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 Dovekie Wellfleet Bay January 2004 Photo by Glen Tepke. For more see Dovekie. |
11/28/2003
Cape Ann under foggy conditions: Andrew's Pt. Red-throated Loon ~10 Red-necked grebe 2 N. Gannett ~15 Harlequin Duck ~15 Purple Sandpiper ~10 Pomarine Jaeger 1 adult light briefly harassed a Kittywake Black-legged Kittywake ~10-15 Black Guillemot 9 Razorbill 31 Halubit Pt.: Harlequin Duck ~40 Purple Sandpiper 40-50 Wnter Wren 1 Fox Sparrow 1 Eastern Pt. (E. Gloucester) Black Guillemot 5 Iceland Gull 1 ist yr Niles Beach (E. Gloucester) Red-necked grebe 1 Eared grebe 1 Bonepart's Gull ~10 Jodrey Peir (Gloucester) Iceland Gull 1 1st year
Tom Pirro
12/03/2003
Cape Ann trip Weather was clear with some wind. Halibut Point - Black Guillemot 1 Harlequin Duck 6 Long-tailed Duck 1 White-winged Scoter 25 Andrews Point Black Guillemot 1 Harlequin Duck 28 Long-tailed Duck 1 Razorbill 6 - all flying by at quite a distance out White-winged Scoter 20 Surf Scoter 4 behind the Emerson Inn - Harlequin Duck 16 Northern Gannet 16 - quite a distance out Niles Pond had a Great Blue Heron and a small number of gulls and some mergansers. No sign of the Eared Grebe. Bass Rocks Northern Gannet 1 - fishing just offshore The immature Iceland Gull continues at Jodrey Pier in Gloucester. It was swimming near a wooden platform just off the end of the pier. Gull numbers seemed to be up, with many, many Great Black-backed Gulls. Barbara Volkle Northboro, MA barb620@world.std.com
12/5/2003
Pelagics around Jeffreys Ledge (off Gloucester) >
Was out on the Miss Cape Anne on 5 December around Jeffreys >Ledge. Had three landbirds: 1 Am. Pipit, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and 1 >Common Redpoll. > >Saw small numbers of Fulmars--only about 4; almost a hundred Dovekies; 4 possible distant flyby Atlantic Puffins; a few hundred B-l Kittiwakes; almost a hundred large Alcids (Murre/Razo-types); 3 N. Right Whales; a dozen or so Humpback Whales; 75+ Atlantic White-sided Dolphins; a handful of distant Fin Whales; a small flock (4-6) of probable Red Phalaropes
"Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
Ithaca, NY
12/6/2003
Race Point parking lot, Provincetown (0735 - 0900 & 0935 - 1035; winds ENE @ 25 -35mph with gusts increasing to about 40mph; moderate rain with occasional snow/sleet mixed; visibility was bad to begin, becoming intolerable by mid-morning): 390 N. Gannets (100% adults) 125 Black-legged Kittiwakes (90+% adults) 43 Dovekies 15 large alcid sp.
Corporation Beach, Dennis (1245 - 1515; winds ENE @ 25 - 40+mph; moderate to heavy rain; miserable visibility, but at least many of the birds tend to be close to shore here): 1 Red-necked Grebe 110 N. Gannets (80+% adults) 1 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Lesser Scaup 1 phalarope sp. 4 jaeger sp. 1 Little Gull (ad.) 4 Bonaparte's Gulls 290 Black-legged Kittiwakes (80+% adults) 40 Dovekies (most at very close range) 4 large alcid sp. many unidentified avian apparitions at the edge of the discernable universe.
