I arrived in New York after an excellent Ethiad flight. I managed to get loads
of sleep in economy class! I then had a four hour wait in JFK, which passed quickly enough, as I had a leisurely breakfast.
I changed terminals & checked in to Jet Blue. The flight to Boston was less than an hour &
when I received my luggage, it had been opened by security & my suit &
dress shirt had gone missing! Barbara was
there to meet me & we sped off in a taxi through downtown Boston to her home in Belmont. It was
a grey & bitterly cold day, it really was still the depths of winter here.
While I unpacked, Barbara went back to work. In the evening, we made plans for
the forthcoming weekend (see separate post).
This is where I am: Boston MA.
Barbara's street in Belmont on my arrival day!
The next day, I explored central
Boston & Barbara & I met up for lunch. It was a really cold windy &
miserable day. I had a quick look at the harbour, but the wind chill factor was
way up there! Coming from balmy Abu Dhabi to here, was a bit of a shock! I
scanned the dark grey choppy waters in the harbour: 4 Common Eider (of the
North American race); 3 Greater Scaup, a fine drake Red breasted Merganser
& 3 Common Merganser (Goosander) completed the set of what I would term,
winter wildfowl. A short time later I found an American Coot sheltering from
the wind down the side of a boat. I could sympathise with this bird! Even the
American Herring & Ring billed Gulls looked grumpy, all hunched up &
inactive against the cold.
The wintery scene at Mount Auborn Cemetry.
Visitor centre.
One of the several Gothic like Chapels found here.
Not much sign of spring here!
While chatting to Barbara that
evening, I discovered to my delight, that she lived around 500 metres from a
hot bird locale! The very famous, Mount
Auburn Cemetery! I was there early the next morning. It was a bitingly cold
day, more snow had fallen overnight & on my trudge to the entrance gates I
hadn’t seen one bird of any species! I entered into a beautiful garden type
setting, draped in snow! My first birds were several American Robins feeding on an open patch of grass. But birds were
hard to come by & in the next four hours, I only saw a miserly 14 species!
27 Canada Geese flew over honking (real ones not the introduced birds of
Europe)!
American Robin.
A Red-tailed Hawk sat in a tall tree & then called as
it circled over the grounds. It was a bit of a surprise to see this species
here in such an urban setting & brought back memories of the pair I had
seen many years ago in Central Park in New York.
Red-tailed Hawk.
Blue Jay.
Blue Jays were conspicuous and two pairs of Red-bellied Woodpeckers were I thought, a tad unusual here.
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Three Downy Woodpeckers were much more
expected and as usual, were a delight to see.
Downy Woodpecker.
White-breasted Nuthatch.
White-breasted Nuthatches
called & played hide & seek with me around the big boughs of the trees.
Both Black-capped & Tufted Titmice were common, moving
around, (often together) in roving gangs, looking for food. A few Northern Cardinals add bright splashes
of red to the landscape. Careful searching under the relatively snow free
hedges produced a handful of White-throated
and a single Song Sparrow. Dark-eyed Juncos kept them
company. But that was about it!
Song Sparrow.
Dark-eyed Junco.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Mourning Dove.
Northern Mockingbird.
I returned twice more over the
next few days and added a wonderful Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker (an early returning migrant); Mourning Dove & Northern
Mockingbird to my very sparse birding list! Not much, for many hours of
searching the grounds. But I was of course too early, it was still winter here
& the migration that Mount Auborn had become famous for, had not yet begun.
So was this place really one of the most celebrated birding localities in the
entire USA? Let the story begin!
With its unusual variety of
relatively undisturbed habitats within the great city of Boston, it was no
surprise that it became the haunt of local naturalists. But it was its close
proximity to the venerable Harvard
University that made it the local patch for many famous names. The first of
these was the English naturalist Thomas
Nuttall (1786-1859). Credited with authoring the very first guide to birds
of North America & his face graces the cover of the famous Harvard Bird
Club publications. Both Thomas Brewer
& William Brewster were to
follow his footsteps around Mount Auborn. Brewster was the founder of the
Nuthall Bird Club at Harvard, which eventually became the American
Ornithologists Union (AOU). But there was to be one more name combing the paths
of Mount Auborn in their search for birds. This name has been dubbed the patron
saint of modern American bird watching – it was of course, the great Ludlow Griscom (1890-1959).
