Trip Highlights

Seven students and a new family of four joined eight members for the trip to Turners Falls.  A third Bald Eagle joined the nesting pair as almost constant companions during our stay at Barton Cove.  On the water from three viewpoints we found 12 Ring-necked Duck, 4 Mute Swan, 3 Hooded Merganser, 85 Tree Swallows.  Two flocks of Cedar Waxwings numbered more than 200, one group mostly seen on the ground beneath a fruiting tree at close range.  The Conte Power Canal had only a few Mallards, but a Turkey flushed from a pine tree overlooking the main river.  Upriver, the Rod and Gun Club had 2 male Bufflehead, 12 Common Mergansers, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Mute Swans, and 3 Wood Ducks.  The nearby airport had a Kestrel fly overhead and a Killdeer that posed near the parking lot.  A luncheon at the China Gourmet in Greenfield followed the morning’s birding.

It was a day of daring, as six birders ventured out on the long drive and two-mile walk to this wild beach at the edge of civilization.  We took the inland route, walking through a pitch pine forest, across the dike through the Hatches Harbor marshes and over the dunes to the edge of the Atlantic.  There were a few Horned Larks on the sand among the sparse grasses.  One vehicle was there and a small group of watchers, all seeking the rare seabirds.  With their help, it was not long before the Yellow-billed Loon came into view for us in the heaving waves close to shore.  The bill was dull but huge and so was the body.  The water surface was strewn with Red-throated Loons and a few Common Loons.  The scoters, Eiders and Razorbills were mostly flying by, but some were on the water.  The most abundant bird was the Red-breasted Merganser.  A flock of gulls went up and down just off the beach, swarming at the water’s surface above schools of fish and shrimp.  

Other birders had seen the Common (Mew) Gull on the beach earlier with other gulls, but it was some time, before we picked it out in the swarm that moved back and forth along the beach.  A dozen or more Iceland Gulls were haunting the area along with a few Herring Gulls, one or two Glaucous Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls, and many Ring-billed Gulls.  Farther out many alcids were flying past in flocks, almost all Razorbills.  The reported Common Murres eluded our efforts to find them.  One Oldsquaw and one Horned Grebe were noted and three Gannets sailed past.  Two Right Whales were noticed working their way back and forth, most often beneath the surface, but occasionally rising above for a moment or two.  In the search and discovery for the rarer species, we were helped by the birders that were there when we arrived, and we in turn helped those who arrived after us.

Day 1 - Four cars met at Gloucester on a cold, windy day under cloudy skies. However, we reminded ourselves of what we were NOT experiencing since the trip had been postponed from Valentine’s Day weekend (when the forecast was anything but lovable!).  We stopped briefly at Annisquam, finding a couple of accipiters and glimpsing only a very few ducks.  The wind was strong and cold, but the offshore storm also sent huge waves crashing on the shoreline.  We stopped at the cemetery and found a Screech Owl hidden deeply in the hole of a lower branch.  Folly Cove had Harlequins, Scoters and Eiders and nearby Halibut shore had mostly a strong headwind and tremendous surf.  Andrews Point had a flock of Common Eiders, but we could not spot the young King Eiders, though a flock of Purple Sandpipers sped past.  Nearby Cathedral Rocks and Granite Pier were less wild with Common Loons, Eiders, Bufflehead, and another Purple Sandpiper flock.  After lunch we hit the more protected east side of Rockport facing into the open ocean.  Even so, there were only a few Harlequins and Eiders at Straitsmouth Cove and a few more at Loblolly Cove.  Looking south from Penzance Road we had good looks at Loons, Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, and Eiders, plus Great Cormorants were roosting on Milk Island.  

Arriving in Gloucester, we were greeted by a Harrier at Good Harbor Beach and a Peregrine on Salt Island.  We stopped at the Elks Lodge, but there was no sign of the adult King Eider.  Instead it was Buffleheads, Goldeneyes, and Scoters, plus a flock of Purple Sandpipers and a Horned Grebe.  Brace Cove had a flying Razorbill, two floating Black Guillemots, plus Scoters, Loons, Goldeneyes and Mergansers.  At Eastern Point the harbor was much calmer and we had good looks at an Iceland Gull.  Also there were Oldsquaw, Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, Bufflehead, Goldeneye, and Surf Scoter.  Niles Pond was glassy calm, with great views of 2 Redheads, Gadwalls, Ring-necked Ducks, and a big flock of 65 Red-br Mergansers.  A Lesser Scaup hid at the edge of the cattails.  The stop at Jodrey Pier had no alcids (a Murre had been reported), but plenty of regular gulls and some Eiders plus a few each of Common and Red-throated Loon, Oldsquaw, Surf Scoter and Red-br Merganser, and one seal near the pier. Saturday ended with 51 species and awesome views of sun “haloes.”  

