Bird sightings
Shorebirds continued to dominate much of the coastal bird activity last week, while increasing numbers of migrating warblers are appearing in many inland locations. Additionally, small numbers of red crossbills are appearing in a number of localities in Berkshire and Franklin counties, and yellow-crowned nightherons continue to be noted in more areas than usual this year.
▶ Berkshire County: A blackcrowned night-heron at Silver Lake in Pittsfield, an acadian flycatcher at Smiley’s Pond in South Egremont, a northern parula and a bay-breasted warbler in Lanesborough, and a Tennessee warbler at the Mount Greylock State Reservation.
▶ Bristol County: A Franklin’s gull at Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in South Dartmouth.
▶ Cape Cod: A brown booby, a royal tern, two black terns, 275 Wilson’s storm-petrels, and 150 great shearwaters at Race Point in Provincetown, an American bittern at High Head in Truro, 25 yellow-crowned night-herons leaving a roost in Eastham, a marbled godwit at Forest Beach in Chatham, a summering brant and two Forster’s terns at Jeremy Point in Wellfleet, two continuing blue grosbeaks at the Francis A. Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth where nine orchard orioles were also seen. Other interesting sightings were nine Northern pintails at the Monomoy Connector Beach, a hooded merganser at the Pogorelc Sanctuary in West Barnstable, a black skimmer at Menauhant Beach in Falmouth, and a white-eyed vireo at The Knob in Falmouth.
▶ Essex County: A brown booby off Atlantic Road in Gloucester followed by three least bitterns, a yellow-crowned night-heron, and two orchard orioles at Plum Island. Elsewhere in the county there was a greater scaup at the Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury, a yellow-crowned night-heron at Children’s Island in Marblehead, two common mergansers at Sandy Point State Park on Plum Island, and two orchard orioles at Crane Beach in Ipswich.
▶ Franklin County: A summering ring-necked duck at the Turners Falls Power Canal, three sandhill cranes on Plainfield Road in Ashfield, eight red crossbills at the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area and six crossbills at Lake Pleasant in Montague, an acadian flycatcher at the North River Cemetery in Colrain, and a Louisiana waterthrush near the Chickley River in Hawley .
▶ Hampden County: A piedbilled grebe at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke, two migrating common nighthawks at the Mount Tom State Reservation in Holyoke, and three acadian flycatchers in Granville.
▶ Hampshire County: Four sandhill cranes in the East Meadows in Northampton, three more in Plainfield, and another three cranes at Glencroft Farm in Southampton — unless all of these crane families were moving around quite a bit during the week. Also observed in the East Meadows in Northampton were a little blue heron, a long-billed dowitcher, and an orchard oriole. At the Honey Pot in Hadley, five blue grosbeaks abd a dickcissel.
▶ Martha’s Vineyard: A yellowcrowned night-heron and a bald eagle at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, two hermit thrushes at the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest, three common ravens at Ben Toms Preserve in Edgartown, and three more ravens at the Tisbury Meadow Preserve in Tisbury.
▶ Middlesex County: A yellowcrowned night-heron at the Draw Seven State Park in Somerville, a Canada warbler at Danehy Park in Cambridge, a Tennessee warbler and a Nashville warbler at Prospect Hill Park in Waltham, a summering darkeyed junco in Lexington, and an orchard oriole at Mount Feake Cemetery in Waltham.
▶ Nantucket: A tricolored heron at The Creeks adjacent to Nantucket Harbor.
▶ Norfolk County: A summering ring-necked duck at Houghton’s Pond in Milton, a yellowcrowned night-heron at Squantum Point Park and an early migrant yellow-bellied sapsucker at the same locality, and four piping plovers at Sandy Beach in Cohasset.
▶ Plymouth County: Two soras at Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, single cliff swallows at Plymouth Beach and Manomet Point, a vesper sparrow at Plymouth Municipal Airport, and four orchard orioles at the Nemasket Trail in Plympton.
▶ Suffolk County: Migrants at Franklin Park included seven black-and-white warblers, a chestnut-sided warbler, and a Canada warbler as well as a wandering red-shouldered hawk. Five bank swallows were tallied at Rumney Marsh in Revere, and a pectoral sandpiper was observed at Belle Isle in East Boston.
▶ Worcester County: A yellowcrowned night-heron, an alder flycatcher, and a yellow-breasted chat at the Westboro Wildlife Management Area in Westborough, a common merganser at the Coes Reservoir in Worcester, an alder flycatcher on Brooks Pond Road in North Brookfield, a ring-necked duck on the Sudbury Reservoir in Southborough, and 20 red crossbills at the Birch Hill Wildlife Management Area in Winchendon.