Category: Bird

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 2/10/14 Observation Time: 5:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Song Sparrow Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia Comments: Melos meaning “song”, “spiza” meaning “a finch” and “melodia” meaning “a pleasant sound”. “Sparrow” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “spearwa” or “sparrow”, literally “flutterer”. [The Dictionary of American Bird Names by Ernest A. Choate] More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/19/13 Observation Time: 2:35 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Bufflehead Scientific Name: Bucephala albeola Comments: Buffleheads are small, diving ducks. They nest in old woodpecker holes, particularly those made by Northern Flickers, in the forests of northern North America. More Information: All About Birds  

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/14/13 Observation Time: 7:00 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile) Scientific Name: Buteo jamaicensis Comments: Red-tails are big, but they only weigh a maximum of about 3 lbs. They can live up to 30 years. They feed predominantly on small mammals. I took these photos out the kitchen window. More Information: PBase

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/13/13 Observation Time: noon Observation Location: Gavins Pond soccer fields Common Name: House Finch (female) Scientific Name: Setophaga discolor Comments: Male house finches have reddish coloration on their head and breast. Females are brown. Both have a heavy, conical beak for cracking seeds open. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Molly DellaRoman Observation Date: 7/11/13 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: Trustees of Reservations Moose Hill Farm Common Name: Indigo Bunting Scientific Name: Passerina cyanea More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Molly DellaRoman Observation Date: 7/1/13 Observation Time: morning Observation Location: Trustees of Reservations Moose Hill Farm Common Name: Scarlet Tanager Scientific Name: Piranga olivacea More Information: All About Bird

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/17/13 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: field near Gavins Pond Common Name: Prairie warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga discolor Comments: Prairie warblers are not hard to find in fields and cleared areas under high tension lines in Sharon from May to August. Listen for their ascending trill. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/15/13 Observation Time: 1:40 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Great Blue Heron Rookery Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: These three juvenile herons were occupying a huge nest in a big tree, waiting for their parents to bring food. They will fly away soon to fend for themselves. Note the eyes of the right-most bird in the photo. […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/9/13 Observation Time: 3:55 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond area Common Name: Northern Flicker Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Comments: Flickers are woodpeckers, but they are unusual in that they eat ants and beetles on the ground. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/9/13 Observation Time: 1:55 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road (back yard) Common Name: Gray Catbird Scientific Name: Dumetella carolinensis Comments: Catbirds are one of three mimics in our area. Mockingbirds and Brown Thrashers are the other two. Catbirds repeat sounds just once, whereas Brown Thrashers repeat sounds twice, and Mockingbirds repeat them three or four times before moving on to the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/16/13 Observation Time: 6:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Downy Woodpecker Scientific Name: Picoides pubescens Comments: This pair of small, common woodpeckers was hollowing out a nesting cavity in a dead tree. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/16/13 Observation Time: 6:15 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Scarlet tanager Scientific Name: Piranga olivacea Comments: Scarlet tanagers live in the woods, so they are seldom seen due to the foliage. However if you learn their call, which sounds like a robin with a sore throat, you can hear them singing and follow your ears until you find them. […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/13 Observation Time: 5:55 p.m. Observation Location: Soccer parking area on Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Eastern Towhee Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: The Eastern Towhee is our largest sparrow. This male was scuffing for food in the dry leaves on the ground in a grove of trees beside the soccer parking lot. The racket he was making attracted my attention. The call of the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/25/13 Observation Time: 2:30 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Eastern Bluebird (male) Scientific Name: Sialia sialis Comments: This male bluebird was guarding a nest with five sky-blue eggs in a nesting box provided by Kurt Buermann, President of the Sharon Friends of Conservation. The blue color is more or less vivid depending on the brightness and angle of the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/18/13 Observation Time: 2:20 p.m. Observation Location: Gavin’s Pond Common Name: Ring-necked Duck Scientific Name: Aythya collaris Comments: Ring-necked ducks migrate through Sharon, and can be seen in spring and fall. More Information: All About Birds: Ring-necked Duck

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 2/24/13 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Red-breasted Nuthatch Scientific Name: Sitta canadensis Comments: Small photo due to heavy cropping. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/19/12 Observation Time: 10:25 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Blue Jay Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata Comments: Blue Jays are common in Sharon. They eat insects and nuts. They will also eat the eggs and nestlings of other birds if they get the chance. They can live up to 17 years. More Information: All About Birds  

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/19/12 Observation Time: 10:25 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Northern Cardinal Scientific Name: Cardinalis cardinalis Comments: Cardinals are seen year-round in Sharon. In springtime they defend their territories, sometimes hurling themselves against glass windows when they see their own reflections, thinking it’s a competitor. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/17/12 Observation Time: 4:45 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Hooded Merganser (male) Scientific Name: Lophodytes cucullatus Comments: Hooded mergansers are small but striking diving ducks that migrate through Sharon on their way south for the winter. More Information: All About Birds