Trip Highlights

We delayed the scheduled trip by one day to avoid 3-5” of snow expected to fall early morning on Saturday.  The destination was also changed to Cape Ann, rather than the originally scheduled day on Plum Island.  The weather was comfortable, with temps in the mid-30s, though the wind picked up during the day.  

Six members gathered in Gloucester and headed to Jodrey’s State Fish Pier to begin the day of birding. We got our first looks at Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter and Common Loon, three of each species and two each of Bufflehead and Horned Grebe.  Also there were 50 Common Eider and a few Red-breasted Mergansers.

Next stop was Rocky Neck Beach where we added 25 more Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Gadwall, 2 Surf Scoters and a Black Scoter.  Niles Beach gave us more of the same species and added a Common Goldeneye and a White-winged Scoter.  

By 10 AM, we reached Eastern Point. We were unable to walk out to the dog bar or the rocky cliff to scan the open ocean as we usually do, but still managed to add 4 Greater Scaup, 4 Brant and a dozen Purple Sandpipers to the list.  Other species spotted from the parking lot were a dozen each of Canada Geese, Black Duck and Long-tailed Duck, 8 Gadwall, 6 Bufflehead, and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Niles Pond was frozen, so we headed to nearby Brace Cove spotting 34 Canada Geese, 4 Common Loons, 4 Mallards, 3 Black Ducks, 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Bufflehead, 6 Common Eider, 2 Common Goldeneye, a dozen Robins and a Downy Woodpecker.  

On Atlantic Ave, we noticed 3 Great Cormorants perched on Cormorant Rock, which shouldn’t really be a surprise. A fly-by of Sharp-shinned Hawk was spotted as we approached the Elks Club. New birds here for the list included, a Black Guillemot, 2 Mockingbirds, and 3 Razorbills, along with more Robins, Common Eiders, Buffleheads, Black Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, a Common Loon and another Great Cormorant.  It was here that we noticed the wind picking up, lowering the feels-like temperature and allowing the cold to creep in.

It was time for a quick lunch break at our favorite Stop & Shop, before heading up the coast to Loblolly Cove in Rockport. On our arrival, a Carolina Wren was singing and a Northern Cardinal, too. Two Rock Pigeons perched on wires above the street. There were 6 Common Eider, a Razorbill, two each of White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead, Black Duck and Mallard and another Great Cormorant.

Our next destination was Granite Pier. Here we added a dozen Harlequin to the list and saw a dozen Common Eider, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, two each of Horned Grebe, Bufflehead and Black Scoter, 3 White-winged Scoter and 10 Surf Scoter.

On to Cathedral Rocks to observe a raft of 30 Harlequins, with a raft 40 Black Scoters just a bit more distant in the water. There was a Razorbill sitting on the water and 5 more spotted by Chris flying past.  Other species were Bufflehead, Horned Grebe and Red-breasted merganser.

Close by at Andrew’s Point, we were tipped off by another birder that floating in Hoop Pole Cove was a single Dovekie in very close.  This sighting not only added to our 250-Challenge list and the day list, but lifted our spirits a notch, too.  Three more new birds for the day were House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Song Sparrow, all heard from the trees near the car park.  Other species seen were a whooping 77 Long-tailed Ducks, 50 Harlequin, 40 Black Scoters, 12 Common Eider, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Common Loon.

It was 2 PM now and a consensus was reached to quit early due to weather advisories for a big storm to arrive by evening, forecast to bring 18-36 inches of new snow to New England.  One member decided to stay a bit longer and bird Plum and Folly Coves.  It was with luck that the reported Thick-billed Murre was at Plum Cove and sitting up upon a rock on the edge of the water, a Razorbill.  All three scoter species were there, too, along with 15 Bufflehead and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers.  Folly Cove had 2 White-winged Scoters, 5 Great Cormorants, 14 Black Ducks, 2 Common Loons and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers.  To end the day, a Red-tailed Hawk was spotted high in a tree across the street.  

Fortunately, all got home safely, just as the first snowflakes began to fall. It was a fine day of birding and fellowship!  Our final species total was 38, with some rarer species bringing excitement to the day.

We were 7 members that gathered to search the fields of the East Meadows in Northampton for the much-anticipated Snowy Owl(s).  There have been two Snowy Owls reported since the beginning of the year, so we were quite hopeful that birders were already on the bird – and they were!  We had very nice scope views of the male Snowy sitting in the field.  While there, we spotted a Northern Harrier hunting the fields; it was a “gray ghost.”  Flocks of Canada Geese were counted as they flew high above, with the “seven sisters” of Skinner State Park as a backdrop.

We decided to move on to the Honey Pot in Hadley to look for Lapland Longspurs.  Though we did not find a Longspur, we thoroughly enjoyed scanning the large flocks of Horned Larks, with Snow Buntings mixed in.  While some were feeding in the road, many were close by in the fields.  They would take to the air when a car drove past, and then settle back down into the field very close to where we were set up for excellent views.  Just before we left this location, we spotted a Merlin perched high in the farthest tree, where the dike separating the fields meets the dike along the river.  Our scopes were as zoomed in as possible and we could barely make out the field marks; not a very satisfying view, but enough to clinch the identification.  

Next spot was Fitzgerald Lake in Northampton, where we searched and searched in vain for the reported Varied Thrush.  We did pick up a variety of songbirds, a woodpecker, and a Red-shouldered Hawk, but no robins and no sign of the rarer thrush.  It had been spotted that very morning, but this conservation area has lots of terrain to cover.

Some of the group continued birding to look for a reported Barrow’s Goldeneye on the river farther south, but it was not to be found.  It seems the Snowy Owl was the star of the day!

Click below to view the list of species identified.

The traditional first stop on the first club fieldtrip of the new year is Sider’s Pond in Falmouth and so it was this year, too.  We gathered, 7 in total.  The weather was sunny, but cold at 20-30 degrees, with 5-10 mph winds from the west.  At Sider’s Pond we had our first looks at Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Loon far out on the ice-free portion of the pond.  We picked up songbirds here, too, including 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers showing beautiful color in the morning light.

Next stops were Salt Pond, the oceanfront across the street, and Surf Drive Beach.  The pond was mostly frozen over, but the second viewing area did have some open water, revealing a half dozen Common Goldeneye, 4 Hooded Mergansers and 2 Bufflehead. The ocean side stops gave us another dozen Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Mergansers.

The south end of Ashumet Pond was next. Here we spotted more of the same species and Hooded Mergansers, 2 Bald Eagles and a Red-tailed Hawk.  The north end of Ashumet had open water and added a Gadwall, 20 Lesser Scaup and 10 Greater Scaup, 15 Common Goldeneye, 8 American Wigeon, 8 Coot and a Bluebird to our list.

There was a King Eider reported at North Chatham Landing, but we decided not to go that far out, reasoning more birding, less driving.  Instead, we opted to try for the reported Northern Shrike at Francis A. Crane WMA.  The bird was not to be found, but we did spot Eastern Meadowlarks and a couple of beautiful little Fox Sparrows. Feeding in the same area off the entrance road by the playing field were Savannah, Field and Tree Sparrows, and the ubiquitous Dark-eyed Junco.

At Loop Beach in Cotuit, we spotted the reported two Barrow’s Goldeneyes, one male and one female.  Long-tailed ducks, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Eider, Mallards, and Black Ducks were all present, as well as 10 Brant and another Common Loon.

From here we headed due north to Shawme Pond in Sandwich.  The pond was mostly frozen over, but one area in the center was open and loaded with over a hundred American Wigeon. Though we scanned and scanned we did not find the Eurasian Wigeon we hoped for.  There were a couple of Ring-necked Ducks, two Mute Swans, 20 Hooded Mergansers, and a Bufflehead in the opening, a Great Blue Heron standing on the ice at the edge of the open water, and a Wild Turkey perched high above in a tree.  A Raven and several Crows called while we were scanning and we picked up a few songbirds and several woodpeckers, including Red-bellied and Hairy and a Yel-low-bellied Sapsucker.