Taken from the internet - Amazon books.
He came to
Cambridge, to take up the position of Professor of Ornithology at Harvard
University. Griscom’s great legacy was to demonstrate to his colleagues that
birds could be identified without shooting them. He was the first to identify
birds on field marks with the aid of binoculars. This was somewhat of a
revolution and gave rise to the modern pursuit of birding. Griscom was also a
great lister and gave rise to the modern version of the Big Day. The current list for Mount Auborn Cemetery is over 225
species. It is famous for spring bird migration & the month of May can see
many birders flogging their local patch, in pursuit of the rare and unexpected.
Mount Auborn is a famous migrant trap amid a large modern day city. The only
problem is, I won’t be here then. I am here now in March & it is pretty
slow going! 
Fresh Pond - all iced up & not a bird in sight!
The other nearby locality for
birding is Fresh Pond. This is a
large reservoir with several smaller ponds nearby. It is supposed to be good,
but on my days it was completely frozen over & not much was seen. A
scattering of Mallard, 3 Common Merganser & 18 Ring-billed Gulls were all
sat on the thick ice.
Not a lot of variety here in the depths of winter!
Ring-billed Gull.
A walk around in the remnant patches of woodland produced
all the same resident species as in Mount Auborn with the following additions:
2 recently arrived Red-winged Blackbirds; 9 Common Grackles and 2 House
Finches.
Red-winged Blackbird, one of
the earliest migrants.
Common Grackle.
A typical new England farmland setting.
This is a reserve & a community farm,
with the best interests of nature first.
One of the many trails through the woodlots.
One day I caught the train out to
Lincoln. A beautiful, small town set
amid acres of conservation land & trails all waiting to be explored. I
headed for Drumlin Farm, which is a
community farm & an Audubon Sanctuary. The trails are well laid out &
there is a great book shop there. I
spent the whole day just wandering through the mosaic of fields, hedgerows
& small patches of woodland. Despite the cold it was a nice day, with
several notable species added for my recent list: 9 Wild Turkeys were in one of the woodlots. I spent a long time
following them around and taking photos.
Wild Turkeys, in the wild!
This species is a lot more colourful than you think.
Canada Goose.
A pair of Red-tailed Hawks circled
overhead and 61 Canada Geese were
feeding in the fields. Also in the fields were 75+ American Robins; 400+
European Starlings and 20 Common Grackles.
Eastern Bluebird - a real stunner!
Three
Eastern Bluebirds were seen. The males being especially magnificent.
Whether these wintered here, or were recently returning migrants I couldn’t
say, but they did add a splash of colour to a drab coloured day.
Pileated Woodpecker - what a bird!
Arguably the
highlight of the day, were a pair of the enormous Pileated Woodpeckers which flew in & entertained me for several
minutes in the large trees, by the sanctuary car park. They really are
stupendous birds & I managed a few shots even though the light was very
poor.
One night, we ventured out to see
the world famous Boston Symphony
Orchestra & they did not disappoint! It was an exceptional evening, in
fantastic surroundings. The programme was entirely Beethoven:
a) Leonore Overture No 1, Opus 138.
b) Concerto
in C, for Piano, Violin & Cello, Opus 56.
c) Piano
Concerto No.5 in E-flat, Opus 73. Emperor.
We also had a nice evening meal
beforehand, at a nearby French restaurant. A very pleasant evening was enjoyed
by the both of us.
Had a fantastic weekend on Cape
Cod (see separate post). Today (24th)
Barbara was back at work, so I took the commuter train to Rockport, around 40 miles north of Boston.
Rockport Harbour.
Quaint shops line the road to the harbour.
Very New England!
Looking north from the harbour.
Looking south from the harbour.
It is a very pleasant
little coastal town with dramatic rocky headlands & large, somewhat
sheltered bays. It is obviously a bit of a tourist town in season, but not
today! I had the place to myself, as I walked to the harbour & then south
along a coastal path, which the local landowners had made it very difficult to
use! The weather was very cold, with a biting wind coming in off the sea, but
it was very sunny & viewing of the sea for winter sea ducks was excellent.
Harlequin Duck - female.
There were some Common Eider,
both Surf & White-winged Scoters & a few Bufflehead & Common
Goldeneye. 16 Purple Sandpipers were
feeding among the surf lashed rocks. 
Purple Sandpipers
Totals for the day were as
follows:
3 Common Loon; 1 Red-throated
Loon; 1 Horned Grebe; 5 Red-necked Grebe, 2 Great Cormorant, 95 American Black
Duck, 13 Mallard, 20 Common Eider, 19 Common Goldeneye, 50+ Bufflehead, 25
White-winged Scoter, 80+ Surf Scoter, 18 Red-breasted Merganser, 27 Harlequin Duck, including a lot of
stunning males. A first winter Kumlein’s
Gull frustratingly kept just out of photographic range!
Today was the 25th & the weather was
cold, but bright sunshine, so I was keen to get out & about, especially as
another large snow storm is expected overnight, bringing a full on winter back
to this area. I decided to go to Belle
Island Marsh, but the whole area was frozen over & very few species
were seen:
A very much frozen Belle Island Marsh.
So I quickly retreated back to
the train & continued north to Wonderland & then by bus to Marblehead Neck. Marblehead is an
upmarket kind of place, famous for sailing. It is also a pretty good spot for
birds.
Marblehead Neck.
The causeway onto the neck - good birding on both sides.
The sea was particularly busy with a good variety of sea duck:
5 Common Loon, 3 Horned Grebe, 50+ Brant, 70 Mallard, 60+ American Black Duck, 65+ Common Eider, 12 White-winged Scoter, 50+ Surf Scoter, 20 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Common Goldeneye, 100+ Bufflehead & a fine full summer plumaged Black Guillemot.
5 Common Loon, 3 Horned Grebe, 50+ Brant, 70 Mallard, 60+ American Black Duck, 65+ Common Eider, 12 White-winged Scoter, 50+ Surf Scoter, 20 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Common Goldeneye, 100+ Bufflehead & a fine full summer plumaged Black Guillemot.
Horned Grebe - one of three in the bay.
The Audubon Sanctuary.
250 species have been recorded here!
But not today!
I then walked around the neck
& found myself at the Audubon
Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a very small (16 acres) of woodland which in
migration time, is famous for warbler migration. Today however, it was still in
the grip of winter & I only managed five species in an hour! I then caught
the bus- train combination back to Boston & Barbara & I went out for a
very nice Thai meal.
The 27th was a comparatively warm & sunny day. Maybe, the very first sign of spring here? I was caught a little unawares over the weather, as the forecast had not been good & I therefore aborted my plans to travel further afield. I decided to visit Fresh Pond again, but although a pleasant walk, the lake was still thickly covered by ice. A lone Common Merganser was the only bird of note here.
I walked back via Aberdeen Avenue & into Mount Auborn Cemetery. The weather was nice, so I tried my hand at getting some photos of the commoner bird species found here.
Black-capped Chickadee.
Tufted Titmouse.
White-breasted Nuthatch.
28th: I had decided to visit Nahant, but the wind was very strong & I thought birding in all that open habitat wouldn't be the best option. I stayed home & caught up on my blog, then ventured out in the afternoon to Mount Auborn Cemetery. I felt spring had finally sprung! It was the warmest day so far, with a bright blue sky, but with a hint of rain in the air. The ponds were beginning to melt, at last! The best bird was a Cooper's Hawk, found by all the passerines making a bit of a din. Obtained great views though, before it flew off further into the cemetery.
Cooper's Hawk.
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