Tanager
    Eastern Towhee
    Chipping Sparrow
    Song Sparrow
    Swamp Sparrow
    White-throated Sparrow
    Northern Cardinal
    Rose-breasted Grosbeak
    Indigo Bunting
    Bobolink
    Red-winged Blackbird
    Common Grackle
    Brown-headed Cowbird
    Baltimore Oriole
    Purple Finch
    American Goldfinch
    
    (trip report submitted by Dick & Peg Knowlton).

6/6/09 -- South Quabbin Park, Quabbin Reservoir

5/30/09 -- Millbury/Sutton Area

5/23/09 -- Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, Harvard/Lancaster

5/21/09 -- Bolton Flats and Lancaster WMA: Goat Sucker and Woodcock walk

5/17/09 -- Buck Hill, Spencer

5/16/09 -- Princeton Area

5/10/09 -- Mount Auburn Cemetery

5/3/09 -- Quabbin Reservoir

5/2/09 -- Sylvester Street/Worcester Airport

4/26/09 -- Hodges Village Dam, Oxford

4/5/09 -- Bolton Flats, Bolton

2/7/09 -- Cape Ann
The leader was Alan Marble with 16 members and friends. The temperature ranged from 22 to 44 degrees; it was mostly sunny and at times quite breezy with an uncomfortable wind chill. Highlights of the trip were: Harlequin Ducks, a Merlin, a Peregrine Falcon, Purple Sandpipers, 25+ Iceland Gulls, a Glaucous Gull, Razorbills and a Common Loon swallowing a small lobster whole.
    The list of 42 species follows:
    
    Canada Goose
    Mute Swan
    Gadwall
    American Black Duck
    Mallard
    Common Eider
    Harlequin Duck
    Surf Scoter
    White-winged Scoter
    Black Scoter
    Long-tailed Duck
    Bufflehead
    Common Goldeneye
    Red-breasted Merganser
    Common Loon
    Horned Grebe
    Red-necked Grebe
    Great Cormorant
    Cooper's Hawk
    Red-tailed Hawk
    Merlin
    Peregrine Falcon
    Purple Sandpiper
    Ring-billed Gull
    Herring Gull
    Iceland Gull
    Glaucous Gull
    Great Black-backed Gull
    Razorbill
    Black Guillemot
    Rock Pigeon
    Blue Jay
    American Crow
    Black-capped Chickadee
    Carolina Wren
    American Robin
    Northern Mockingbird
    European Starling
    Cedar Waxwing
    Song Sparrow
    Snow Bunting
    House Sparrow
    
    (report submitted by Alan Marble)

1/1/09 -- Worcester
The Forbush Bird Club held a trip during the afternoon of New Year's Day. It was a bright and sunny day but bitterly cold due to a temperature that barely reached 20 degrees and a wind that went from 10 to 20 mph. It was especially cold by Lake Quinsigamond. Joan Zumpfe was trip leader and was assisted by 11 other club members who spotted a total of 33 species. Highlights included a brief look at a Peregrine Falcon sitting on the letter 'K' of the Flagship Bank in downtown Worcester, 3 Bald Eagles flying by Regatta Point and an Iceland Gull on the south side of the bridge of Lake Quinsigamond not far from White City and seen well from the pumping station. We also enjoyed delicious cookies baked by Mike Bellows' generous wife Nancy.
Canada Goose 110
Mute Swan 2 (adults at Institute Pond)
Wood Duck 3 (at the Diversion Tunnel in Auburn near the Worcester Line)
American Black Duck 12
Mallard 90
Hooded Merganser 9
Common Merganser 8
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 3 (2 adults and 1 immature)
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Peregrine Falcon 1
Ring-billed Gull 75
Herring Gull 6
ICELAND GULL 1
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 220
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 18
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 3
American Robin 60
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 200
Cedar Waxwing 8
Song Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 2
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow
(trip report from Joan Zumpfe)

For previous sightings, see Trip Reports 2008