On Dec. 11 the first ever Christmas Bird Count for kids was held at Long Point Wildlife Refuge. Yes, it was a cold day, but there was no wind and the sun was shining. It did not feel as cold as it really was. Ten children showed up and learned how to use binoculars before they were divided into two teams — the “dudes” and the “flicker chicks” — to go on a bird walk around Long Point to see and count birds.
There was nary a ripple on the Great Pond, but the adults enjoyed that view more than the kids. There were several puddles of ice along the trail and the kids enjoyed jumping around on the ice, trying to break it. The southern end of Long Cove Pond had a thin glaze of ice and the stones and shells that were thrown onto the ice slid along the surface, making some interesting music.
And we saw 36 species! The highlights had to be the interactions between a ruby-crowned kinglet and a golden-crowned kinglet, two species that are seldom seen together. A pied-billed grebe made a surprise appearance on Long Cove and there were large flocks of black ducks and greater scaup on the Great Pond, species that are finally arriving in our waters because of the freezing temperatures further north. There was one redhead (a duck) in the flock of scaup; the first one seen this fall.
Here is a complete list of the birds we found. Canada goose, mute swan, American wigeon, American black duck, mallard, northern pintail, redhead, greater scaup, common eider, white-winged scoter, black scoter, bufflehead, common goldeneye, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, red-throated loon, common loon, pied-billed grebe, great blue heron, turkey vulture, red-tailed hawk, American coot, ring-billed gull, herring gull, great black-backed gull, hairy woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, black-capped chickadee, golden-crowned kinglet, ruby-crowned kinglet, eastern bluebird, yellow-rumped warbler, song sparrow and snow bunting.
It was a very successful morning thanks to the organizing efforts of BiodoversityWorks’ Luanne Johnson, The Trustees of Reservations, MassAudubon at Felix Neck, the Vineyard Conservation Society, and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation.
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Last week we reported a hummingbird was spotted in Christiantown on Nov. 24. And hummers are incredibly difficult to identify — harder than fall warblers, sparrows and shorebirds. Gary Mirando got some photographs of the hummer, enabling Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology’s Jeremiah Trimble to identify it as a black-chinned hummingbird. It’s unusually long bill, generally dullish green-brownish plumage, and broad curved wingtips help to separate this species from a closely related species, our summer resident ruby-throated hummingbirds.
Black-chinned hummers breed in the lowland deserts and mountainous forests of central Texas and points west, and some spend their winters along the Gulf of Mexico coastline east to Florida. But visits to the northeast are very unusual. The hummer was still around as of Dec. 10, when Lanny McDowell and Ken Magnuson found it.
This is the third time this species has been found on the Island. The first individual was present from Nov. 22 through Dec. 6, 2005 at the Roger’s Farm on Indian Hill Road. The hummer was first observed at a hanging fuschia, and their hummingbird feeder was rapidly put back out. Mr. McDowell spotted the second one in West Tisbury on Oct. 23, 2007.
Other Sightings
Mr. McDowell observed a normally elusive winter wren as it hopped in plain sight around his house on Dec. 10. That day, Mr. McDowell teamed up with Ken Magnuson and found a ruddy turnstone, a seaside sparrow, an Ipswich sparrow (a pale race of the savannah sparrow), and a merlin on Norton Point Beach. Interestingly, Mike Ditchfield had two ruddy turnstones at Fuller Street Beach on Dec. 8; it is getting late for this species and it is not possible to say how much later they will stay around.
The yellow-breasted chat and pine warblers are still hanging around the feeders at the Edgartown Golf Club, reports Mr. Magnuson. On Dec. 9, he also found two Wilson’s snipe at the head of Slough Cove and a white-crowned sparrow at the Gay Head cliffs. Jeff Bernier also observed the sparrow.
Penny Uhlendorf and Scott Stephens observed a pair of purple finches at their feeder on Dec. 12. Be careful identifying this species as they are easily confused with the much more common house finch. Back on Nov. 23 they had a pine siskin, and on Nov. 26 they observed two chipping sparrows.
A hermit thrush was observed by Happy and Steve Spongberg on Dec. 12 at the corner of Middle Road and Meetinghouse Road.
Sandy Bernat found an immature Baltimore oriole at her house in Christiantown on Dec. 11. The bird was oddly pecking at her window. She put out an orange and the oriole feasted on it.
And last but not least, the 57th annual Christmas Bird Count will be held on Friday, Dec. 30. Your participation in this fun event is very helpful. You can count the birds visiting your yard or join one of the field teams. To participate, contact compiler Luanne Johnson at luannej@biodiversityworksmv.org for more information.
Winter residents are arriving and rarities are still migrating through; please look for them and report your sightings to birds@mvgazette.com.
Robert Culbert leads Guided Birding Tours and is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.
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