Date: 4/23/25 5:59 pm From: Matt S. <accipiter22...> Subject: Re: [MASSBIRD] Backyard Bird List (Merlin) Newbury
I have a recording device that uses something (not Merlin). If it says 500
detections in a day of something, it's probably a good clue that thing was
there (goldfinches now, chickadees, etc. Juncos over the winter). But here
are some doozies, who knew you could get this just over the border in the
middle of the New Hampshire woods in the middle of winter, I should've
moved here sooner:
Gray Heron
Gadwall
Bohemian Waxwing
Great Cormorant
Great Egret
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Brant - Maybe it was dabbling in my pool.
Wigeon
Northern Gannet
COMMON BUZZARD
EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH
Surf Scoter (I do love a good scoter)
Grasshopper Sparrow - We have a lot of stinkbugs, even over the winter,
maybe it was feeding on those.
Cape May Warbler
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Sandhill Crane - roaming the grounds whenever I looked away, perhaps
White-Winged Crossbill - one of the most common "detections".
Common Merganser - found my birdbath to be a bit too shallow
Chimney Swift - couldn't light a fire in my fireplace all december since
apparently I had one living in there all winter.
Greater Yellowlegs
Common Redpoll (there were definitely no redpoll around)
Evening Grosbeak (See redpoll comment)
WHIMBREL
CAROLINA CHICKADEE
Green-winged Teal - every. single. day. it detects a teal. All I hear is
dead air. Maybe it's a ghost teal.
Osprey - doing it's best Merlin sound-detection-impression, apparently.
I enjoy having the device though; I check anything unusual it detects, and
listen to the sound files. Then I know what to keep an eye out for in the
yard that day when I head out. It even picked up a woodcock one time, the
day after I had seen one in the woods, so I know it stuck around one more
day. I also like seeing the ebbs and flows of detection quantities for
species as things arrive and leave. Junco was the most prevalent for a
couple months, by far. The past two days, one detection each day.
Matt s.
<Accipiter22...>
Newton, NH
On Wed, Apr 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM Robert Ross <plumisl...> wrote:
> Here is as list of the birds recorded in my backyard this AM. I live
> in the Byfield section of Newbury. I left Merlin on from 6:30-8:30
> this morning. A few nice surprises.
>
> American Robin
> Red-winged Blackbird
> White-breated Nuthatch
> Yellow-rumped Warbler
> Savannah Sparrow
> Palm Warbler
> American Goldfinch
> Carolina Wren
> Northern Cardinal
> White-throated Sparrow
> House Finch
> Song Sparrow
> Tufted Titmouse
> Black-capped Chickadee
> Red-bellied Woodpecker
> Blue Jay
> Dark-eyed Junco
> Chipping Sparrow
> Eastern Bluebird
> Morning Dove
> American Crow
> Brown-headed Cowbird
> Eastern Phoebe
> Canada Goose
> Red Crossbill (!)
> Northern Rough-winged Swallow (!)
> Red-breasted Nuthatch
> Fish Crow
>
> Faithfully submitted,
>
> Robert Ross
> <plumisl...>
> Byfield, MA
>
