Field Ornithology Journal 1: Water Birds

On May 18, 2020, I went to three locations to observe water body and wetland habitats from 6:00 AM - 12:30 PM. Throughout the day it was overcast with no visible sun in the 50Fº -60Fºs range and slight northeastern winds. My first location was Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA where I traveled 3.05 miles over 2.5 hours. Despite its name, there were no meadows, yet rather two pools separated by a dike lined with cattail marshes, silver maple floodplains, and an oak stand. Starting at 6:00 AM with the check-in call, I stood atop an observation tower looking at the upper and lower pools, while listening to Allan and Jim's announcements. During the call, I was counting large avifauna such as Canda Geese, Great Blue Heron, Osprey, and Mallards. Once the call ended I descended the observation tower and walked into the refuge via Dike Trail. Starting at the beginning of Dike Trail there was an edge habitat of an oak thicket and wetland. Here I was greeted with a mob of Downy Woodpecker, Song Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, American Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Northern Waterthrush, and a Wilson's Warbler! These species tend to do well in main body habitats such as forested and wetland habitats, yet they can thrive in these edge environments too. The most notable species here was the Wilson's Warbler marked by its yellow body and black cap.

Moving along the Dike Trail I found myself on the dike platform which was lined with cattails peering into the adjacent pools. Here I saw Wood Ducks (open water), Semipalmated Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpipers (mudflats), Eastern Kingbirds, Common Yellowthroats, Swamp Sparrow (emergent vegetation), Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows (open water) and especially the Marsh Wrens. Marked by its sewing machine-like song, the Marsh Wrens were quite vocal moving between the cattails. A notable observation was the nest-building behaviors of the Marsh Wren where males make dummy nests to court potential mates. Across the dike, I continued along the Dike Trail to meet the edge of a silver maple floodplain, which consisted of an established tree stand with plenty of brush and standing water. From canopy to forest floor I saw Red-eyed Vireo, Baltimore Oriole, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Gray Catbird, and Virginia Rail (hidden but giving rattle calls). Turning away from the silver maple floodplain stands I looked at the open water of the lower pool. With a lesser amount of cattails, I could better see the lesser pool seeing Hooded Merganser and a nesting Mute Swan and in the sky flyovers by Double-crested Cormorants and American Crows. Finally finishing up the Dike Trail, I made it to the Timber Trail which consisted of an oak forest (black and red oak, eastern white pine, shagbark hickory). This forest was less flooded, yet adjacent to the lower pool allowing me to see both wetland and forest interior species such as Great-Crested Flycatcher, Black-and-white Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-tailed Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, and Blue Jays. Overall I saw 44 species and 263 individuals.

Deciding to move to another water body I drove 40 minutes southwest to Farm Pond in Framingham, MA, while listening to Birding by Ear. At Farm Pond, I traveled 2.3 miles over 1.5 hours. Unlike Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, Farm Pond was a water body in a more urban area where accompanying the shores to the east were industrial buildings and to the west a public park with a matrix of different habitat types. I avoided the eastern side for one it's blocked off by fences marking off railroad tracks. In addition, my camera battery was now charged so I was able to take some photos with my camera. Walking straight to the water I counted every waterfowl (Mallards, Canada Geese, and Mute Swans). Most notably I counted 74 mute swans which were seen all side by side each other with 8 of them being goslings. In addition, at the open water, I saw Double-Crested Cormorants, Tree Swallows, and a Chimney Swift. From there on I walked through the matrix of the park which consisted of a trembling aspen straightaway, pine stand, oak-red maple stand, and lawn fields. At the trembling aspen straightaway, this patch lined the western shore of the pond with accompanying cattails by the water's edge. Here Great Blue Heron, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Northern Flicker, American Crow, Gray Catbird, American Robin, American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, and Common Yellowthroat were found. Moving to the mixed oak-red maple stand I saw more forest interior species such as White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Swainson's Thrush. Next was the pine stand which was solely made up of widely spaced planted eastern white pines where Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and American Robin were found. Lastly was the lawn fields which provided great grazing for American Robin, Killdeer, and European Starlings. In total, I found 30 species and 219 individuals.

Being 11:20 now I still had some time so I decided to go west to Little Lake Chauncey and once again listened to Birding by Ear while driving there. Arriving at 11:50 I traveled 1 mile over 40 minutes at Little Lake Chauncy. Little Lake Chauncey was both different than Great Meadows NWR and Farm Pond for its surrounded by shrublands (primarily new growth trembling aspen) and grasslands. This was apparent for Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, and Eastern Bluebird were found here and are associated with these field and shrubby environments. However, still being a water body with accompanying cattails there was Swamp Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Sandpiper, and other associated species. Overall I found 18 species and 105 individuals.

Across these different areas, it was a great day of birding and more notably observing water body and wetland habitats with the different surrounding vegetation. I was able to observe different microhabitats of open water, mudflats, emergent vegetation, and airspace with their associated species. In total, I saw 54 species and 587 individuals. Below are my checklists of what I saw in total and of each area observed.

Species Observed