In eBird, you may find that a public hotspot has been created for a location where you already have recorded sightings in a personal location.  The easiest way to reassign your reports from your personal location to the hotspot, is to merge your location into the hotspot.

1. In eBird, go to the My eBird tab.
2. Click on Locations, under Manage My… on the left.
3. Find the location you want to merge, and click on it.
4. Your location will be shown with a green marker.
5. Choose the Merge tab. Any nearby hotspots will be shown with red flame markers.
6. Click on the hotspot you want to merge your location with. The screen will show how many checklists will be merged (e.g. “Merge 53 checklists with (select location from the map) Swanson/Beaver Brook Rds, Boxborough”).
7. Click on the blue Merge button, and confirm.

Below is the Birding by Ear presentation from the May 20, 2020 Boxborough Birders online meeting. It includes links to all the bird songs that we heard.

• Presentation

Suggested apps and learning aids:

• All About Birds
• Merlin
• Larkwire
• Song Sleuth
• BirdGenie
• eBird.com/quiz

These instructions are for anyone who wants to share eBird sightings with others, but especially for Boxborough Birders Group trip leaders.

eBird Checklist Tools

You’ve just had a great morning of birding, posted your list on eBird, and now you want to tell everyone about the exciting birds you saw, but the options can be confusing.  After you submit your sightings to eBird, there will be some options under the Checklist Tools menu at the upper right. There are two ways to send your sightings to others, depending on whether they were with you on the trip and whether they use eBird, and you want to make sure you choose the correct option for what you want to do.

Share w/Others in Your Party 

Do not use the Share w/Others option to send your sightings to the entire Boxborough Birders Group. Use it only to share the list with people who were there with you on the trip. (Or more precisely, use it only to send to people who were with you, and use eBird, and whose email address you know.)  If you try to share an eBird list with someone who does not use eBird, they will not be able to see the list at all.

Email Yourself

For everyone else, the best way to go is to use the Email Yourself button to send the list to yourself first. Then you can forward the email to the entire group and they will be able to read it.

Reports from 2018 Boxborough Birders Trips

Plum Island
November 12, 2018
We had a great morning. The highlight was the American Bittern that we had exceptional views of! We also had some excellent looks at two Peregrine Falcons, four Northern Harriers, and one Rough-legged Hawk, among many other birds. Plum Island was a bit breezy but it was a gorgeous late fall day. (full list)

Delaney WMA

October 28, 2018
A very enjoyable Sunday afternoon at Delaney. Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Rusty Blackbird, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warbler (full list) 

Barrett’s Mill
October 6, 2018
We had a few challenges (noisy tractor plowing the field!) but we did very well with some great birds, due to some very sharp eyes: northern parula, palm warbler, American redstart, yellow-rumped warbler, savannah sparrow, blue-headed and red-eyed vireos. (full list)

Yapp Conservation Land
September 29, 2018
Chilly start but warmed up with the sun. Had a good view of a palm warbler, and heard a pine warbler and a kingfisher. (full list)

Fruitlands Museum
September 22, 2018
A “micro drop” of warblers at the edge of the woods and Old Meadow. Overall, a very enjoyable morning despite the challenges of fall birding in heavy foliage and breezy conditions. Did not see many of the usual species this morning. (full list)

Cisco, Boxborough
September 2, 2018
A remarkably quiet, beautiful morning with minimal activity. Nice sighting of a Green Heron flyover. (full list)

Fruitlands Museum
July 14, 2018
Excellent sightings of the Indigo Buntings. Blue-winged Warbler seen on lower campus near the Fruitland’s Farmhouse (full list)

Fruitlands Museum
June 23, 2018
Luckily, the rain held off and we had some great views of Veeries, Indigo Buntings, Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, and Pine Warblers, among other birds. Some surprising birds we didn’t hear or see—scarlet tanager, great crested flycatcher, bluebirds. (full list)

Knox Trail
June 16, 2018
Osprey are nesting again on the tower, but brought no food to the nest, so the eggs probably have not hatched yet. We also had a good view of a red-winged blackbird nest with one young in the process of fledging. An accipiter flew over the pond carrying something it had caught. (full list)

