It looked so grim for our outing this Wednesday, with pouring, pounding rain, that the threat approached the “biblical” level. How many of you started for Joppa Flats, but turned around? As it happened, our group fitted in one van and one car, and we headed out into the deluge, having seen on the radar that it would soon ease up. By the time we got to North Pool Overlook on the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, the rain had turned light. For the rest of the morning, it only misted occasionally, and we actually had a good time! One benefit was that Dave Weaver got to ride in the front seat of the forward van and see the birds we flushed as we drove along. This time we flushed only a catbird or two, but still, he saw them!
Least Tern – Mike Densmore
The birds at North Pool Overlook were not abundant, but it was a delight watching a female Northern Harrier, Joppa Flats’ new mascot, drifting over her potential winter territory. Harriers have been seen regularly for a few weeks. They won’t disappear until mid-May, when migratory birds have mostly passed through. We love to see them on the marsh for nine months of the year. The other charming feature at North Pool Overlook was the gaggle of Black-crowned Night-Herons, four juveniles and one adult, roosting in the cedar on the island in the pool. That little Phragmites-covered island with its cedar tree is one of several night-heron and egret roosts on Plum Island. In the current season of post-breeding dispersal, the night-herons often are there until dusk.
Least Sandpiper attempts to become less bedraggled- David Moon
A very wet-looking juvenile Red-tailed Hawk passed by quite low at the overlook, and we found a Peregrine Falcon, also disheveled and wet, on a perch in the copse of trees at the south end of North Field. One of those has been seen on the exact same spot on a dead branch several times recently, making it seem to be the same individual.
plovers and sandpipers over Bill Forward Pool – Mike Densmore
We found lots of birds from the Hellcat dike, most of them on the exposed flats of Bill Forward Pool. Well over a thousand Semipalmated Plovers either huddled in tight flocks on the flats near us or foraged in their much more spread-out pattern farther down the pool. “SEPLs” show strong aggression on migratory feeding sites, with their characteristic chuckling calls and little ritualized charges at each other. However, when the inevitable raptor flies over, they form a tight, synchronous flock, all disagreements forgotten in an effort to avoid becoming food. We found many of the other usual suspects out there, such as Black-bellied Plovers, Short-billed Dowitchers, both species of yellowlegs, and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Least Terns roosted on the little “island” in the pool, which was still a bit flooded by all the rain. While we didn’t find any uncommon shorebirds, it never gets old watching them individually and in their great flocks as they sweep back and forth above the flats.
Greater Yellowlegs chasing prey – Mike Densmore
With a bit more time to spare, we dashed to the beach platform overlooking Emerson Rocks, which were beginning to appear above the receding tide. The Sanderlings and plovers, both Semipalmated and Piping, provided another engaging crowd of peeps to observe. Since not everyone had yet seen the one-foot-forward shuffling that the Piping Plovers employ to scare up prey, it was fun to make sure they did see it then. Could Piping Plovers be more adorable? (Sorry, Dave W., they just are.) As is often the case in this transitional season for passerines, with some migrating and others still lingering, we ran into something odd, a flock of 25 or so House Finches, staying close together while foraging, and bursting away at our approach. It could be anything, from the common to the rare, the next time we go out. That is the joy of birding.
Piping Plover shuffles sand to reveal prey – David Moon
Our list:
Canada Goose
Gadwall (6) – 1 hen w/ 5 young; Bill Forward Pool.
Mallard (~ 20) – mostly Bill Forward Pool.
Green-winged Teal (~ 10) – North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Double-crested Cormorant – common.
Great Blue Heron (2) – 1, North Pool Overlook; 1, Bill Forward Pool.
Great Egret (~ 15) – various.
Snowy Egret (~ 8) – mostly Bill Forward Pool.
Black-crowned Night-Heron (5) – 1 adult, 4 juveniles; North Pool Overlook.
Osprey (4) – 1, Pines platform; 2, from lot #7; 1 w/ fish, near Cross Farm Hill.
Northern Harrier (1) – female; North Pool Overlook.
Red-tailed Hawk (1) – juv; North Pool Overlook.
Black-bellied Plover (~ 150) – Bill Forward Pool.
Semipalmated Plover (~ 1500) – Bill Forward Pool.
Piping Plover (5) – parking lot #7 beach.
[Killdeer (8) – PI Airport.]
Greater Yellowlegs (~ 50) – Bill Forward Pool & North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Lesser Yellowlegs (~ 25) – Bill Forward Pool & North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Sanderling (~ 25) – parking lot #7 beach.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (~ 500) – Bill Forward Pool.
Least Sandpiper (3) – Bill Forward Pool.
Short-billed Dowitcher (~ 40) – Bill Forward Pool & North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Ring-billed Gull (1) – Bill Forward Pool.
Herring Gull (~ 25) – parking lot #7 beach & Emerson Rocks.
Great Black-backed Gull (9) – parking lot #7 beach.
Least Tern (~ 14) – Bill Forward Pool.
Rock Pigeon – n. refuge gate.
Mourning Dove (5)
Peregrine Falcon (1-2) – 1 adult perched in dead tree, North Field; 1 flying south over marsh, south. small pannes.
Eastern Phoebe (1) – Bill Forward Pool Blind.
Eastern Kingbird (~ 10) – various.
American Crow (1)
Tree Swallow (100s)
Barn Swallow (1)
American Robin (~ 12) – roadside.
Gray Catbird (~ 7) – roadside.
Northern Mockingbird (~ 10) – various.
European Starling – many.
Cedar Waxwing (4)
Common Yellowthroat (1) – lot #7.
Eastern Towhee (2)
Song Sparrow (5)
Northern Cardinal (1) – singing east of parking lot #4.
Red-winged Blackbird (2) – North Pool from Hellcat dike.
Common Grackle (2)
House Finch (~ 25) – parking lot #7.
American Goldfinch (5)
House Sparrow