I went back to Plum Island for my second of my three day weekends (the next is June 6-8 up in southern Maine). This trip I hoped to catch the tail end of migration. My plan was to bird Plum Island on Wednesday and Friday. O Thursday I went to Scaborough Marsh in southern Maine. As usual, I went alone since I know very few people that will bird ten hours a day.
Wednesday
I got to Plum around 6:30 am, I cold tell pretty quickly that there wern't too many birds around. I feared migration was about over. I did end up finding ten species of warblers but low numbers of them. The highlghts for the day were a Blackburnian, Bay Breastedd and two Canada Warblers. I also saw Swainson's Thrush and Spotted Sandpipers. I got pictures of of the Purple Martins below on Wednesday.
Thursday
I got an early start for my seventy five minute drive to Scarborough. I was birding before 7 am. Almost right away I had a Bald Eagle fly right near me. I saw some warblers in the few trees in the marsh, but nothing unusual. The highlight of the day were two Tricolored Herons. They were a lifer for me, and a pretty rare bird in the northeast.The marsh is also locally famous for having both Nelson's and Saltmarsh Sparrows, but they are still a week or so away from being there in any numbers. There was one Nelson's that sang once, but that seemed to be about it. when I go up in two weeks, I'll put in time looking for these little guys.
There aren't a lot of trails there, I birded for a couple hours but was back in Mass around noon. I went to Scotland Road in Newbury. I keep reading reports on Massbird about this place. I went to scout it. I saw some birders on a platform on this road so I stopped. There were a dozen Glossy Ibis in a field. they were looking for a White Faced Ibis mixed in. We never found it, but they gave me the rundown on Scotland Road, and told me where I could see Ravens.
I quickly looked at the Ravens then headed to Martin Burns WMA. This was another place I wanted to scout out. I saw Indigo Buntings and a Scarlet Tanager in an hour.
From there I went to Plum for some late afternoon birding. The highlight there were a pair of hummingbirds that hung out in my area for ten minutes.
Friday
I only planned on birding for a few hours to beat the weekend traffic. I went to Plum early. The strong south wind brought in a ton of birds. I started at "The Pines". There were Magnolia Warblers and Redstarts everywhere. I saw a Wilson's Warbler in some thickets.I also had Baybreasted and a dozen Blackpolls. However, the highlight was BY FAR a Common Nighthawk at Hellcat. This is a lifebird that I never planned on seeing. One, there are a lot less than there used to be, two, they are nocturnal. The one there was sleeping on a branch right out in the open. I watched it for forty five minutes (sleep, it didn't move at all except one wobble) then I headed home
Summary
I had a great time. I didn't add up the number of species I saw because I wasn't interested in Herring Gulls. I got two lifers the Tricolored Heron and the Nighthawk. I only saw two other first of the year birds, the Ravens and the Indigo Buntings. This brings my New England total up to 177. The number is great, but I wanted to get some good pictures. I really hoped to get some of Magnolia Warblers. I ended up with two good ones (below text). I would have liked to get wallhangers of Indigo Buntings also, but they were so high in the trees. All things considered, it was a great couple days of birding.
Purple Martins below
 |
| uncropped Common Yellowthroat |
 |
| Cropped |
Below, Tricolored Herons, Scarborough Marsh (lifebird)
Snowy Egret actively fishing
Indigo Buntings, best I could do
Glossy Ibis, Scotland Road, Newbury
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
I saw more Blackpoll Warblers today than in my life combined, but they were all high in the trees
Magnolia Warbler
American Redstart
Common Nighthawk, lifebird
Like the Blackpoll, the Canada Warbler was high in the trees
No comments:
Post a Comment