Great Meadows
June 3, 2018
Chilly, late afternoon. One of the highlights was watching 5 different Osprey fishing. First one and later on 2 pairs fishing together, or at least in tandem. Also, lots of Herons. Some were very handsome and posed beautifully on nesting boxes. Also, the Oriole’s nest was visible, pretty close to the parking lot on the Dike Trail. And we saw a female Wood Duck swimming w. 4 ducklings. (full list & photos)

Bolton Flats
June 2, 2018
70 degrees to start, muggy and with much sun. The paths are overgrown and the grass and weeds quite high. Much breeding activity in evidence, carrying of food and nesting material. The bird of the day was definitely the Willow Flycatcher: we heard and saw many that morning, everywhere we went. (full list)

Steele Farm
May 26, 2018
There were at least two pairs of bobolinks in the field, though at times it seemed as if there might be more. A purple finch sang from the top of one of the spruces. Nice views of a male oriole and a male yellowthroat as well. (full list)

Mt. Auburn Cemetery
May 20, 2018
Loop including Indian Ridge, Halcyon Lake (south side), Auburn Lake (east side), the Dell, Mountain Ave and the Tower, Laurel Ave and Willow Pond. 16 species of warbler sighted. (full list)

Fruitlands Museum
May 19, 2018
Despite some good sightings (including veery, nesting brown creepers, and 10 species of warblers), overall quiet and did not see or hear any woodpeckers other than the one very vocal RBWP by the Fruitlands Farm House nor did we hear/see any Black-throated Green or Black-throated Blue Warblers. (full list)

Newtown Hill
April 28, 2018
We had a foggy start to the walk yesterday at Newtown Hill in Littleton, but the clouds were starting to lift by the time we got to the top of the hill so there was a bit of a view. There were two great blue herons at the pond, some watchful Canada geese, and lots of red-winged blackbirds and grackles. We also had a brief but close encounter with a Cooper’s Hawk that flew across the field and flew right over us. (full list)

Fruitlands Museum
April 21, 2018
From the parking lot, did the upper part of loop trail past the Pergolas and Garden House sites to the meadow then returned to do the orange loop through the woods (past Willard Farm Site) and returned to the parking area on the lower loop. Unusually large gathering of flickers. Especially good views of kestrel, hermit thrush and pine warbler. (full list)

Hager Land
April 15, 2018
Walked some of the Hager Land, but specifically focused on the west pond and were treated to morning avian drama. Of the two heron nests remaining from last year’s heronry (3 successful nests), one’s been claimed by a pair of Osprey and one by a pair of Great Blue Herons. The Osprey and Great Blue Herons are not pleased, and, were harassing each other with the Osprey seeming to be the aggressors. (full list)

Barrett’s Mill Farmland
April 14, 2018
Walked the perimeter of the Barrett’s Mill Farmland conservation area in Concord. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. We really got the best part of the day as it turned out as it became cloudy and significantly colder as the day went along. It was fairly quiet there but we had some good views of several species, including field sparrow, pine warbler, bluebird and mocking bird. (full list)

Jenks Land
April 13, 2018
Warm evening. Spring peepers were singing loudly. Not as many woodcock as usual. Heard at least one, probably two males performing courtship display. First “peenting” about 7:35; first flight about 7:55pm. Also saw a muskrat and heard a beaver slap its tail. (full list)

Sargent Memorial Library & Hager Land
April 8, 2018
Walked the periphery past the east wetland, around the north end of the drumlin and along the shore of the west pond to the back of the elementary school for better viewing of the pond and ended at the library parking lot. Cold! Two nests remaining from last year’s heronry of 4 nests (3 active in 2017) with no evidence of nesting. (full list)

• 2017 Reports
• 2016 Reports
• 2015 Reports
• 2013 Reports

Heath Hen Meadows, September 6, 2014. Photo by Susan Page.

Today the Boxborough Birders Group explored Heath Hen Meadows in Acton. We walked from Mt. Hope Cemetery down to the bridge and across the end of Robbins St., then back partly by a different trail. Pine warbler, flickers, and many bluebirds were among the highlights.

Full bird list:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19748480

eBird has introduced a new feature called the Hotspot Explorer.  It lets you zoom in on a map to see where all the hotspots are in a given area and compare the number of species recorded at each hotspot.

eBird Hotspots in and near Boxborough, Mass. (click for larger view)

Species counts at various hotspots near Boxborough as of September 12, 2013:

Read more about the Hotspot Explorer.