Trip Highlights

Two cars and seven people went to the north shore, since more birds were reported there than on the south shore, which was the scheduled destination.  It also was a shorter distance to cover and some had to return early.  Bob, Howard and Marcy were there along with Peter Gagarin from Sunderland, who took a lot of photos.  We went first to Gloucester were Good Harbor Beach was uncovered at low tide.  We stopped at Bass Rocks, which was closer to Salt Island than the Elks Club and found the male King Eider close to the point on the east and ocean side.  It was preening in the water and eventually climbed up on the low rocks.  Also on the edge of the island were a flock of about 40 Sanderlings that flew off and around twice before returning to land in the same spot.  Close to us on the rocks right beneath us was a Purple Sandpiper feeding on the seaweed exposed by the low tide.  Also close were flocks of feeding Bufflehead, scattered White-winged Scoters and Common Loons.  There were only a few Black Scoters and Red-breasted Mergansers.  Farther out flying past fairly high was a stream of Gannets.  

We made a short stop at the Elks Club, then down Atlantic Avenue seeing 3 Great Cormorants at the south end, then on to the outer Niles Cove.  Only had a few things there, so went to Niles Pond, where there was another large group of birders parked and studying birds.  We had 4 Coot, 2 Pied-billed Grebe, 6 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 Greater Scaup, and 6 Bufflehead.  Rocky Neck had Horned Grebe, 6 Bufflehead, and 8 Red-breasted Mergansers.  After a restroom break at Stop and Shop, we went to Jodrey where we had a close Oldsquaw, a big raft of Eiders and a Loon.

We went north and arrived at the Scotland Road area in West Newbury.  Cherry Hill Reservoir gave us 115 Ruddy Ducks, 20 Bufflehead and some geese, but no sign of a Pink-footed Goose.  Salisbury was very windy, but we managed to see a Harrier, 12 Red-throated Loons, 6 Common Loons, and many scoters.  Two Merlins were perched on poles in the campground and near the jetty.  We found 2 Yellowrumps and a Bluebird among the campground trees, but no Crossbills.  At Plum Island the wind and sun bothered us badly, but among the many Black Ducks and geese at Bill Forward Pool were 7 Gadwall, 6 Hooded merganser, 50+ Pintail, a distant Peregrine, 2 Harriers, and a flock of Horned Larks.  We waited at the North Pool Lookout, where others including Brad Winn from Manomet were also stationed, but we only picked up 3 more Harriers.  For the day we found 33 water birds and 12 land birds.

I led trip to the north shore with 3 cars and 11 people.  At Cape Ann the ocean swells were deep and the waves crashed wildly.  At Jodrey Pier we found a few Eiders, Loons, and Cormorants plus a Peregrine perched on the light pole for a several minutes before streaking away.  In the harbor at Rocky Neck were a few Loons, Horned Grebes, Buffleheads, about 20 Surf Scoters, a Black Scoter, and 10 Red-breasted Mergansers.  Eastern Point had only 3 Gannets, some Loons, Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebe and a pair of Harlequins.  Niles Pond had 2 Coot, 5 Bonaparte’s Gulls, 3 Pied-billed Grebes, and some Ring-necked Ducks.  Bass Rocks had Buffleheads, Common Loons and scoters, a Red-necked Grebe, and more Gannets.

We moved north to Cathedral Rocks in Rockport and had 50 Harlequins and 30 Eiders, a few Loons, Gannets, and Scoters.  Andrews Point had 30 Gannets soaring low past us and occasionally diving. There were 60 Harlequins, Scoters, and Loons.  A Razorbill appeared and flew before us, dropping briefly to join two more.  Then all three quickly took to the air and flew back and forth a bit before landing in the deep troughs for distant looks.

Clouds had cleared and the sun was bright when we reached the Salt Pannes at Plum Island , where we found Great Blue Heron, 3 Harriers, a dozen Black-bellied Plovers and 25 Dunlins.  As we checked the first flocks of Black Ducks, we picked out a pair of Eurasian Wigeon and we had good enough light to see their colors.  They swam about for 2-3 minutes before taking off to the north.  At Lot 3 there were two more Harriers and some Greater Yellowlegs, plus a pair of American Wigeon.

At the Wardens area we had a pair of Oldsquaw, a Goldeneye and Buffleheads far out against the sun and a closer, clearer Red-throated Loon.  A Bald Eagle perched at the top of a low, bushy evergreen, and two more Harriers bounced before us.  We went on to Sandy Point where the waves were crashing, the tide was high, and the Emerson Rocks were invisible.  There were rafts of 200 Red-breasted Mergansers with a few Eiders and Loons.  Gannets were sailing past again and a flock of Black-bellied Plovers landed.

