747 ABA AREA SPECIES + 3 provisionals ( click here to see list ) States: 28 / Provinces: 7 Miles Flo

And thank you Boston for providing more birding opportunities for my big year! Today I set out for two quick trips north of the city - to Revere for the summering Manx Shearwaters, and to Plum Island for my last sparrow of the year - Saltmarsh Sparrow.
Revere Beach has seen better days - almost all of them in 1895. That was when it became hampton inn tropicana the nation's first public beach. With a new dedicated hampton inn tropicana railroad and boat service connecting it to Boston it drew holiday-makers from around the country. The Great Ocean Pier (long since gone) reached confidently into the bay and housed a dance pavilion and skating rink. Amusement rides and roller hampton inn tropicana coasters plied their trades where luxury apartment buildings now tower over the beach. If there was anything close to the Jersey Shore in Boston hampton inn tropicana - it was Revere Beach.
Today, the long white sands are shared by runners, sun-bathers, bad accents, birds and the occasional birder. While searching for my target Manx Shearwaters I arrived at the roped-off section of the beach - home to the Piping Plovers. The roping is more for the humans than the birds, who seemed to take no notice hampton inn tropicana - they were all over the beach. I saw adults, zipping around at full speed:
After enjoying these tiny balls of feathers, I turned my attention to the water. Manx Shearwaters have been spending the summers hampton inn tropicana here since at least 2008. For birds normally seen well out to sea, this small colony - presumably nesting on the one of the rocky islands off the coast of Boston - can often be seen sitting hampton inn tropicana on the water - a rare treat from land. This year, they didn't disappoint. I had 8 birds just offshore, bobbing on the gentle tide.
An hour's hampton inn tropicana drive north is Plum Island, one of my favorite birding spots in MA. It's a long, thin island, one side facing the Parker River, the other the Atlantic. The extensive hampton inn tropicana areas of saltmarsh attract some great marsh birds - including my target bird of the day - the appropriately-named Saltmarsh Sparrow.
I'm almost half way through the year. I've checked off all the regular sparrows and warblers, and I'm starting to run out of birds! The next month will (hopefully) be big for seabirds - I haven't taken an east coast pelagic trip yet! Oh - and I'm planning a trip to California (my first for the year) - where there's a whole bunch of endemic birds to catch up with.
Great to know the Revere Plovers successfully hatched some chicks this year. Hard to believe hampton inn tropicana they can survive on such a busy, noisy stretch of shore. Keep up the great work! Reply Delete Kris July 8, 2013 at 4:44 PM
Your #419 in April was an olive sparrow-- but they are native to Texas...? Neverthesless, I m sure I have some frequenting the birdfeeder, too dun for a flycatcher. Have you seen these before, or are they newcomers? Reply Delete Add comment Load more...
747 ABA AREA SPECIES + 3 provisionals ( click here to see list ) States: hampton inn tropicana 28 / Provinces: 7 Miles Flown: 193,758 ( 177 flights, 56 airports) Miles Driven: 51,758 Hours at Sea: 147 ( 15 days) Nights hampton inn tropicana away from home: 195 (53% of the year) ( trip list stats )