Birds
Red-tailed hawk
Buteo jamaicensus
What it looks like:
Sharp, hooked beak and large talons; large reddish-brown wings and a white underbelly.
Observed Habitat/Behavior
Massachusetts Conservation Status
I found it in a large cemetery, perched on top of a tall dead tree.
Most common member within genus of Buteo. Not endangered.
Massachusetts Native Status
Native
Photo/observer: Gracelyn
Natural History
Red tailed hawks typically mate on their third spring, where they take to the skies to begin mating rituals. These birds mate for life, but if one of the pair dies they are quickly replaced. Red tailed hawks can be found throughout the United States and Canada, and into Mexico and Central America. They can be found almost anywhere in these regions. Red tailed hawks prefer open areas, such as grassy fields or deserts. They are most commonly spotted perched on top of tall, dead trees or other high places overlooking an open area. These birds feed on various small animals, especially rodents and rabbits, and sometimes fish and large insects. They have also been known to steal prey from other raptors and to eat fresh carrion.
Source: BirdWeb, National Geographic, BioKids, allaboutbirds.org
Great Horned Owl
Bubo virginianus
What it looks like:
Tufts of feathers on the top of its head looking like horns, grey and reddish.
Observed Habitat/Behavior
Was nervous of humans and tried to run/ fly away. Hissed like a snake.
Massachusetts Conservation Status
Common
Massachusetts Native Status
Native
Photo/observer: Rune
Natural History
Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions.
Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl
Icterus galbula
Northern oriole / Baltimore oriole
What it looks like:
Black head, yellow in the front, grey in the back. Small.
Observed Habitat/Behavior
It was sitting on the top of the bird feeder, probably resting.
Massachusetts Conservation Status
Common in the spring and summer
Massachusetts Native Status
Native
Natural History
This bird migrates here from the spring to fall, then it will eat preferably fruit in the spring. It will eat other things if fruit isn’t available. It spends winter in Florida to Jamaica. They generally arrive here in the first week of May.
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Source: MassAudubon
Downy Woodpecker
Picoides pubescens
What it looks like:
Small, black and white patterns
Observed Habitat/Behavior
Feeding, flying, resting.
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Massachusetts Conservation Status
Common
Massachusetts Native Status
Is it native or introduced to Massachusetts? If it's introduced, is it considered invasive?
Natural History
This species, like all woodpeckers, mainly eat insects in tree bark. They live in nests and live in trees. They nest in cavities in trees. They eat beetle larvae found inside wood or tree bark as well as ants and caterpillars. They eat other insects including corn earworm, tent caterpillars, bark beetles, and apple borers. Around a fourth of their diet comes from plants, that includes acorns, grain, and berries. Downy Woodpeckers are common feeder birds, eating suet and black oil sunflower seeds and sometimes drinking from hummingbird feeders.
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Source: All About Birds
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
What it looks like:
Photo/Observer: Chloe M.
Natural History
A male house sparrow is mostly black and varying shades of brown with a white belly. It has a gray stripe on top of its head and a black throat. It is about 5.5–7 inches long. A female house sparrow is a lighter shade of brown with a white belly. It does not have a black throat but does have a white stripe down the side of its head.
Observed Habitat/Behavior
I observed the house sparrow eating from a bird feeder.
Massachusetts Conservation Status
Least Concern
Massachusetts Native Status
Native
House sparrows are some of the most common birds around here. They can be easy to overlook because they are constantly around but you can find them pretty much everywhere if you look. House sparrows are 5.9 to 6.7 inches long and are chunkier than most American sparrows are. Males are dark shades of brown on top, have a light underbelly and a black throat. Females are a lighter shade of brown than males are with the same belly and they have a white stripe running from the corner of their eye along the side of their head. House sparrows will eat seeds from feeders, abandoned human food, grains, and wild foods such as crabgrass, ragweed, and in Summer they catch insects to feed their young. House sparrows often nest on buildings or in nest boxes, not often making nests in holes in trees.
Source: All About Birds, Cornell Lab https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Sparrow/overview
Photo/observer: (first name only)
Native
Ring Billed Gull
Larus delawarensis
What it looks like:
Medium to large white bird with a light gray back. They have yellowish webbed feet, and a black ring around the tip of their beaks.
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Observed Habitat/Behavior
I found this bird on the beach wading through the edge of the water. Ring-billed gulls are common along the coast of most of North America.
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Massachusetts Conservation Status
Ring-billed gulls are quite common, especially near beaches. Go to almost any beach and you’re bound to see one.
Massachusetts Native Status
Photo/observer: Gracelyn
Natural History
Ring-billed gulls are omnivores, and will eat pretty much anything. Their diet consists of fish, insects, earthworms, rodents, grains, and even garbage. They are also famous for stealing and consuming human food. Ring-billed gulls nest in colonies from 20 to tens of thousands of pairs. They build their nests on the ground near freshwater, usually in bare, open places like sandbars, rocky beaches, concrete, soil, or bare rock. They usually chose places under low plants or other overhangs to shelter from predators. Ring-billed gulls can fly over 40 miles per hour, and they often use this speed to snatch things in the air.
Source: AllAboutBirds.org
Canada geese
Species name
Photo/observer: Ethan
What it looks like:
Describe only what you noticed or saw.
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Observed Habitat/Behavior
Describe only what you observed at the time. For example, where did you see it when you observed it? What was it doing when you observed it?
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Massachusetts Conservation Status
How common is it in Massachusetts? Is it listed on the Massachusetts list of endangered species?
Use this site to find out:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/list-of-endangered-threatened-and-special-concern-species
Massachusetts Native Status
Is it native or introduced to Massachusetts? If it's introduced, is it considered invasive?
Natural History
Include any background information about the organism that you know and can back up with either online or written sources. This helpful information is something you didn't discover yourself (even if you observed signs that support it), because it is based on observations researchers made about many individuals or an entire population. This may include helpful information about species diet, life cycle/breeding, habitat, current range in North America, or predators/threats.
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You must include the source of your information. Even if you own the knowledge, you must provide a source that supports your research.
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Source: (full name of book, article, or website where background information was found)