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-5 June 2010
Trail Dedication Bird Walk
Heins Farm Property
The Heins Farm conservation property was dedicated today and we provided an afternoon walk.
We saw or heard 24 species including Robin, Phoebe, Cedar Waxwing, Chickadee, Ovenbird, Red eyed Vireo, Eastern wood Peewee, Red winged Blackbird, Tufted Titmouse, Warbling Vireo, Song Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Cowbird, Oriole, Great crested Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Indigo Bunting, Red tailed Hawk, Veery, Bobolink, and Mallard. 

-1 May 2010
Local Walk to Opacum Woods and Wells State Park
Spring migration is happening!  We heard or saw 49 species on this Saturdays walk.  We saw or heard Chipping Sparrow, Blue Jay, House Finch, White breasted Nuthatch, Chickadee, House Sparrow, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Rock Pigeon, Grackle, Chimney Swift, Canada Goose, Robin, Eastern Phoebe, Goldfinch, Black throated Green Warbler, Crow, Song Sparrow, Tree Swallow, Mallard, Red winged Blackbird, Brown Creeper, Cardinal, White throated Sparrow, Titmouse, Cowbird, Palm Warbler, Mourning Dove, Yellow rumped Warbler, Red bellied  Woodpecker, Wood Duck, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, Hairy Woodpecker, Warbling Vireo, Swamp Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Towhee, Eastern Kingbird, Blue winged Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Red eyed Vireo, Downy Woodpecker, Field Sparrow, Louisiana Waterthrush, Ovenbird, Red breasted Nuthatch, Hermit Thrush, Ruby crowned Kinglet, Great Blue Heron.

-24 April 2010
Local Walk at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
The trails are open at Norcross and we took an early morning walk.  We saw Cardinal, Tree Swallow, Eastern Phoebe, Titmouse, Cowbird, Red bellied Woodpecker, Chickadee, Chipping Sparrow, Goldfinch, Eastern Bluebird, White breasted Nuthatch, White throated Sparrow, Flicker, Robin, Water thrush, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Grackle, Yellow rumped Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Ruby crowned Kinglet, Song Sparrow, Towee, Great Blue Heron, Bank Swallow, Canada Goose, Least Flycatcher, and Turkey Vulture.

-3 April 2010
Vernal Pools at Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary

It was a beautiful afternoon to take a walk through Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary along with Jen Ohop, a naturalist at the sanctuary.  Jen showed us a variety of creatures that live in vernal pools.  In the 5 pools that we visited there were Dragonfly larvae, Fairy Shrimp, Spotted Salamander eggs, Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma Opacum- Opacum Land Trust take it's name from this Salamander), Wood Frog eggs, American Toad, Boatmen, Katusfly larvae, Mosquito larvae, Water Striders, Bull Frog tadpoles and a Garter Snake to name a few.  If you are interested in Vernal Pools and what they contain check out

www.vernalpool.org

To see photos of our walk click here

-20 March 2010
Birdwalk to Claire Birtz Sanctuary and Westville Dam

Here we are at Opacum Land Trust's Claire Birtz Sanctuary in Southbridge.  It was a gorgeous morning for a walk.  Most of the birds were found by sound, not sight.  But we did have good looks at Canada Geese, Wood Duck, Mallard, and Common Merganser in Morse Pond.  We also heard (and saw a few) Phoebe, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, American Crow, Goldfinch, Red winged Blackbird, Golden crowned Kinglet, Downy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Flicker, Killdeer, Song Sparrrow, Tree Swallow, Cardinal, Cowbird, Hairy Woodpecker, White breasted Nuthatch, Red Shouldered Hawk, Robin, Chickadee.  We also saw 2 Garter Snakes along the path.

At Westville Dam we also saw Turkey Vulture, Coopers Hawk, Junco, Eastern Bluebird, White throated Sparrow, and Red Tailed Hawk.  30 species of birds and a couple snakes, not a bad day at all!

-18 March 2010
Evening Bird Ramble and Woodcock Walk

It was a beautiful evening for a bird ramble along Morse Rd in Holland.  When we arrived the temperature was 58 degrees!  And it only dropped down to 56 degrees by the time we left.  We rambled down along Morse Road and through the fields watching the birds drop in for the evening.  Our first sighting was a large flock of Tree Swallows flying in circles over the road.  We also heard a Carolina Wren.  Farther down the road along the river a Beaver was swimming and slapping his tail making it known that we were intruding.  Along the river we watched as hundreds of Red winged Blackbirds settled in for the night.  Canada Geese, Mallard, and Wood Duck also arrived for the evening. Song Sparrows, Cowbirds, and Grackles were also chipping among the trees.
We went out to the open field with a western horizon view to watch for the mating Woodcock display.  We heard their flight and their peent, but they continued to stay in the next field so we did not get a close up view.  We also had a report of a Fisher Cat in the field earlier in the evening.  All in all a very nice evening.

