[MASSBIRD] Warren 5/28

[Mark Lynch]

We spent the morning in the town of WARREN, a Worcester County town on the
border with HAMPDEN COUNTY, north of Brimfield. Though the Sturbridge CBC
includes parts of Warren in its circle, the area is very little bided in the
breeding and migration seasons. Some of the best locations are around
Colonel�s Mountain, a rather inaccessible WMA around a series of high hills
visible south of Rt, 9 from the town of Ware. Species like junco and
sapsucker nest close to the top of the mountain, but getting there requires
serious, strenuous and long bushwhacking. We were introduced to this area
while atlasing for the Breeding Bird Atlas 2 and found it hosted an
interesting variety of species. Habitats include brushy swamps; wet
woodlands, large tracts of contiguous forest; farms, suburban residential;
and an old mill town along a river. Last year a visiting British birder
photo�d a MISSISSI PPI. KITE here. We concentrated mostly on our atlas block
area, but also some locations done during the CBC. We did not hit all the
critical, tough to get to and therefore �birdy� areas. Partial list:
Great Blue Heron (8 occupied nests in 1 rookery)
BLACK VULTURE: (1: we had two during the BBA in same area)
Turkey Vulture (9 minimal)
Bald Eagle (1imm)
Red-tailed Hawk (6)
American Kestrel (pr obviously on nesting territory, flying all around us,
hunting, disappearing momentarily, but mostly in view. The female looked
dirty with feather wear, as if she had been in a nest for some time. Try as
we may, we could not find the nest, but it had to be nearby. We also saw
another male in possible nesting territory.)
Virginia Rail (2)
Black-billed Cuckoo (1)
Chimney Swift (41)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (2m)
E Wood Peewee (4)
Alder Flycatcher (3)
E Phoebe (29)
Great Crested Flycatcher (2)
E Kingbird (11)
Yellow-throated Vireo (11)
Warbling Vireo (28)
Red-eyed Vireo (103)
Tree Swallow (16)
N Rough-winged Swallow (10)
Barn Swallow (41)
Carolina Wren (2)
House Wren (12)
Veery (41)
Wood Thrush (14)
Gray Catbird (86)
Brown Thrasher (1)
Cedar Waxwing (13)

WARBLERS:
Blue-winged (4)
Yellow (50)
Chestnut-sided (42)
Black-throated Blue (2)
Pine (3)
Black and White (26)
A Redstart (64)
Ovenbird (59)
Northern Waterthrush (1)
Mourning Warbler (1)
C Yellowthroat (79)
Canada (1)

Scarlet Tanager (5)
Savannah Sparrow (2)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (9)
Indigo Bunting (10)
Bobolink (33)
Baltimore Oriole (31)
Purple Finch (1)

Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll
Moa....@verizon.net