Field Ornithology Journal 2: Grassland and Shrubland Birds

On May 19, 2020, I went to three locations to observe water body and wetland habitats from 6:00 AM - 12:00 PM. Throughout the day it was clear sunny skies in the 50Fº -60Fºs range and strong western winds. My first location was Pine Hill Road in Lancaster, MA where I travelled 1.55 miles over 2.5 hours. Here my primary goal was to see the endangered Grasshopper Sparrows that is an obligate grassland species. Pine Hill Road is ideal for Grasshopper Sparrow for there is a grassland trip made up of gravel-like soil and early successional vegetation (sapling gray birch, pitch pine, quaking aspen, sweet fern, and grasses) surrounded by a aspen-oak forest. Leaving first from my car I encountered a pond with thick vegetation where Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Gray Catbird, Common Grackle, Yellowthroat, and American Robin were found. Moving away from the pond site I walked towards the grasslands. Before reaching the grasslands I went through a stand of aspen-pine forest where I found Black-capped Chickadee, Wild Turkey, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, Bay-breasted Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Prairie Warbler, and Brown-headed Cowbird. This area marked as a transition area between the forest stand and grasslands, yet as I soon moved to the grasslands I only saw grasslands species. Moving past the forest stand I reached the grasslands to be meet with a concert of songs and calls of Field Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Barn Swallow, American Kestrel, and Mourning Dove. Investigating each call and song I soon heard a high-pitched call. Excited I peered every plant to find a Grasshopper Sparrow perched ontop of a sapling pitch pine long large than one foot! Ecstatic I sat on the ground and just admired this Grasshopper Sparrow for twenty minutes. Soon getting photos and recordings I moved on to find another high-pitch call of the Vesper Sparrow. To my disappointment the Vesper Sparrow perched for a couple of moments for me to ID it, yet soon disappeared in the vegetation. Soon after the Vesper Sparrow disappeared I truck came my way to do maintenance. With these workings disturbance and me seeing the species I wanted to see I moved on. Overall I saw 26 species and 62 individuals.

My next location was Chestnut Hill Farm where I drove twenty minutes southeast while listening to birding by ear. Chestnut Hill Farm is an operating farm with grasslands, shrublands, and surrounding oak-pine forest. Starting in the parking lot I was meet with a mob filled with House Sparrow, Killdeer, American Robin, European Starling, House Finch, Chipping Sparrow, Mourning Dove, and a singing HouseWren. Soon tired of the parking lot birds I moved to aptly named Bobolink Trail to see some grassland birds. To no surprise, I saw a group of Bobolinks center of the grass fields no taller than 10 inches. Observing the brilliant males perched on the tallest grass stem I marveled at their bubbly song and the songs of their grasslands neighbors. In addition to Bobolinks, I observed Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Eastern Bluebird, and Eastern Kingbird. Observing as many grassland species I moved to the top of the hill of the grasslands to observe flyovers by Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue Jay, and American Crow. After. Witnessing these flyovers I wandered off to a shrubland of grasses and flowering crabapples to find Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow Warbler, Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, Baltimore Oriole, and “Bee BUZZ”! Still working on my calls I was puzzled, yet pull apart this two phrase call to “Bee” and “BUZZ” to figure out Blue-winged Warbler then spotted the species and got a recording. After I finally moved to the oak-pine forest. Here I saw many forest interior species such as Common Yellowthroat (wetland also), Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Wood Thrush, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Ovenbird, and Black-and-white Warbler. However, these species were not a priority so I made through promptly to visit the grassland and shrublands for a second time. Overall I traveled 2.26 miles over 2 hours and saw 41 species and 114 individuals. I still had an hour left so I drove ten minutes west for Heirloom Harvest CSA Fields.

Heirloom Harvest CSA Fields is another grassland for 1 hour over 1.2 miles, yet this time this grassland surrounded by Cedar Bog. Here I could have explored the bog, yet I choose to observe the grassland species here. I really tried looking at the field marks of American Kestrel, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird House Wren, and to a shocking distance Bobolinks. With strong winds, Bobolinks could hardly fly against the winds and perched closer to me than at Chestnut Hill Farm. Still, I wanted to maintain a safe distance, yet able to listen to their bubbly song. Other species I found here included Turkey Vulture, American Crow, Common Grackle, Tufted Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Tree Swallow (performed mating), House Sparrow, and a pair of Baltimore Orioles. This might be a limited count of 14 species and 40 individuals, yet I wanted to focus on vocalizations more here. This was a great day of birding in grasslands and shrubs with one new lifer of the Grasshopper Sparrow. In total, I found 51 species.

PS Here is the Scavenger Hunt Points: 52 Points Total
Eastern Kingbird- 2
Eastern Bluebird- 6
Bobolink- 5
Savanah Sparrow- 3
Killdeer- 5
House Wren- 2
Gray Catbird-1
Song Sparrow-1
Yellow Warbler-1
Blue-winged Warbler-9
Chestnut-sided Warbler-6
Eastern Towhee- 5
Field Sparrow-6

Species Observed