BIRD OBSERVER OF EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS VOLUME6 NO. 1 BOEERT H. STYMEIST GAYLE Mn.T.KR THE030RE H. AIKIN30N PAUL M. ROBERTS JOSEPH T. LEVERICH WATSE R. PETER3EII LEIF J. ROKraSOM 30HEIL ZENHEH RUTH P. EHERT ROEERT H. 3TYMEI3T RICHARD R. VEIT PAULA R. BUTLER JULIE ROBERIS DOBOTHY ARVUBON LODISE DEGUCOM3 ELEANOR A. SOJA THEODORE H. ATKINSON A BIRDING TOUR OF CUTLER PARK................................................NEAL C. Cl^ARKE .5 WATERFOWL BREEDING SUCCESS IN 1977............................ THEODORE H. ATKIIISON 8 THE SPRING HAWK MIGRATION: TOWARD....................................PAUL M. ROBERTS 11 UNDERSTANDING AN ENIGMA CHRISTMAS COUNTS IN THE COURTS....................................................PHIL MARTIN 23 A SUPERE 1977-78 INVASION OF RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH..LEIF J. ROBINSON 2k OCTOBER 1, 1977: NAUSET BEACH, EASTHAM............................NAN T. WALDRON 26 THE NOVEMBER FLYCATCHER....................................................ROBERT H. STYMEIST 27 BIRD OBSERVER SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER, 1977...................................................... 28 CORREGENDA, ADDENDA............................................................................................... 35 Blrd Observar of fiutern Massachusatts January-Pabruary 1970 A Bl-sonthly publlcatlon Volune 6, no. 1 $6.50 per calendar yeaTf January-Decenber All corraApondence ahould be sent to i Blrd Observer 462 T^apelo Road Belmont, Massachuaetts 02170 Application to mail at second class postage rates is pending at Boston, Massachusetts Subscriptlon to BIRD OBSERVER is based on a calendar year, from January to December, at $6. 50 per year, Back issues to new subscribers are available at $6. 50 per year or $1. 25 p er issue. Advertieing space is available on the following schedule: full page, $40. 00; half page, $20.00; quarter page, $10.00. Subscribers only may adveirtise one-of-a-kind birding Items free of charge on a space available basis. Such announcements must be limited to 25 words. A ll advertising copy is subject to approval by the staff. Bird Observer of Eastern Massacl^usetts has been declared a non-profit tax exempt or- ganization fc>y the Internal Revenue Service, Any gifts to Bird Observer wlll be greatly appreclated and w ill be tax deductable to the full extent of the law. SDITOR'S PAGE OUR NEW COVER Ihe Hudsonian Godwit is a rep resen tative o f an in tr in s ic aspect o f Ilassa- chusetts bird life . Reduced almost to extinctlon during the market gun- nlng period, this species has heen slowly regaining its forraer population size. Over the last 60 years Monomoy Island has served as the major United States staging aurea of Hudsoniaui Godwits. Newburyport and PLum Island are also great vantage polnts for this species. CUr new cover, by Margaret la Farge of Connecticut, was chosen following a competition in which a dozen high quality designs were considerad. Ms. la Farge, a gradúate of the Rhode Island School of Design, is a great- granddaughter o f the fajnous m uralist John la Farge, She has worked exten- sively with watercolor, pen and ink, and engraving, and with wood, from which she creates largar-than-life herons, pelicans, and birds of prey, Her Work has been exhibíted In Ecovldence, R.I., Lincoln, Mass., and Hart­ ford and Bssex Connecltcut, Ms. la Farge is the illu s t r a t o r o f George Gaylord Simpson’ s Benguins; ík st and Present, Rere and Ih ere. and more re - cently, Watching Birdsi ^ Introduction to Qrnithology. by Hoger F. Iks- quier. Ms, la Farge has studied plumage and anatomy a t the Ibabody Museum o f Natural History in New Haven, Connecticut. In addltion to b ird s, she enjoys drawing wildflowers, sea life and landscapes. EELAGIC TRIP TO GEORGES BANK, JUNE 19-20, 1978 Most New Ehgland birders are discouraged by the Inaccessablllty of the really good pelagic birding areas. Ihls June, Bird Observer w lll sponsor a trip to the Soviet fishlng fleet on the continental slope of Georges Bank, the most productive seabird región in the Northeast, Ihe 100* Yankee Captain, with Wi bunxs on board, w ill leave Gloucester fo r Georges Bank a t 10 p.ra. on June 19th and w lll return ea rly in the mornlng (c . 