Hello, WMBers!
Did you know that Wednesday was the first day of summer?! Well, with the temperature climbing into the upper 80s before all was said and done, combined with the fact that the Sandy Point parking lots were just about full, and that parking lot #1 was also jam-packed with “beach creatures” before we left the island – well, certainly, May 2, this past Wednesday, was the first day of summer! I really hate to miss spring. I’m hoping that the temps will back off and we will yet enjoy some spring for the next little while.
In David Moon’s absence (sanctuary directors meeting), Susan Yurkus joined me in leading Wednesday Morning Birding on Plum Island. We were in grand hopes that the southerly winds of the last day or so would bring us a wave of migrants for all to enjoy. At Hellcat, MaryMargaret, an early-birding friend, delivered the disappointing news that we should have been there at 6:00 am, because there were birds galore. Unfortunately for us, it wasn’t long before they upped and left for points north. In the end, we had to scrape and scratch for every species we finally tallied.
We started the morning with a casual drive down to Sandy Point, my thoughts being to have a look at the ocean at Bar Head for any lingering overwintering duckies, perhaps pick up a Piping Plover or two, and then welcome back newly arrived Bank Swallows that nest there. Best laid plans! Neither parking lot could accommodate our rather large caravan. My goodness, it’s a Wednesday and school is still in session — isn’t it??! Certainly, there will have to be a few notes to teachers about why kids were not in class . . . .
In our drive down the refuge road, we welcomed back a couple of first-of-the-year (FOY) species — Willets and Snowy Egrets. Great Egrets were also present. We have been seeing them since April 4, but this was the first of the Snowies, those smaller members of the heron family (Ardeidae), the white ones with the black bill, black legs, and yellow feet (“those golden slippers”). After being turned away from Sandy Point, we made our way back up to Hellcat where we spent some time looking for passerines in the trees and shrubs around the restrooms. It was there that we spied our first of several Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and a few of us saw a rather handsome male Black-and-white Warbler, the warbler that forages along tree branches and up and down tree trunks, much like a nuthatch in search of insects and spiders and their eggs. A brief look from the Hellcat dike gave us our only Northern Harrier of the day, a dark brown female, lilting over the North Pool marsh some distance away. The Osprey pair was at home on their Pines Trail nesting platform.
On our way to the refuge road through the parking lot, we first heard, and then saw singing from the top of a tree, a Purple Finch. This has been a fairly reliable spot to pick up these raspberry-colored finches and their rather melodious warble — really a lovely song. While standing in the parking lot, a medium-sized falcon flew rapidly overhead going south — a Merlin (at some point, I’m sure it got turned around and resumed its migration north). Birding the refuge road up past Goodno Woods and back, we came across at least another seven Ruby-crowned Kinglets and another couple of Purple Finches. An Eastern Towhee could be heard calling deep in the woods, and several of our group were fortunate to find a Hermit Thrush in Goodno.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Bob Minton
Hermit Thrush – Susan Balser
Back in our vehicles and heading north, a Common Yellowthroat was heard singing its “witchity-witchity-witchity” song just beyond GoodnoWoods. In the S-curves, many of us saw a second male Black-and-white Warbler fairly close to the roadside. Nice! A small flock of five White-throated Sparrows flew across the road in front of us, and two of our party found a lone Chipping Sparrow. At one point, a migrating Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen in its “flap-flap-glide” flight mode, one of three that we would see during the morning. Two Black-capped Chickadees made their presence known, and we heard a Belted Kingfisher “rattling” over the marsh.
Black-and-white Warbler – Patti Wood
Willet – Bob Minton
On our way back up to parking lot #1, on the main panne, we found a pair of Gadwalls and a small number of American Black Ducks. A pair of Willets was conveniently roadside at the edge of the panne, no more than 20 feet away. And, lest I should forget, throughout our travels along the refuge road, American Toads were singing their spring song — a drawn-out trill, which can be lost in the ambient sounds of the island if you are not aware of it. We arrived at parking lot #1 to find it overflowing with cars. We managed to squeeze in here and there, and got out of our vehicles to have a look at the Purple Martins taking up residence in the nesting gourds located there. At first, there were no martins to be seen, but then, we found five or six flying high above us, hawking for insects. Suddenly, apparently on cue, these birds came tumbling down together, back to the gourds, where we had fabulous looks at this largest member of the swallow family. While we attended to the martins, a Red-tailed Hawk above us kited on the 15-mph westerly wind — good looks at this bird of prey! Also overhead was our third Sharp-shinned Hawk .
Purple Martin female – Patti Wood
Sharp-shinned Hawk first year female – Mike Densmore
Next week will surely be an improvement for birds present on Parker River National Wildlife Refuge — feathered friends will simply not be as sparse as they were this week. Of course, no guarantees ;-)) . . . . but, y’all come!
Best regards!
Dave Weaver
[email protected]
Our list:
Canada Goose
Mute Swan (4) – 2, Stage Island Pool; 2, The Warden’s pond.
Gadwall (2) – main panne.
American Black Duck (~ 12) – various, primarily main panne.
Mallard (2)
Wild Turkey (1) – roadside, s. Hellcat.
Double-crested Cormorant (~ 30) – couple of migrating flocks.
Great Blue Heron (1) – marsh across road from lot #2.
Great Egret (~ 12)
Snowy Egret (~ 20)
Turkey Vulture (1)
Osprey (2) – Pines Trail platform.
Northern Harrier (1) – female, over North Pool marsh.
Sharp-shinned Hawk (3) – migrating.
Red-tailed Hawk (2)
Killdeer (2) – lot #1.
Greater Yellowlegs (5) – pannes.
Willet (~ 12) – various.
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove (2)
Belted Kingfisher (1) – marsh S-curves.
Downy Woodpecker (1) – S-curves.
American Kestrel (1) – hovering over South Field.
Merlin (1) – flying s. over Hellcat parking lot.
Blue Jay (1)
American Crow (~ 20)
Purple Martin (~ 12) – lot #1.
Tree Swallow (3)
Black-capped Chickadee (2) – S-curves.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (~ 8) – vicinity Hellcat parking lot.
Hermit Thrush (1) – Goodno Woods.
American Robin – a few scattered about.
European Starling
Black-and-white Warbler (2) – 1, Hellcat; 1, S-curves.
Common Yellowthroat (1) – n. Goodno Woods.
Eastern Towhee (~ 5) – various.
Chipping Sparrow (1) – S-curves.
White-throated Sparrow (6) – 1, Hellcat; 5, S-curves.
Northern Cardinal (1)
Red-winged Blackbird – common.
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird (3)
Purple Finch (3) – vicinity of Hellcat.
American Goldfinch (1)