Birder's Guide to Carlisle

 

The Cranberry Bog is located at the northern edge of Carlisle on Curve Street. It contains an interesting mix of habitats, including marsh, mud flats, ponds, and woods. 

 

Winter: In the winter, the Cranberry Bog can have a great collection of birds, with passerines such as Fox and White-Throated Sparrow, Dark-Eyed Junco, Amerian Pipit, Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, and Brown Creeper. Waterfowl and Hawks may include Mute Swan, Mallard, Northern Harrier, and Cooper's Hawk. Northern Harriers hunt in marshes and grasslands by flying slowly over, looking for mice and other rodents.

 

2014 Update: In Late December 2013, Ted Heinrich located a very rare Snowy Owl at Hutchins Farm in Carlisle, which is close to Curve Street. This represents one of two records of Snowy Owl in Carlisle that I am aware of.

Spring:  In spring, migrants come through the Cranberry Bog, stopping on their way north. These birds include the nocturnal Common Nighthawk, Indigo Bunting, Warbling Vireo, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Common and Hooded Mergansers, American Black Duck, Killdeer, and Osprey. The waterfowl can be found in either of the Cranberry Bog's two ponds.


Summer: The summer at the Cranberry Bog includes a great variety of birds, some of which are  unusual anywhere in Carlisle at this time of year. Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Wood Pewee, Great-Blue Heron, Red-Winged Blackbird, and Spotted Sandpiper can all be expected. Spotted Sandpipers are common until late May, but after then become more difficult to find. 

 

Fall: In the fall, another stream of migrants comes through. This flow has many new species of birds, including American Pipit, Fox Sparrow, White-Throated Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Palm Warbler, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Egret, Eastern Phoebe, and Green-Winged Teal. Little Blue Herons are also occasional in the fall, with recent records from 2010 and 2013. 

 

2014 Update: A Carlisle Conservation Foundation bird walk in October 2014 turned up 2 Hermit Thrushes and a Vesper Sparrow.