Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Looking Back: 1Q2015

My hiking activity was severely limited this quarter due to the 8 feet of snow we had here in Massachusetts.  Yes, we broke the historic record for the snowiest winter with 108.6".  If we hadn't taken our trip to Florida, I imagine this quarterly review would have been pretty boring.  I have to admit I'm pretty glad to say farewell to this particular quarter!

New Butterflies:
  1. Cassius Blue Butterfly
  2. Gulf Fritillary
  3. Orange Barred Sulphur
  4. White Peacock
  5. Zebra Longwing
New Birds:
  1. AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN
  2. ANHINGA
  3. BARROW'S GOLDENEYE (Boston, MA)
  4. BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
  5. BLACK SKIMMER
  6. BOHEMIAN WAXWING (Gardner, MA)
  7. BURROWING OWL
  8. CAROLINA CHICKADEE
  9. CATTLE EGRET
  10. FORSTER'S TERN
  11. LIMPKIN
  12. LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE
  13. MOTTLED DUCK
  14. PAINTED BUNTING
  15. RED KNOT
  16. REDDISH EGRET
  17. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK
  18. ROYAL TERN
  19. RUDDY TURNSTONE
  20. SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER
  21. TRI-COLORED HERON
  22. WHITE IBIS
  23. WHITE-EYED VIREO
  24. WOOD STORK
  25. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
  26. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Of these, only two were found in Massachusetts.  The rest were on my trip to Florida.  Here are the Massachusetts life birds:

Bohemian Waxwing

Barrow's Goldeneye

To date, my 2015 bird list stands at 131, and 26 of those were new *life* birds.  My yard list has slowly ticked up to 26 birds.  Florida really provided a big boost to my 2015 list!  I'd have to say that my favorite new bird was a toss up between the Painted Bunting and the Bohemian Waxwing!


New Places:
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Naples Botanical Garden
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens
Deer Island Harbor Walk, Boston

This year, I started photographing town and city halls in the areas where birding takes me.  During 1Q2015 I managed to visit 50 town/city halls while on my trips around Massachusetts.

I also attended a Capture the Stars Workshop with Christopher Georgia at Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine.  I have admired his photographs on Facebook over and over again and really wanted to learn how to photograph the night sky.  It was a wonderful experience, and I can't wait to practice this skill a bit more.

Best Surprise:



The best closeup of a Snowy Owl I've ever had was while on a walk at Duxbury Beach.  Oh my!!!  They played a huge part in my being motivated to get out during the past winter!


Favorite Photos:

I noticed an emerging theme when I pulled these photos.  Water and light!





















2 comments:

  1. Awesome recap, Dawn. Your photos are inspiring!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Josh! I appreciate the compliment!

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