As October has rolled over into November, the bird life we are seeing now is looking more like wintertime.
First sightings since last spring include one long-tailed duck seen by E. Hawes and Alana Moberg in Lagoon Pond on Nov. 1, and Bob Shriber found another in Aquinnah on Nov. 5. On Nov. 3 he also found a 15 greater scaup, two lesser scaup, and a flock of 44 ruddy ducks at Squibnocket Farm, and he saw a lone common murre near the drawbridge on Nov. 9, and Charles Morano found it again near the Vineyard Wind terminal on Nov. 10.
Charles Morano also observed three horned grebes and a Savannah (Ipswich) sparrow at Squibnocket Beach on Nov. 1, Stefan Martin and his friends from Connecticut found three Wilson’s snipes at Katama Farm Nov. 6 and five razorbills at Dogfish Bar on Nov. 7, and the quartet of Susan Whiting, Nancy Nordin, Lanny McDowell and Bob Shriber observed one purple finch in Aquinnah on Nov. 1.
Multiple observers spotted snow buntings: on Nov. 1 Nancy Weaver found four snow buntings on Norton Point, and Luanne Johnson observed six there, Chris Schmandt spotted two at Long Point on Nov. 2, and the MV Bird Club counted 15 of them at Long Point on Nov. 8.
Rock pigeons, mourning doves and wild turkeys are fairly common species that are often ignored by this column; well, not today!
On Nov. 1 Alana Moberg and E. Hawes found 13 pigeons at Oak Bluffs harbor, 47 in Ocean Park and three near Lagoon Pond. Nancy Weaver saw two pigeons in Vineyard Haven harbor on Nov. 4, and Stefan Martin’s group counted 13 at State Beach on Nov. 6.
The closely related mourning dove is more widespread: On Nov. 1 Charles Morano found one at Squibnocket Beach. Bob Shriber spotted eight and Susan Whiting located six in Aquinnah on Nov. 1, and Bob Shriber spotted four on Nov. 5. On Nov. 7 Stefan Martin’s group observed five at the Gay Head Cliffs, and Cynthia Bloomquist counted 19 in the Aquinnah Headlands. Cynthia Bloomquist and Thaw Malin had two at their West Tisbury home on Nov. 3, I have one visiting my Vineyard Haven feeder every day this week, I also saw one near Upper Deep Bottom Cove on Nov. 5, and Stefan Martin’s group discovered two at Katama Farm on Nov. 6.
Wild turkeys – they are not very wild – are widespread. This week Bob Shriber observed five in Aquinnah on Nov. 1 and five at Squibnocket Farm on Nov. 3, I saw four near the East Chop Beach Club on Nov. 4 and seven at my home on Nov. 7, and Stefan Martin’s group counted 12 along Herring Creek Road on Nov. 6 and one near Squibnocket Beach on Nov. 7.
Northern gannets are remarkable seabirds with 11 sightings this week. On Nov. 1, Bob Shriber found eight in Aquinnah and Charles Morano counted 78 from Squibnocket Beach. Nancy Weaver spotted one in Vineyard Haven outer harbor on Nov. 4. On Nov. 5, Bob Shriber estimated 420 in Aquinnah, Chris Schmandt observed two from Squibnocket Pond South, and Jim Suozzo watched 44 from Squibnocket Beach. Stefan Martin’s group located 42 from South Beach on Nov. 6, and on Nov. 7 Chris Schmandt discovered 100 from Lucy Vincent, and Stefan Martin’s group counted 122 from Black Point Pond and eight from Squibnocket Beach.
Both common and red-throated loons are abundant this week. Common loons were spotted from Dogfish Bar (Stefan Martin’s group, 27, Nov. 7), Pilot’s Landing (Stefan Martin’s group, two, Nov. 7), Gay Head Cliffs (Stefan Martin’s group, four, Nov. 7), Aquinnah (Shriber, six, Nov. 1, Susan Whiting and Nancy Nordin, two, Nov. 1 and Bob Shriber, eight, Nov. 5), Squibnocket Beach (Charles Morano, six, Nov. 1, and Nancy Weaver and Janet Woodcock, two, Nov. 2, and Jim Suozzo, four, Nov. 5), Sepiessa Point (me, two, Nov. 5), Long Point (Chris Schmandt, one, Nov. 2), Norton Point (Nancy Weaver, one, Nov. 1), Oak Bluffs harbor (Alana Moberg and E. Hawes, three, Nov. 1 and me, three, Nov. 4 and Lisa Maxfield, seven, Nov. 5), and Vineyard Haven outer harbor (me, one, Nov. 4).
Red-throated loons were found at Dogfish Bar (Stefan Martin’s group, 18, Nov. 7), Pilot’s Landing (Stefan martin’s group, three, Nov. 7), Gay Head Cliffs (Stefan Martin ‘s group, three, Nov. 7, and Chris Schmandt, three, Nov. 3), Aquinnah (Bob Shriber, Susan Whiting and Nancy Nordin, one, Nov. 1, and Bob Shriber, two, Nov. 5), Squibnocket Beach (Charles Morano, four, Nov. 1, and Nancy Weaver and Janet Woodcock, seven, Nov. 2, and Jim Suozzo, five, Nov. 5), Sepiessa Point (me, two, Nov. 5), Norton Point (Nancy Weaver, six, Nov. 1), and the Drawbridge (me, one, Nov. 4).
Transient warblers (not yellow-rumped or pine warblers) were more frequently seen this week. The quartet of Bob Shriber, Susan Whiting, Nancy Nordin, and Lanny McDowell found two orange-crowned warblers and one common yellowthroat in Aquinnah on Nov. 1, Charles Morano spotted an orange-crowned warbler, one yellowthroat, and one palm warbler at Squibnocket Beach on Nov. 1, Bob Shriber observed a prairie warbler at Squibnocket Farm on Nov. 3, Stefan Martin’s group located one western palm warbler at Katama Farm on Nov. 6 and an American redstart at Black Point Pond on Nov. 7 and one Nashville warbler and one western palm warbler at the Gay Head Cliffs on Nov. 7, and Melissa and David Kuehne have had a black-throated blue warbler visiting their Edgartown feeders from Nov. 3-5 and again on Nov. 9.
Finally, we have sightings of lingering species. On Nov. 1 Charles Morano spotted one yellow-billed cuckoo and a dickcissel from Squibnocket Beach, Chris Schmandt found one snowy egret at Nashaquitsa Pond on Nov. 5, and Stefan Martin found a flock of approximately 500 common grackles at Felix Neck on Nov. 5.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.