-14 Feb 2010
Bill & Nancy's Valentines Walk
Most people don't spend their Valentines Day in the woods, but when Bill said he found coyote tracks we just had to see where they went.  We were in the woods in Holland, just behind our house.  We found coyote tracks, otter tracks, mink, mouse, and squirrel tracks.  Raccoon tracks and 3 sites with deer sculls and skeletons!  The coyotes were having a meal!  One site had an older skeleton with backbone and rib cage as well as a skull.  The first site we found had a deer skull, and the third site we speculate was the remainder of the deer that the skull came from.  We also had a great area where the Mink were going under the ice.  Click here to see some tracks and finds photos

-6 February 2010
Herman Covey WMA
It was a cold morning, the kind of day that made you want to keep moving.  There was not a lot of activity today but we saw Bald Eagles, one adult and two immatures, Golden crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, and Brown Creeper. 
We also saw some fox tracks.

-10 January 2010
Quabbin Gate 12
Gate 12 at the Quabbin is a great place for a snowshoe hike.  Sunday was crisp and sunny with highs around 20 degrees.  We spotted golden crowned kinglet, brown creeper and assorted chickadees, titmice and nuthatches.  We followed the river along just past the bridge and saw plenty of tracks.  Mice and red squirrels were in abundance.  We also saw nice wing prints left from the blue jays and a few sets of fox tracks.

-14 December 2009
Sturbridge Christmas Bird Count
Click here for the 2009 results

Click here to access a story and photo that was printed in the Worcester Telegam

-14 December 2009
White winged Dove
1/22/10-Update-The White winged Dove has been seen again at the feeders on 1/21 and 1/22.  We had not seen it since 1/6/10.

1/4/10 -Update The dove has been seen regularly near the feeders at the Bird Store.  A Coopers Hawk went after the bird on 1/3 and we had not seen it afterward.  It has shown up again today.

-7 November 2009
It was a crisp morning, a wonderful day to be out.  We spotted Pied billed Grebe, Wood Duck, Mallard, Ruddy Duck, and Hooded Merganser in the local area ponds.  We also saw a Pileated Woodpecker in flight, Golden crowned Kinglet, an assortment of blackbirds along the shore of Hamilton Reservoir, and the usual assortment of songbirds.

-Where Are The Birds?
September 2009
UPDATED 11/6/09
It took nearly 2 months for the birds to start returning to the feeders!  According to one of our seed distributors this has been one of the largest seed crop years (natural seed - acorns, berries, seeds, etc) in the past 18 years.  Our distributor said he has been in the seed business for over 25 years and he has never seen such a lull.  The crops came in large all the way from Massachusetts to the Carolina's.  The birds are finally getting back to the feeders so we can enjoy them again.

-26 August 2009
Nighthawk Walk
Several people joined us for tonights walk.  We enjoyed some birding along the river on the OSV access road before heading down the main road.  We saw many Cedar Waxwings, and Catbirds feeding on berries. We also had Crows, Gulls, Robins, Mourning Doves and Goldfinch in the area. We also spotted a dozen Nighthawks coming across from Cedar Lake.  We have had reports of counts in the high teens from Brimfield and West Brookfield over the past few days.  The Nighthawk migration has definately begun!

-7 August 2009
Bats at Moore State Park
On Friday night we went to Moore State Park to watch the bats leaving their roost for the night. This has always been a great adventure as one could watch 500 - 600 bats leaving the shed.  We had an unexpected treat, as Thomas Kunz Ph. D.  from Boston University was also there doing a survey.  Dr Kunz is the director of the Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology (CECB).
Dr Kunz has been studying bats for more than 20 years and has been involved with the bat shed at Moore State Park for many years.  Dr Kunz has a camera on the shed pointed at the location where the bats fly out from on their nightly excursions.  The camera is on a timer and feeds information directly to the professors lab at BU. 

It was an eye opening experience to say the least.  According to Dr Kunz this bat shed housed upwards of 600 - 800 little brown bats, and due to the small numbers they were recording on the camera each night he was at the park to do a survey.  The little brown bat is in serious trouble from the white nose syndrome and related concerns.

