Millbury Bike Path (3/4)

Last Sunday I went over to the bike path in Millbury hoping to see some of the great birds reported by Danny Berard. Right around the corner from the parking lot I saw a Ring-neck Duck swimming alone. Further up, near the bridge there was a single Common Merganser amongst the Mallards and Black Ducks. While standing on the bridge and looking upstream I could see Hooded Mergansers and Canada Geese. I walked on to the next bridge where there are always tons of waterfowl (mostly Mallards). There I was able to find a pair of Wood Ducks resting on the shore.

As I left the bridge I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above the highway. While I watched a second hawk flew into view. Then another. I counted five Red-tails in total and watched as they chased each other in what appeared to be a territory dispute.

After the hawks flew off, I continued my walk up the bike path. Right before I was about to turn around and head back, I spied a flash of blue. It was a male Eastern Bluebird in full breeding plumage. Again, careful inspection turned up several more birds. I would estimate six in total. They were all flying from perch to perch picking food off the plants. But, it was frustrating since they seemed to know just when to move to avoid giving me a good shot.

On the walk back, I had one more nice sighting. At the first bridge, a pair of Northern Pintails were swimming with the Mallards. The female was eating while the male stood guard. Whenever another bird came too close, he chased them away.