March-April 2015

The historic winter of 2014–2015 continued. On March 1, Boston received four inches of snow, the South Shore and Cape Cod got six inches, and parts of Bristol County reported eight inches. On March 15, nearly three inches of snow fell in Boston, nudging Beantown into the record books with 108.6 inches of snow, just one inch more than the previous record snowfall set in 1995–1996.

Waterfowl highlights included the continuing Tufted Duck on Nantucket. Another Tufted Duck was noted on the Merrimack River in Lowell, and it moved along the river to Salisbury. A Ross’s Goose made a brief appearance on the campus pond at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

A Crested Caracara, just the third state record, was photographed on April 5. At least six Swallow-tailed Kites were reported in mid-April on the outer Cape. A dark phase Gyrfalcon that had been frequenting northern New England was noted in Salisbury on March 4 and again on March 18. Hawkwatchers stationed at Lot One on Plum Island tallied more than 230 American Kestrels and 37 Merlins during the month of April.

Good numbers of Iceland Gulls continued in our area, likely due to the severe winter weather that iced in harbors and bays to our north. Counts of more than 50 individuals were noted from Gloucester and Boston Harbor. A Common Gull was present along King’s Beach in Swampscott during the first two weeks of March. A Black-headed Gull, rare inland, was found in the farm fields in Amherst and enjoyed by many birders.

A moderate incursion of Bohemian Waxwings occurred throughout the state. The largest numbers of this species were in the Gardner area where as many as 300 individuals were reported. Fourteen warbler species were noted in April highlighted by Yellow-throated Warblers seen in Carlisle and Arlington. The Black-backed Woodpecker, first noted at Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston, was last reported on April 19.