Category: Bird

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/21/12 Observation Time: 5:30 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Great Egret Scientific Name: Ardea alba Comments: The great egret, symbol of the National Audubon Society, is almost as big as a great blue heron, but it is pure white. The legs are black and the beak is yellow. They summer in North America, where they nest, and winter in Central and […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/26/10 Observation Time: 3:10 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Great Blue Heron Rookery Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Comments: The great blue heron nest shown in the photos below was part of a rookery consisting of many heron nests clustered in a pine grove. While walking in the woods on a summer afternoon, we heard […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/10 Observation Time: 5:15 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Great blue herons primarily feed on small fish, but they are opportunistic feeders and will eat whatever comes within striking distance. They occasionally snack on shrimp, crabs, small mammals, amphibians, small birds, rodents, and insects. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Alison Siegel Observation Date: 4/16/10 Observation Time: 6:00 a.m. Observation Location: Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Great Blue Heron was walking across beach off of Lakeview Street in shallow water. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 3/12/09 Observation Time: 7:45 a.m. Observation Location: Soccer field by Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Canada x Greylag hybrid goose Scientific Name: Comments: This morning I saw a strange goose among the Canada geese at the Gavins Pond soccer field nearest to Gavins Pond Road. It had a distinct white line all the way around the base of its dark […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/18/12 Observation Time: 5:20 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road (back yard) Common Name: Cooper’s hawk Scientific Name: Accipiter cooperii Comments: This Cooper’s hawk perched on a branch in my back yard, and I photographed it through the window. Note the rounded tail, which differentiates it from a sharp-shinned hawk. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/1/11 Observation Time: 9:10 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Cooper’s hawk Scientific Name: Accipiter cooperii Comments: This juvenile female Cooper’s hawk alit in the dogwood tree right outside my living room window as I was working at my desk. Without getting up, I reached for my camera and snapped this photo through the window just before it flew away. Cooper’s […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/18/14 Observation Time: 2:50 p.m. Observation Place: near Lake Massapoag boat launching ramp Common Name: Belted Kingfisher Scientific Name: Megaceryle alcyon Comments: Belted kingfishers nest in a burrow, usually in a dirt bank near water. Their call is a distinctive, scolding chatter. Check out the recordings at the link below. More Information:  All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/18/14 Observation Time: 2:48 p.m. Observation Place: near Lake Massapoag boat ramp Common Name: Semipalmated Plover Scientific Name: Charadrius semipalmatus Comments: Semipalmated plovers look something like killdeers, but they are smaller and stubbier, and have a single dark band instead of two dark bands like killdeers. Also, killdeers have a red eye ring, whereas semipalmated plovers eyes are black. More […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/11 Observation Time: 12:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Canada Goose Scientific Name: Branta canadensis Comments: Canada geese are quite common in Sharon, and can even become a nuisance, but these goslings sure are cute. If you are in the mood for a heartwarming movie, see “Fly Away Home” about a girl who adopts some orphaned goslings. More Information: Mass Wildlife

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/2/11 Observation Time: 4:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer field parking lot Common Name: Brown Thrasher Scientific Name: Toxostoma rufum Comments: Brown thrashers are one of the three mimics. The other two are catbirds and mockingbirds. Brown thrashers repeat each vocalization twice. Mockingbirds repeat three or four times. Catbirds only make each vocalization once. More Information: All About Birds.org  

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/7/14 Observation Time: 12:10 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area near soccer fields Common Name: Brown-headed Cowbird Scientific Name: Molothrus ater Comments: These Brown-headed Cowbirds were mating. Cowbirds parasitize other bird species. Female Cowbirds forgo building nests and instead lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, abandoning their young to foster parents, usually at the expense of at least some of […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/19/14 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Blue-winged Warbler Scientific Name: Vermivora cyanoptera Comments: The blue-winged warbler’s song sounds like, “bee-buzz.” More Information: All About Birds  

Observer: Ilan Fisher Observation Date: 7/20/14 Observation Time: 12:00 p.m. Observation Location: Massapoag Ave/Community center Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Probably checking out Sucker Brook, which flows into Lake Massapoag nearby, for a snack. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/30/2014 Observation Time: 3:50 pm Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Common Grackle Scientific Name: Quiscalus quiscula Comments: You might see a Common Grackle hunched over on the ground, wings spread, letting ants crawl over its body and feathers. This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/16/14 Observation Time: 6:45 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Rd. Common Name: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris Comments: Ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate all the way from New England to Central America and back every year – a journey of about 2,500 miles including 500 miles over the Gulf of Mexico. They can live up to 10 years, so they […]