Prescott Peninsula surveys this morning with a close look at some Black Bears

Black Bear, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Black Bear, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Black Bear (initial view as he walked down the road), Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Black Bear #2, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Cedar Waxwing, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Indigo Bunting, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

American Redstart, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Great Blue Heron, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

Red tailed Hawk, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 11, 2023

I took advantage of a rare day this month when I had both the morning off and the weather was sunny.  I headed up to the restricted access Prescott Peninsula to conduct a few field bird surveys and hopefully catch up with some of the Red Crossbills that have been steadily moving into the area the last few weeks (more on the crossbills at the following link).  I spent almost three hours on the peninsula and checked out a number of fields with some breeding activity present.  Bird song is much reduced compared to just a couple weeks ago but there were still birds to be seen and heard.  I had a few Red Crossbills flyover calling and got a single bad recording and they turned out to be Type 12 (thanks Tim).  The highlights for the morning for me were two Black Bears with one coming in very close as I surveyed the area of the old observatory.  I initially saw him walking down the road toward me at quite a distance.  He eventually came within perhaps 30 feet of me before he finally veered off into the woods.   Always an impressive beast to see out in the wilds of Quabbin!