Salem Woods Birding Hike ~ 04-24-10

On April 24th, Mark and I led our joint Brookline Bird Club and Friends of Salem Woods trip to the Salem Woods. Marj and Daan joined us for the morning.

We followed the yellow blazed trail which took us around the woodland edge (about 2 miles) and through forested, scrub-shrub, and emergent wetlands; open water marsh (Thompson's Meadow); and upland habitats. After our kike through Salem Woods, we took a ride to Nahant and walked through the Heritage Trail and Thicket. The temperature was in the mid-50s, the wind was light, and the sky was clear. It was a quiet morning overall but it was nice to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather and emerging spring signs.

We tallied 38 species for the Club list:

Double-crested Cormorant - 1 overhead; Canada Goose – 12; Red-tailed Hawk - 1; Killdeer – 1; Ring-billed Gull – 6; Herring Gull – 10; Great Black-backed Gull – 3; Rock Dove – 40; Mourning Dove – 13; Downy Woodpecker – 3; Northern Flicker - 4; Eastern Phoebe -4; Blue-headed Vireo – 3; Blue Jay – 12; American Crow – 24; Tree Swallow – 2; Black-capped Chickadee – 10; Tufted Titmouse - 6; White-breasted Nuthatch – 1; Carolina Wren – 7; Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1; Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 2; American Robin – 43; Northern Mocking bird – 4; European Starling – 8; Yellow-rumped Warbler – 2; Palm Warbler - 1; Eastern Towhee – 8; Chipping Sparrow – 9; Field Sparrow – 7; Swamp Sparrow - 6;  White-throated Sparrow – 3; Northern Cardinal – 18; Red-winged Blackbird - 60; Common Grackle – 25; Brown-headed Cowbird – 20; American Goldfinch - 14; House Sparrow - 15

As we were leaving Salem Woods, we met up with several members of the Friends of Salem Woods who were busy restoring a section of the main trail. Many thanks to the Friends for their hard work and dedication and keeping the Woods accessible to all who wish to visit!