Hi Birders,

Sixteen (or so) birders plus myself went to see the starling/robin roost between route 2 and Alewife Reservation with John Sharp and Ellen Mass. What a fantastic sight! The origional "total estimate" at 4:05 was 1,200 birds, but by 4:10, their numbers had increased considerabley (I'm terrible with bird numbers, but I'd say over 2000 birds total). Four Cooper's Hawk sightings (probably all the same bird), a Maine Coon cat, and very informative conversations with Ellen and others made for an excellent trip! I would recommend the site to anyone, even non-birders. The swirling masses of starlings were very dramatic. There were plenty of other bird species around, but I was too focused on the starlings to notice.

Photos can be seen at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/4mrfish/StarlingRoostNearAlewifeReservationAndGoldenCrownedKinglets#

Hooded mergansers, wood duck, pintail, and shoveler all still at blair pond. Nothing on fresh or litte fresh ponds at 2pm, but nice looks at golden-crowned kinglets and brown creepers.

Best,


William Freedberg