Category Archives: MA Birding
What Sparked Their Interest in Birding – Part 5
Here are more of the stories prompted by Gerry Cooperman’s post on Mass Birds: Carolyn had several sparks — here is an early one: I was watching the goldfinches, chickadees, etc. with my dad’s ancient binoculars and saw what turned … Continue reading
What Sparked Their Interest in Birding – Part 4
Dana D was “oozed” into birding by a rustic island camp: Now admittedly it is a long time ago now but I was blessed with having grandparents that read an ad in the mid 1920’s of a cabin for rent … Continue reading
What Sparked Their Interest in Birding – Part 3
As we read the stories from birders, many were sparked by a mentor — an older friend or a parent. Others were converted by the flash of a Blackburnian Warbler or Northern Cardinal. Still others were young nature lovers who … Continue reading
Here is What Sparked Their Interest in Birding — Part 2
Here are the next group of stories from the Massachusetts birding community (extended) about what was the spark that made them birders. Catherine (NH) was hooked by a booming Bittern: I was fortunate in that my Dad has been a … Continue reading
Here is What Sparked Their Interest in Birding — Part 1
When Gerry Cooperman put his “What Sparked Your Interest? on the MASSBirds listserve, I asked him for permission to post it here. I figured he’d get a half-dozen responses and perhaps I’d excerpt one or two and move on. The … Continue reading
Digiscoping at Plum Island
I try to make it over to Parker River NWR every time we visit this area and today I grabbed a few hours to check things out and practice some digiscoping. There were few tourists and birders and lots of … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged digiscoping, Greater Yellowlegs, Parker River NWR, Song
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Harbor Seal Spotting
Every fall and winter, harbor seals come into the Merrimack River. They congregate just opposite to the campground -they are very much a local attraction — to campers and day visitors to Salisbury State Park Reservation. Mary and I drove over … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged Great Black-backed Gulls, harbor seals, Salisbury Beach State Reservation
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Mallards Get No Respect
“Ah, just a couple of Mallards.” How many times have we said that when scanning through a group of waterfowl, looking for the rock stars: the Teals, the Hoodies, the Redheads … anything but plain vanilla Mallards. Like Black-capped Chickadees … Continue reading
Posted in Digiscoping, MA Birding
Tagged birdwatching, Mallard
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Two Lifers in Ten Minutes
Today was a beautiful fall day to chase birds. I returned to Artichoke Reservoir which was rather calm after yesterday’s chaos. I was looking for the Greater White-fronted Goose that has been seen for several days in a row. My … Continue reading
Posted in MA Birding
Tagged Great Cormorant, Greater White-fronted Goose, life birds
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A Wild Goose Chase
For the last several days, the MASSBIRDS listserve has had numerous reports of a White-fronted Goose spotted in a large group of Canada Geese on nearby Artichoke Reservoir. Someone also reported a Pink-footed Goose at the same location. So, I … Continue reading