Finding a bald eagle is always a memorable occurrence; they are seen regularly although they certainly are not common. They are big; it takes five years for their pure white heads and tails to appear.
Recent sighting of bald eagles are as follows: Chris Scott spotted an immature bald eagle on Nov. 23 at Turkeyland Cove; Nancy Nordin and Albert Fischer found one at the Allen Farm on Nov. 26; at daybreak on Nov. 28, Mike Savoy heard the resident Lake Street crows in a tizzy and looked up to see an eagle flying by; Irene Tewksbury found an adult bald eagle at Town Cove on Dec. 1, the same day that Jeff Komarinetz saw an immature flying over James Pond; Cynthia Bloomquist and Thaw Malin observed one at the Wampanoag water testing laboratory on Dec. 2; and on that same day, Gus Ben David watched a pair of adult eagles perched in his yard.
The only falcon reported this week was a peregrine falcon. Gus Ben David spotted one as it chased his pigeons on Nov. 27; the aerial chase was incredible to watch! The eagle and the falcon have both recovered from near-extinction 60 years ago.
There are several reports of accipiters this week. Jeff Bernier observed a sharp-shinned hawk near Sweetened Water Farm on Nov. 29. The other sightings are of its usually larger lookalike, the Cooper’s hawk; a large female sharp-shin can be bigger than a small male Cooper’s.
On Nov. 22 Sandra Talanian found an immature Cooper’s in Vineyard Haven. The troika of Nancy Weaver, Margaret Curtin and Luanne Johnson spotted one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station on Nov. 23. Matt Pelikan spotted an immature Cooper’s near his Oak Bluffs house on Nov. 26; he also has an adult male hunting his neighborhood. The next day Chris Scott spotted a Cooper’s at Felix Neck.
According to the website eBird, northern harriers were seen 28 times in the month of November. Most were along the south shore; not surprising given their preference for beaches, marshes and fields. On Nov. 27 Charles Morano spotted one at Black Point Pond and Chris Scott observed two at the Edgartown Golf Club. Charles Morano spotted another at Chappaquiddick Point on Dec. 1.
The last hawk is perhaps the most common, the red-tailed hawk. eBird reports 25 sightings across the Island since Nov. 1. The most recent sightings were by Shea Fee at Felix Neck on Nov. 23, one seen by Terry Banks near Lambert’s Cove Beach on Nov. 29. That same day Cynthia Bloomquist and Thaw Malin observed one at their West Tisbury home. They observed another at Red Beach on Dec. 2, the same day that Susan Whiting and Nancy Nordin found one in Aquinnah.
My wish list of species yet to be seen this fall — which was included in last week’s column — has already reduced by one species. Matt Born spotted four tree sparrows on Clay Pit Road in Aquinnah on Dec. 1.
The diversity of sparrows has decreased from its peak a month ago. Most have headed further south and we now are seeing the winter residents. On Nov. 27 Charles Morano found one white-throated sparrow, two song sparrows, one swamp sparrow and one eastern towhee at Black Point Pond. That same day, Chris Scott saw three dark-eyed juncos and two song sparrows at Felix Neck and two towhees at Edgartown Golf Club. Shea Fee counted five chipping sparrows and a junco at Wasque on Nov. 28.
Susan Whiting observed three juncos and a song sparrow at Quenames on Nov. 29, the same day that Lisa Maxfield watched six house finches, one American goldfinch, two white-throated sparrows and a song sparrow at Brush Pond. Matt Born saw two white-throated sparrows and one towhee at Clay Pit Road in Aquinnah,
Dec. 2 was a busy day for sparrows. I saw six house finches, two dark-eyed juncos, two white-throated sparrows and three song sparrows. Susan Whiting and Nancy Nordin watched six savannah sparrows and three song sparrow
in Aquinnah. Charles Morano observed two white-throated sparrows, three song sparrows and two swamp sparrows at the herring run in Aquinnah and then added one white-throated sparrow and four song sparrows at the Oak Bluffs pumping station.
Interestingly, Gus Ben David has not yet seen either white-throated sparrows or dark-eyed juncos in his Edgartown yard yet; they are still arriving.
Lingering species include an American bittern — a reclusive denizen of marshes — seen by Lanny McDowell and Jeff Peters on Nov. 26 at Black Point Pond as it flew by; they tried to find it again in the marsh where it landed but to no avail. They did, however, find a greater yellowlegs on the shoreline of a nearby small pond.
At the Edgartown Golf Club, Chris Scott spotted a lone snow goose within a flock of 350 Canada geese on Nov. 27. A western willet is hanging around, having been seen by the Martha’s Vineyard Bird Club on its Dec. 2 trip to Aquinnah; Bob Shriber first saw it on Nov. 28.
Tree swallows are still hanging around too, with a high count of 135 on Nov. 29 but only 25 on Dec. 1. The next day the Martha’s Vineyard Bird Club noticed a flock of 12 tree swallows at Menemsha Basin.
Gus Ben David reports that a small flock of eight male red-winged blackbirds showed up in his yard on Dec. 3. He notes that they were in his yard last winter too, and wonders if they are the same birds. And another blackbird — a common grackle — showed up on Nov. 29 in the West Tisbury yard of Cynthia Bloomquist and Thaw Malin.
And finally: Bob Shriber, Susan Whiting and Nancy Nordin spotted three common mergansers in Squibnocket Pond on Dec. 2.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com.
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant with Nature Watch LLC living in Vineyard Haven.
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