Wednesday Morning Birding Report January 31, 2018

This Wednesday, Dave Weaver and I met a group of 24 at Joppa Flats for a brisk day of birding. Since we had seen a good number of Snowy Owls the previous week, and our group included a reporter and a photographer from WBUR who were hoping to see Bald Eagles, we focused our time this week on areas that are closer to the Merrimack River.

Our first stop on Rings Island was a bust, and no Wild Turkeys appeared on the back way to Salisbury Beach State Reservation. But there were plenty of interesting birds to look at from the boat ramp there on Black Creek. White-winged Scoters were scattered over the entire area, one of which was foraging close enough for the photo above. Canada Geese and American Black Ducks moved here and there in the salt marsh. A couple of Common Loons and two pairs of Long-tailed Ducks dove out on the Merrimack River. Some Common Goldeneyes bobbed and dove. A flock of nine or so Horned Larks flew over and landed in the wrack nearby. This drew our attention to a lone Dunlin standing disconsolately in the material lifted by the very high tide. We were a bit worried about that one.

White-winged Scoter with crab – Patti Wood

Next, we were on to the big parking lot at the base of the north jetty. So far, we had scanned for eagles for our friendly guests from Public Radio, but we’d seen nothing. The mouth of the river was depauperate (lacking in number or variety of species) of sea ducks and loons at first, reflecting a paucity that seems to extend up and down our coast this year. Why? Does anybody have intel or a hypothesis about mollusks and little fish, crabs, or other prey items? Is there a boom somewhere else? Was it the frigid cold? I hope to have answers for you. This Wednesday, there was a flock of exactly 10 Common Eiders where there would normally be over 50. There were a few Red-breasted Mergansers about. Happily, two Great Cormorants sat hunched on the tower at the end of the jetty, while another rested on the almost submerged rocks. Then, we did see a flock of scoters by the end of the south jetty, and Common Loons appeared across the mouth at the end of the jetties. On other occasions, there would have been much more, with plenty of Red-throated Loons, and few grebes, among others.

Horned Lark on asphalt – Bruce Hauk

Feeling a bit desperate to see some of the many Bald Eagles the cold weather has brought to the lower Merrimack River, we headed out of the state reservation, past a nice pod of Ring-billed Gulls roosting in the parking lot and two Red-tailed Hawks in the trees by the entrance. At Cashman Park, our luck on Bald Eagles turned. Two immatures flew back and forth right across the river from us, one of them soaring surreally slowly, low over the far bank. Another was high above the river upstream, probably near the Chain Bridge. We also were treated to the antics of Buffleheads, which seems to make all the dumb things happening in the human world recede to the background, while the inexplicable beauty of nature asserts itself. There were more Common Goldeneyes, some of whom were displaying a bit. A handsome Mallard or two was so nearby and shiny that one leader was compelled to hold forth on structural color in feathers. We are all set for a fantastic Merrimack River Eagle Festival on February 17!

Ring-billed Gulls and Buffleheads – Patti Wood

Feeling a bit desperate to see some of the many Bald Eagles the cold weather has brought to the lower Merrimack River, we headed out of the state reservation, past a nice pod of Ring-billed Gulls roosting in the parking lot and two Red-tailed Hawks in the trees by the entrance. Finally, at Cashman Park, our Bald Eagle luck turned. Two immatures flew back and forth directly across the river from us, one of them low over the far bank, soaring surreally slowly. Another was high above the river upstream, probably near the Chain Bridge. We were also treated to the antics of Buffleheads, a sight that seems to make all the dumb things happening in the human world recede to the background. There were more Common Goldeneyes, some of whom were displaying a bit. A handsome Mallard or two was so nearby and shiny that one leader was compelled to hold forth on structural color in feathers. With such great river birds, we are all set for a fantastic Merrimack River Eagle Festival on February 17!

Bald Eagle – Patti Wood

Buffleheads take off – Bruce Hauk

With a bit of time left, we added one more to our streak of misses on the Eastern Screech-Owl on Kent Street. We do know that the bird has been seen this winter. Hoping for a Snowy Owl or a new sea bird, we headed to Plum Island and the dunes platform at parking lot #1. The stiff wind made scanning for things a challenge, but we did find two Horned Grebes, and a couple of Red-throated Loons way out at sea. There were some more scoters, including the loyal raft of Black Scoters off of the groin at Fordham Way. Scanning for Snowy Owls was challenging with the wind and all the ice on the marsh, and we had to let go. Lastly, we spotted a male and a female Northern Harrier as they foraged, making us feel deeply at home in our beloved Great Marsh.

Mallards with ice floes – Mike Densmore

Having visitors from the media with us brought to attention how we want the world to know what a treasure the Great Marsh is, what amazing riches teem here. Even if one set of species is a bit lower one season, the marsh does provide, and we will surely witness multitudes of avian beauty. The fact that these conserved lands and wetlands still are undeveloped and can host so many birds is directly related to our forebears’ same love of these places and these creatures. This is an incredible legacy, and it is no small thing to uphold it. Thanks for your own interest and continued visitation to this special place. If we don’t go, they can’t say it matters. So, come see the birds, and the pannes, thickets, marsh, and beaches, and keep coming.

Our list:

Salisbury Beach —
Canada Goose – common.
American Black Duck – common.
Mallard – a few.
Gadwall (1)
Common Eider (~ 10)
White-winged Scoter (~ 35)
Long-tailed Duck (4)
Common Goldeneye (9)
Red-breasted Merganser (5)
Common Loon (~ 15) – mostly near mouth of river.
Great Cormorant (3) – aid to navigation at jetty’s end.
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Dunlin (1) – boat ramp.
Ring-billed Gull – many.
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull (2)
Rock Pigeon
American Crow (2)
Horned Lark (9) – boat ramp parking lot.

Cashman Park —
Canada Goose – many.
Mallard (~ 7)
Bufflehead (~ 20)
Common Goldeneye (6)
Bald Eagle (3) – immatures.
Ring-billed Gull – many.
Herring Gull – a few.

Plum Island —
Canada Goose – common.
American Black Duck – common.
Mallard – a few.
White-winged Scoter – common; one ocean.
Black Scoter(~ 20) – one ocean.
Red-throated Loon (2) – one ocean.
Horned Grebe (3) – one ocean.
Northern Harrier (2) – 1 female, 1 male; dunes, lot #1.
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull (3)
Rock Pigeon
American Crow (2)

One thought on “Wednesday Morning Birding Report January 31, 2018

  1. Doug Fraser

    Hi David,
    It may be that birds coming down the Atlantic Flyway, from eastern Canada, settled a bit further south this year for some unknown environment-related reason, where they may have joined with high numbers coming out of central Canada (same flyway). Historically, enormous numbers of waterfowl were recorded off Montauk Pt. L.I. where these two main streams of waterfowl joined, so-to-speak. Here are the sort of numbers I wrote down for a class that I used to take to the Ct coast. We never saw large rafts of any of these species:
    surf scoter 25,000 Montauk, 1 Jan 1930
    white-winged scoter 75,000 Montauk, 1 Jan 1930
    black scoter 10,000 3 Jan 1930
    horned grebe 1200 Montauk to Ditch Plains, 28Dec1958
    red-throated loon, 480 East Hampton to Montauk, 28Dec1941
    greater scaup, 85,000 Pelham Bay and L.I. Solund east to Stamford, CT
    old squaw, 2,500 Montauk Pt.
    These numbers were obviously estimated (and rounded), but impressive. I think they came out of the Arthur Bent series, but not certain. I know I spent a lot of time in the library, back in the 1970s and early 1980s digging stuff up for the class. So, it’s possible that we are seeing just a temporary shift owing to weather or some other quirky variable. Of course food availability is always possible too.

    Reply

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