A western kingbird is the bird of the week. Ellie Fitzgerald and Allen Carey spotted one on Nov. 26 in the meadow adjacent to the Aquinnah Cultural Center at the western end of the Island. As its name suggests, this species lives in the western third of this country, but small numbers tend to stray eastward in November. The website ebird.org reports eight sightings of this species in southeastern Massachusetts in November.
A western kingbird is fairly easy to identify. Its posture and behavior is similar to our eastern kingbird, which is not present at this time of the year. The grayish head and chest and yellow belly slightly differ from our summer resident great crested flycatcher. Western kingbirds have white along the outer edges of their otherwise dark tails and reside in open grassy and agricultural habitats.
No one else has reported this vagrant as of Dec. 1.
Bird Sightings
Ms. Fitzgerald was at the Aquinnah Town Beach and spotted another first for the fall season — a flock of purple sandpipers on one of the offshore boulders on Nov. 29. These dark sandpipers seem to prefer feeding and resting on nearshore boulders rather than on sandy beaches, and may be found along the south shore between Lucy Vincent Beach and the Gay Head Cliffs. Less frequently, they are on the jetties, breakwaters and seawalls of Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven.
Another first for the season is a flock of 100 or so greater scaup, which both John Nelson and I observed in Trapps Pond on Nov. 28. For the past few years, it seems like my first flock of these black and grayish-white diving ducks have been on this little pond in Cow Bay and adjacent to Bend-in-the-Road Beach. Other flocks of this species, and of other diving ducks, are soon to follow. Most of them tend to stay north until freezing temperatures and ice force them to the south. Many will spend the winter here unless ice forces them to head further south, as it eventually did last winter.
Allan Keith heard a bird on Nov. 24 that has not been seen or heard since last winter — a species that we all thought had been killed off by the severity of last winter. He heard a barn owl screeching! Either the bird he heard survived last winter’s snow and cold, or is an individual that only recently moved to the Vineyard from somewhere further to the south. We can hope that there is another kindred owl of the opposite sex out there and they manage to find each other. Mr. Keith also noted the unusual occurrence of eastern bluebirds and pine warblers in the same flock and feeding together.
Felix Neck held their annual Fall Festival on Nov. 27, and the day was spectacular! More than 700 people attended this popular event, as temperatures were in the low 60s without a strong breeze. Marla Isaac, of New England Reptile and Raptor Exhibits, had her rehabilitated snowy, great-horned, barn and barred owls, as well as a turkey vulture and a red-tailed hawk. And you could approach to within 10 feet of these species. I led a bird walk in the morning and our highlights were a flock of cedar waxwings and yellow-rumped warblers.
John Nelson also reports that he saw a leucistic song sparrow at the southern end of Crystal Lake on Nov. 28. As far as we know, it had not been observed since last spring, when there were two of them. One of the two must have survived, as the probability of a third leucistic individual there is less than remote. He also reports that he found 18 eastern meadowlarks at the Farm Institute on Nov. 21.
Connie Alexander visited Squibnocket on Nov. 29 and reports a spectacular display of northern gannets, surf scoters, harlequin ducks and common eiders. There were also seals and, yes, whales. I know they are not birds, but any sighting of large long black bodies with obvious dorsal fins and making several spouts is most noteworthy. The whales were offshore and heading westward.
Also on Nov. 29, Lanny McDowell found some Bonaparte’s gulls foraging in Nantucket Sound off Cow Bay; Stephanie Mashek spotted her first bufflehead of the season in Harthaven Harbor; and Happy and Steve Spongberg visited Quansoo and found robins, blue jays, yellow-rumped warblers, bufflehead, northern harrier and common loon.
Maura Fitzgerald reports an adult sharp-shinned hawk has been visiting her feeders in Aquinnah.
In closing, the irruptions of winter finches is something we all look forward to, especially since it does not occur every year. Every year, Ron Pittaway makes predictions about which northern finches will venture this far south in the coming winter. He bases his predictions on the abundance of their principal foods — spruce and birch seeds — in their Canadian boreal forest habitats.
Spruce cone crops appear to be below average in northern Canada but are more abundant in southern Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and northern New England, so the southward movements of white-winged crossbills, red crossbills and pine siskins may not reach into southern New England. While we have already had a report of a few pine siskins, a few individuals does not constitute an irruption. There would be multiple flocks along woodland edges and more visiting feeders if they are truly invading this year.
Common redpolls are specialists on birch seeds, which are in below average abundances this year, so southward movement is expected. But they may not venture past southern Canada, where their food is more abundant. This species prefers thistle seed when at feeders.
Purple finches are the only irruptive finch that we may see in abundance this winter, as they seem to stay in the north only when the tree seed crops are heavy. These seed crops appear to be scarce up north, so they might be coming our way, something to look forward to. But please be careful identifying a purple finch, as they closely resemble our much more common house finches.
There are lots of birds around, so please get out looking for them, and be sure to report your bird sightings to birds@mvgazette.com.
Robert Culbert leads guided birding tours and is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.
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