He said that they estimate close to 1 million bats have died from White-Nose Syndrome in the northeastern US during the past two years. What does this mean?  Well, for starters a bat can eat half of its body weight in bugs each night.  That translates into 630 tons of bugs that have not been eaten each night due to the demise of the million bats.  Scary stuff! 
The final bat count on this night was 41 bats.  This colony is down 95%.  A serious concern indeed. 
To see photos click here

For more information on Professor Kunz and the Kunz Bat Lab Click Here
you will be directed to the CECB web site and can click on the Kunz bat lab from there.

-9 August 2009
Hummingbird Banding
Early this morning we attended a Hummingbird Banding event right here in Sturbridge!  We were invited to attend the banding by Joe and Nancy Misiaszek, residents and customers of The Bird Store. 
The banding was done by master bander Anthony Hill of South Hadley, MA
Mr Hill has bird banding permits in many of the New England states, and concentrates his banding efforts on hummingbirds and owls.

Once a hummingbird is caught, it is weighed, measured, and banded.  Then it is given a drink and sent on it's way.  The documentation goes to the Bird Banding Laboratory in Maryland and can be used in many different types of studies.

click here to access a story and photos that were printed in the Worcester Telegram on 9/10/09

Click here to see some of our hummingbird banding photos

-9 May 2009
Skinner Mountain State Park
Saturday turned out to be a foggy day on the mountain, but there was no rain.  It's not the type of day that is a glorious day for a walk but it was a great day for birds. 
We saw or heard 38 species of birds including Veery, Chickadee, Ovenbird, Scarlet Tanager, Indigo Bunting, Chestnut sided Warbler, Black throated green Warbler, Mockingbird, Rose breasted Grosbeak, Phoebe, Goldfinch, Titmouse, Blue Jay, Robin, White throated Sparrow, Black throated blue Warbler, Northern Parula, Black and White Warbler, Piliated Woodpecker, Chipping Sparrow, Raven, Wood Thrush, Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, Red eyed Vireo, Junco, Chestnut sided Warbler, Cowbird, Flicker, Great crested Flycatcher, Worm eating Warbler, White breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Eastern Kingbird, Oriole, Yellow rumped Warbler, and  American Redstart.
And the stop at Atkins is always a great way to end the trip!

-25 April 2009
Wells State Park
We moved the location of todays walk from Morse Road to Wells State Park.  It was a cool morning despite the fact that it got quite warm later in the day. 

We saw Yellow Warbler, Yellow rump Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Northern Parula, Blue headed Vireo, Winter Wren, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Towhee, Broad winged Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Great Blue Heron, Red Winged Blackbird, Cowbird, Grackle, Tree Swallow, Wood Duck, Mallard, Robin, Chickadee, Red breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Flicker, Titmouse, Belted Kingfisher, Mourning Dove, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Bluejay, Goldfinch, and Cardinal. 

We also saw a huge Snapping Turtle, Green Frog and Bull Frog tadpoles.

-24 April 2009
3 Mile River Kayak Trip
We had a great evening for a paddle, and a great group of people that came along!  Being a bit early for all the summer migrants we didn't get a whole lot of activity along the river but we did have Swamp Sparrow, Red Winged Blackbirds, Mourning Dove, Chipping Sparrow, Wood Duck (a nice look at a female flying over), Canada Geese, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Barred Owl hooting, Beaver, a few swallows, and a great chorus of Pickerel Frogs and Spring Peepers.

-18 April 2009
Westville Dam
Our first spring birdwalk was a success. We spotted Palm Warbler and Louisiana Waterthrush.  We also saw Grackle, Red winged Blackbird, Mourning Dove, Robin, Tree Swallow, Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, N. Rough winged Swallow, Turkey Vulture, Flicker, Phoebe, Canada Goose, Crow, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Bluebird, Junco, Chickadee, Green wing Teal, Mallard, Titmouse, Great Blue Heron, Cowbird, and Red Tailed Hawk.

-27 March 2009
Woodcock Walk to Morse Road
We had great looks at the Woodcock this evening.  They were landing quite close to us.  We also had a Great Horned Owl hooting, Song Sparrow, Blue Jay, Belted Kingfisher, and thousands of mixed flocks of blackbirds roosting in the trees along the river.

-26 March 2009
BIG NIGHT HAS ARRIVED!  On our way home from the Opacum Land Trust meeting we started seeing spotted salamanders crossing the roads.  In 1.5 hours we grabbed 62 spotted salamanders out of the streets near our house.  We also rescued 4 red backed salamanders, 4 spring peepers, and countless wood frogs.  Our biggest group was 5 crossing together (sorry for the poor photo, it was taken with our phone)