Mallards are one of the most abundant ducks in North America, ranging as far north as Atlantic Canada in the winter, so they can withstand cold climates. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s website Birds of the World says that they can stay as far north as there is open water and access to their food, which is mostly seeds from wetlands plants, which surprisingly includes acorns. They roost at night in open-water wetlands.
The above information makes Gabriel Bellebuono’s observations this winter very interesting. Almost daily since November he has been observing flocks of 20 to 30 mallards flying overhead near the North Shore after dark. They typically land approximately 150-300 yards from the beach, either on a dirt road or in a nearby yard. They then walk into the woods.
The area does not have standing water, although it is a wooded wetland with an understory of brambles and shrubs. He observes this behavior almost every night. At another North Shore location, they land in a small pond before running across a yard and into the woods about 50 yards away.
“Their wings make a whistling sound as they fly, and it’s always super cool to have them circle overhead a few times before landing nearby,” he reported.
What is going on here? Science tells us that mallards roost at night in open-water wetlands, most likely to avoid nocturnal mammalian predators. But that does not seem to be the case here. Those sources also say that mallard behavior is extremely flexible quickly adapting to changes in the landscape.
Has spring arrived? Well, no, but the first northbound migrant red-winged blackbirds have been heard and seen. Ann Noyes observed two at Harbor Hill Road in Chilmark on Feb. 7, and Wendy Culbert heard a couple of them singing (!) from treetops near Lagoon avenue on Feb. 10. Thaw Malin and Cynthia Bloomquist had 17 at their West Tisbury feeders on Feb. 14, and Nancy Weaver counted 10 at the Pumping Station on Feb. 15.
There are two woodpeckers with a lot of red on their heads: red-headed woodpecker and red-bellied woodpecker. The latter is common and the former is not. Be cautious identifying them, especially since the juveniles of both species do not have any red on their heads. Bob Shriber, Janet Woodcock and Nancy Weaver spotted a juvenile red-headed woodpecker along Old South Road on Feb. 11. Four observers — Ruth Richards, Bob Shriber, Thaw Malin and Cynthia Bloomquist — found it again the next day. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are found regularly but are not common — David Wilson found one at his home on Feb. 1.
Owls have not been heard or seen much this winter. Abram Glick saw a screech owl in the daytime when it perched on the snow in his West Tisbury yard on Feb. 13, and Nancy Nordin heard one giving its whinnying call at her West Tisbury home on Feb. 14.
Nancy Weaver observed the first great blue heron since the snow and ice arrived in January: one at the pumping station on Feb. 14 and two there the next day. Are others hiding from us?
There have been only two reports of red-breasted nuthatches this month. Parker Fyfe-Kiernan spotted one on Mayhew Norton Road in West Tisbury on Feb.11, and Angel Morris observed two along Franklin street near West Chop on Feb. 14.
It is always fun to find purple sandpipers — the winter resident rocky shoreline sandpiper. Thaw Malin and Cynthia Bloomquist found one at Squibnocket Beach on Feb. 11, and Nancy Weaver counted 13 between Philbin Beach and the Gay Head Cliffs on Feb. 13. The troika of Janet Woodcock, Nancy Weaver and Ruth Richards observed 15 ruddy turnstones at Little Beach on Feb. 10, another less-than-common shorebird in the winter.
A few horned grebes were found this week. Jeff Bernier watched one in Edgartown harbor on Feb. 12, Nancy Weaver located two at Philbin Beach on Feb. 13, and Chris Scott saw two in Menemsha Harbor on Feb. 14.
Double-crested cormorants have not been reported since mid-January, before the snow and deep freeze, which is not surprising since they tend to prefer fresh water or brackish ponds, which are now solid ice. Great cormorants are their winter resident cousins that prefer oceans and rocky shorelines. Bob Shriber spotted 14 of them in Aquinnah on Feb. 10, Thaw Malin and Cynthia Bloomquist located four from Squibnocket Beach on Feb. 11, and Nancy Weaver counted 32 at the Gay Head Cliffs area on Feb. 13.
Red-tailed hawks are a common year-round resident. The upper surface of the tail is, surprise, red. Periodically, a whitish and very pale red-tail shows up that has a much lighter red tail and much paler streaking across its belly. This would be a subspecies called “Krider’s” red-tailed hawk. Ray Ewing spotted and photographed one at Slough Farm on Feb. 8.
Brown thrashers are lingering here despite the snow-covered ground, sometimes feeding on the bare ground along the road edges. They are lingering in Aquinnah. Bob Shriber spotted two with some white-throated sparrows along Church street on Feb. 3, Ruth Richards, Janet Woodcock and Nancy Weaver discovered three near the Stone House on Feb. 5, Bob Shriber spotted one along nearby Old South Rd on Feb. 7, and Jim and Chris Suozzo found that bird on Feb. 11.
There are two lingering sparrows of special interest. Tristan Israel watched a flock of five American tree sparrows along Snake Hollow in Vineyard Haven on Feb. 14 and two the next day. That same day, Ruth Richards observed two field sparrows near the intersection of Scotchman’s Lane and State Road, across State Road from the Agricultural Hall.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com.
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.
This article appears in February 20, 2026.