Blair Nikula
odenews@odenews.net
http://www.odenews.net/
12/7/2003
Well, the weather gods may be angry, but the seabird gods were smiling, providing a great show at First Encounter Beach in Eastham this morning (12/7). Peter Flood and I recorded exceptional numbers of Red Phalaropes, Pomarine Jaegers, and Dovekies, with a nice mix of just about everything else you would expect at this late date. For the first hour or so, the action was so fast and furious that it was impossible to keep track of everything, even with two of us and the use of hand-counters. For the first three hours, the visibility was rather poor but tolerable, and many of the birds were moving right up the beach anyway; in fact, I hardly used my scope for the first half of the morning. At about 10:00, the mixed rain/sleet turn to snow (we had bare ground here this morning) and the visibility really shut down, though by then the birds had slowed down considerably, so it may not have mattered much. From 0650 - 1215 (winds NNW @ 20-40+ mph): 5 Red-throated Loons 43 N. Fulmars 20+ tubenose species (most or all probably fulmars) 1 Storm-petrel sp. 550 N. Gannets 1445(!) Red Phalaropes (truth be told, perhaps half or more too distant to identify to species, but given that all of the closer ones were Reds, and Red-necked would be very rare this late, it seems safe to figure they were all Reds - much as that runs against my conservative grain!) 1 SKUA sp. 228 Pomarine Jaegers (some stunning views) 3 Bonaparte's Gulls 1 Iceland Gull (ad.) 2060 Black-legged Kittiwakes (again, the vast majority passing right up the beach) 1270(!) Dovekies (most very close, some over the beach and a few even over the parking lot!) 75 Razorbills 370 large alcid sp. Lots of additional birds out in the ether. The winds hung in hard from the NNW all day, as did the snow and near-zero visibility, so it's hard to imagine that many (if any) of these birds made it out of Cape Cod Bay today, making another good show in the morning a distinct possibility. Elsewhere on my way home mid-afternoon: Boat Meadow Beach, Eastham (5 minutes): 20+ phalaropes 9 Pomarine Jaegers (one flock, headed inland up Boat Meadow Creek) 8 Dovekies 20 kittiwakes Skaket Beach, Orleans (10 minutes): 25+ phalaropes (on the water up a tidal creek) 2 Dovekies Paine's Creek Beach, Brewster (5 minutes): 2 phalaropes 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull (ad.) 9 kittiwakes
Blair Nikula
odenews@odenews.net
http://www.odenews.net/
12/12/2003
(1020-1530 hrs.): NEWBURYPORT HARBOR & PLUM ISLAND (south to refuge sub-headquarters)
Weather: Cloudy, calm, 33-38 F. Snow Goose (9)-harbor. Canada Goose (1100) Gadwall (2) Am. Black Duck (1300) Mallard (150) Green-winged Teal (1) Greater Scaup (27) Common Eider (160) Surf Scoter (6) White-winged Scoter (65) Black Scoter (20) Oldsquaw (160) Bufflehead (170) Common Goldeneye (90) Hooded Merganser (17)-harbor. Common Merganser (8) Red-breasted Merganser (120) Red-throated Loon (37) Common Loon (48) Red-necked Grebe (18) Horned Grebe (39) Northern Gannet (8 ads.) DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT (2-1W)-harbor. Great Blue Heron (1)-P.I. Northern Harrier (5) Red-tailed Hawk (3) Rough-legged Hawk (2 lt. imms.) Bonaparte’s Gull (35) Iceland Gull (1-1W) Black-legged Kittiwake (2 ads.)-harbor. THICK-BILLED MURRE (1): Plum I. River, adjacent to the entrance to the refuge. Razorbill (1)-P.I. Northern Flicker (1) Horned Lark (15) AMERICAN PIPIT (1)-N. end of Plum I., along wrackline. Am. Tree Sparrow (30) Ipswich Savannah Sparrow (2)-N. end of P.I. Lapland Longspur (11)-P.I. Snow Bunting (40)-P.I.
Rick Heil S.Peabody,MA
:rsheil@juno.com
12/14/2003
S(0730-1000, 1140-1500 hrs.) ANDREW’S POINT, ROCKPORT Seawatch Weather: Overcast, E winds 10-20 mph, 15-28 F, no precipitation. Am. Black Duck (6) Common Eider (33) Harlequin Duck (22): residents. Surf Scoter (17) White-winged Scoter (28) Black Scoter (16) Oldsquaw (29) Common Goldeneye (5) Red-breasted Merganser (12) Red-throated Loon (20) Common Loon (5) Horned Grebe (1) Red-necked Grebe (9) Northern Gannet (84): 82 ads., 2 sub-ads. Great Cormorant (4) Purple Sandpiper (50) Dunlin (30) SKUA sp. (1): dark individual in direct flight NW to SE @ 0810 hrs; a surprise given gentle conditions. Pomarine Jaeger (1-dark): present in the area more than 30 mins. pursuing kittiwakes. PARASITIC JAEGER (1-light adult): Close views right out front (~350 yds.) chasing a kittiwake; slim build, slender wings, and especially short, pointed central rects, among other characters, clearly noted. My latest prior date is 7 Nov. jaeger sp. (3): On the horizon, chasing kittiwakes. Bonaparte’s Gull (23) Ring-billed Gull (4) Herring Gull (180+) Great Black-backed Gull (50+) Black-legged Kittiwake (135): 133 ads., 2-1W. Razorbill (214) large alcid sp. (210) Black Guillemot (10) Common Redpoll (2)
