Date: 5/19/26 8:26 am From: <sohzendeh...> Subject: [Arlington Birds] Report for Bear Creek, Saugus, walk on Sunday, May 17
Folks, this is the last report for walks at this property for this spring and summer. Ground breeding birds are on territory and we have therefore suspended public walks until the end of the nesting season.
On Sunday, May 17, 5 of us enjoyed several hours of watching Bobolinks flying and tumbling and chattering over endless fields of waving grass. Savannah Sparrows are also settling down to business but still not in full song.
Warblers and other passerine migrants were plenty noisy as we walked through the garden spot -- this is the middle of May, after all. Shorebirds too, though not numerous, were present in some variety. Spotted Sandpipers, Killdeer and Eastern Willets nest on the property. Of the others, Least Sandpiper and Short-billed Dowitcher are regular migrants at mid-May .
The Wilson's Snipe sighting, however, gave us pause. Snipes are early migrants and usually through our area by mid-April. The Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas (MassAudubon 2003) documents the closest breeding site for snipe in Massachusetts: spots in western Middlesex County, northern Essex County, as well as a couple of sites in Plymouth County and Bristol County. Otherwise, most snipe nest further west or in northern New England and eastern Canada. Some may still be migrating in May, but the presence of two together in May in a swampy spot in the middle of Bear Creek Sanctuary was cause for speculation.
Doug Banks was list keeper for the day. Here is the shared list link:
