Grade-school birder has his own 'big year'
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By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com
CHARLTON — Explaining that glaucous and Iceland gulls have pink legs, Owen Lawson also knew an even more important fact about the rarely seen in Massachusetts birds.
"They're from where Santa lives," the 6-year-old birder said.
Owen is unquestionably a birding fanatic. The Millbury first-grader has been reading about birds and listening to bird calls since he was 3. He has a better knowledge of common and some exotic birds than many adults.
The little big year he is attempting is a pruned version of a big year, which was made famous by a 2011 film "The Big Year" in which three birders, played by Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Steve Martin, travel the continent seeking as many birds as possible. Owen said it is his favorite movie.
A big year is an attempt to see as many birds as possible in a calendar year within a limited area. It can take many forms, but the American Birding Association area includes the 49 contiguous U.S. states, Canada and the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon and adjacent waters up to 200 miles off shore or half the distance to another country, whichever is shorter.
Owen's little big year will take place mainly in Massachusetts, but also in some New England states, especially if something unusual appears. He has already found some unusual birds, including a painted bunting, a red-throated loon and a snowy owl.
Traveling with his father, Justin Lawson, a photographer, or his grandmother, Sharon Lawson, or both, Owen has been searching for birds all over Massachusetts and certain locations in Rhode Island and Connecticut since Jan. 1. He is doing it when he has free time from school and when the weather is not unbearably bad.
Last Sunday afternoon, heavy rain gave way to drizzle and he and his two adult companions headed out to Charlton with a main mission of finding a black-headed gull. They knew where one might be because Mrs. Lawson had seen and photographed it Saturday, but by Sunday it was gone.
The gull is not rare, but an occasional visitor to the state and less frequently away from the coast. Owen's grandmother saw one at Orlando Farms on Osgood Street Saturday, but it was gone by Sunday afternoon. At the farm on Sunday, plenty of more common birds were seen, including Canada geese, ring-billed gulls and various ducks, but nothing with the distinctive black head.
But Owen's dad had another plan. A few miles down the road at a pond surrounded by tornado-ravaged woods in Sturbridge, he had seen a great egret. Locally people are familiar with the long-legged great blue herons with their large wingspan and throaty cry. They are becoming more common in the state.
The great egret is a similar bird, only all white with black legs. When the Lawsons pulled up near the pond, which is behind the tornado-damaged Days Inn Motel, they were treated to an even better sight.
"They're fighting," Owen said as he and his father pointed out not one, but two great egrets, one of which was conducting a short-lived battle with a great blue heron. The native heron eventually flew off, leaving the two egrets to continue fishing and Owen was able to add them to his birding list.
Owen's escapades in searching for birds this year are being recorded in a blog he writes: "My First Little Big Year 2014." It is found on the Internet atwww.greatgrayowen.blogspot.com. It includes photographs of the birds he has seen, a list of 107 birds he has recorded this year and a 154-bird life list of the birds he has discovered in his short life. It also includes entries about various trips, explaining what they have seen and other observations, including a March 9 entry about seeing the painted bunting, a snowy owl and a barnacle goose. The entry ends with other-than-bird observations, "When we were going to leave, we saw a chicken so close to us and a cow wanted to leave in the car with us."
Owen said he enjoyed the painted bunting because it is so colorful. The male version of the species, which he saw, has a bright blue head, bright red underneath and yellowish green wings. It is found mostly in the southern states and Mexico and is an occasional visitor to the New England coast.
Birding has become a family affair for the Lawsons. Justin Lawson got involved several years ago, mainly looking for opportunities to photograph eagles. The more he got involved, the more he felt compelled to seek out rare birds when he saw reports of sightings on such websites as www.massbird.org, www.massaudubon.org, and the bird news section of the American Birding Association's website www.aba.org. Central Massachusetts sightings can also be found through WPI at http://users.wpi.edu/~rsquimby/birds/recent.html.
Sharon Lawson said she has only been birding since January. She took an interest because of her grandson and son were so excited about it.
"I've always liked being outdoors, kayaking and hiking, but I really enjoy looking for the birds," she said.
The newest member of the Lawson family to take an interest in birding is Liam. At age 2, he is still a little young to be doing a big year, but Justin Lawson said his son has already begun to learn basic birds and their calls.
The family has become so interested in birding that they plan to take a vacation this summer to Machias Seal Island in Maine to look for puffins, terns and other sea birds. The island has a large breeding colony of puffins and blinds for visitors to watch the birds from.
Owen's blog's address is named for his favorite bird. It is one he does not yet have on his little big year list or his birding life list. When asked what it is, he smiled and said excitedly, "A great gray owl."
Owen then hurriedly explained that it is one of the largest owls, gray colored and has some of the sharpest talons of any owl.
Chances of finding one are slim in Massachusetts. There have only been a handful of reports in Massachusetts over the years. In Central Massachusetts there have been confirmed sightings in various years in Hardwick, Sterling, Oakham, Sutton and West Brookfield. He did record one bird that is almost as difficult to find as a great gray owl. In Hadley, he and his dad were treated to seeing a pink-footed goose.
Getting all the birds on the Massachusetts official list would be difficult and likely impossible. The list, which is kept by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee, includes 498 species, some only seen once in the state. Some have not been seen in the state since the 1800s. Owen and his father had the chance to see an extremely rare sight in 2012: Several northern lapwings blew in with Hurricane Sandy. The birds had been seen only a couple of times before in the state. They normally range in Europe from Norway to Spain.
There were also the second and third records of lazuli buntings seen in 2012, but although these birds are interesting, Owen again said what he really wants to see.
"I really want to see a great gray owl," he said.
Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com.
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