Day 2 - We arrived on time at the usual breakfast place in Rowley, and then we returned to Ipswich to bird Argilla Road, which had hundreds of Canada Geese, plus four Snow Geese and a few Killdeer.  After that we did Town Farm Road, where we found two Redtails at a nest, and Pineswamp Road for Brown Creeper and the usual land birds.  Back in Rowley, Stackyard Road had a few Robins, but little else.  From the kayak shop parking lot, we had two Cooper’s Hawks crossing the river, 3 Oldsquaw and some Bufflehead.  Just before turning onto Rolfes Lane a pair of Cooper’s Hawks was spotted on a nest in a small grove next to the road.  The Joppa Flats visitor center had welcome bathrooms and a huge flock of geese.  A bonus here was 3 Pintail and some Cedar Waxwings.  

We arrived at Lot 1 at 11:30 to find the surf again high and noisy but giving views of an alcid, a Loon, and some White-winged Scoters.  The salt pannes were mostly frozen over with 4 Gadwall among a hundred Black Ducks.  Another walk to oceanside at Lot 3 got us all the scoters and a big flock of shorebirds flying past.  We noted a few hawks at the Wardens, including 2 Harriers heading south.  Hellcat was also mostly frozen, but we found more Harriers, including an adult male.  At Cross Farm Hill one of us spied a Snowy Owl half hidden by a small bramble bush.  While watching it a Rough-legged Hawk began hunting the north side of the hill, putting on a show for quite a while.  Others driving by stopped for the owl and we told other birders about it.  We went on to Lot 7, where we found more sea ducks and spotted the big flock of shorebirds resting on and working the rocks.  They were mostly Dunlin, but some Sanderlings were also in the flock.  From the tower a flock of 40 Pintails were visible in the Stage Island Pool.  Next we drove upriver to Cashman Park, where there were Bufflehead, Goldeneyes, Red-br mergansers, and Oldsquaws, as well as a Great Blue Heron on the far shore.  Last stop was Salisbury Beach, where the tide was low and there were many resting and feeding Eiders and White-winged Scoters, plus a few Gadwall and Loons.  The seals basking on the exposed rocks were also a treat.  We called it a weekend very pleased, with 71 species, despite the cold and wind, and a few “misses".

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It was 2:30 when the group met at the Northampton commuter lot.  Five cars and 14 people drove to Turners Falls, finding many roadside Redtails along the way and an early Turkey Vulture circling over Deerfield.  Even before we set up our scopes at the Unity Park, someone drove in, coming from the larger parking lot a little upstream.  He told us that this group was looking at the hotline bird in a big flock of gulls standing on the ice at the edge of Barton Cove.  We loaded our gear and drove there quickly finding the Yellow-legged Gull with some help from Bob Stymeist and Geoff LeBaron.  It was slightly larger than the many Herring Gulls, sporting a clean white head, a large red spot on its bill, the darker wings, and the yellow legs.  A little more scoping also gave us looks at a Lesser Black-backed Gull and 2 American Wigeon.  Bald Eagles were coasting around and spooked the gulls twice, first down to another patch of ice near dam and then later back to the cove ice.  In the meantime we spotted 2 Goldeneye, a male Green-winged Teal, a female Lesser Scaup, a Ring-necked Duck, and 2 male Bufflehead.  A walk along the power canal produced 3 Goldeneye and 2 Common Merganser.   After so much success, being too late to see the Short-eared Owls in the Arcadia Meadows of Northampton was only a minor disappointment.

