Migration continues this week and three species were added to our year list. Rob Bierregaard heard the soft distinctive song of a grasshopper sparrow at Long Point on May 27, while I added a saltmarsh sparrow at Pecoy Point on May 31. And on May 27 Bob Shriber added worm-eating warbler (a southern species) at the Oak Bluffs pumping station, which Ben Klugman also heard on May 26.
At least two sandhill cranes are still hanging out on the Island. Susan Whiting saw one in her yard on June 2, Myron Garfinkle had one visiting his Edgartown yard and nearby fields almost every mid-day as of May 25. And Matthew Born had one visiting a pond in Aquinnah on May 28. He also reports a wood thrush in the woods nearby.
On May 26 Phil Edmundson saw dozens of terns diving and flying around about 100 yards offshore of Watcha Pond, slowly working their way east. Now most terns are light (white and gray) but these were mostly black with white near the tail. It is more common to see a flock of black terns.
We had a Wilson’s plover a couple of weeks ago at Squibnocket. A second sighting of this species comes from Sean Lyon, who carefully described one that he saw at Felix Neck on May 25.
Bird Sightings This week we observed behaviors of three species proving they nest here. On May 29 Lanny McDowell observed a pair of orchard orioles along Lighthouse Road in Aquinnah, and Susan Whiting and Bob Shriber watched a pair of them copulating. An active nest of house wrens was observed in a Katama nest box by Luanne Johnson on May 31. More remarkably, she saw a seldom seen scene near the Biodiversity Works office off Lambert’s Cove Road on May 30 — two adult and two fledgling brown creepers.
Brilliantly red and black scarlet tanagers (red enough to make a cardinal appear dull) have been seen by multiple observers: Pat Ingalls in a woodlot on May 31, Pam Goff in the woods near Tea Lane Farm on May 28, and Jennie Slossberg in her backyard on May 26.
Terry Appenzellar reports that on May 29 she saw her first great egret on Crystal Lake after 25 years of watching birds in that area.
On May 31 a bobwhite was seen by Tony Lima in an odd location: Waban Park. More typical sightings this week include Stonewall Pond by Bill Bridwell and Jeff Peters; Chilmark Overlook by Katherine May-Waite; Edgartown Golf Club by Stacey ODonnell; and Moshup Trail by Susan Whiting. Susan also spotted a Virginia rail at Moshup Trail.
Bob Shriber visited Chappaquiddick on May 28 and reports late-staying white-winged scoter, red-breasted merganser, black-bellied plover, ruddy turnstone, dunlin and sanderling.
John Nelson points out ruby-throated hummingbirds seem to disappear at this time of the year. We speculated that their abundance earlier in May was because some were passing through to their more northern nesting grounds. Their current scarcity at many feeders may be because they depend on insects now to provide protein to raise their young. He also spotted a high of seven great egrets on May 31 in the marshes at the southern end of Sengekontacket Pond, and there were six snowy egrets there on June 1.
The annual Felix Neck Bird-a-thon was held on May 15-16. We scoured the Island for birds, and found a remarkable 129 species. Please keep in mind that this event is a fund-raiser for Felix Neck; a big thank-you to everybody who has donated to this worthy cause (it is not too late to make a donation through MassAudubon’s website).
Here is a list of the 129 species we saw: brant, Canada goose, mute swan, wood duck, mallard, American black duck, common eider, surf scoter, northern bobwhite, ring-necked pheasant, wild turkey, rock pigeon, mourning Dove, yellow-billed cuckoo, black-billed cuckoo, eastern whip-poor-will, chimney swift, ruby-throated hummingbird, American oystercatcher, black-bellied plover, killdeer, semipalmated plover, piping plover, upland sandpiper, Ruddy turnstone, sanderling, dunlin, purple sandpiper, least sandpiper, semipalmated sandpiper, short-billed dowitcher, American woodcock, Wilson’s snipe, spotted sandpiper, solitary sandpiper, lesser yellowlegs, willet, greater yellowlegs, ring-billed gull, herring gull, great black-backed gull, least tern, common tern, black skimmer, red-throated loon, common loon, northern gannet, double-crested cormorant, great cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, green heron, black-crowned night-heron, turkey vulture, osprey, Cooper’s hawk, red-tailed hawk, barn owl, belted kingfisher, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, great crested flycatcher, eastern kingbird, least flycatcher, eastern phoebe, blue-headed vireo, blue jay, American crow, fish crow, horned lark, tree swallow, barn swallow, black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, red-breasted nuthatch, white-breasted nuthatch, house wren, Carolina wren, golden-crowned kinglet, eastern bluebird, veery, hermit thrush, American robin, gray catbird, northern mockingbird, European starling, cedar waxwing, house sparrow, house finch, purple finch, American goldfinch, chipping sparrow, dark-eyed junco, white-crowned sparrow, white-throated sparrow, Savannah sparrow, song sparrow, eastern towhee, bobolink, orchard oriole, Baltimore oriole, red-winged blackbird, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, ovenbird, northern waterthrush, black-and-white warbler, Tennessee warbler, Nashville warbler, mourning warbler, common yellowthroat, American redstart, northern parula, magnolia warbler, bay-breasted warbler, blackburnian warbler, yellow warbler, chestnut-sided warbler, black-throated blue warbler, pine warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, yellow-throated warbler, prairie warbler, black-throated green warbler, northern cardinal, rose-breasted grosbeak, blue grosbeak.
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant with Nature Watch LLC living in Vineyard Haven.
Comments
Comment policy »