The Athol Bird and Nature Club visited Southeastern Massachusetts for one of their periodic birdwatching trips to the "Banana Belt" of
Massachusetts. Seven members from six different towns, led by Rick
Magee, met at the Middleboro Rotary. The weather was brisk and cloudy, a fine day for watching wildlife.
The day was somewhat successful with 50 species of birds sighted, 3 species of mammals including gray squirrel, harbor seal, and cottontail rabbit. We were disapointed that the reported sandhill crane in Fairhaven had disappeared, and the short-eared owls decided to take the night off in Marshfield. Instead of the crane we had a great view of a rough-legged hawk that landed in a small tree at the edge of a cornfield, just after a small flock of eastern meadowlarks disappeared.
One of the highlights of the day was a good look at red-breasted mergansers with their crests in "the full, up-right and locked position" swimming at the Marina in Fairhaven.
Another was a personal guided tour of .the WWII coastal defense battery
site on the Sagamore Hill Trail given by Rick's friend John Pribilla, a
Park Ranger at the Cape Cod Canal.
An amusing sight was one of the harbor seals at Plymouth lazily floating
on his back for several minutes while other seals bobbed up and down
around him. Another bright spot was a colorful Redhead with a flock of mixed ducks at Arms House Pond behind Jenny Grist Mill in downtown Plymouth.
Here is the full list of birds as recorded by Meridith Larson and Jacob
Morris-Siegel:
Middleboro: Rte. 44 Rotary:
American crow
Blue jay
Rock dove
American robin
English or house sparrow
Lakeville:
at Ocean Spray Corporate Headquarters:
Canada goose
Black duck
Northern flicker
Great black-backed gull
Herring gull
at Assawompset Pond:
Mute swan
Mourning dove
Northern pintail
Common merganser
Hooded merganser
Snow goose
Mallard
Common goldeneye
Bufflehead
Starling
Ring-necked duck
Fairhaven:
at Marina:
Greater scaup
Red-breasted merganser
at Cornfields near Shaw Road:
Eastern meadowlark
Rough-legged hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Cape Cod Canal:
at Sagamore Hill Trail:
Yellow-rumped warbler
Northern mockingbird
at Scusset, fishing pier::
Common eider
Common loon
Great cormorant
Red-winged blackbird
at Scusset, breakwater:
Gadwall
Surf scoter
Field sparrow
Song sparrow
Ring-necked pheasant
Plymouth:
at Manomet + Plymouth Beach:
Horned grebe
Oldsquaw
White-winged scoter
Green-winged teal
(Harbor Seals)
Brant
Jenny Grist Mill Pond:
Redhead
American coot
end of Water Street:
Sanderling
Dunlin
Marshfield: Daniel Webster Audubon Sanctuary:
American goldfinch
Black-capped chickadee
Northern cardinal
Northern harrier (male and female)
(Great Horned Owl - a shadow that was identified and
originally spotted by someone outside
ABNC)
(Cottontail Rabbit)
We are looking for more people to host fundraising Butterfly and
Birding Buffets. Large or small, breakfast, lunch or supper; even a
picnic at one of your favorite spots. Sign up now!
We are also hoping to have more fundraising garden tours. If anyone is willing to share their yard with the public, let us
know.
Call or write
Dave Small at 978-249-2094 or
e-mail Dave
Back to Trip Reports 2001 Menu