Evening grosbeaks are a favorite of mine. These yellow, black, white and gray birds with very heavy beaks used to be found on the Island every winter, although their abundance varied from year to year. They have been virtually absent for the past 10 years or so but this year they have been seen regularly for the past month. Their increased abundance here is because of the general scarcity of food in their native haunts much further to the north.
How many evening grosbeaks are there on the Island? Ruth Kirchmeier had three males and two females at her West Tisbury feeder Dec. 12, while Margaret Isham reports two of them at her Chilmark feeder on Dec. 11. Susan Straight had a flock of nine of them visit her Chilmark feeder on Dec. 13. And Charles Wiley had two males at his feeder on Dec. 10 so it seems likely that there are multiple flocks of them around the Island. They are gluttonous feeders so be prepared to put out a lot of seed if they show up.
The upcoming Christmas Bird Count may help us to determine how many grosbeaks are here. But these reports are all at feeders in private yards, which makes it more difficult for the field teams to find them. The count will need your help to report how many evening grosbeaks (and any other birds) visit your feeder on Jan. 5, the date when 60 or 70 observers will be out in the field counting birds. Details for when and where to call in your feeder reports will be in next week’s column.
Bird Sightings
The most unusual bird sighting of the week was an immature red-headed woodpecker seen by Mariah BenDavid off John Cottle Road (off Lambert’s Cove Road) on Dec. 14. Unlike the more common red-bellied woodpeckers, the red-headeds have a large white patch on their lower back and wings instead of zebra-like black and white stripes. The less-than-perfect photos she took of this bird were more than sufficient to distinguish between these two species. Also of interest is Katherine Oscar’s report of a red-headed woodpecker that she saw near Menemsha recently.
Last week, Albert Fischer had two grackles visiting his feeder. On Dec. 16, he reports that for the past few days he had had a flock of at least 160 grackles cleaning out his feeders daily. That many grackles can go through a lot of bird seed! Mike Ditchfield had a solitary grackle that was almost polite as it fed amidst sparrows and cardinals at his feeders on Dec. 12.
Adam Smith reports seeing an adult bald eagle on Oyster Pond on Dec. 12. This bird was also seen by Alex Friedman and is the third or fourth year in a row that one has appeared at this time of the year. This sighting is becoming an annual event. Also that day, David Dandridge reports an immature bald eagle above the west shore of Lagoon Pond.
Now becoming vocal for another winter is the barred owl that lives in Edgartown. It is likely a year-round resident that is starting to call as it re-establishes its territory in preparation for next year’s breeding season. I believe that a pair nested there (although we have not heard or seen two of them), as a single individual would likely have left the area in search of a mate. Maria Newton Thibodeau heard a barred owl calling near Sheriff’s Meadow Sanctuary on Dec. 12, while Dan Townes has been hearing one calling near his house a few times in the past two weeks. Joel Graves heard one calling right outside the window of his house on Dec. 9.
In other owl news, Robyn Athearn and friends observed a barn owl at South Beach on Dec. 10; Brian Packish has also seen one there a few times.
Jeff Bernier spotted red-throated loons in Edgartown Harbor on Dec. 16. He also spotted more than 300 greater scaup along with black scoters and ruddy ducks on Edgartown Great Pond on Dec. 13. About 25 brant were observed in Oak Bluffs by Anne Whiting on Dec. 15. That day I observed 41 brant in Sunset Lake, which is not their usual stomping grounds, along with 225 Canada geese, 43 mallard and 23 rock pigeons. David Ortolani visited the Island on Dec. 15 and found a pair of common goldeneyes.
Lisa Maxfield reports that a great blue heron is still hanging out at Brush Pond, while Sharon Simonin found a cooperative kingfisher on Dec. 16 at Farm Pond.
Finally, Penny Uhlendorf heard one of the Vineyard Haven fish crows apparently talking on Dec. 14, saying “Help me! Help me!” before it moved on into the more usual “cah-cah.” Crows are intelligent animals and some people have trained captive corvids to speak. Southward migration is winding down but winter residents are still showing up.
Please report all your sightings to birds@mvgazette.com.
Robert Culbert schedules private Guided Birding Tours and is an ecological consultant with Nature Watch, LLC living in Vineyard Haven.
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