The next spot was not far away, the popular Tree House Brewing Company on Town Neck Rd.  The parking lot was almost full, but finding a space here and there, we managed to stay and bird a bit on Cape Cod Bay.  We did not find alcids, but we did spot 500 Common Eider, 4 White-winged Scoters, 2 Common Loons, Long-tailed Ducks and a Great Cormorant.

Our final stop, and it was almost dark by then, was at the Great Herring Pond boat launch in Bourne.  The pond was frozen over, but we eyed a cluster of at least 10 Wild Turkeys in the trees that skirt the water’s edge.

We ended the day all smiles, with 54 species and 3 new species to add to our 250-Challenge!

Click below to view complete species.

This was our 35th year of participation in Audubon’s Christmas Count as Cobble Mtn Circle, with our first count taking place in 1991.  Here’s a rundown of how we did this year compared to past years.  We brought in a total of 65 species, up 4 species from last year, and 2 species above average over all the years.  Observer effort was up by two birders and hours in the field was the same as last year; both were above average for the count.

Conditions for the count were fairly comfortable, though a 4” snowfall on the previous day made walking on unplowed surfaces more difficult.  Waters were mostly frozen on ponds, with very few areas of open water.  Moving water was partly frozen with open areas. The temperature ranged from 19-38 degrees F; sunshine prevailed most of the day, with cloud cover creeping in by late afternoon.  Winds were 0-7 mph, from the northwest in the morning and from the southwest in the afternoon.

Three species were counted at an all-time high this year, Red-shouldered Hawk at 17 (avg 3), Red-tailed Hawk at 65 (avg 30), and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at 9 (avg 3).

Found in lower numbers than usual was Black Duck at 11 (avg 53), Ring-billed Gull at just 6 (avg 124), and Golden-crowned Kinglet at 5 (avg 29).  The Ring-billed Gull was only counted in lower numbers in 2017, and the Golden-crowned Kinglet was only counted in lower numbers three other times overall.

Unfortunate misses this year were Belted Kingfisher (only missed on 1 other year since 2011) and Red-winged Blackbird (feast or famine for this species).

We were fortunate to find some rarer species.  Though Congamond usually gives us a rare species or two, this year the ponds were just about completely frozen over on the surface. The hilltowns won the prize this year.  Kathy and Myles found 4 Pine Siskins, identified in only 5 other counts in the last 15 years.  Dorrie and Paul spotted 2 Red Crossbills, only recorded on two other counts, and 11 Evening Grosbeaks, not seen since 2007.  Vince and Tim found 3 Savannah Sparrows and 2 Chipping Sparrows.  Chipping Sparrows have only been counted on two other counts.  At lower elevations, Bambi and April spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow, adding it to the count list as a new species, first time found!  They also spotted 2 Ring-necked Ducks in a small opening of South Pond.  Janice and Gail heard a Fish Crow and eyed a perched Merlin, which they were able to scope for excellent views.  Tim and Joseph spotted the only Purple Finch.  This species was recorded in about half of the counts, but less often in recent years.  Tom found a lone Northern Pintail, found only sporadically.  Bruce, Ilene and Doug found 5 Brown-headed Cowbirds and 3 of the 9 Red-shouldered Hawks.  Joanne and Al saw 9 Cedar Waxwings, and Dave and Kim counted 5 in their territory.  Dave and Kim also picked up the only Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Yellow-rumped Warbler, only seen in three other counts.  Andrea and Jim went owling and found a Great Horned Owl, and together with Qin found a Barred Owl by day and 2 Field Sparrows.  Also putting in some owling time, John got 2 Barred Owls, and Janice heard two Barred, one Great Horned, and one Screech.  John also found 2 Winter Wrens and the only Hermit Thrush.  

Mary Jo helped by counting birds at her feeder in Blandford.  Dorrie found 3 count week species, a Snow Goose, a Red-necked Grebe and 4 Common Goldeneye, and Qin spotted a Ring-necked Pheasant.

Special thanks to Joanne Fortin, who hosted the compilation yet again this year.  Her generosity allowed us to end our count day with delicious food, lots of laughter, and a camaraderie that cannot be beat!

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2025 Cobble Mtn CBC Results

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2025 SPFLD CBC Results