Nantucket CBC

Steve and I set out to Nantucket via a ferry from Hyannis the Thursday before New Years to take part in the CBC that was schedule for New Years Eve Day.

Steve would take his car with him so we could drive around before hand for birding and of course to have on the day of the CBC so off the car went and into the ferry with us in tow!

The seas would be calm at first and the winds bearable for me despite my sensitivity to cold if I'm not moving around so it was nice to be outside and watch the birds go by but soon enough the wind would get my hands cold and when that happens I'm useless so off I went inside to warm up.

But not crazy man Steve though who roughed the frigid air, high winds and rough sees in his Korean army jacket in an effort to do some sea birding which is one of his favorite things to bird. I felt like a light weight in comparison as I stood in the safety of the heated ferry pathetically trying to do the same inside with my binoculars much to the curiosity of ferry goers, but I wasn't alone as there were a couple of other birders doing the same so I didn't look like the only freak.

The next morning we'd set out to do some birding but of course not without coffee so off we went to the center of town to try and find a place as there are no Dunkin Donut's or Starbucks on the island of Nantucket much to my dismay.

But we would finally find a place that served a nifty cappuccino if I do say so myself!!

Being property caffeinated off we went to do some birding with the first stop being near water of course as that's why we went to Nantucket in the first place.

The weather would be warm compared to Worcester County but not warm enough for swimming so I had to chuckle to myself when I saw the sign above as who in their right mind would swim in weather like this and in late December no less.

I would soon find out as some dude comes out of the middle of nowhere like a Baywatch star and takes a daring plunge in the frigid ocean!!!

Next we'd go to calmer waters to look for ducks, loons, etc and we wouldn't be disappointed as there would be Common Loons, Pied-billed Grebes and quite a few ducks.

Including the very handsome Hooded Mergansers above. After scoping that place out for a bit we decided to move on as we had a lot to cover in a limited amount of time.

On our way to our next destination we'd come across the Red-tailed Hawk above who proceeded to give Steve the "hairy eyeball" as he hung out of his sun roof in order to get some decent pictures of the bird.

After that it would be another coffee stop and the center of town to do some birding along the harbor.

We would not be disappointed as there would be scores of birds nearby including the very cooperative Red-throated Loon above. How cool is that! There would be many gulls nearby including quite a few Herring Gulls and a couple of Bonaparte's Gulls which was very exciting considering I'd never gotten a really good look at them so this would be a treat for me.

There would be one in particular who was not at all camera shy as Steve and I inched up closer to get some pictures at it. I would be swooning very hard at this point and could feel the feeling I get in my heart that happens when I encounter a really cool bird which causes me to feel a little light headed as I drink it all in. Sigh, I'd tell Steve this would be my favorite bird for the month of December as what could trump that!

We had to meet up with one of the CBC organizers to find out our circle and he and a falconer were kind enough to let us see the captive Peregrine Falcon near the airport they use for bird scaring and control much to my delight as I miss my Worcester ones deeply.

Swoon and here it would be eating away an not at all frightened by us being so close. Another treat but wouldn't trump the Bonaparte's due to it being captive.

Our circle included many places away from the water so we decided to scout it out a little and pish out some passerines including the MANY Yellow-rumped Warblers like the one above. Grrrr....Even in the winter they are too elusive for me to get a half way decent picture, little buggers.

After a considerable amount of time scouting that area we decided to head to the ocean part of our circle as you can see passerines anytime, so off to the water we went!

Steve would be scoping as I looked about with my bins when suddenly he located a Dovekie!!! He got me on the bird for me to get a half assed look at it as it was in the water and the waves were rough so all I could see what this fat little bird that looked as if it were drowning. He ran to his car to get his camera and by the time he had come back I had lost the bird.

