With temperatures in the low 30s and some wind I was unsure of the turnout for my first Arnold Arboretum walk in the new year. More than 50 hardy souls showed up nonetheless!

We ticked off a couple of resident species as we gathered at the front gate, including a nice look at our only mockingbird of the day:

This image shows the whitewing patch and long tail distinctive of this species

This image displays the long tail and white wing patch distinctive of the Northern Mockingbird.

We headed for the feeding station near the Visitor Center and found a few more birds, including a large contingent of House Finches on the feeders as well as the nearby trees:

A female House Finch in flight (left) with two males perched nearby.

Encouraged by the nice collection of birds on or near the feeders we set off for a walk down Meadow Road, up Forsythia Path and to the top of Bussey Hill. We then descended the hill and followed along Oak Path back to the roadway and then through Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden and back to to the Visitors Center; almost two miles. In that entire route we saw no more than half a dozen birds total; there were virtually no avian creatures! The one interesting bird spotted by someone in our group was a Golden-crowned Kinglet:

This is the “winter kinglet” in our area, almost never seen other than in late fall and winter. Our bird today flitted about in an evergreen tree at first, but then hopped up into a bare tree giving everyone good looks.

I was ready to declare the walk more of a winter exercise walk than a bird walk when we began to pick up a few birds in the trees above the Hunnewell slope as well as under an evergreen shrub. Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal. Someone called out “sapsucker” and after some searching I was able to get on the bird along with half of the group. It was an immature bird:

Immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, showing only a hint of red on the head but with a tinge of yellow on the breast.

A few members of the group, including my co-leader Brendan, saw yet another one of this uncommon species that was showing the full patterning of the bird:

I took this photo of a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker a few years ago in my yard in Jamaica Plain; the rows of small holes in the bark of the yew tree are made by the woodpecker to get sap and also to attract insects to the sap.

We spent some time back at the feeders where we finally saw our only junco; they are usually seen in flocks this time of year. We also heard, then saw, a Carolina Wren:

This tiny creature packs a wallop when it breaks into song.

We walked about two miles on this walk, but saw nearly all our birds within 150 yards of our start. Here is the list for the walk:

Arnold Arboretum, Suffolk, Massachusetts, US
Jan 5, 2020 9:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Checklist Comments: 34, sun and clouds, windy; BBC walk
21 species

Mallard 2- pair, Faxon Pond
Mourning Dove 6
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2 one immature, one adult, the latter seen by only a few birders but clearly IDed
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Blue Jay 5
American Crow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 10
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Robin 3
House Finch 40
American Goldfinch 5
Dark-eyed Junco 1
White-throated Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S63048097

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

I have no formal walks scheduled until the spring. Here is a list of those walks:

Saturday, April 25

Arnold Arboretum, Boston

8:00 AM -10:00 AM

A two hour walk suitable for beginners as well as more experienced birders. See the Arboretum website http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu for directions or to download a checklist of birds. Meeting location: Main Gate off the Arborway, park along Arborway

Sunday, April 26

Olmsted Park and Leverett Pond, Brookline.

8:00 AM- 9:30 AM

This 90-minute walk is co-sponsored by the Brookline Green Space Alliance and is suitable for beginning birders as well as those more experienced. Meeting location: Parking lot at 33 Pond Avenue in front of the Brook House. 8:00 am to 9:30 AM

Saturday, May 2

Arnold Arboretum, Boston

8:00 AM -10:00 AM

A two hour walk suitable for beginners as well as more experienced birders. See the Arboretum website http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu for directions or to download a checklist of birds. Meeting location: Peters Hill Gate on Bussey Street

Saturday, May 9

Bussey Brook Meadow, Arnold Arboretum, Boston

8:00 AM -10:00 AM

The Arboretum Park Conservancy, Arnold Arboretum and the BBC are sponsoring this two hour walk in the Bussey Brook area of the Arboretum. The walk is suitable for beginning birders as well as those more experienced. Meeting location: South Street gate to the Arboretum, on South Street, where there is limited parking. Also accessible from Forest Hills T Station path from Washington Street

Saturday, May 23

Arnold Arboretum, Boston

8:00 AM -10:00 AM

A two hour walk suitable for beginners as well as more experienced birders. See the Arboretum website http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu for directions or to download a checklist of birds. Meeting location: Main gate off the Arborway; park along the Arborway

Trip Leader: Bob Mayer, (617) 522-0157

rgmayer38@gmail.com

Hope you can join some of these walks.

Good Birding in 2020!