birding...

Black-capped Chickadee Parus atricapillus ©Robert Royse http://www.roysephotos.com/index.html

Massachusetts has a long and rich birding history. The Nuttall Ornithological Club - the oldest bird club in North America, and parent organisation to the American Ornithologists Union - was founded in Cambridge in 1873. In 1896, the protest of two Boston Brahmin women against the use of bird feathers in the millinery trade eventually lead to the establishment of the Massachusetts Audubon Society - the oldest such organisation in the country. Ludlow Griscom - Dean of Field Ornithology - held a research position at Harvard University from 1927 until his retirement in 1955. Griscom was the first to effectively demonstrate that birds need not be collected to be correctly identified. And in 1975, the discovery of a Ross`s Gull in Newburyport attracted hundreds of birders from around North America and once and for all showed the world that birding was not just a sport for little old ladies in tennis shoes.

Massachusetts is varied in both topography and biological diversity. The mountains of Berkshire County in western Massachusetts have the highest elevation in the state (3,491); and are home to a number of northern breeding species, such as Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blackpoll and Mourning warblers, and as recently as the 1970s, Bicknell`s Thrush. There are many fine locations in the Berkshires to watch migrating hawks in autumn, and irruptive northern finches are more likely to be found in Berkshire County than in any other part of the state.

The agricultural plains and neighbouring wooded hills of the Connecticut River Valley represent a highway for migratory songbirds in spring and fall. Snow Geese pass through the valley in spectacular numbers during migration, and in 1997, two Ross`s Geese were discovered among an enormous flock of Snow Geese - the first for Massachusetts. In late August, hundreds of migrating Common Nighthawks can often be seen hunting flying ants at dusk.

Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts is the only consistent breeding location for Cerulean Warblers in the Commonwealth, and with nearby Wachusett Reservoir represents the southernmost breeding locale for Common Loons in the country. The greatest draw at Quabbin, however, is the Bald Eagle population, with several pairs breeding since 1989, and impressive concentrations of over-wintering birds every year. At Enfield lookout in Belchertown, one can almost be assured of finding a group of eagle watchers any day in the winter, all with scopes set up and engaged in lively conversation about eagle behaviour. In eastern Worcester County, Mount Wachusett and Mount Watatic are popular spring and fall hawk-watching locales.

The North Shore of Essex County features two of the best-known birding locations in the country. Parker River National Wildlife Refuge (i.e. Plum Island) and adjacent Newburyport are justifiably famous for vagrants, as well as shorebirds in migration, and both waterfowl and raptors during the winter. At Cape Ann, especially in winter, one can almost always encounter birders searching the offshore waters for loons, seabirds, ducks, and gulls. Following south-west winds in spring, both Plum Island and Cape Ann periodically collect impressive numbers of migrating songbirds.

The Greater Boston area offers birders a number of options. The Blue Hills Reservation south of the city is one of the more reliable areas in the state for finding breeding Worm-eating Warblers, and the region was the location of the first breeding Black Vulture in Massachusetts (1998). A short subway ride from Logan Airport is Belle Isle Marsh in East Boston, a locality productive for both herons and shorebirds. Winthrop Beach is a fairly reliable spot to look for Barrow`s Goldeneye, King Eider, and Black-headed Gull in winter, and Mew Gulls have been reported here almost annually in recent years. Marblehead Neck and the Nahant peninsula north of Boston are famous migrant traps for songbirds, but perhaps best known is Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. Every day during spring migration one can join dozens, if not hundreds, of other birders enjoying spring migration.

The south-eastern mainland of Massachusetts includes both Plymouth and Bristol counties. In the pine-oak barrens of Plymouth`s Miles Standish State Forest, Whip-poor-wills are a common evening sound, and the barrier spit at Plymouth regularly supports breeding Piping Plovers, Common and Least terns, a few Roseate and Arctic terns, and occasionally a pair of Black Skimmers. In Halifax, agricultural fields belonging to Cumberland Farms often support Rough-legged Hawks by day and Short-eared Owls in the evening during the winter. The Dartmouth/Westport area has the largest breeding concentration of Ospreys in the Commonwealth, and is one of the few breeding areas in Massachusetts for White-eyed Vireo. Almost anywhere along the extensive shoreline of south-eastern Massachusetts it is possible to find a pleasant variety of ducks and shorebirds in season.

Cape Cod and the Islands are considerably farther south than the rest of Massachusetts, and consequently are good locations to search for southern species, such as Blue Grosbeak and Summer Tanager, during migration. At the elbow of Cape Cod is Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and South Beach, a constantly shifting series of sandbars and mud flats, that are virtually shorebird magnets. Practically every shorebird rarity ever recorded in Massachusetts has found its way to this remarkable area at one time or another. The Cape and Islands are also the breeding grounds of several species found nowhere else in the state, but access to these breeding specialities is extremely limited. Tiny Penikese Island in Buzzards Bay is home to a small colony of Leach`s Storm-Petrels, and Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls - now rare or absent as breeders on the mainland - still regularly nest on Tuckernuck Island off Nantucket. And despite the fact that Chuck-will`s-widow has never been confirmed as a breeder in Massachusetts, indications are that the species has likely been breeding on Martha`s Vineyard for over a quarter of a century.

The popularity of whale-watching makes pelagic birding in Massachusetts more accessible than in many other coastal localities. Whale-watching boats leave daily in the summer from various ports, including Newburyport, Gloucester, Boston, Plymouth, & Provincetown, and occasionally there are dedicated birding trips sponsored by local birding clubs to offshore waters.