Bird-A-Thon 2010 Trip Report
In the Mass Audubon Bird-A-Thon, many Massachusetts Audubon sanctuaries field a team, each competing to try to identify as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. The birds can be seen anywhere within the Commonwealth and the team can be split into several groups.
We were birding on behalf of the Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary and focused our efforts on the area around the Quabbin Reservoir. Here are some of the highlights of our 24-hour effort to ID as many birds as possible:
· Shortly after starting at 6pm, we stopped near a farm and clustered within a few trees we saw a Chestnut-Sided Warbler, a Black and White Warbler, a Blue-Winged Warbler, a Grosbeak, a Redstart, a Veery, and a pair of Phoebes nesting in the overhang of a nearby building. Wow!
· Near the dam at Turner Falls we saw Ring-Necked Ducks (which we have missed in many previous years) and also a pair of Long-Tailed Ducks (very unusual for that area).
· Got up at 3:30am and as the sun rose we listened to the birds start calling one by one. Just stunning.
· Had an amazing look at a Blackburnian Warbler, one of the most colorful warblers, a bright orange - usually they like to hide out at the top of very tall trees, but this one perched out in the open on the end of a branch, bathed in a beautiful light.
Thanks to your support we were able to raise over $1400 to support wildlife conservation, habitat preservation and education in Massachusetts!
Our group in the Quabbin area was able to ID 115 species and our statewide Drumlin Farm team was able to find 230 different species across Massachusetts. This is an incredible number and says a lot about the biodiversity and variety of habitats right in our own back yard.
Below is the full list of 115 bird species our group saw or heard.
Thanks again!
Ryan & Darcy
American Bittern
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Redstart
American Robin
American Woodcock
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-billed Cuckoo
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blue Jay
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-headed Vireo
Blue-winged Warbler
Bobolink
Brown Creeper
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chimney Swift
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Loon
Common Merganser
Common Raven
Common Yellowthroat
Dark-eyed Junco
Double-crested Cormorant
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Screech-Owl
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Wood-Pewee
European Starling
Field Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Grasshopper Sparrow
Gray Catbird
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Horned Owl
Greater Yellowlegs
Green Heron
Hairy Woodpecker
Hermit Thrush
Herring Gull
Hooded Merganser
House Finch
House Sparrow
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Least Flycatcher
Least Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-tailed Duck
Magnolia Warbler
Mallard
Mourning Dove
Mute Swan
Nashville Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Mockingbird
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Ovenbird
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Rock Pigeon
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruffed Grouse
Savannah Sparrow
Scarlet Tanager
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
Veery
Virginia Rail
Warbling Vireo
Whip-poor-will
White-throated Sparrow
White-winged Scoter
Wild Turkey
Winter Wren
Wood Duck
Wood Thrush
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-belied Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Vireo