Trip Report for the Annual Northfield Bird Walk
Area Birding Expedition by Athol Bird & Nature Club
May 17, 2008

Eleven birders attended the 45th annual bird walk to Northfield last Saturday sponsored by the Athol Bird & Nature Club, and even with the wet start, ended up with a good day birding, tallying 61 birds. Member Larry Duprey also used the trip to count birds for the Ipswich Wildlife Sanctuary for their annual fundraiser. The group started at the Rich Environmental Park and Cass Meadow in Athol and worked their way along route 2A, stopping at the traditional sites along the way to Northfield.

One high point was observing a red-tailed hawk being harassed by a northern oriole periodically landing and riding on its back.

Birds seen were:
Alder Flycatcher
Hairy Woodpecker
Downey Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Magnolia Warbler
Black & White Warbler
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
American Robin
Northern Flicker
Mourning Dove
White-breasted Nuthatch
Rock Pigeon
Wood Duck
Double-crested Cormorant
Catbird
Baltimore Oriole
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
American Crow
Field Sparrow
Song sparrow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Rough-wing Swallow
Chimney Swift
Ovenbird
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
Eastern Starling
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Red-tailed Hawk(one with a Northern Oriole periodically riding on the Hawk's back-attached)
Cooper's Hawk
Broadwing Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Northern Mockingbird
Black Duck
Redwing Blackbird
Solitary Sandpiper
Indigo Bunting
Canada Goose
House Finch
Common Raven
Black-throated Green Warbler
Cowbird
Prairie Warbler
House Wren
Carolina Wren
American Redstart
Blue-wing Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruffed Grouse
Veery
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chickadee

Other species seen were:
Brown Bat
Morning cloak Butterfly
Pearlcresant Butterfly
Silvery Blue Butterfly
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
American Toad
Cabbage Moth
Eastern Forktail Damsel
Four-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly
Hudsonian White Face Dragonfly