Plymouth County

The day was sunny, but blustery with steady winds of 10-15 mph, making the 35-40 degrees temperatures feel much colder.  The six members who gathered to bird the coast of Plymouth were not discouraged or disappointed.  Two members added seven species to their life lists – who can complain about that!

Stop one was White Horse Beach.  There we got our first looks at Common Loon, all three scoter species, with Black and Surf Scoters outnumbering the hand full of White-winged Scoters.  Long-tailed Ducks were numerous too, and we counted a half-dozen Horned Grebes.  The Northern Gannets were readily visible with binoculars, but spotting scopes brought them in for flawless views.

Next stop was Bartlett Pond, where we added Gadwall, Bufflehead, Black Duck, Mallard and Mute Swan. Several songbirds were spotted here, including Carolina Wren, Tree and Song Sparrows, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay and Yellow-rumped Warbler (our only warbler species of the day).

From there, we headed to Manomet Point, the famous seawatch spot, and were lucky to get good looks at a single floating Razorbill.  Gannets were also there and not too far out.  We added Common Eider, Harlequin Duck in good numbers, and Great Cormorant to the list, as well as a lone Bald Eagle, very high in the sky, spotted by Tim.

Now we were cold enough to take a good break at Leyden Street Coffee. Great beverages and a clean rest room, both were especially welcome.

Plymouth Beach was next, giving us good views of Long-tailed Duck, Horned Grebe and White-winged and Surf Scoters, but no new birds to add to the list. Then Stephen’s Field, which added our first views of Bonaparte’s Gull.

From there we headed to the Plymouth Jetty, where we were greeted by hundreds of Rock Pigeons enjoying the pavement of the large parking lot behind the East Bay Grille.  From here, we searched in vain for a different gull among hundreds gracing the rocky beach.  Then turning to look in the opposite direction, Bonaparte’s Gulls were spotted again, making their way around the boats close by in the harbor. Their buoyant flight pattern, small size and white on the leading edge of their wings made keeping them in view easy once they were identified.

Jenny’s Pond had a near full parking lot and is a full-blown construction site, but we managed to find Mallard, Black Duck, Gadwall, Mute Swan and added Great Blue Heron and Green-winged Teal.

Our last stop was Cumberland Farms in Halifax, River St. entrance.  We arrived early, hoping to find the Say’s Phoebe that had been reported off and on, and as recent as that very morning.  We did not see it, but we did spot Tree Sparrow on the dirt road in, a Ring-necked Pheasant running along the road ahead of us, and Rough-legged Hawk being pestered by a Harrier.  There were Northern Harriers in abundance.  We estimated a minimum of eight, including one “gray ghost.”  While waiting for dusk to approach and hoping for looks at Short-eared Owl, we spotted an Eastern Meadowlark fly by with the setting sun lighting up the bright yellow underbody.  There were also a dozen Mourning Doves perching on a nearby fence and we heard a Raven call out several times.  At last, we spotted the Short-eared Owl and most of us got scope views of one flying low, back and forth over the fields. Three others were counted to round out a great birding day.

We ended up a bit cold, but with smiles on our faces, heading home with a total species count of 52 for the day.  We were proud to add 21 new species to our club’s 250-challenge for species spotted on field trips during the club year.  Our challenge is a way of celebrating the United States Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.  

Click below to view complete species list.