Last Wednesday, Susan Yurkus and I led WMB, and felt that it was not too optimistic to promise plenty of Dark-eyed Juncos. There had been a big influx of migrating juncos early in the week. The beginnings of the build-up of Wilson’s Snipes and other early shorebirds had been steady at Scotland Road’s Common Pasture. It was time for early warblers, as they have been reported across the region. What we witnessed was a lull, a pause in the waves of migrants, where it appeared that birds moved out without others moving in!
At Scotland Road, there were still plenty of ducks. Watching the ducks there is like staring at a big fish tank, where you know that it may take a while to see all the species, and they are always doing something entertaining and at times even mesmerizing. Most of them are Green-winged Teal, last week, only about 60 or so. Three drake Northern Shovelers served as the “chips” in that “duck dough” that included a few Mallards and American Black Ducks. Zero shorebirds!
With reasonable hope, we moved on to Artichoke reservoir on either side of Rogers St. Indeed there were lots of Ring-necked Ducks, a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, a few Great Blue Herons, Mute Swans and a couple of Wood Ducks. The later were another case of birds captured by quick-draw photographers, but not too many other observers! Watching those little grebes diving and resurfacing together was a treat. We were serenaded by a number of resident species, including a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers setting up a nest in a snag full of holes.
At Cherry Hill Reservoir, the number of Common Mergansers was underwhelming, but we enjoyed the ones that were there, along with more Ring-necked Ducks, another grebe, and a couple of our first Tree Swallows. The Ruddy Ducks were around the corner at the south end, which is always their preferred section of the lake.
Then we were on to Plum Island, with a short pit stop at parking lot #1 on Parker River NWR, where the Eastern Mass Hawk Watch folks let us know they would appreciate it if we could send them a few more falcons. Sure, why not? An Osprey cavorted near the nest platform there, dispelling the notion bandied about earlier in the season about eagles appropriating the site. Sue McGrath’s Purple Martin houses are up, though it should be a while before the colony is fully populated. In the meantime, those volunteers will be busy warding off House Sparrows, non-violently, of course.
Hoping to observe some remnant of the “sparrow fallout” Tom Wetmore extolled only a few days before, we pushed past the many ducks in the salt pannes to Hellcat. Indeed a good number of Song Sparrows fled our caravan as we moved along, but. Not. One. Junco! Nature is fun in the way our expectations are often refuted. One of the species that had recently arrived in numbers was evident, however, as we flushed several Northern Flickers along the way.
When we arrived at Hellcat, the usual urge to rush up to the dike took hold, and when we got there the scene was mildly grim. A stiff northwest breeze had come up, the temperature was quite cool, and most of the ducks on Bill Forward Pool were at the other end. We could dimly make out Northern Pintails, some Buffleheads, and Mallards, but we may well have missed others. The Northern Shrike reported there earlier was no where to be seen. Hoping we might scare something up in the thickets, we began poking around the parking lot and the main road. It was very quiet, but we found two Eastern Phoebes hanging around the entrance to the parking lot, then a third further along. Only a few little sparrow call notes could be discerned, and the phoebes never uttered a syllable.
I was packing up the show, when a knot of birders decided to perseverate on the phoebes in the entry circle. Eastern Phoebes are sweet little things, and not everyone had heard of the foraging technique flycatchers use called a “sally.” So we watched them a bit more, and by hanging around, a few of us got a glimpse at a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that shot through. One “FOY” Eastern Towhee crossed the road in front of us as we departed, and that was it for this week, other than cataloging the usual dabbling ducks in the Main Panne and slowing down for this magnificent Wild Turkey on our way out.
The “quiz birds” we looked at this week were Wilson’s Snipe and Palm Warbler, as we expect them, but I had to wait until a quick visit to Belle Isle Marsh later in the week to find them. Every week will be another exciting spin of the wheel of spring migration as we move forward, until summer haze, Greenhead Flies, and beach-goers put us into our own lull in the heart of the breeding season. We hope you can join us for one of the many outings we have in store in the coming season!
Our Lists –
Scotland Road, Artichoke Reservoir, Cherry Hill Reservoir:
Canada Goose – common.
Mute Swan (4) – Artichoke Reservoir.
Wood Duck (2) – Artichoke Reservoir.
American Black Duck (4) – Scotland Road, Common Pasture.
Mallard – common.
Green-winged Teal (~60) – Scotland Road, Common Pasture.
Ring-necked Duck (~20) – Artichoke Reservoir and Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Bufflehead (~10) – Artichoke Reservoir and Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Common Merganser (~25) – Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Ruddy Duck (12) – Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Pied-billed Grebe (3) – 2, Artichoke Reservoir 1, Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Great Blue Heron (3) – Artichoke Reservoir.
Turkey Vulture (3) – along route.
Osprey (1) – Artichoke Reservoir.
Red-Tailed Hawk (1) – along route.
Mourning Dove (1) – along route.
Red-bellied Woodpecker (2) – using nest cavity at Artichoke Reservoir.
Blue Jay (1) – Artichoke Reservoir.
American Crow – common.
Tree Swallow (2) – Cherry Hill Reservoir.
Black-capped Chickadee (2) Artichoke Reservoir.
Tufted Titmouse (3) – along route.
American Robin – common.
Northern Mockingbird (1) – Scotland Road.
European Starling – common.
Song Sparrow – common.
Northern Cardinal (1) – Artichoke Reservoir.
Red-winged Blackbird – common.
Common Grackle (3) – Cherry Hill Reservoir.
House Sparrow – common.
Plum Island:
Canada Goose – common.
Mute Swan (1) – Bill Forward Pool.
Gadwall – (~40) – Pannes.
American Wigeon (4) – Main Panne.
American Black Duck – common.
Mallard – common.
Scaup sp. – Bill Forward Pool.
Bufflehead – (2) Bill Forward Pool.
Red-breasted Merganser (1) – Salt Pannes.
Wild Turkey (9) – S-curves.
Double-crested Cormorant (1) – Bill Forward Pool.
Great Blue Heron (1) – North Marsh.
Great Egret (2-3) – North Marsh.
Osprey (1) – North Marsh.
Northern Harrier (2-3) various.
Killdeer (2) – Maine Panne.
Herring Gull – common.
Great Black-backed Gull (1) – North Marsh.
Northern Flicker (~10) – roadside.
American Kestrel (1) Hellcat.
Eastern Phoebe (3) – Hellcat.
American Crow – common.
Black-capped Chickadee (2) – Hellcat.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1) – Hellcat.
American Robin- common.
Eastern Towhee (1) – Hellcat.
Song Sparrow – abundant along roadside.
White-throated Sparrow (2) – Hellcat.
Red-winged Blackbird – common.
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