Field Ornithology: Good Birding Spot 1

Date: 5/27/2021
Start Time: 7:15
End Time: 12:30
Location: Westborough Wildlife Management Area (Westborough, MA)
Weather: 65 degrees, sunny, humid from storm overnight, W 9mph winds
Habitat: deciduous woods, fields/ meadows, lakeside, marshes

• woods mostly red maple, red oak, and ash with some bigtooth aspen, quaking aspen, white pines, and American elms
• fields with grass 2.5 feet and taller, milkweed, wild mustard, and purple clover
• marshes had watershield, skunk cabbage, and grass growing in the water (about 2 feet above water level)
• my time was equally spread between these habitats

As soon as I parked my car, I spotted a Brown-headed Cowbird sitting on a side view mirror of the car next to me. When I got out, I already heard several different species calls and songs. There was the Blue-winged Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, Red-winged Blackbird, Black-capped Chickadee, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, American Robin, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and Warbling Vireo all calling and singing at the same time. As I walked away from the cluster of noise, I was able to pick out the individual calls or songs better. The trail started beside a large lake in which I saw some Mallards swimming in. As I walked further along the path, I was deeper in the woods and further from the lake. That's where I heard Gray Catbirds, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Veery, and Eastern Wood-Pewee. It was a bit difficult to record since I was getting swarmed by mosquitos. There were several different diverging paths in the woods and I decided to take one that went to a field that looked like it was going to be used for farming. I heard Baltimore Orioles, Ovenbirds, and American Goldfinches.
Another trail emerged where I was lead to a marsh. Once again, Red-winged Blackbirds made it a challenge to identify any other birds. I spotted a duck which had a mostly black or gray plumage with a white breast and black legs and feet. I am still unsure of what species it was but, from what I researched, it may be a Bufflehead or a Harlequin Duck. There is a possibility that it is a hybrid. I also saw another unidentifiable bird that looked Goose-like and had a white neck with two black stripes on it. Maybe there was something in that Marsh air that made me see some odd things... Other species I was able to identify included the Black-throated Blue Warbler, an Eastern Kingbird, and a Baltimore Oriole.
After spending some time in the marsh, I headed down the path to a wooded area with a field next to it. I heard a Field Sparrow, Wood Thrush, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Scarlet Tanager. The field next to me looked like a good place to bird, however, the grass was up to my hip and I didn't feel comfortable going through it. Once I got to the end of that trail, I decided to drive over to another entrance since I wasn't finding many new species. At the other entrance, was a path through the field I wanted to bird in. I saw a bunch of Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows zipping around, a bit low in the sky. They made some really pretty calls and I was so glad I went over to the other entrance. I walked further down an abandoned road off to the side of the field and there was another field covered in bright yellow wild mustard flowers. Next to the field was another marsh area. There were mostly Baltimore Orioles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats, American Goldfinches and some Mourning Doves. Although this was a bit of a rough trip in some parts and I didn't visually observe many birds, it was worth seeing the beautiful views of the landscape and hearing the wonderful sounds of the birds.

Julkaistu toukokuu 28, 2021 12:38 AP. käyttäjältä avilensky