{"id":7184,"date":"2016-03-08T11:30:04","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T16:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=7184"},"modified":"2016-03-08T11:30:04","modified_gmt":"2016-03-08T16:30:04","slug":"last-month-in-birding-february-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-february-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Month in Birding: February 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are five\u00a0incredible bird sightings from last month as suggested by Mass Audubon’s experts.<\/p>\n

Yellow-billed Loon\u00a0(Gavia\u00a0adamsii<\/em>)<\/h1>\n

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 coast locations, it’s only rarely observed, and sightings from the east coast are almost unheard-of. In fact, it had never before been recorded in Massachusetts\u2014until this February and March, when a yellow-billed loon was found bobbing in the waves off of Provincetown.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow-billed

Yellow-billed loon at Provincetown \u00a9 Steve Arena<\/p><\/div>\n

Western Tanager\u00a0(Piranga ludoviciana<\/em>)<\/h1>\n

One of our most vividly colored bird species is the scarlet tanager; breeding males are cherry-red and black, and females are greenish-yellow. In the west, the scarlet tanager is replaced by the western tanager.\u00a0Male western tanagers are yellow and black and only have red pigment on their heads; uniquely, this red pigment comes directly from the insects in their diet. In January and February a western tanager visited a private feeder in Rowley.<\/p>\n

\"westerntanager\"

Western tanager in Rowley (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0<\/a>) nebirdsplus<\/p><\/div>\n

Yellow-throated Warbler\u00a0(Setophaga dominica<\/em>)<\/h1>\n

This strikingly patterned bird\u00a0is a common warbler in the southeastern US. It typically builds its nest in Spanish moss that hangs from tree branches in the open southern woodlands where it lives. The yellow-throated warbler normally winters along the Gulf coast and in Central America and the Caribbean islands\u2014but one\u00a0was spotted in Amesbury.<\/p>\n

\"Amesbury

Yellow-throated warbler in Amesbury \u00a9 Amy<\/p><\/div>\n

Bullock’s Oriole\u00a0(Icterus bullockii<\/em>)<\/h1>\n

This species is similar to the familiar Baltimore oriole, except that the male Bullock’s oriole has a mostly orange face with a striking black eye stripe and a white wing patch. It’s a bird of the western US, but it occasionally interbreeds\u00a0with the Baltimore oriole on the Great Plains where their ranges overlap. At one time the two species were lumped into one\u2014the northern oriole\u2014before scientists determined that they were genetically distinct. A Bullock’s oriole visited a bird feeder at a private residence in Newburyport.<\/p>\n

\"Western

Bullock’s oriole in California\u00a0(CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a>)\u00a0Jan Arendtsz<\/p><\/div>\n

Mystery Gull<\/h1>\n

Now and then a bird\u00a0appears that confounds the experts.\u00a0Among the gulls standing on the ice last month at Turners Falls, one individual really\u00a0stood out: a herring\u00a0gull-sized bird\u00a0with yellow legs. Experts proposed two possible identities. It could have been\u00a0a yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis<\/em>), a European species that breeds in the Mediterranean and the Azores. If so, the bird had wandered way out of range! The other option was that it was a hybrid\u2014a mix of two species, in this case possibly herring and a lesser black-backed gulls. Either way, it was an unusual sighting and brought some much-needed excitement to sleepy February.<\/p>\n

\"Gull

Gull at Turner’s Falls \u00a9 James P. Smith<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 coast locations, it’s only rarely […]<\/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":[160,162],"class_list":["post-7184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-notes","tag-bird-sightings","tag-last-month-in-birding"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-1RS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4889,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-february-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":0},"title":"Last Month in Birding: February 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"March 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We\u2019re excited to announce a new blog feature that highlights some of the previous\u00a0month\u2019s most interesting bird sightings as suggested by our experts. Here are five discoveries from February. Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) x Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) Hybrid A hybrid of these two species appeared\u00a0in the Annisquam River in\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\/03\/bohemian.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\/03\/bohemian.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/03\/bohemian.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6186,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-august-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":1},"title":"Last Month in Birding: August 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"September 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here we feature\u00a0five of the past month's exciting bird sightings as suggested by our experts.\u00a0This time\u00a0we're highlighting offshore wonders: pelagic birds, including four species spotted on an incredible Brookline Bird Club pelagic trip to the continental shelf edge that took place on August 22-23. (For those who are new to\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\/09\/stormpetrel.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\/09\/stormpetrel.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/09\/stormpetrel.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6278,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-september-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":2},"title":"Last Month in Birding: September 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"October 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every month we feature\u00a0five of the past month's bird sightings as suggested by our experts. Here are a few remarkable observations from September. White-faced Storm-petrel (Pelagodroma marina) This small seabird bird often hovers low over the surface of the water, searching for food by gliding back and forth and bouncing\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\/10\/bellsvireo.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\/10\/bellsvireo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/10\/bellsvireo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15857,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/bird-a-thon-2021-highlights\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":3},"title":"Bird-a-thon 2021 Highlights","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"June 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon, which took place May 14-15, was a great time to get outside to bird and enjoy nature. About 1,000 participants trekked out across their state, or stayed close home, to spot bird species, search for items on our 125th anniversary scavenger hunt, and\/or complete nature activities like drawing a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/51FB8C1B-4193-40DD-91ED-B2256AEF547B.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\/06\/51FB8C1B-4193-40DD-91ED-B2256AEF547B.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/51FB8C1B-4193-40DD-91ED-B2256AEF547B.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2021\/06\/51FB8C1B-4193-40DD-91ED-B2256AEF547B.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5135,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-march-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":4},"title":"Last Month in Birding: March 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"April 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We take a\u00a0look back at five\u00a0of March's\u00a0most interesting bird sightings as suggested by our experts. Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) This fast and powerful bird is the largest falcon in the world. It breeds\u00a0in the arctic and irregularly winters farther south, but is rarely seen as far south as Massachusetts. The gyrfalcon\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\/04\/GWFG_640x424.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\/04\/GWFG_640x424.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/04\/GWFG_640x424.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5790,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/last-month-in-birding-june-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":7184,"position":5},"title":"Last Month in Birding: June 2015","author":"Rosemary","date":"July 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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\/07\/ycnh1.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\/07\/ycnh1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/07\/ycnh1.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\/7184","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=7184"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7212,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7184\/revisions\/7212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}