May 13, 2017 Birdwalk at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land
Published on May 14, 2017 by Eileen Samberg
On a gray and cold Saturday morning, the Southborough Open Land Foundation participated in Mass Audubon’s annual “Bird-a-thon” with a bird walk led by Jeff Collins, Director of Mass Audubon’s Ecological Management Department. The 18 participants in the walk saw a large variety of New England birds including
Red-tailed Hawk, American Crow, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Robin, House Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, Gray Catbird, Mourning Dove, Cedar Waxwing, Bobolink, Yellow Warbler, Double-crested Cormorant, Song Sparrow, European Starling, Northern Flicker, Chipping Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Baltimore Oriole, American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, an elusive Red-eyed Vireo that we could hear, but not see, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tree Swallow, and Common Grackles. The confirmed sighting of a Savanah Sparrow and a Bobolink by everyone on the walk was exciting because these are two species that the Stewardship Committee and Conservation Commission have been managing the grasslands to provide breeding grounds. The walk was funded in part by a grant from the Southborough Community Fund (SCF), Foundation for Metrowest.
Bird walk participants (photo courtesy of Freddie Gillespie)