Bird Sightings: The Voice of Audubon

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The Voice of Audubon offers regular updates on birds sighted across the state to introduce you to the wide variety of species Massachusetts has to offer.

Below are the most recently published sightings. Sightings in the past month are also available.

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Cape Cod

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Pacific loon is being seen from the Sandwich end of the Cape Cod Canal. A purple sandpiper and an Iceland gull were also in the area.

The painted bunting on Shore Rd. in Eastham was seen again this week.

Two snowy owls continue on North Beach Island in Chatham, having been seen from Chatham Light and the Fish Pier this week.

Highlights between Falmouth and Marstons Mills included a Eurasian wigeon and a red-shouldered hawk at Dutchman’s Ditch, 3 blue-winged teal and a northern shoveler in Marstons Mills, 1080 greater scaup, an American woodcock and 2 yellow-breasted chats in Woods Hole, a hermit thrush, and 5 gray catbirds.

The seasonally rare long-billed and short-billed dowitchers continue in the West Harwich Conservation Area, along with 9 greater yellowlegs.

A black-headed gull continues to be seen at Keyes Memorial Beach in Hyannis, and other Cape sightings included ruddy turnstones and 5 purple sandpipers at Dowse’s Beach in Osterville, a Virginia rail, 3 hermit thrush, and 2 Wilson’s snipe in Mashpee, 4 eastern meadowlarks at Fort Hill in Eastham, 44 ruddy ducks, 189 American coots, and a peregrine falcon at Great Pond in Eastham, a Wilson’s snipe in Brewster, a fox sparrow in East Dennis, and a harlequin duck at Nauset Beach in Orleans.

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Eastern Massachusetts

Friday, February 3, 2012

A California Gull was discovered today at the Jodrey Fish Pier in Gloucester. A Townsend’s Warbler continues to visit a feeder in Ipswich, and a Spotted Towhee seen last weekend in Rockport was reported again today.

 A Tuesday report from Falmouth included 8 Gadwall, 1 American Wigeon, 3 Blue-winged Teal, 1 Northern Shoveler, 1 Pacific Loon, 15 Red-necked Grebes, 1 American Woodcock, 21 Carolina Wrens, 1 Hermit Thrush, 5 Gray Catbirds, 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers, and 2 Yellow-breasted Chats.

 At Cape Ann on Wednesday were 88 Harlequin Ducks, 49 Red-necked Grebes, 1 Thick-billed Murre, 16 Razorbills, 6 Black Guillemots, and 1 Dickcissel.

 Reports from Plum Island this week included 2 Redhead, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 1 Snowy Owl, 1 Marsh Wren, 1 Gray Catbird, and 1 Swamp Sparrow.

 Bald Eagles have been well reported this week with sightings in Waltham, Haverhill, Natick, Arlington, Newburyport, Concord, Wakefield, and Mashpee. Miscellaneous reports for the week include Merlins in Duxbury, Salisbury, Plymouth and Boston, a Fox Sparrow in Dennis, a Snowy Owl in Duxbury, a Canvasback in Haverhill, 6 Pine Siskins in Royalston, a Pine Warbler in Wrentham.

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Western Massachusetts

Monday, January 30, 2012

Unseasonable warmth with south winds and ground that is bare of snow have lured early arrivals back to our region two-to-three-weeks early.

The returning land birds include grackles, red-winged blackbirds and cowbirds. A variety of returning ducks are also showing up on the Connecticut River.

 Two rough-legged hawks have been present most of the week in Hadley, one on South Maple Street and another in the honeypot section.

 A clay-colored sparrow has been found in the honeypot area of Hadley. It has been seen with other sparrows in the fields and thickets near a trailer and the model airplane field.

 A northern harrier, a merlin, an American kestrel, two peregrine falcons, a flock of horned larks, and a white-crowned sparrow have also been seen in Hadley.

 An American wigeon, 11 northern pintails, a wood duck, a green-winged teal, and a gadwall have been found in Hadley Cove at the south end of Middle Street.

 An American coot and a Wilson’s snipe were seen in Amherst, and the dickcissel continues to be reported at Hampshire College in South Amherst.

 A hermit thrush was found in Blandford. Three pine siskins were reported in the town of Washington, a fish crow was seen in Pittsfield, and a lesser scaup, a ring-necked duck and 6 American coots were reported in Cheshire.

 

 

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About the Voice of Audubon

These bird sighting reports are transcripts of recorded messages from each of three regional "bird alerts" maintained by Mass Audubon, known as the Voice of Audubon. The phone number for the Voice of Audubon is (781) 259-8805. All three recorded reports from throughout the state are accessible through this number, and the transcripts are available anytime at www.massaudubon.org/voa). Not all sightings that are submitted are included in the VOA reports. Those that are included are intended to provide a "snapshot" of the current, noteworthy bird activity in each region within Massachusetts, and might include, for example, rarities, early/first-arriving migrants, late-departing migrants, high counts, unusual sightings (e.g., a seabird found on an inland lake), or simply those that represent exemplary sightings for the time and place.

The Boston Globe publishes one or more of the transcripts (with limited editing) each Sunday. To submit bird sightings call (781) 259-2150.

The Voice of Audubon is the oldest phone-based bird alert in the United States, first established on December 1, 1954 (original phone number, KEnmore 6-4050). See the original 1954 press release*.

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