EASTERN PT., GLOUCESTER (1015-1115) Gadwall (27) EARED GREBE (1)-usual Niles Beach indiv. in situ. Northern Goshawk (1 imm.) Gray Catbird (1)
Rick Heil S.Peabody,MA
:rsheil@juno.com
12/15/2003
(0705-1035 hrs.): ANDREW’S POINT, ROCKPORT Seawatch Weather: Overcast, NNE 25-35 mph, quickly becoming NW 25-40 mph, lt. rain, 30-38 F. Common Eider (60) Harlequin Duck (9) Surf Scoter (6) White-winged Scoter (85) Black Scoter (23) Oldsquaw (20) Common Goldeneye (4) Red-breasted Merganser (5) Red-throated Loon (4) Common Loon (16) Red-necked Grebe (7) Northern Gannet (140): all adults but for about 10 sub-ads. Great Cormorant (5) Pomarine Jaeger (2 lt.) Bonaparte’s Gull (155) Ring-billed Gull (3) Herring Gull (300+) Iceland Gull (3; 1ad., 2-1W) Great Black-backed Gull (100+) Black-legged Kittiwake (126; 125 ads., 1-1W) Dovekie (6) Razorbill (55) large alcid sp. (760+) Black Guillemot (7) off the water: Snow Bunting (2) Common Redpoll (8)
Rick Heil S.Peabody,MA rsheil@juno.com
1/1/2004
Andrew's Point (1030-1350 hrs.) Rick Heil
Weather: Overcast, NE 10-15 mph, mist / light freezing rain, 30-32 F.
American Black Duck (3) Common Eider (113) Harlequin Duck (20) Surf Scoter (10) White-winged Scoter (9) Black Scoter (23) Red-breasted Merganser (3) Red-throated Loon (5 juvs.) Common Loon (5) Red-necked Grebe (1) Northern Gannet (15; 13 ads., 1 sub-ad., 1 juv.) Purple Sandpiper (3) Bonaparte’s Gull (56; 53 ads., 3-1W) Ring-billed Gull (4) Herring Gull (35) Great Black-backed Gull (8) Black-legged Kittiwake (340): all ads except for one 1W. Common Murre (6) Razorbill (727): Slightly below previous Jan high count. large alcid sp. (110) Rick Heil S.Peabody,MA :rsheil@juno.com
1/5/2004
A nice variety of birds at First Encounter Beach this morning (12/8), but only a small fraction of the numbers (except for gannets and loons) present yesterday. Contrary to my expectations (and proving yet again how little I know!), several thousand birds apparently exited Cape Cod Bay sometime late yesterday or last night, despite gale force winds throughout the period. (How do they do it? Overland? At night?) Following is a cumulative total, combining what I saw from 0630 - 0900 and what Simon Perkins, David Sibley, and Steve Mirick added after I left (they stayed until about noon) (NW wind @ 20-30mph): 60+ Red-throated Loons 29 Red-necked Grebes 1 N. Fulmar 3 Greater Shearwaters 2500 N. Gannets (a much higher percentage of imm. & sub-ad. than the past two days) 28 Red Phalarope 70 Pomarine Jaegers 5 Bonaparte's Gulls 1 Iceland Gull (ad.) 250 Black-legged Kittiwakes 174 Dovekies (apparently a number of birds have been picked up here and there and brought into rehabilitators over the past couple of days) 6 Thick-billed Murre 294 Razorbills 183 large alcid sp. 1 Black Guillemots 8 Atlantic Puffins 30 Com. Redpolls (hanging around the parking lot, then flying north out of the water) Simon et al. also checked out a report of two Sandhill Cranes coming to a feeder in Barnstable and found two Sandhill Cranes coming to a feeder in a front yard in Barnstable!Blair Nikula
odenews@odenews.net
http://www.odenews.net/
Andrew's Point (1030-1350 hrs.) Rick Heil
Weather: Overcast, NE 10-15 mph, mist / light freezing rain, 30-32 F.
American Black Duck (3) Common Eider (113) Harlequin Duck (20) Surf Scoter (10) White-winged Scoter (9) Black Scoter (23) Red-breasted Merganser (3) Red-throated Loon (5 juvs.) Common Loon (5) Red-necked Grebe (1) Northern Gannet (15; 13 ads., 1 sub-ad., 1 juv.) Purple Sandpiper (3) Bonaparte’s Gull (56; 53 ads., 3-1W) Ring-billed Gull (4) Herring Gull (35) Great Black-backed Gull (8) Black-legged Kittiwake (340): all ads except for one 1W. Common Murre (6) Razorbill (727): Slightly below previous Jan high count. large alcid sp. (110)
Rick Heil S.Peabody,MA
:rsheil@juno.com