109th Christmas Bird Count

BBC members are encouraged to participate in the 109th Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Thirty-four count circles are located entirely or partly within Massachusetts. Dates for some counts were not available at press time. If you want to participate in a count, please contact the compiler at least one week in advance. For more information and to see last year's results, visit the Audubon website.

Date TBD

Central Berkshire: Thomas Collins 413-499-2799
Cobble Mountain: Seth Kellogg 413-569-3335
Mid-Cape Cod: Peter Trimble and Jeremiah Trimble
Newport County, RI - Westport, MA: Robert Emerson
Plymouth: Trevor Lloyd-Evans 508-224-6521
Stellwagen Bank: Simon Perkins 781-259-2148
Truro: Tom Lipsky 978-897-5429
Tuckernuck: Simon Perkins and Richard Veit 781-259-2148

Sunday, December 14

Cape Ann: Barbara Volkle 508-393-9251
Cape Cod: Blair Nikula 508-432-6348
Greater Boston: Robert Stymeist 781-648-8766
Groton - Oxbow NWR: Julie Lisk 978-272-1151 and Peter Alden 978-369-5768
Northampton: Mary Alice Wilson 413-548-9078 and Jan Ortiz 413-549-1768
Westminster: Chuck Caron 978-874-5469

Tuesday, December 16

Sturbridge: Mark Lynch (Snow Date 12/17)

Saturday, December 20

Andover: Lou Wagner 978-927-1122
Athol: David Small 978-413-1772
Buzzards Bay: Jeremiah Trimble 508-498-9646
Millis: Elissa Landre 508-655-2296 x7301
New Bedford: Michael Boucher 508-990-3910 (Weather Date 12/21)
Northern Berkshire: Pamela Weatherbee 413-458-3538
Quincy: Glenn d'Entremont 781-344-5857
Springfield: George Kingston 413-525-6742
Worcester: John Liller 508-839-5211

Saturday, December 27

Nantucket: Ken Blackshaw 508-228-0709 and Edie Ray 508-228-1693
Quabbin: Scott Surner 413-256-5438

Sunday, December 28

Greenfield: Mark Fairbrother 413-367-2695
Marshfield: Sue MacCallum 781-837-9400
Newburyport: Tom Young 603-424-4512 (cell)
Taunton-Middleboro: Jim Sweeney 401-465-6668

Thursday, January 1

Southern Berkshire: René Laubach 413-637-0320 x8351

Saturday, January 3

Martha's Vineyard: Robert Culbert 508-693-4908
Uxbridge: Strickland Wheelock 508-265-2896

Sunday, January 4

Concord: Hank Norwood 508-378-7524

2007 Extreme Pelagic Report

"EXTREME" PELAGIC TRIPS FINDING EXTREMELY GOOD BIRDS

Over 200 happy birders took the opportunity to sign up for the Brookline Bird Club's famous "extreme" pelagic trips out to Hydrographer and Veatch's Canyons on the continental shelf sailing from Hyannis during the year 2007. These trips are called "the last frontier of New England Ornithology" by Rick Heil. Those on the August 25 trip were treated to a sighting of Little/Macaronesian Shearwater! This is the first photographically documented North American sight record.

The following is a list of birds seen on recent trips and seldom seen in our New England waters:

• Little/Macaronesian Shearwater 1 in 2007


• White-faced Storm-Petrel 3 in 2006, 1 in 2007


• Great Skua 2 in 2004


• South Polar Skua 1 in 2004


• Audubon's Shearwater 3 in 2004, 2 in 2005, 3+ in 2006, 20 in 2007


• Leach's Storm-Petrel a few each year


• Band-rumped Storm-Petrel 2 in 2004, 1 in 2007


• Bridled Tern 1 in 2006, 3 in 2007

The animals and fish observed over the years have also been exciting:

• SPERM, Long-finned Pilot, Fin, and Humpback Whale and Beaked Whale species


• Gray Grampus (Risso's), Atlantic White-sided, Saddleback (Common), and Bottlenose Dolphin


• Basking, Blue, Hammerhead, and Mako Shark


• Ocean Sunfish, Tuna (seen jumping), Flying Fish


• Atlantic Leatherback and the rare and endangered LOGGERHEAD Turtle.

Click here for complete reports of recent pelagic trips, including photos, and be sure to check back on the BBC home page for our 2008 Pelagic Program. Trips will be scheduled in June, July, August and November.

Thank you.
Ida Giriunas
Reading, MA
ida8@verizon.net

108th Christmas Bird Count

BBC members are encouraged to participate in the 108th Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Thirty-four count circles are located entirely or partly within Massachusetts. Dates for some counts were not available at press time. If you want to participate in a count, please contact the compiler at least one week in advance. For more information and to see last year's results, visit the Audubon website.

Date to be Determined

Athol: David Small 978-413-1772
Cobble Mountain: Seth Kellogg 413-569-3335
Greenfield: Mark Fairbrother 413-367-2695
Plymouth: Trevor Lloyd-Evans 508-224-6521
Stellwagen Bank: Simon Perkins 781-259-2148
Truro: Tom Lipsky 978-897-5429
Tuckernuck: Simon Perkins and Richard Veit 781-259-2148
Westminster: John Williams 978-249-7831

Saturday, December 15

Andover: Lou Wagner 978-927-1122 x2705
Buzzards Bay: Jeremiah Trimble and Peter Trimble 508-498-9646
Central Berkshire: Thomas Collins 413-499-2799
Millis: Elissa Landre 508-655-2296
Newport County, RI - Westport, MA: Robert Emerson
Northern Berkshire: Pamela Weatherbee 413-458-3538
Quincy: Glenn d'Entremont 781-344-5857
Springfield: George Kingston 413-525-6742
Worcester: John Liller 508-839-5211

Sunday, December 16

Cape Ann: Barbara Volkle 508-393-9251
Cape Cod: Blair Nikula 508-432-6348
Greater Boston: Robert Stymeist 781-648-8766
Groton - Oxbow NWR: Julie Lisk 978-272-1151 and Peter Alden 978-369-5768
Northampton: Mary Alice Wilson 413-548-9078 and Jan Ortiz 413-549-1768

Tuesday, December 18

Sturbridge: Mark Lynch

Saturday, December 22

Mid-Cape Cod: Peter Trimble and Jeremiah Trimble
New Bedford: Michael Boucher 508-990-3910

Sunday, December 23

Marshfield: Sue MacCallum 781-837-9400
Newburyport: Tom Young 603-424-4512

Saturday, December 29

Nantucket: Ken Blackshaw 508-228-0709 and Edie Ray 508-228-1693
Quabbin: Scott Surner 413-256-5438
Uxbridge: Strickland Wheelock 508-265-2896

Sunday, December 30

Concord: Hank Norwood 508-358-7524
Taunton-Middleboro: Jim Sweeney 401-465-6668

Tuesday, January 1

Southern Berkshire: René Laubach 413-637-0320 x8351

Saturday, January 5

Martha's Vineyard: Robert Culbert 508-693-4908