There would be quite a few Sanderlings on the beach and I'd periodically take a look at them when suddenly, I could see a cute, fat little bird that looked like.....Well...... A Dovekie!!!! "What's that", I'd ask Steve, as Dovekie's aren't known to be on the shore so I doubted what I saw based solely on its behaviour. It's the Dovekie Steve would say as we both looked at it amazed that it was so close. He'd start heading down the wooden stairs to the sand where it and the Sanderlings were shouting that it must be injured as it looked as if it were struggling so off he was to go save the poor little bird. I'd follow behind with camera in tow all in an effort to document the daring rescue as who else in the blogasphere would have something as cool as this to share!!!!! The Dovekie decided to take off at that point much to our frustration as we wanted better looks but we were happy that it appeared to be okay! The picture above is a Sanderling shot I got before the Dovekie arrived as I wasn't thinking when that bird was on the sand as I was too astonished to whip out my camera. HA.

We'd be scanning again and I'd be on bin duty and the darn bird would be close to shore again so off we went back down the wooden stairs to finally get pictures of it!

Steve running toward the cute little Dovekie!!

The cute little Dovekie!!!!! Let me tell you the waters look calm in this picture but they were far from it. I would sit there with my breath held in as I'd see it get sunk by large folding waves and furiously scan the waters to see if it made it back up and after a few tense moments it always did. Add to the fact there were a couple of Great Backed-backed Gulls flying overhead and I'd be a nervous as a mother hen as I'd developed quite the bond with the bird in the brief time I saw it. Steve would be in his element at this point and actually be sprawled out on the sand and in the zone as he furiously took pictures. Id' watch him as the ocean continued to get closer and closer to him and I'd warn him to be careful as the water was getting getting near. Steve would be in the zone though and get wet which caused him to do a back somersault to escape the water assault!

But it would be no use as you can see in the photo above. HA

There would also be other birds around including this adult Iceland Gull above. Sigh, what a fantastic experience this would be and yes the Dovekie would trump the Bonaparte's Gull as my favorite bird for the month of December as how could it not!

We'd end a wonderful day by a crow roost Steve had located. American Crows would be everywhere as the sunset which was so nice.

We'd be famished at this point so off we went to the center of town for a bite to eat. Let me tell you Nantucket is quaint enough with the cobblestone streets, but the Christmas lights made it almost magical! Off we went to get some sleep as we'd have an early start tomorrow as one of Steve's favorite things to bird for are owls!

We'd set off at about 4AM and to my horror there would be nothing open for coffee, so I'd try and caffeinate myself with some chocolate covered espresso beans. No matter how many I ate though, I wasn't getting my jolt and my stomach kind of ached due to eating about 15 of them :-p so Steve would go outside and do his calling as I sat in the car with the window unrolled listening and realizing just how useless I am in the wee hours of the morning without a hot cup of strong coffee. It was still nice to get out there and we did manage to get two Northern Saw-whet Owls so getting up that early was worth it in the end.

Finally, the coffee place would be open as I ran in there like an alcoholic running to the liquor store and would get myself a triple cappuccino. Probably not the wisest thing to do considering I had eaten all of those espresso beans, but when have I ever been one to shy away from extremes. ;-)

We'd make our way to a ball field Steve had mentioned would be worth checking out the day before and sure enough he'd be right as SCORES of gulls would be everywhere. The majority of gulls would be the Lesser Black-backed Gulls and second would be Iceland Gulls followed by Herring and a couple of Great Black-backed and it would almost be too much to take in. An added bonus would be a good look at a Glaucous Gull which would be a life bird for me so I'd be very happy. There would be so many Lesser Black-backed that we'd be questioning the ID even though they were clearly the right bird but it just didn't make sense as how could there be so many of them in comparison to the Great Black-backed???? We'd soon find out that Lesser Black-backed Gulls are more common in Nantucket than Great Black-backed Gulls. How cool is that!!

Anyhow, back to topic. Steve and I would both be transfixed at this point, as my coffee had now kicked in and I could actually concentrate. Add to the fact that gulls are my second favorite breed of bird (raptors being first of course), and I was in my element. Steve loves gulls too so we sat in his car like a couple of under cover cops doing a beat as we stalked the gulls and passed around the biscotti and washed it down with some Starbucks Frapacinno's (yes, more caffeine, HA)

We eventually pulled ourselves away from the gulls and headed toward the place we had the Dovekie the day before hoping we'd spot it again for the count. There would be no cute little Dovekie, but we would get many gulls including more Lesser Black-backed and Iceland. There would also be scoters, loons and others but the most notable for me would be the many Northern Gannet's which I was happy I could now ID even far away just by flight behaviour by all the sea birding Steve and I have done over the past couple of months.