We hurried back north to Hellcat, past the flooded inland marshes.  Viewers were few and the ducks were close, more than a dozen Pintail, 2 Shovelers, a male Gadwall, 2 Goldeneye and some Bufflehead.  A flock of Dunlin was also present as was a young Red-tailed Hawk recovering from its attack of a duck that others had seen.  It spread its wings and tail in the sedges, then perched in low trees for some time.  Two more Harriers hunted in the area.

It was late afternoon when we joined other watchers at North Pool with many birders.  There, a reported “Snowy Owl” sitting in the grass on the bank of the dike turned out to be a plastic water jug.  The Short-eared Owl was real and it was seen circling and rising up over the dike in sweeping, intricate circles and dives before disappearing.  A Rough-legged Hawk flew off from the dike and went steadily west toward the tree line.  The Harriers included one or two males and numbered an amazing eight birds that hunted continuously over the north pool and dike.  Also present was a Merlin perched for a short time in a tree along the road.  As the day darkened, we headed home with 53 species, 39 water birds and 14 land birds.

Our second fall visit here drew nine people, two of them very new. It was windy and cold, improving very slowly as the day wore on.  A few Green-winged Teal were at Laurel Lake and Fairfield Pond, while Stockbridge Bowl gave us a Great Blue Heron in the marsh and a Bald Eagle that flew along the shore just above our heads.  We found a distant Red-throated Loon at Richmond Pond and the usual horde of over a thousand Ring-necked Ducks at Mud Pond.  Another eagle perched on the shore at Onota Lake, where many Hooded Mergansers and a Pied-billed Grebe dove for food close before us.  We watched a Sharp-shinned Hawk hunt at the home of Ann Conners, then waited for the Fox Sparrows and a Red-breasted Nuthatch to return to the feeders.  Nearby Pontoosuc had a big flock of Common Mergansers, some Buffleheads and Goldeneyes.  At the last stop, a lingering Yellow-rumped Warbler appeared and a Red-tailed Hawk circled low over our heads.

The usual leaders of this weekend trip were in Africa, but ten intrepid members headed north to Dead Creek in Addison Vermont.  Day 1 was a cool but windless morning that made the 2-3 thousand Snow Geese at the refuge a real treat as they rose with a clamor many times, especially when a Bald Eagle perched nearby turned its head.  Dozens of Green-winged Teal were in the nearby marsh and we got spectacular views of raptors.  Three Rough-legged Hawks hunted the meadows, a male Harrier joined them, and a Peregrine Falcon perched close by for several minutes before steaming its way across the meadows and spooking up a flock of Snow Buntings.  Even a Cooper’s Hawk appeared, then dove inside an abandoned barn.  We made our way over to Lake Champlain, where the water birds were scarce on the lake shore, but we managed close looks at Common Loons and Horned Grebes.  The coves sheltered a few Bufflehead, a Black Scoter, and some Hooded and Common Mergansers.

The weather turned nasty the morning of Day 2, with strong, cold winds following a night of rain.  We still found flocks of ducks on the inland side of Sandbar Park and some Black-bellied Plovers on the lake side.  South Hero Island had only a few loons, a Black Scoter and a White-winged Scoter.  At Isle La Motte, we found a few more loons on the water, but then lifted our eyes and looked west toward northern New York.  The sky was full of thousands of Snow Geese rising from the lowlands.  They first looked dark, but then glowed fiercely white as they rose higher into the sunlight against the distant backdrop of dark clouds.  Some descended after circling for several minutes, but many skeins headed south.  We returned to the eastern shore of the lake to find a flock of Dunlins and Plovers on the mudflats exposed by the low water level.  There were more flocks of Buffleheads and Black Scoters here as well as farther south at St. Albans Bay.  Also in the bay were hundreds of Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s Gulls loafing on the mudflats.  Then we noticed the water farther out was covered with Common Loons, at least 120 of these regal birds.

Clouds and comfortable conditions greeted the eight members for the first fall trip to Berkshire Lakes.  It was a slow start at Laurel Lake with only Mallards in view, but Stockbridge Bowl had 6 Green-winged Teal and a Great Blue Heron in the marsh.  We rode over Stockbridge Mountain to find 10 more Green-winged Teal in Fairfield Pond.  Richmond had 3 Ravens and a Coot, in the marsh , while on the pond was a Red-breasted Merganser.  Going overhead we noted a flock of a hundred Cedar Waxwings and four flocks of Bluebirds totaling about 50.  The count of Ring-necked Ducks at Mud pond was a cool 1100.  The south end of Onota Lake had a Common Loon and a Bonaparte’s Gull while the north end had 20 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Green-winged Teal, a Pied-billed Grebe, and another lone Coot.  The northwest corner of Pontoosuc had small groups of Common and Hooded Mergansers, along with another Red-breasted Merganser.  We were welcomed to Ann Connors house for views of a young White-crowned Sparrow and a Fox Sparrow.  Northeast Pontoosuc had another Common Loon and a third Red-breasted Merganser, this one a young male.