2 a . m .) on June 21st, g iv in g birders an e n tire day on the bank, The p rice is $52: please send a $25 deposit (refundable only in the case of foul weather c a n c e lla tio n ) by AERIL 15th t o : ROBERT STYMEIST 46 BEAVER STREET WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS 02154 Leaders : Richard Veit and Robert Stymeist Richard Veit spent June 1-14,1977, in the area of Georges Bank, which we w ill be vlsitlng, and observad the following: 300 Northern Fulmars, 20,000 Greater Shearwaters, 3«000 Sooty Shearwaters, Cory's Shearwaters, 50,000 Wilson's Storm Pfetrels, many Leach's Storm Petrels, 25 skuas (including at least 8 South iblar Skuas), 2-3 Long-tailed Jaegers and much more— virtually anythlng is posslble. CUTIER UKE KEY ro fMBlTATS : ccdtajh/cathil- marsh W oaks yed pmes (jilanfedj 5CALE : r^soo' A BIRDING TOUR OF CUTLER PARK by Heal C. Clark, Needham Cutler Park Reservation, 850 acres of MDC-owned land in Heedham, is an oasis bountiful in its varied scenery and w ildlife amid the ribbony desert o f in d u stria l Route 128. During 1960-1972, the Needham Bird Club counted 137 species of birds there, the great majority of which were seen on or around Cutler Lake, with its surface area of about 55 acres. When I tallied up my own species count recently, I discovered—to my su rprise— that I had recordad 100 species at Cutler Park from 1973-1977. This article covers only one section of the entire park, that which is most accessible and which contains the greatest n\miber of different h ab ita ts. If you were to walk leisurely around the entire lake, you would notice five or six different types of vegetation areas (or habitats) including cattail marsh, mixed woods, and aquatic (the lake). To see these habi­ tats we shall follow the main tra il which hugs Cutler Lake, an easy dirt and gravel path. For birding around the lake, which should take at least two hours, I recommend starting directly behind the AP Parts Co. building. To me, the very beginning of the to\ir, for the first 300 yards of so, is always the h igh ligh t o f the day. Several e c o lo g ic a l communities meet around here, and because of the resultant "edge effect" (the tendency for in- creased Variety of w ildlife at community junctions , as between a field and a forest), I always count the most species in this relatively small area. At the first curve, in front of AP Parts, you w ill be at an intersection of varied natural and man-made habitats: aquatic, cattail marsh, scat- tered trees and vines, and the long porch of the building which faces towards the water. Many species of birds may be found here at almost any time of the year. Depending on the season, you may find: Mallard and Black Ducks, Ring-necked Pheasants (with their 2 1/2 inch tracks seen in snow crissdrossing the tra il), Virginia Rails, Common Snipes, Common Flickers, Cray Catbirds, Mockingbirds, and many species of war- blers. In addition, there always seem to be a few Warbling Vireos present in spring and summer. Nesters in this immediate area inelude the Red-winged Blackbird at the lakeshore barely above the water level, as w e ll as in the marsh. The Mourning Dove nests in the vines and in the pines , while imder the back porch of AP Parts Co. you may just ob­ serve four species hesting within about thirty feet of one another! They are: the Eastern Phoebe, American Robin, House Sparrow, and the Rock Dove. A ll four of these species build on a rafter approximately fift e e n fe e t up. I fin d i t amazing that these birds nest su cc e s s fu lly, considering a ll the commotion made on the porch by men moving mufflers around. Moving on, you w ill soon find cattails on your right fillin g in along the lakeshore, as well as on your left bordering the Charles River. Alders, dogwoods, and willows (indicative of an early successional stage—new growth on its way to maturing to a forest) then unfold be- fore you. Do^ linger, for this is all beautiful and choice territory for many creatures. Pairs of Eastern Kingbirds and Worthern Orioles may be found together (nesting next to or one above the other) , and from early May through October, at least one pair of Long-billed Marsh Wrens may be seen. The wren is an unusual bird because the male builds a number of "dummy" nests which are unlined on the bottom, while the female constructs the final frail-looking home later. While on the lake during a snowstorm a oouple o f years ago, I was able to ló ca te at le a s t a half-dozen of their nests (mostly unliked) in a small area. It is tru ly an odd n e s t, due to it s oblong shape and a side entrance to its roofed structure. The Swamp Sparrow is in the vicinity, also, and can be viewed more e a s ily than the shy l i t t l e wren. Wext, Just before you lose sight of water, notice an area of hardwoods around you (much Red Maple) where Red-eyed V ireos, S carlet Tanagers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks habitúate, among other tree-top dwellers. Below them in the same area should be Rufous-sided Towhees, Brown Thrashers, and the ubiquitous Song Sparrows, a ll of which have extreme- ly hard-to-find nests.