Category: Sightings

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/11/23 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary (boardwalk) Common Name: Common Yellowthroat Scientific Name: Geoothlypis trichas Comments: Common yellowthroats are typically found in or near wetlands. They are a type of warbler, with a distinctive black mask that is reminiscent of a raccoon. Their song sounds like, “witchety, witchety, witchety.” More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/11/23 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: American redstart Scientific Name: Setophaga ruticilla Comments: Redstarts are members of the warbler family. Their song is variable, and can be confused with the songs of some other warblers. See: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Redstart/id More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/11/23 Observation Time: 7:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Great Crested flycatcher Scientific Name: Myiarchus crinitus Comments: The great-crested flycatcher has a pale yellow breast. The underside of its tail is reddish brown. The memory hook I use to remember its call is “weep, weep, weep.” More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Deb Radovsky Observation Date: 5/9/23 Observation Time: 7:00 p.m. Observation Location: Paul Revere Rd., Sharon Common Name: White-crowned sparrow Scientific Name: Zonotrichia leucophrys Comments: White-crowned sparrows migrate through Sharon every spring en route to their nesting grounds farther north. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/9/23 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Palm Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga palmarum Comments: Palm warblers pass through Sharon in late April and early May on their northward migration. May 9 is near the end of the time during which palm warblers can be seen in Sharon. You can monitor the bird migration in […]

Observer: Deb Radovsky Observation Date: 5/9/23 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Pileated Woodpecker Scientific Name: Dryocopus pileatus Comments:  You will improve your chances of sighting one of these magnificent birds by learning their calls and the sound of their drumming, which is different from that of other smaller woodpeckers. You can use a cell phone app called Merlin […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/9/23 Observation Time: 6:50 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon WIldlife Sanctuary Common Name: Baltimore Oriole Scientific Name: Icterus galbula Comments: This oriole was building its hanging nest in one of the huge sugar maple trees near the barn on the Billings Loop. More Information: All About Birds This last photo was taken on 5/11/23. The nest is almost complete in just two […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 11:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Phoebe Scientific Name: Sayornis phoebe Comments: Phoebes are members of the flycatcher family. The song of the Phoebe sounds like its name. You can find and play bird songs online. The more bird calls you memorize, the more bird species you will be able to identify in the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 10:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Blue-winged warbler Scientific Name: Vermivora cyanoptera Comments: The blue-winged warbler’s song sounds like, “bee-buzz.” Note the distinctive mask-like black line through its eyes. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 9:05 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Northern Parula Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga americana Comments: Northern parula warblers pass through Sharon in late April and early May on their northward migration. They are typically seen high in the trees, so it helps to look for them at the end of April and the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 9:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Yellow-rumped Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga coronata Comments: The bird migration radar (https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/) showed a surge of migrating birds on the evening of May 7, so I was not surprised to see many migrating warblers at Moose Hill on the morning of May 8. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 8:45 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon WIldlife Sanctuary Common Name: Baltimore Oriole Scientific Name: Icterus galbula Comments: The oriole’s flutelike call is quite distinctive, once you know what to listen for. I heard this oriole before I saw it. More Information: All About Birds

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 7:05 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Black-throated Green Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga virens Comments: The call of this warbler sounds like: “zee-zee-zee-zoo-zee.”  It migrates through Sharon in early May.  More Information: All About Birds    

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/8/23 Observation Time: 7:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Blue-headed Vireo Scientific Name: Vireo solitarius Comments: I took this photo of a blue-headed vireo thinking it was a warbler of some kind. When I got home and uploaded my photos to my computer, I discovered it was a vireo, not a warbler. Note the white “spectacles” […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/23 Observation Time: 8:45 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Scarlet Tanager Scientific Name: Piranga olivacea Comments: Scarlet tanagers often play host to eggs of the brown-headed cowbird, particularly where the forest habitat has been fragmented. When a pair of tanagers notices a female cowbird approaching, they aggressively drive her away. If they don’t notice, the cowbird gets […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/23 Observation Time: 8:20 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Northern Parula Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga americana Comments: Northern parula warblers pass through Sharon in late April and early May on their northward migration. They are typically seen high in the trees, so it helps to look for them at the end of April and the […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/23 Observation Time: 8:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Palm Warbler Scientific Name: Setophaga palmarum Comments: Palm warblers pass through Sharon in late April and early May on their northward migration. They sometimes mingle with other species of warblers. This one was in the company of a northern parula warbler and a black-and-white warbler. You can […]

Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/7/23 Observation Time: 6:30 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Brown-headed Cowbird (male) Scientific Name: Molothrus ater Comments: Brown-headed 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 the […]