Moose Hill Farm

Dickcissel (behind the grass)

Like half the birders in Massachusetts, it seems, I made the trip to Moose Hill Farm to enable a check to go into a box on a list in a book. What a pretty little cooperative bird. It was there at 6:30 a.m., immediately identifiable by sight and sound, posed for a few moments, and then flew off across the field. And then I was free to experience the other joys of Moose Hill, which are considerable. Near the dickcissel stake-out spot, for example, there was an eye-level oriole nest complete with loudly vocalizing nestlings.

Prairie Warbler (preening)

But it is the easement running through the Moose Hill Farm property that was the real revelation for me. Shrub-land of the sort that means eastern towhees, field sparrows, prairie warblers, and indigo buntings. And the reasonable imagination of golden-winged warblers (for me, on that day, just blue-winged). I was able to capture some of the magic in the video below. Listen to the field sparrow's loudly ringing song with a descending pattern perfectly complementing the prairie warbler's ascending chorus.

It is also a fine place to explore other dimensions of life. Especially wildflowers and butterflies.

Great Spangled Frittilary on milkweed blossoms

The friendliness of Moose Hill Farm to wildlife can be summarized by the following image:

Eastern Phoebe under the eaves of the Moose Hill Farm kiosk

This phoebe, on nest (and not moving off nest), making good use of the parking lot kiosk.