On Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, I awoke to find ice covering the bird bath. Ice forms much earlier than this further north, and it triggers late southbound migrants out of their northern habitats. Lesser scaup have finally arrived from up north. Bob Shriber and Nancy Weaver spotted a flock of 20 at Squibnocket Pond on Nov. 28, and the next day Alex Lin-Moore counted 18 while Nancy Nordin only counted 16. These are the first confirmed reports since last April.
Lapland longspurs are sparrow-like ground dwellers, but they too could be moving southward because of cold temperatures. Shea Fee found one that still sported a fair amount of its breeding plumage near the Aquinnah Cultural Center at the Gay Head Cliffs on Nov. 29. Nancy Weaver and Nancy Nordin found it again the next day.
The following sightings are all of lingering species. Will this cold snap could force them further south or will they linger longer, perhaps through the winter?
Crystal Lake continues to have lingering ducks. Margaret Curtin observed one northern shoveler, one Eurasian wigeon and one American coot on Nov. 25. These species have been lingering there (and nowhere else on the Island) for a month.
An immature black-headed gull in winter plumage is still hanging around the jetties into Menemsha Harbor. Bob Shriber, Charles Morano and Nancy Weaver saw it on Nov. 26. Chris Scott and Nancy Nordin saw it on Nov. 27 and Lanny McDowell spotted it on Nov. 29. I saw it on Nov. 30.
The Pacific loon is also lingering near the Menemsha jetties. Nancy Nordin, Charlie Morano, Bob Shriber and Nancy Weaver saw it on Nov. 26. Nancy Nordin and Chris Scott saw it on Nov. 27 and I found it on Nov. 30. The contrast between a nearby red-throated loon was very helpful in confirming the identification.
Considerable numbers of evening grosbeaks are starting to irrupt southward into Massachusetts. We have already had three sightings, with the most recent being near Middle Line Woods as reported last week. Charles Morano found it again Nov. 25, and Nancy Nordin found it on Nov. 26.
Last year a great egret may have overwintered. Will they linger that late again this winter? Lisa Maxfield saw one at Brush Pond on Nov. 23, and I found one at the West Basin on Nov. 30.
Great blue herons and black-crowned night-herons will certainly stay through the winter.
Killdeer are lingering. I spotted one at the pond at the Keith Farm visible from Middle Road on Nov. 30, the first sighting since early November.
Bonaparte’s gulls are still around. Margaret Curtin saw two at Crystal Lake on Nov. 25. The next day, Charles Morano counted 26 at Little Beach. On Nov. 27, at the Lobsterville jetty Bob Shriber found two and Charles Morano spotted five.
I counted 11 Bonaparte’s and two laughing gulls from the Brown Trail at Cedar Tree Neck, and Francesca Zeta and Nancy Nordin each had one laughing gull at Menemsha. The next day Alex Lin-Moore observed two laughers at Menemsha Beach, and Alex Lin-Moore counted five laughing gulls in Menemsh Harbor on Nov. 29.
A few pied-billed grebes might linger into the winter as long as our fresh-water ponds do not completely freeze over. On Nov. 19 at Crackatuxet Cove, Chris Scott found one while Charles Morano found two. On Nov. 30, Shea Fee found one there. I found another at Town Cove on Nov. 27.
Large flocks of double-crested cormorants are much less likely at this late date, although small numbers seem to linger through the winter. Bob Shriber found two at the Menemsha jetties on Nov. 26. I spotted two from the Brown Trail at Cedar Tree Neck on Nov. 27 and David Lauter counted 30 at Long Point
on Nov. 29. Great cormorants are our most common winter cormorant. One of my favorite birds is a belted kingfisher — the way they take into account the diffraction of the water, but still manage to dive into the water to catch fish (of course they are not the only species to do that). Jennifer Slossberg saw one at Farm Neck on Nov. 25, and on Nov. 27 Sneed and Braden Collard spotted one at Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary. Shea Fee found one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station, and I had one at Town Cove.
The marsh wren is appropriately named — it is found in marshes! Matt Pelikan heard one calling from the phragmites from the boardwalk on Farm Pond on Nov. 27. Winter wrens skulk around in dense understory and shrubby areas. I saw one on the yellow trail at Cedar Tree Neck on Nov. 27 and another at Middle Line Woods on Nov. 30, the same place that Chris Scott had one the day before.
So guess where field sparrows live? Yup. On Nov. 27, I spotted two along the northern edge of Nat’s Field, and Shea Fee found one near the Aquinnah Cultural Center on Nov. 29. Nancy Weaver and Nancy Nordin located a Savannah sparrow in the grass at the Gay Head Cliffs on Nov.30.
Warblers have been lingering too. One late parula warbler has been seen at the Middle Line Woods. Charles Morano saw one on Nov. 25, Nancy Nordin on Nov. 26, Nancy Weaver on Nov. 27 and I saw it on Nov. 30.
There were also two sightings of an orange-crowned warbler. Shea Fee spotted one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station on Nov. 27 and another at Slough Cove on Nov. 30. Not to be outdone, David Lauter had a yellow-breasted chat in shrubs at the south end of Katama Farm on Nov. 30.
Please email your sightings to birds@vineyardgazette.com.
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant with Nature Watch living in Vineyard Haven.
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