MA - Crossbills in the plains

This morning I took an impromptu bike ride around the Montague Sand Plains. I knew I'd find Prairie Warblers there but had a pretty open mind when it came to other species. I'd barely started my ride when I heard the classic 'gyp gyp' calls of Red Crossbills and quickly found a party of four (two male, two female) close to a huge power line cut running through the center of the plains.

I thoroughly enjoyed my ride finding many newly arrived summer migrants and local breeders such as Field Sparrows and Eastern Towhees. On the hand, it was a bit disappointing to find this beautiful and unique habitat used as a dumping ground. I counted 13 dumped sofas and 8 mattresses during a four mile ride and only scratched the surface of the whole area.

Red Crossbills - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., May 5th, 2015.

Prairie Warbler -  male, Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., May 5th, 2015.