Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary
Birding Community Newsletter
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A PUBLICATION OF NORTHEAST WETLAND RESTORATION
Issue 2017-19
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Thursday, November 16 2017
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1,621 Subscribers
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Seasonable Temperatures and Favorable Conditions Bring the Return of Winter Residents to the Rumney Marshes ACEC
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Shorter days, followed by longer nights, bring forth a transition as old as time itself. Standing as a sentinel, a land formed by the hand of our nature, waits at the ready to serve the Denizens of the Hinterlands as they return. Steadfast through another season, the grassland of the Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary stands witness to a turnover of species as rare as the niches they require.
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November 5 and 12, 2017 Trip Reports
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Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary
Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts, US
November 5, 2017
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 Mile(s)
42 Bird Species
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Brant 14
Canada Goose 70
Mallard 4
American Black Duck 40
Green-winged Teal 10
White-winged Scoter 1
Bufflehead 13
Red-breasted Merganser 6
Wild Turkey 13
Red-throated Loon 2
Common Loon 2
Double-crested Cormorant 575
Great Blue Heron 17
Great Egret 4
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Black-bellied Plover 1
Dunlin 11
Wilson's Snipe 2
Herring Gull 50
Great Black-backed Gull 4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 10
Mourning Dove 12
Short-eared Owl 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 4
Horned Lark 6
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 350
Snow Bunting 3
White-throated Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 3
sparrow sp. 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Eastern Meadowlark 2
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 3
House Sparrow 15
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Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary
Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts, US
November 12, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:39 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.5 Mile(s)
31 Bird Species
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Canada Goose 35
Mallard 8
American Black Duck 10
Bufflehead 12
Red-breasted Merganser 4
Common Loon 1
Double-crested Cormorant 6
Great Blue Heron 1
Northern Harrier 3
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Black-bellied Plover 2
Wilson's Snipe 3
Ring-billed Gull 1
Herring Gull 70
Great Black-backed Gull 12
Mourning Dove 62
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Crow 8
Horned Lark 30
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 700
American Pipit 15
Snow Bunting 35
White-throated Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 5
Northern Cardinal 2
Eastern Meadowlark 3
Seen well in flight.
House Sparrow 2
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A fine looking flock of folks.
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Short-eared Owl with a flock of Starlings in the background
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A modern marvel gliding past an age-old estuary.
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Doe IV with this year's fawn
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The Bird of the Week this week goes out to the three Short-eared Owls that popped out of the gentle plateau in the year three rotation grassland.
It is an interesting story of how the three owls were discovered. After a quiet morning, the group was ascending from the valley to the plateau. First a Northern Harrier took flight from just beyond the emerging crest of the plateau. During the Harrier's departure, the sassy hawk buzzed a Short-eared Owl that was a short distance away, thereby causing the first two owls to take flight. As the group quickly reached the top of the plateau to track the two owls as they headed out into the grassland, the third owl materialized, as if from thin air, within a stones throw of where everyone was standing. Every time that one of these large top level predators emerges from behind a wisp of grass is just incredible.
Runner-up this week goes to the three Eastern Meadowlarks that were also up on the plateau. This is the second season that this interesting pattern has presented itself. Many times during the past season, more times than we could venture a guess, the Eastern Meadowlarks have been observed within spitting distance of a Short-eared Owl. Are they the same birds and they are comfortable around each other? Do Eastern Meadowlarks taste terrible making them an unlikely prey species?
One fact that we are sure of... it is very exciting when both species are in the air at the same time. One finds it hard to know who to watch.
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The Next Scheduled Nature Walks are:
Sunday, November 19 at 9 a.m.
Sunday, November 26 at 9 a.m.
NOTE: The Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is open to the public for guided tours only. If you would like to visit the sanctuary, please attend one of our regularly scheduled nature walks, or contact us to arrange a private tour. Thank you.
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Special thanks to Soheil, Alan, Norm, Ted, Jarett, Ted, Cammy & son, Kevin, Tim, Brian, Caroline, Sebastian, Pat, Joe, Brian, Nancy, Gina, Fran, and everyone else who contributed pictures and support this week. Without your help, this publication could not be produced.
Additional pictures from this week:
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A magnificent view to the south
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Red-tail Hawks I & II together in the lower right
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ABOUT BEAR CREEK WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
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The
Wheelabrator Saugus Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is a 370-acre property abutting a 2,274-acre estuary on the outskirts of Boston, located in the heart of the Rumney Marshes ACEC. Maintained and managed grasslands, salt marshes, shrublands and maturing woodlands combine as one of the largest bird migration staging areas on the North Shore and a habitat for nearly 200 bird species, as well as other wildlife such as coyotes, foxes, raccoons and snakes. Visitors can enjoy the more than 14,000 feet of walking trails that permeate the site, a half-acre exhibit garden, and meeting and lecture areas, which are scattered throughout nine of the restored ecosystems. Situated directly behind Wheelabrator Saugus, the Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is maintained and managed by Geoff Wilson of Northeast Wetland Restoration. Follow along with us as the birds change with each passing season!
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