This past weekend, I participated again in Mass Audubon's annual Birdathon - a competition/fundraiser that lasts for 24 hours. I was on a team with my friends Paul & Diana, and we covered areas in Woburn, Burlington, Concord, Arlington, and Cambridge. We tallied a total of 106 species. Being in a slightly more competitive mode than regular birding, I didn't take as many pics of birds as I usually would, but I did manage a few (see below).
We started out Friday night at Horn Pond right around the corner in Woburn - a pretty productive and birdy location. By the time the sun had set, we had already seen over 40 species, including the only Indigo Buntings, Field Sparrows, and Prairie Warblers we'd encounter.
Saturday morning found us on location at a marsh in Burlington by dawn for rails and other marsh birds. (A turkey in somebody's yard on the drive over made things a bit easier too) If was cool, breezy and overcast, but the marsh birds didn't disappoint. Next stop was Mt. Auburn Cemetery, where things started out a bit slow, but once the sun came out, things started hopping, and we managed to get a number of our warblers, including Cape May, Blackburnian, and Blackpolls. The rest of the day found us hopping from one location to the next to pick up anywhere between 2 and 5 species at each spot. Some of the highlight species of the day included a Virginia Rail that quickly crossed the path in front of us in the morning, a Common Moorhen at Great Meadows NWR in Concord, and all the warblers. The biggest misses of the day were Eastern Bluebirds and Nashville Warbler. Funny how species that you can usually see without looking too hard can elude you when you need to find them.
A few images from the 24 hour period...
Lady Slippers
Field Sparrow
Virginia Rail
Harlequin Darner
Harlequin Darner
Common Moorhen
MuskratList of birds seen:
Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey, Ring-necked Pheasant, Virginia Rail, Sora, Common Moorhen, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, American Herring Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Black-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned Owl, Chimney Swift, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Alder Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Veery, Swainson's Thrush, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, European Starling, House Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Blue-winged Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole
