Birding Plymouth county...life bird #700



Yellow-breasted Chat, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

 

On Thursday I did something I do not normally do and that is take a trip out to the eastern end of the state.  I usually avoid the area as it is too busy for me typically and there are so many good spots closer to home.  However I decided to take up Ian Davies on his offer to show me around the Plymouth area checking on shorebirds and stopping by the Manomet Center for Conservation Science to check out the ongoing banding operation there.  http://www.manomet.org/

Manomet Point view, Aug 23, 2012

I left home predawn to make the two hour trip out to the coast arriving out there around 7am.  I met up with Ian and we were soon on our way for a full day of birding.  Our first stop was at Manomet Point to scan the ocean for birds including the possibility of some storm-petrels.  We scanned the ocean but came up short on any storm-petrels.  We did have at least one Northern Gannet, a few Common Loons and a variety of gulls, terns and cormorants as well as a scattering of shorebirds. 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

Yellow-breasted Chat, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

Removing Gray Catbird from net, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

Removing Alder Flycatcher from net, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

Tufted Titmouse, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

View from Manomet Center for Conservation Science, Aug 23, 2012

Downy Woodpecker, Manomet bird banding station, Aug 23, 2012

 

We then went over to check out the bird banding operation arriving there a little before 7:30.  The banding team of five was just finishing up the processing of birds from the first net run of the day at 7am.  There was a handful of Gray Catbirds (the most common species captured here) as well as a first of the season Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  Between the hourly net runs I got to see some of the history of this long operating banding station.  The variety of rare and unusual birds caught here over years is quite remarkable and would deserve a blog post all on their own.  The various tools, bands, nets etc used in  capturing and processing the birds is quite interesting to see close up.  We joined the banders on three hourly net checks and captured a variety of other birds including several more Gray Catbirds, a Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Phoebe, Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal and Alder Flycatcher.  The Alder Flycatcher ID was the most time consuming to make as specific measurements and other criteria was needed to ID a species that is typically identified my call.  After processing the birds from the 10am net check we headed out to our next birding stop.

 

Yellow crowned Night Heron-adult, Bluefish River, Duxbury, MA, Aug 23, 2012

Yellow crowned Night Herons (adult-right, juvenile upper left), Bluefish River, Duxbury, MA, Aug 23, 2012

Great Egret, Bluefish River, Duxbury, MA, Aug 23, 2012

We took a drive north to Duxbury to check on some Yellow-crowned Night Herons that have been seen along the Bluefish River there.  We got there and scanned quickly and found nothing besides a Green Heron, Great Blue Heron and some Greater Yellowlegs.  We then scanned the trees and found a juvenile well hidden in a tree.  We were about to head out when we stopped to scan the trees one more time and this time we found an even more hidden adult.  Amazing how well they blend in.  A few Great Egrets came into the area as we were leaving.

Blue-winged Teal, Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary, Marshfield, MA, Aug 23, 2012





Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary, Marshfield, MA, Aug 23, 2012

After the Bluefish River we headed even further north to Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield. We wanted to try and catch up with some lingering Purple Martins but they seem to have all left for the season. A brief walk to a few of the blinds produced a group of three Blue-winged Teal, a flyover Osprey carrying a fish, several Eastern Phoebe’s and a variety of other expected birds. By this time it was early afternoon so we headed back to Ian’s house to get a different vehicle to head out to Plymouth Beach.

Snowy Egrets, Damon's Point Road, Marshfield, MA, Aug 24, 2012

Bald Eagle, Damon's Point Road, Marshfield, MA, Aug 24, 2012

Our final stop on our trip north was up to Damon's Point Road in Marshfield.  We had some fairly decent groups of shorebirds here with the vast majority being Semipalmated Plovers and Semipalmated Sandpipers plus a handful of Greater Yellowlegs. The marshes had small groups of waders in them including Great Egret, Snowy Egret and Great Blue Heron. A juvenile Bald Eagle came in and flew off to the west just before we headed out. There was also hundreds of swallows (mainly Tree with a few Barn Swallows) feeding over the marsh.

Piping Plover, Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

White-rumped Sandpiper with Sanderling, Semipalmated Plover and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

Sanderling with tag "C7Y", Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

 

Common Tern, Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

Whimbrel (center), Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

Sanderling flock, Plymouth Beach, Plymouth, MA, Aug 23, 2012

We ended the day by being at Plymouth Beach for high tide to check on what shorebirds and terns were around.  We arrived around 1:45 or so and drove up to the end of Plymouth Beach.   We walked out onto the beach and immediately had groups of shorebirds numbering into the hundreds.  The most prevalent species were Semipalmated Plover, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Sanderlings and Short-billed Dowitchers.  There were also a number of Black bellied Plovers around with some in near breeding plumage.  Other species of shorebirds included Whimbrel, Red Knot, Dunlin, Piping Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, White-rumped Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper plus a possible Western Sandpiper.  The terns were also present near the tip of the beach with the vast majority being Common Terns with a lesser number of Roseate, Black, Least and Forester’s Terns.  Overall the sight of thousands of shorebirds and terns was very impressive but was actually much reduced from what is normally present according to Ian.  Another note of interest was the number of leg tagged Sanderlings present (I will add more details on these in a future post as I get more info).   There were also hundreds of gulls around including Great Black backed, Ring-billed, Herring and Laughing Gulls.  We stayed there until a little after four when Ian had to leave due to a prior commitment and I made the drive back west.  Overall it was a great day of birding and I managed to reach a milestone in birding on this trip as I found my 700th species when we caught up with some Roseate Terns at Plymouth Beach.  A thank you to Ian and others at the Manomet bird banding station for a fun day of birding 'out east'.

Sunday and Monday birding plus a tropical update

Great Blue Heron, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

Mallards in flight, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, August 19, 2012

Lake Wallace at dawn, August 19, 2012

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2012

Despite the date of August 19th, yesterday morning had the feel of fall with temperatures starting out at a cool 53 degrees.  It eventually warmed into the 70's but not until late morning.  Quite a contrast from the very warm weather we have been dealing with for a few months now.  On Sunday I decided to stay close to home visiting a variety of spots.  I started predawn at Lake Wallace were I had the largest group of waterfowl so far this season with a total of 91 Wood Ducks, 158 Mallards, 24 Canada Geese and a single Black Duck.  I'm still on the lookout for something odd among them but I did not find anything today.  There were also at least eight Green Herons  and a vocal Yellow-billed Cuckoo plus a Spotted Sandpiper as well as several Killdeer on the nearby fields. 

Common Loon in flight, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

Common Loon in flight, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

Chestnut-sided Warbler carrying food, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

Great Blue Heron, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

White-tailed Deer adult with fawns, Quabbin Park, August 19, 2012

My next stop was at Quabbin Park spending some time at Winsor Dam, Route 9 marsh, Hank's Meadow and the area between Goodnough Dike and the entrance.  At the marsh there were a couple each of Green Heron's and Solitary Sandpipers.  There were a few groups of mixed species around with several warbler species including Black throated Blue, Chestnut sided and Black and White Warblers as well as Common Yellowthroats, American Redstarts and a few Ovenbirds (one of which called once).  I also ran across a unusual in Quabbin Carolina Wren which was singing over and over again.  In the same general area was a quiet Winter Wren.  A pair of Common Loons flew around low over Hank's Meadow calling back and forth to each other.  A stationary count at Winsor Dam turned up a Great Blue Heron walking along the rocks near the dam, several Turkey Vultures, a Red-shouldered Hawk and a Sharpshinned Hawk plus an adult White-tailed Deer with two fawns playing in the fields below the dam.

I then made a trip to Gate 5 and walked down to the water and along the exposed shoreline.  Not much here beyond the expected species.

Lake Wallace at dawn, Belchertown, MA, August 20, 2012

Today I had a little time first thing in the morning before I had to get back home so I headed over briefly to Lake Wallace.  Nothing unusual found there today with slightly reduced numbers of waterfowl.  The number of Green Herons (8) is still impressive.  Later in the morning I took Wilson for a walk along the Jabish Canal and had two Common Nighthawks moving south, feeding at 10:45.  A very vocal Broad-winged Hawk flew over repeatedly. 

Common Nighthawk, Home-Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2012

Common Nighthawk, Home-Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2012

Turkey Vulture, Home-Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2012

Painted Lady, Home-Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2012

Painted Lady's, Home-Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2012

I spent the rest of the day at home catching up on 'stuff' around the house.  A few notable items to mention from today included an impressive incursion of Painted Lady butterflies.  I had at least 15 in the yard at once today with up to eight on one butterfly bush at once.  The total number of this species that must be around the area must be staggering.  As one more example of the remarkable numbers Tom Gagnon mentioned that he had 95 Painted Lady's in one small area of the Northampton Community Gardens a couple days ago...impressive!  I also spent some time checking for nighthawks from the yard.  I had my first two before 4pm.  The total for the entire evening totalled 21 with the largest group of seven at the end of the evening passing by extremely high heading west. 




Atlantic outlook, courtesy of NOAA, Aug 19, 2012

As an ongoing update to the hurricane season here is the latest as of Sunday.  Hurricane Gordon (cat 2 storm) is poised to hit the Azores.  A tropical wave near the Cape Verde islands has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical system in the next 48 hours.  If this system develops it has a chance of an impact on the US but that would be many days away, if at all.

Atlantic outlook, courtesy of NOAA, Aug 20, 2012

Here is the view as of Monday.  Gordon has hit the Azores and is now a tropical storm and headed toward Europe.  The tropical wave midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles now has an 80% chance of becoming a tropical system in the next 48 hours.  Some showers and thunderstorms in the western Gulf of Mexico has a 30% of development and a further tropical wave off the Cape Verde Islands has a 20% of development in the next 48 hours. 

Fruitless search for new shorebirds but did find some raptors

Osprey, Quabbin Park, August 18, 2012

Bald Eagle, Quabbin Park, August 18, 2012

Old Pilgrim Airport fields, Hatfield, Ma, Aug 18, 2012

I started off this raining Saturday looking for shorebirds that had been grounded overnight but didn't have much luck despite a lot of looking.  I started predawn at the Belchertown state school fields and had 9 Killdeer.  I then drove over to the East Meadows in Northampton. The drive through there with several stops produced only two Least Sandpipers.  The swallow numbers however were quite impressive here (as well as other stops today).  There were several hundred in flight at once with most being Tree Swallows with a smaller number of Barn and Bank. I then headed up through Hatfield to the Whately line.  The only productive area for shorebirds was the old Pilgrim Airport which had 30+ Killdeer.  It looked like the shorebird search was a bust but worth the try nonetheless.  I decided to stay over in the Hadley/Amherst area with various stops including Silvio Conte NWR/Moody Bridge Rd, UMASS and the Amherst business park.  As mentioned in the title there were some decent raptors around including American Kestrel, Red shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk and Turkey Vulture in the Moody Bridge Road area and a Peregrine Falcon perched above the UMASS campus pond.  As usual this year, I missed finding any Black Vultures on this trip.  In the Amherst business park I stopped at a small man made wetland (water run off pond) that looked promising for rails but came up empty.  There was a Double-crested Cormorant there as well as a small group of passerines including a Warbling Vireo that easily could have been mistaken for a Philadelphia Vireo but once it sang that possibility ended.

Hairy Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, August 18, 2012

Monarch, Quabbin Park, August 18, 2012

Canada Goose with leg tag, unable to get entire number sequence, Quabbin Park, August 18, 2012

After lunch I decided to head over to Quabbin Park to check out a new trail that was recently completed there which runs from the HQ building through the woods down to the Swift River and back.  A nice walk with several good birds including at least three Red Crossbills (too far away to get any good photos or audio), two Osprey, at least a dozen Turkey Vultures, one Bald Eagle, a Brown Thrasher and others.

This evening at home in an hour of nighthawk watching I managed to see just one lone bird heading southwest...not a big night of movement for them here.

A little morning birding before work

Wood Duck, Green Heron and Mallard lined up, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, August 17, 2012

River Otter eating fish,  Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, August 17, 2012

I had a few minutes before work this morning so I made a brief stop at Lake Wallace and the fields near the old state school in Belchertown.  There were a total of 22 Killdeer on the fields.  Lake Wallace still held 100+ Mallards as well as 42 Wood Ducks.  No other waterfowl were obvious but I didn’t have the time to spend too much time looking around.  The best bird of the day was seen just as I was leaving as I noticed a flycatcher perched in the top of a dead snag.  A quick look revealed it to be my first of the year Olive-sided Flycatcher (county bird #192 this year).  I got a good look at the bird but it moved further away and out of view before I could get a digiscoped shot of it.  Another sighting of note was a River Otter munching away on a freshly caught fish. Before heading over to Lake Wallace I had a continuing Louisiana Waterthrush still singing a partial song along the stream near the house.

Barn Swallows, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 17, 2012

Barn Swallow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 17, 2012

Tree Swallow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 17, 2012

Tonight I spent a bit of time at home looking for Common Nighthawks and was rewarded with a total of nine all moving west/northwest fairly high.  Also a few Barn and Tree Swallows feeding over the house.

Today may be the last day of hot and humid weather for awhile as a cold front pushes through tonight and brings lowers temperatures and lower humidity’s for the next week with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the 50’s.  The change in weather will likely lead to some decent migration conditions for a variety of species.