(Day 1)  Four cars brought 12 birders from Ludlow Plaza to Watchemocket Cove in Rhode Island where over a 100 American Wigeon were assembled in the mostly ice-free waters.  Also there were two Black-headed Gulls, one of which stayed and preened in the roosting gull flock, showing its head and black spots often.  Other ducks among the many geese were a raft of Greater Scaup, along with a few Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, and Gadwall.  We moved on to Turner Reservoir, which was mostly iced, but still held good numbers of Common and Hooded Mergansers.

We headed south to Seapowet Marsh in Tiverton on the east side of the bay, where the refuge field held a stately Sandhill Crane.  It put on a great show of feeding and flying for the cameras.  The cove across the street held Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Horned Grebes, and Common Loons.  Here we met Nick Russo, a fine, young birder and student at UConn, who joined the convoy for the rest of the day.  At Nonquit Pond we added 3 Ruddy Ducks, and 4 Pintails.  Then we headed back north, only pausing at Pardon Gray Preserve to scan the meadows and thickets, spotting Bluebirds and Meadowlarks.  A Fish Crow also called there, and a few Turkey Vultures circled overhead.

At Nanaquaket Point we were engulfed by a huge flock of Robins and Starlings.  We stopped for a noon break at Coastal Roasters, then crossed the bridge and headed south to St. Mary’s Pond, where a flock of Shovelers fed and flew before us, along with Ruddy Ducks, some Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwall, and Great Cormorants.  From there we made our way to Third Beach, where the seabirds took over.  Here in the broad bay were scattered Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Goldeneyes, Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, White-winged and Surf Scoters, Buffleheads, and Greater Scaup.  Searching the beach before us for food were a hundred Sanderlings, and down the beach at the stony edge of Sachuest were a dozen Ruddy Turnstones.  We moved to Gardiner Pond and had more Ruddy Ducks and two American Coots.  Then it was time to walk the trails that looked down on the ledges and rocks of Sachuest Point.  In a couple of hours we picked out Harlequin Ducks, Razorbills, Purple Sandpipers, and a Brant. With them were groups of Greater Scaups, Goldeneyes, and all three Scoters, plus smaller numbers of Red-throated and Common Loons, Horned Grebes, a Red-necked Grebe, Eiders, Buffleheads, Cormorants, and Red-breasted Mergansers.  Harriers hunted the nearby marshes and the fields where deer grazed.  The day ended with a get-together featuring snacks and refreshments, along with the bird tally and the telling of each observer’s best birds.  For dinner, some chose Mexican, others chose Applebee’s.

(Day 2)  After a fine breakfast at the Blue Plate Diner, we arrived at Beavertail on Jamestown Island at 8:30 a.m. and were faced with strong winds on the west side of the refuge.  The east side was better, but we still took shelter behind the buildings on the point.  A big surprise was the more than 75 Razorbills on the water and flying past the point into the wind.  We picked out several Gannets streaming with them.  Also unexpected were the numbers of passing and feeding Bonaparte’s Gulls.  There were rafts of Eiders and over a hundred Black Scoters with a few Surf and White-winged Scoters.  Red-throated outnumbered Common Loons.  Harlequin Ducks were feeding close to shore and Purple Sandpipers were feeding on the ledges or flying around.  As we drove out through the thickets and woods along the road, we came upon a large flock of Cedar Waxwings.  Then a stop at the marsh by Zeek’s Bait & Tackle produced Great Blue Herons and a Kingfisher.  At Point Judith there were more Bonaparte’s Gulls, scoters, loons and grebes among the surfers.  The Galilee area at high tide had a raft of Red-breasted Mergansers, some Bufflehead, and a few Common Loons, but few gulls.  Sunset Farm featured a huge flock of Starlings and Cowbirds, plus a Grackle and two Redwings.

We continued west to the Trustom Pond area, where we studied the feeder birds, which included a Rusty Blackbird.  At the end of a long walk to Osprey Point, the open water had only a few ducks, though one was a male Barrow’s Goldeneye.  We checked the roads in the area and managed to find another Northern Harrier.  Our last stop was at Perry’s Mill Pond, a small pond next to a home, where a Redhead had been reported.  Instead we got fine views of one male Eurasian Wigeon with the American Wigeons, plus some Ring-necked Ducks and Green-winged Teal.  Also, a nice variety of landbirds was found there, including two Brown Creepers.  We finally broke up and headed home with 83 species on our Blitz list.