Birds

The Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers provide a wonderful habitat for a great diversity of birds, with everything from songbirds to waterfowl and raptors. The two National Wildlife Refuges are part of the North Atlantic Flyway, a major path for migratory birds.

The reintroduction of raptors (birds of prey) in Massachusetts has been particularly successful. The last nest of American bald eagles in the Commonwealth was abandoned in 1905. After significant effort by MassWildlife, as of 2012, bald eagles had fledged 493 chicks since the first nest was reestablished in 1989; peregrine falcons had fledged 434 chicks since 1987, wood ducks had produce about 4,300 chicks per year in nest boxes, and wild turkeys are now just plain common—the 2012 harvest by hunters was 3,100 birds. Read The Bald Eagle is Back from our August 2012 Newsletter.

In collaboration with Friends of Saxonville OARS added an educational panel about raptors to the Danforth Street Bridge kiosk on the Sudbury River in Framingham.