Michael (1) and Lisa (2) are scouring Peaks Island and her shores for new bird arrivals from their southerly wintering homes. A spectacular sighting by our devoted birders is two Northern Shovelers in Hadlock Cove, “taking a rest on their way to Alaska (3)”. It is a treat to see them here, even for a short time as they refuel before their arduous and long migration across the country.
Composite of All Plumages Northern Shoveler Photo: Richard Crossley; Wiki Commons (4)
The end of February Lisa spotts Northern Gannets offshore – near Green Island. These elegant seabirds are rarely seen except when windy conditions blow them close to shore, as they migrate North to their breeding grounds along coastal Canada (For example: Bird Rock @ Cape St. Mary, Newfoundland).
Clusters of gannets, greater than 100 of them, are sighted on March 29 a mile off Orient Point, Long Island (5). Keep your eyes open off the Backshore for these magnificent birds, as they move up the coast. Think big, all white birds with black wing tips – they are lean (3.4 pounds) but their wingspan (72”) is nearly as large as a Bald Eagle (80”; 10 pounds).
Michael describes the morning of March 15: “A ‘dirty’ morning as sailors would say; rain, 42 degrees, east wind coming in on Backshore, fog bank 100 yards out.” Even with poor weather conditions he finds many unusual birds, and here, in his own words he describes his day:“But!!!!!!! Song Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds are in the reeds and marshes between Battery Steele and Backshore. Boardwalk is a bit dicey; water is high; I got as far as Sam’s Sora’s spot and no further. (Sora) is not back yet. The Winter Wren on Brackett Avenue as well as the four Wood Ducks are a great treat. Six Canada Geese are just off City Point - unusual for me. No scoters, but the fog probably obscured them; they tend to be far out on the rolling surf off Backshore, or in Diamond Pass off Evergreen. No Red-Necked Grebes seen. Cardinals are beginning their territorial/mating songs. No Cedar Waxwings or House Finches but abundant starlings and House Sparrows are seen all over the island.”
Lisa sees the Bald Eagles in flight and on their nest on Great Diamond. Her last sighting includes one of the juvenile eagles flying with a parent. And, Michael shares with us a live webcam for Washington DC’s (U.S. National Arboretum) Bald Eagle Pair, named ‘Mr. President and the ‘First Lady’. Two chicks hatched on March 18 and March 20 and they appear as whitish-grey velvet puffs of down feathers – with black beaks and eyes. Their nest is located in a Tulip Poplar towering over Azalea bushes. The female is fastidious about her nest, continually cleaning by digging (perhaps pushing waste away from chicks) and rearranging soft twigs around the chicks. The chicks are well fed and extra fish parts are neatly lined-up in front of the attentive female. Using their tiny wings, as paddle-boards, the chicks are occasionally observed tussling with each other – sibling rivalry?
Michael’s three bird lists for March 15, 16, and 22 below, as submitted to eBird:* New Arrivals
# Species that soon will leave for their northern breeding grounds. We will miss them.
Mar 15, 2016 9:00 AM - 12:00 PMComments: Cold rain, 42 degrees, east wind with high seas and fog bank off Backshore.22 species
Canada Goose* 6 (Off City Point)Wood Duck* 4 (Flushed from marsh land behind Battery Steele)American Black Duck 5Common Eider 8Long-tailed Duck # 6Bufflehead # 10 (Equal numbers male and female in Diamond Pass)Common Merganser # 2 (Near Peaks shore, Diamond Pass)Common Loon # 3Ring-billed Gull # 2 (Centennial Beach)Herring Gull 18Great Black-backed Gull 5Mourning Dove 4Blue Jay 15American Crow 17Black-capped Chickadee 6Winter Wren* 1 (Bracket Avenue at cross roads before marsh lands; high in tree)European Starling 40Song Sparrow 16Northern Cardinal 10 (Very much in evidence; spring songs all over the island)Red-winged Blackbird* 9American Goldfinch* 3House Sparrow 50
Mar 16, 2016 10:30 AM - 1:30 PMComments: Partly sunny, low fifties, east wind, high seas, falling tide27 speciesAmerican Black Duck 3Northern Shoveler* 2 (Also seen by Lisa Lynch, same spot (Hadlock Cove) - seen close with 20x80 binoculars)Northern Pintail* 17 (Two separate pods of 9 and 8 off back shore; seen with 20x80's; 50 seen last week in n. MA coast)Common Eider 12White-winged Scoter # 10Black Scoter # 13Long-tailed Duck # 2Bufflehead # 8Red-breasted Merganser # 7Common Loon # 3Red-necked Grebe # 1Herring Gull 18Great Black-backed Gull 5Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 7Mourning Dove 1Pileated Woodpecker 1Blue Jay 7American Crow 12Fish Crow* 1 (Picking along shoreline, Spar Cove, with four AMCR luckily very near for comparison)Northern Mockingbird 1 (By TEIA parking lot; got to ten feet away; perhaps a dozen different songs; spectacular)Song Sparrow 20Northern Cardinal 5Red-winged Blackbird* 20Rusty Blackbird* 3Common Grackle* 3American Goldfinch* 3House Sparrow 40
Mar 22, 2016 9:00 AM - 11:15 AMComments: Cold west wind, thirties, high tide; with Patty Wainright21 species (+2 other taxa)Wood Duck* 2American Black Duck 6Common Eider 15Black Scoter # 2Long-tailed Duck # 2Bufflehead # 4Common Goldeneye # 4Red-breasted Merganser # 20Common Loon # 6hawk sp. 1Black Guillemot 1Herring Gull 6Mourning Dove 1woodpecker sp. 1Blue Jay 4American Crow 12Black-capped Chickadee 8Tufted Titmouse 1 (Heard, not seen; by Battery Steele)European Starling 6Song Sparrow 6Northern Cardinal 15Red-winged Blackbird* 15House Sparrow 10
Other Information for Part B
Contributors:
1. Michael Lacombe – Bird Lists and narratives
2. Lisa Lynch – Bird sightings
3. Michelle Brown – Narrative
4. Northern Shoveler from The Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds. Wikimedia Commons Ticket # 2013103010013314.
5. Sam Wainright and four US Coast Guard Cadets - Ornithology Class
By Patty Wainright
Reviewed by: Michelle Brown, Marty, and Michael LaCombe.
Thank you for your interest in the bird blog. If you have any questions or comments please contact Michelle: brownmichh@aol.com
Acquiring, preserving, and stewarding open space for public use on Peaks Island.
