Wednesday Morning Birding on a Thursday Report, January 2, 2020

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.”

Northern Shrike – Tom Schreffler
Northern Shrike – John Linn
Northern Shrike – Tom Schreffler

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 . . . .

American Black Ducks – Tom Schreffler

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.

Snowy Owl – Tom Schreffler
Common Eiders – Tom Schreffler
Common Goldeneye & Black Scoter – Tom Schreffler

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.

Rough-legged Hawk – Tom Schreffler

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.

Immature Snow Goose – John Linn
Immature Snow Goose – Tom Schreffler
Red-tailed Hawk – Tom Schreffler

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.

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