BIRD SIGHTINGS
Recent bird sightings as reported to the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Sightings from Cape Cod on Sunday included more than 200 razorbills at Nauset Beach in Orleans; a glaucous gull, three northern gannets, six eastern meadowlarks, and a northern harrier in Eastham; and 12 common goldeneye and a Barrow's Goldeneye drake at Loop Beach in Cotuit.
In Plymouth on Sunday there were 196 brant, a wood euck, eight ring-necked ducks, 15 hooded mergansers, a great blue heron, a Bonaparte's gull, an Iceland gull, and a lesser black-backed gull. Another Iceland gull was seen in Scituate Harbor on Sunday and there were 12 harlequin ducks, six ruddy turnstones, and 50 purple sandpipers elsewhere in Scituate.
At the Cumberland Farms in the Bridgewater-Middleborough area there were 11 red-tailed hawks, three rough-legged hawks, and a northern harrier.
Reports from the Newburyport area included a snow bunting and a Barrow's Goldeneye seen and an American woodcock heard at Cashman Park. The varied thrush continues to be seen in the vicinity of High and Buck streets in Newburyport. A northern goshawk was reported from the vicinity of Parking Lot 1 on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island. A snowy owl and an eastern towhee were also seen on the refuge. At least two bald eagles were reported from the lower Merrimack River this weekend.
On Cape Ann, Gloucester reports have included a brant, 13 greater scaup, a Barrow's Goldeneye, a glaucous and 25 Iceland gulls in the harbor; the eared grebe at Niles Beach; a peregrine falcon at City Hall; and a snowy owl on Atlantic Road. In Rockport, reports included a King Eider at the Granite Pier, 36 harlequin ducks, a brown thrasher, and a field sparrow.
Miscellaneous reports this week have included Eastern screech owls in Essex and Bradford; five fish crows in Hingham; a white-winged crossbill in Nahant; red-shouldered hawks in Groveland, Plymouth, and Marshfield; a pileated woodpecker in Groveland; and a pine warbler in North Andover.
Birders are reminded of the 13th Mass Birders Meeting, scheduled March 5 at Bentley College in Waltham. The presentations will include talks by authors Scott Weidensaul and Phillip Hoose. To register, go to the Mass Audubon website at www.massaudubon.org, or call Linda Cocca at 781-259-2150.
For more information about bird sightings or to report bird sightings, call the Massachusetts Audubon Society at (781) 259-2151 or go to www.massaudubon.org. Listings appear in the Sunday and Wednesday Globes.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, March 2, the 61st day of 2005. There are 304 days left in the year.
Today's birthdays: Actress Jennifer Jones is 86. Actor John Cullum is 75. Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is 74. Author Tom Wolfe is 74. Author John Irving is 63. Singer Lou Reed is 63. Actress Cassie Yates is 54. Actress Laraine Newman is 53. Singer Jay Osmond is 50. Pop musician John Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 49. Tennis player Kevin Curren is 47. Country singer Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) is 46. Rock singer Jon Bon Jovi is 43. Rapper-actor Method Man is 34. Rock musician Casey (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 29. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 28. Actress Heather McComb is 28. Actor Robert Iler (''The Sopranos") is 20.
In 1836, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
In 1877, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote.
In 1899, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state was established.
In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship.
In 1923, Time magazine made its debut.
In 1943, the World War II Battle of the Bismarck Sea began.
In 1965, the movie version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical ''The Sound of Music," starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, had its world premiere at New York's Rivoli Theater.
In 1977, the US House of Representatives adopted a strict code of ethics.
In 1995, The Senate rejected the balanced-budget amendment, 65-35, two votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed for passage. The space shuttle Endeavour blasted off on a mission to study the far reaches of the universe. The last UN peacekeepers in Somalia were evacuated.
I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.
James Baldwin
