Hello, Wednesday Morning Birders!

Dave Williams joined me in leading this week’s Wednesday Morning Birding program on to Plum Island — the north end and points south. Skies were cloudy to partly cloudy to clear; temps 32-40 F.; and winds SW-NW/5-15 mph and freshening. Passerines were in short supply, but outside of that, we had some pretty “good” birds.

Based on Dave’s recent experience conducting a winter raptor workshop for Joppa volunteers, our first stop was in the parking lot immediately west of Plum Island Bridge — and to good effect. In rather poor light, one of our group found the silhouette of a Bald Eagle perched just below the Osprey nesting platform west of the Parker River Refuge boat ramp. It was quite large, no doubt a female, and appeared to be an immature bird. Another eagle was seen perched on a snag to the southwest at the edge of the marsh. In addition, three Northern Harriers were hunting at the western edge of the marsh. Far to the south, over the marsh, a bird of prey was seen kiting on the wind or hovering — either a Red-tailed Hawk or Rough-legged Hawk. It’s silhouette with a longer tail and, with some imagination, smaller head, ID’d this bird as a Rough-leg.

On the north end of Plum Island, we had a number of waterbirds drifting toward the ocean on the outgoing tide, but many of them would return opposite us for what must have been the better feeding grounds. We didn’t have great numbers, but there were Common Eiders, a few White-winged Scoters, a single Black Scoter, three Red-breasted Mergansers, a Common Goldeneye, and about 10 Long-tailed Ducks, the latter in what can be confusing plumages. One field mark to remember in differentiating male Long-tails from females — all males have a pink and black bill, and females do not. In addition to the ducks, there was a Red-throated Loon and a Common Loon, and the three common gull species — Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed. For a change, standing on the beach at the north end was a rather pleasant experience; we normally must deal with uncomfortable strong, northwesterly breezes. The winds were forecasted to increase out of the northwest in the afternoon. Ahhh, timing is everything!

Our caravan made its way on to Parker River Refuge in search of the winter species often found there. As we moved into the S-curves, Kathy spotted a raptor perched in a tree at the edge of the marsh. There were cars parked on the edge of the road with folks out and looking at that same raptor — a Snowy Owl! What great looks we had, as you can see from the photo below. We spent a good deal of time there, as you can imagine. The owl was facing away from us into the light breeze from the southwest. So, the photographers in our group waited patiently for this Arctic denizen to turn its head for a better picture.

Next stop was Hellcat where construction of the new boardwalk has begun. The construction activity is occupying a number of spaces there in parking lot #4, so this popular spot will become a bit more difficult to access as 2020 moves along. From Hellcat dike, we watched as sizeable flock of American Black Ducks lift off from the marsh to the west. Whenever we see ducks or shorebirds all get up and move, we are programmed to immediately look around for a bird of prey, the catalyst for these birds to exit the area, avoiding becoming a predator’s meal. Sure enough, the catalyst this time was an adult Bald Eagle. The eagle did take, we presume, a duck. It landed in the marsh and busily ate whatever the hapless prey was. We could not get an identifying look.

In the meantime, we found a second Snowy Owl, this one sitting in the marsh to the west of Bill Forward Pool. Another great look at this predominantly white bird. The eagle was soon up and on the wing. It flew closely to the owl, which spooked and took off to the east toward the Bill Forward Blind when we lost track of it — at least for a little while. Little else at Hellcat, aside from a few Mallards on Bill Forward Pool. And, as I write this, I realize that we had a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers on BFP that I failed to include in “Our list.”

From Hellcat, with the time remaining, we headed for parking lot #7 to see what there was to see on Emerson Rocks and the ocean. After we drove by the Bill Forward Blind, the sharp-eyed Isabelle spotted what she thought might be a shrike in flight. We pulled over and, indeed, located an adult Northern Shrike perched atop a Red Cedar behind some birches at the north edge of South Field, right at the south end of the “Old Pines” in which the blind is found. The shrike then dropped down and was not seen again. However, we relocated the Hellcat Snowy Owl — it was perched atop one of the Old Pines. With the dark green of the pine and the clear, blue-gray sky as a backdrop — stunning!

Approaching Cross Farm Hill, a Rough-legged Hawk was hovering over the hill’s west end, a common spot during the winter for this Arctic species. On the beach at lot #7, we were greeted by a large mixed flock of Sanderlings and Dunlin — we figured around 50 Sanderlings and 80 Dunlin — all busily feeding in the pools created by the receding tide. Quite the sight! A number of times, they all got up and spread out along the beach’s water edge. Yes, that was a treat, but then another treat flew in before our eyes — a small flock of seven Brant, which landed in and among Emerson Rocks. “In my humble opinion,” this is our most beautiful goose — just love seeing these guys!

On the ocean there at lot #7, we also had Common Eiders, a couple of Black Scoters, a few Long-tailed Ducks, and a pair of Common Goldeneyes. Also present were four Horned Grebes, a Common Loon, and some Herring Gulls and a lone Ring-billed Gull.

Making our way back to the north, we had great looks at a female Northern Harrier coursing to the south ever so low over “the Middens,” across from parking lot #1. Dave Williams and I agreed that it was a pretty good morning of birding — once again, quality over quantity.

Next Wednesday, January 15, we will meet at 9:30 at Gloucester Crossing in front of Marshalls for a visit to Cape Ann. Anyone wanting a ride from Joppa, please be there no later than 8:30. Hope to see you then.

Best regards!
Dave Weaver

Our list:
Brant (7) – Emerson Rocks.
Canada Goose – common.
Mallard (6) – Bill Forward Pool (BFP).
American Black Duck – common.
Common Eider (~ 40) – ~ 15, north end; ~ 25, seven ocean.
White-winged Scoter (4) – north end.
Black Scoter (3) – 1, north end; 2, seven ocean.
Long-tailed Duck (~ 15) – ~ 10, north end; 5, seven ocean.
Common Goldeneye (3) – 1, north end; 2, Bar Head ocean.
Red-breasted Merganser (4) – 3, north end; 1, seven ocean.
Horned Grebe (4) – seven ocean.
Sanderling (~ 50) – seven beach.
Dunlin (~ 80) – seven beach.
Ring-billed Gull (2) – 1, north end; 1, seven beach.
Herring Gull (6) – 3, north end; 3, seven beach.
Great Black-backed Gull (1) – north end.
Red-throated Loon (1) – north end.
Common Loon (2) – 1, north end; 1, seven ocean.
[Northern Harrier (3) – marsh sw PI Bridge w. parking lot.]
Northern Harrier (1) – over Middens.
[Bald Eagle (2) – imm., 1 perched beneath refuge boat ramp Osprey
platform, 1 perched on snag edge of marsh; both sw PI Bridge w. parking
lot.]
Bald Eagle (1) – ad. on prey in marsh w. North Pool dike (presumably a
duck) after having put up a sizeable flock of black ducks; seen from
Hellcat dike.
[Rough-legged Hawk (1) – hovering over marsh s. PI Bridge w. parking lot.]
Rough-legged Hawk (1) – hovering over Cross Farm Hill.
Snowy Owl (2) – 1, perched in tree on edge of marsh, S-curves; 1, first
seen in marsh immediately w. BFP (later spooked by aforementioned eagle
on a flyby; owl landed atop one of BFP blind pines).
Northern Shrike (1) – n. edge South Field atop red cedar, ~ 50 yards from refuge road.
European Starling – large flock on wires leading to PI Bridge from east.

Happy New Year, all you Wednesday Morning Birders!

With New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday, we opted to move Wednesday Morning Birding to Thursday, January 2. We had a great turnout on a beautiful day for birding as David Larson and I led the group on to Plum Island in search of recently seen Snowy Owls and, perhaps, a Northern Shrike somewhere on the island. Skies were cloudy to partly cloudy; temps in the mid to upper 30s; and winds W-SW/10-15 mph. Those winds did put a bite in the air, especially, as usual, when we were on the Hellcat dike . . . .

While moving south along the refuge road, a north-bound vehicle stopped and let us know that they had seen a shrike atop one of the trees in the more-southern copse in North Field. We continued south in great anticipation. When we arrived at the appointed spot, we were disappointed — no shrike visible. Nonetheless, we all got out of our vehicles and patiently awaited the possibility of the shrike appearing. David Larson’s sharp eyes found this adult Northern Shrike actively moving around the south end of the copse. It had a vole in its bill. As Chris Leahy describes in his The Birdwatcher’s Companion to North American Birdlife (2004), “Shrikes are medium-sized songbirds . . . with short, heavy, strongly hooked bills; proportionately large heads . . . . The shrikes are the only songbirds that prey habitually on vertebrate animals [including small rodents and birds]. They are birds of open country and forest edge and tend to seek prominent perches where they can scan for their prey, which also includes large insects and crustaceans. Both of our species of ‘butcher birds’ [Loggerhead and Northern Shrikes] practice the famous shrike habit of hanging ‘meat’ on thorns or in narrow crotches, sometimes returning to the mummified remains as long as months afterward.”

