Category: Bird

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/19/12 Observation Time: 2:05 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Wood Duck Scientific Name: Aix sponsa Comments: These skittish ducks have spectacular plumage. Unlike most other ducks, they have sharp claws for perching in trees. Wood Duck populations increased between 1966 and 2015 according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. This is good news considering their dramatic declines in […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/1/12 Observation Time: 4:40 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond outflow pool Common Name: Double-crested Cormorant Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax auritus Comments: Most commonly seen cormorant in the East and usually the only one seen inland. Feeds by diving and swimming underwater, eating mostly fish. After feeding, often stands with wings outstretched to dry. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/30/11 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Wood Duck Scientific Name: Aix sponsa Comments: Wood ducks have spectacular plumage, but they are very shy and difficult to approach, so it is a real challenge to get a good photo. This flock of wood ducks (there were at least a dozen, of which three are visible in the photo) showed […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/29/11 Observation Time: 11:40 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern Towhee (female) Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: This female Rufous-sided Towhee chirped “towee” repeatedly as it hopped around in a shrub. It’s a common bird that is heard more than seen. The male’s song sounds like he’s singing, “Drink your tea.” More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/27/11 Observation Time: 6:10 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Bluebird (Immature) Scientific Name: Sialia sialis Comments: SFOC has installed 38 bluebird nesting boxes around Sharon. This young bluebird is among the first this year to roll off SFOC’s “bluebird factory” assembly line. The speckles on its breast and noticeable white eye-ring indicate that it is a juvenile. Other broods have not yet […]

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 6/25/11 Observation Time: 1:00 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Ruby-throated Hummingbird Scientific Name: Archilochus colubris Comments: Female (sticking out her long tongue, which is adapted to probing for nectar in flower blossoms) More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/24/11 Observation Time: 10:45 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Northern Flicker (fledgling) Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Comments: This fledgling Northern Flicker was on the ground at first, but it hopped over to a tamarack tree and climbed up, pecking from time to time under the bark and calling repeatedly as if it wanted its mother. More Information: Cornell Lab of […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/23/11 Observation Time: 2:35 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Northern Flicker Scientific Name: Colaptes auratus Comments: This northern flicker was injured, perhaps as a result of a hawk attack. The Northern Flicker is part of the genus Colaptes which encompasses 12 New-World woodpeckers. There are two living and one extinct subspecies of C. auratus species. The existing sub-species were at one […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/11 Observation Time: 1:50 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Eastern towhee Scientific Name: Pipilo erythrophthalmus Comments: Towhees are the largest of the sparrows. They are quite common in Sharon. They have a distinctive call that sounds like “Drink your tea.” More Information: All About Birds.org

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/4/11 Observation Time: 1:00 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Tree swallow Scientific Name: Tachycineta bicolor Comments: Tree swallows compete for bluebird nesting boxes. Bluebird house are often set out in pairs. One box gets taken by a pair of tree swallows. They drive other tree swallows away from the other box, but allow bluebirds to move in. More Information: […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/7/11 Observation Time: 5:40 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer fields Common Name: Song Sparrow Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia Comments: This song sparrow was gleaning seeds. Their distinctive, melodious song is a good one to memorize because it is so common. More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 3/25/11 Observation Time: 5:20 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: 3/18/11 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Wild Turkey Scientific Name: Meleagris gallopavo Comments: One of our largest and heaviest birds; smaller than a Trumpeter Swan; about twice the size (and four times as heavy) as a Ring-necked Pheasant. However, they can still fly. At night, groups of turkeys roost in trees. More Information: Cornell […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 3/1/11 Observation Time: 5:10 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Redwing blackbird Scientific Name: Agelaius phoeniceus Comments: First redwing I’ve seen this season. The ground is blanketed in old snow and the pond is still frozen solid. In fall and winter they eat weedy seeds such as ragweed and cocklebur as well as native sunflowers and waste grains. More Information: All about Birds

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 2/9/11 Observation Time: 10:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Red-bellied Woodpecker Scientific Name: Melanerpes carolinus Comments: These birds have extended their breeding range north over the last 100 years. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 1/30/11 Observation Time: 1:30 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill area Common Name: Carolina Wren Scientific Name: Thryothorus ludovicianus Comments: For more than 70 years, no Carolina Wrens were recorded during a Christmas Bird Count in Vermont. Then, in 1975, two were spotted. After being observed sporadically on subsequent counts, the bird began making regular appearances in 1991, and its numbers […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 1/17/11 Observation Time: 3:40 p.m. Observation Location: 284 Mountain Street Common Name: Carolina Wren Scientific Name: Thryothorus ludovicianus Comments: Following the SFOC walk on Martin Luther King Day (January 17), while sipping hot cider at Vera Cross’s house at about 3:40 p.m., a pair of Carolina wrens appeared out the window. It was only 20 degrees outside. The wrens were flitting in and […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/14/10 Observation Time: 9:15 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Hooded merganser Scientific Name: Lophodytes cucullatus Comments: Hooded mergansers are diving ducks. The drake (male) has a spectacular white “hood” on the back of its head, and striking black and white bars on its body, while the female is drab reddish brown. “A small fish-eating duck of wooded ponds, […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/30/10 Observation Time: 9:25 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Road near soccer fields Common Name: Eastern Bluebird Scientific Name: Sialia sialis Comments: Bluebirds are becoming an increasingly common sight in the open fields bordered by woods in the vicinity of the soccer fields on Gavins Pond Road, thanks to the nesting boxes provided by SFOC. More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology […]

Observer: Judy Heap Observation Date: 8/11/10 Observation Time: evening Observation Location: Wilshire Drive backyard Common Name: Wild Turkey Scientific Name: Meleagris gallopavo Comments: Wild turkeys can be aggressive, so keep a safe distance. More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/2/10 Observation Time: 8:40 a.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: Mourning Dove Scientific Name: Zenaida macroura Comments: The mourning dove is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American bird species. It is also a leading gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport […]