Birding the Lower Emerald Necklace: Jamaica Pond to the Back Bay

There is a special excitement to birding in the city.Those of us who live in Boston envy the residents of the North Shore, Marshfield, or Concord as we hear of the display of avifauna at the ready.But watching a Peregrine Falcon pluck a Starling on a window ledge of Saks Fifth Avenue, seeing a redstart chase a Yellow-rump along the trees lining the Southwest Corridor near Back Bay Station, standing four feet from a Northern Pintail at the Swan Pond in the Public Garden, or hearing nighthawks call as they feed over the rooftops in the South End seems like nature captured from somewhere it doesn't belong.City birding is an experience of quality, not quantity, viewing.Apart from robin roosts in the Fens in fall and masses of gulls on Jamaica Pond or the Charles River in winter, most birding experiences in the city are close-up views of a small number of limited species.This reflects the compactness of urban open spaces as well as a tolerance for the hubbub of humanity that urban specimens seem to develop.It is common to pass within ten feet of a Blackcrowned Night Heron on the Esplanade in June.Red-tailed Hawks will sit on a fence post no more than an arm's length away in the Victory Gardens of the Fenway.Northern Shovelers follow the Mallards just a few feet from the shore in the waters behind the Museum of Fine Arts.This is a plan for birding the lower portion of Boston's Emerald Necklace.The walk starts at Jamaica Pond, the primary source of the Muddy River, and follows the water down through several smaller ponds and then to the Riverway dividing Brookline from Boston, on to the Fenway, and down the Esplanade to the Public Garden.While it will be presented in sequence as if one is walking the roughly four miles along this route, the better birding areas of Leverett Pond, the Fens, or the Garden can be approached separately by car, foot, or public transportation; details appear at the end of the article. Jamaica Pond/OImsted Park/Leverett PondJamaica Pond is the largest and purest body of water in Boston (it was a major water source for Boston until 1848), a spring-fed glacial kettle over fifty feet deep with a one-and-one-half-mile developed pathway surrounding it.Many species of waterfowl and an impressive variety of landbirds can be seen here in appropriate seasons, but Leverett Pond, downstream, is generally more productive, and because of its smaller size and elliptical shape, offers better viewing as well.If you are doing the complete walk to the Public Garden, it is best to view Jamaica Pond briefly from the northwest side (where some free parking is available along Perkins Street), scanning for a special duck, reviewing

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