At one point, the sky to the west was filled with ducks — American Black Ducks and a few Mallards. There were in the vicinity of 700 or so duckies in the air moving south over Plum Island Sound — quite the sight! Below the flight of ducks, we found an immature Bald Eagle slowly flying south, no doubt the reason the ducks were up and moving . . . .

We were thoroughly entertained while watching the Northern Shrike for some time before moving on. A couple of Blue Jays were also keeping a watch on the shrike, although I do believe a jay would be a mite too large to be shrike prey.

Approaching Hellcat, we were pleased to find that the gate across the gravel road to the south had been opened. Next stop — parking lot #7 and a visit to calm seas. And, what to our wondering eyes should appear at this low tide but a Snowy Owl ensconced in the middle of Emerson Rocks. The owl along with the shrike were life birds for a number of our party, and were nice contributions to everyone’s list for 2020, at least for those keeping an annual list — Happy New Year! Also seen from our vantage point were Common Eiders, a few Surf Scoters, some White-winged Scoters, a lone Black Scoter, a number of Long-tailed Ducks, some Buffleheads, and several Common Goldeneyes — a nice collection of seaducks. There were also about eight Horned Grebes and as many Common Loons. As we readied to leave lot #7, a few of us saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk flying swiftly above the dunes.

Aside from some black ducks seen in the marsh to the west of Hellcat dike, birds were absent. Even the usually trustworthy Black-capped Chickadees were missing in the parking area. We headed north to The Warden’s in search of a Rough-legged Hawk seen earlier in the distance. Bingo! A light-morph Rough-leg was spotted hunting over North Field. Remember, this is the only wintering bird of prey that regularly hovers while hunting, and that’s exactly what this bird was doing. Notice in Tom’s photo below, the dark wrists and a glimpse of the white base to the tail, indicative of a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. Also note the smaller bill and head of a Rough-leg as compared to a larger bill and head of a Red-tailed Hawk.

The Warden’s was no more birdier than Hellcat — the dearth of sparrows was especially noticeable. We had a lone American Tree Sparrow along with about eight American Goldfinches, and that was it! An earlier text from Melissa prompted us to get back to Joppa to see, if still present, an out-of-the-ordinary bird hanging out with some Canada Geese in the marsh behind the education center. Indeed, it was still there — an immature Snow Goose. Most of us gathered there in “the back 40” to have a look. At the same time, we were treated to a Red-tailed Hawk soaring just above us. When all said and done, we had only 26 species of birds. I guess you could say, we sacrificed quantity for quality.

Hope to see you next Wednesday as we move into this new year — same time, same station! Our next Cape Ann adventure will be on January 15.

Cheers and all the best!

Dave Weaver

Our list:

[Snow Goose (1) – immature w/ Canada Geese behind Joppa Flats Education
Center.]
Canada Goose – common.
Mallard (~ 20) – no doubt there were more.
American Black Duck – common; at one time, 700+ in air with imm. Bald
Eagle below.
Common Eider (~ 30) – seven ocean.
Surf Scoter (3) – seven ocean.
White-winged Scoter (~ 20) – seven ocean.
Black Scoter (1) – seven ocean.
Long-tailed Duck (~ 10) – seven ocean.
Bufflehead (~ 11) – seven ocean.
Common Goldeneye (6) – seven ocean.
[Red-breasted Merganser (6) – Merrimack River behind Joppa Flats.]
Horned Grebe (8) – seven ocean.
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull (~ 6)
Common Loon (7) – seven ocean.
Northern Harrier (1) – North Field.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) – over dunes seven.
Bald Eagle (1) – flying over PI River, w. North Pool dike.
[Red-tailed Hawk (1) – soaring above Joppa Flats.]
Rough-legged Hawk (1) – hovering above s. end North Field.
Snowy Owl (1) – hunkered down in middle of Emerson Rocks.
Northern Shrike (1) – ad., quite active in and among shrubs and trees of
s. copse North Field (first seen with vole in mouth).
Blue Jay (2) – s. copse North Field.
American Goldfinch (~ 8) – The Warden’s.
American Tree Sparrow (1) – The Warden’s.