{"id":5790,"date":"2015-07-13T12:39:16","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T16:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=5790"},"modified":"2015-07-14T11:01:17","modified_gmt":"2015-07-14T15:01:17","slug":"last-month-in-birding-june-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-june-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Month in Birding: June 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was another interesting month in Massachusetts birding. Let’s\u00a0take a look at a few of the most exciting bird sightings as suggested by our experts.<\/p>\n

“Brewster\u2019s warbler” (Vermivora pinus x chrysoptera<\/em>)<\/h3>\n

This beautiful animal\u00a0is the fertile hybrid of two closely-related birds, the blue-winged warbler (Vermivora pinus<\/em>) and the golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera<\/em>). The offspring of these species generally fall within two categories: the predominately yellow and rarer \u201cLawrence\u2019s warbler\u201d and the white and blue-grey \u201cBrewster\u2019s warbler.\u201d In April we reported<\/a> the sighting of a Lawrence\u2019s warbler, and this past month a Brewster\u2019s was seen at Westboro Wildlife Management Area.<\/p>\n

\"Blue-winged

Blue-winged warbler (left), golden-winged warbler (right) by John Sill<\/p><\/div>\n

\""Brewster's"

“Brewster’s warbler” in Westboro \u00a9 Steve Arena<\/p><\/div>\n

Black skimmer (Rynchops niger<\/em>)<\/h3>\n

The black skimmer has an amazingly mismatched bill: the lower half is much longer than the upper half. When looking for food, it skims the surface with its lower bill in the water, snapping up any suitable prey it touches. Also remarkable: black skimmers have a slit-like pupils similar to those\u00a0of a cat. This is primarily a southern species, typically breeding south of Massachusetts, though one or two pairs often nest as far north as Massachusetts. Two were spotted at Duxbury beach last month.<\/p>\n

\"Black

Black skimmer in Florida CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a> Florida Fish and Wildlife<\/p><\/div>\n

Gull-billed tern (Gelochelidon nilotica<\/em>)<\/h3>\n

This unique tern has a thicker beak than most other tern species, giving it a somewhat gull-like appearance. Its diet is less specialized than most of its relatives; it will happily eat fish, crustaceans, insects, lizards, and more. Its broad range includes parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and Australia, as well as portions of coastal North America. One was observed last month on Plum Island. That’s slightly north of its regular range.<\/p>\n

\"Gull-billed

Gull-billed tern at Plum Island \u00a9 Dave Williams<\/p><\/div>\n

Yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea<\/em>)<\/h3>\n

Night-herons are stout, relatively short-necked birds that often hunt at night, capturing a broad range of prey. They have startling red eyes. The black-crowned night-heron is more commonly spotted in our area than the yellow-crowned night-heron, and the latter typically spends the summer in the southeastern United States. Several were seen in the eastern part of the state.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow-crowned

Yellow-crowned night heron in Ipswich \u00a9 Nathan Dubrow<\/p><\/div>\n

Stilt sandpiper (Calidris himantopus<\/em>)<\/h3>\n

This rather long-necked sandpiper has a bill that is slightly downturned at the tip, and it feeds by probing in mud, using a similar feeding style to that of a snipe a dowitcher. It breeds on the Arctic tundra and winters in the Caribbean and South America, generally appearing in Massachusetts in small numbers only during its fall migration. That\u2019s why a sighting on June 16 on Plum Island was a nice surprise for this date.<\/p>\n

\"Killdeer

Clockwise from top: killdeer, stilt sandpiper, lesser yellowlegs, and Wilson’s phalarope at Plum Island \u00a9 Dave Williams<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was another interesting month in Massachusetts birding. Let’s\u00a0take a look at a few of the most exciting bird sightings as suggested by our experts. “Brewster\u2019s warbler” (Vermivora pinus x chrysoptera) This beautiful animal\u00a0is the fertile hybrid of two closely-related birds, the blue-winged warbler (Vermivora pinus) and the golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera). The offspring of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[160],"class_list":["post-5790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-notes","tag-bird-sightings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-1vo","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5552,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-may-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":0},"title":"Last Month in Birding: May 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"June 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Each month we take a look at a few of the previous month\u2019s bird sightings as suggested by our experts. Here are five of May's\u00a0most exciting observations. Little gull (Hydrocoloeus minutes) True to its name, this bird is the world\u2019s smallest gull. It is common across much of Europe and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/06\/booby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/06\/booby.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/06\/booby.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7584,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/100-great-wildlife-sanctuary-birding-spots\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":1},"title":"100 Great Wildlife Sanctuary Birding Spots","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon\u2019s annual birding competition takes place on May 13-14. Teams of birders will attempt to see (or hear) the most species in a 24-hour time span. At the same time, birders and \u201cBird-a-thon\u00a0Boosters\u201d are raising money to support wildlife sanctuaries and programs. To kick-off Bird-a-thon and celebrate 100\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/wood-duck_BP_Richard-Johnson.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7415,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/the-8-most-difficult-birds-to-spot-during-bird-a-thon\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":2},"title":"The 8 Most Difficult Birds to Spot During Bird-a-thon","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"April 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"On May 13 at 6 pm, teams across the state will begin a 24-hour effort to record the most bird species in Massachusetts as part of Bird-a-thon, an annual fundraiser that raises money to support our sanctuaries and programs. Last year, Team Drumlin Farm squeaked out a win over Team\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/long-eared-owl_matt-knoth_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/long-eared-owl_matt-knoth_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/04\/long-eared-owl_matt-knoth_cropped.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7184,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-february-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":3},"title":"Last Month in Birding: February 2016","author":"Rosemary","date":"March 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are five\u00a0incredible bird sightings from last month as suggested by Mass Audubon's experts. Yellow-billed Loon\u00a0(Gavia\u00a0adamsii) The largest loon species\u00a0in the world, this bird\u00a0breeds on the high Arctic tundra, farther north than our familiar common loon. Scientists still have much to learn about its\u00a0habits. Outside of certain Arctic and west\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/mystery-gull.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/mystery-gull.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/03\/mystery-gull.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15733,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-a-wealth-of-warblers\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: A Wealth of Warblers","author":"Ryan D.","date":"May 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon is a wrap! How did you and your team fair? Spot any cool warblers? For those new to the tradition, Bird-a-thon is Mass Audubon's big annual fundraiser and birding competition, in which teams compete head-to-head by\u00a0earning points\u00a0from birding and nature activities and by\u00a0birding in strategic sub-groups\u00a0in an effort to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Birds & Birding"","block_context":{"text":"Birds & Birding","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/birds-birding\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Magnolia Warbler \u00a9 Joe Howell","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/4124Joe_Howell22124-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/4124Joe_Howell22124-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/4124Joe_Howell22124-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/05\/4124Joe_Howell22124-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5395,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-april-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":5790,"position":5},"title":"Last Month in Birding: April 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"May 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Once again it\u2019s time to take a look at a few of last month\u2019s most exciting bird sightings as suggested by our experts. Swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus) This spectacular raptor is named for the elegant tail with which it steers as it gracefully soars in search of flying insects and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/nature-notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/caracara.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/caracara.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/05\/caracara.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5790"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5850,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5790\/revisions\/5850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}