Manomet Massachusetts forest and meadow birds. During a multifaceted visit to the Boston area, I took a few days to do some birding. The first day was at the former Manomet Bird Observatory (now Manomet Conservation Sciences), along the coast south of Plymouth. While this former estate borders Massachusetts Bay, the publically-accessible section is the upland area. I infer that this used to be a farm, likely hay and livestock grazing, with borders of pforest. The Manomet folks have restored the open areas to meadows of native wildflowers.
The mix of native and invasive plants drew a mix of pollinators / nectarivores. These included a monarch butterfly on broadleaf milkweed,
an Eastern carpenter bee on Japanese honeysuckle,
and silver-spotted skipper on multiflora rose.
It also includes a small pond and freshwater marsh at which they have built a sweet bird blind.
Most of the bird species that I saw have broad continent-wide distributions, though there may be Eastern and Western subspecies. Highlights include tree swallows,
male brown-headed cowbird at the top of an Eastern red cedar,
song sparrow (with a more russet-brown color than our Western birds),
cedar waxwing,
black-capped chickadee,
gray catbird,
and common crow.
Steve
The mix of native and invasive plants drew a mix of pollinators / nectarivores. These included a monarch butterfly on broadleaf milkweed,
an Eastern carpenter bee on Japanese honeysuckle,
and silver-spotted skipper on multiflora rose.
It also includes a small pond and freshwater marsh at which they have built a sweet bird blind.
Most of the bird species that I saw have broad continent-wide distributions, though there may be Eastern and Western subspecies. Highlights include tree swallows,
male brown-headed cowbird at the top of an Eastern red cedar,song sparrow (with a more russet-brown color than our Western birds),
cedar waxwing,
black-capped chickadee,
gray catbird,
and common crow.
Steve
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