After that we'd hit a really cool place and decide to get out of the car to see if we could flush anything out of the sea grasses, with rails being top on the list as Steve's passion is rails and whenever he sees sea grass he has to investigate so off we went!

We'd see no rails, but we did get a good look at the juvenille Cooper's Hawk above which was nice considering the only raptor we had for the count were a couple of Red-tailed Hawks.

We'd end the day by the crow roost again to do a count of them for the count. It would be pouring rain at this point so windows would be rolled up with the sound of heavy rain drops beeting against the car, but Steve would look at the radar on his phone and pin point the exact time it should stop. I'd be eating again at this point and smile at him thinking, "sure, whatever you say honey" ;-) and then suddenly, one minute after his prediction, the rain would stop and the sun would come out. Hmmmmmmmmm.....Maybe I should learn how to interpret radar after all. HA

It would be so nice to get out of the car despite the crow roost now being a bust compared to the night before as the weather was warm and we were greeted to a beautiful rainbow!

We'd walk around after that and I heard something I thought was an American Robin which had us all excited as we hadn't gotten one all day. Steve would start running to the general location as I followed suit as the sun was setting fast, and we really wanted that for the count so time was of the essence! We'd never be able to confirm if I did in fact hear a robin, but we did manage to pick up a Northern Cardinal which was nice as that would be the first one we'd have all day believe it or not.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend and nice to do a bird count outside of Worcester county and experience the birds that at one point were foreign to me. I couldn't think of a better way to end the year and begin the next one and with better company than Steve.

Take care all

Athol CBC

Steve and I set out to Dave's house on Friday night to begin the Athol Bird Count Saturday morning with a very early 2:30AM start for owls. Dave would already have coffee prepared which much appreciated as 2:30 was mighty early for rising, even for me!

Our first stop would be a place for a potential Long-eared Owl (Asio otus (previously: Strix otus ))which would have made me very happy as it would be a life bird for me. We'd get out of the truck out in the middle of nowhere and suddenly hear the sound of some wing fluttering and annoyed calls coming from a few American Robins (Turdus migratorius) who we must have disturbed from their roost. Steve would start with his Long-eared Owl call as we all listened carefully in hopes for a response. Next he'd do his Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) call and that too wouldn't yield any results so off we went to a couple more spots before making out way to Quabbin.

It would still be pitch black as it wasn't even 5:00AM yet and the first thing that struck me was that Quabbin is just as beautiful in the dead of night as it is during the day. It would be somewhat erie though as we'd get out in chosen spots and Steve would start with his call in hopes for some owls and it wouldn't take us long to get a Barred Owl (Strix varia), which was very nice as it would be a FOY for me believe it or not.

Another stop we would make would be a spot I was pretty familiar with from Tom's Quabbin trips and that too would look lovely with the moon lighting the reservoir and the distant sound of coyotes that could be heard nearby making it all the more surreal. We'd drive a bit more and pick up one more Barred Owl as well as an unidentified mouse of some sort making a racket in some nearby leaves but that would be about it much to our disappointment. Not that I was overly disappointed of course as this would be my first time owling before a CBC and did pick up my FOY Barred and got to see Quabbin in the dead of night which is something I'll never forget because it was so cool.

Soon enough 6AM would come so it was off to Cinnamon's, in Athol for some much needed breakfast for fuel as well as more caffeine of course for the day.

Steve and I teamed up with Dave and Shelley to do circle 13 and we'd stay as one unit at first and hit some of the local bird feeders nearby which yielded some pretty impressive results as far as high counts for both Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) and more American Robins as both species of birds could be seen on nearby trees as well as flying overhead.



Soon enough we'd split up and Steve and I would head out to some nearby woods to do some birding by foot. We'd do things high tech and Dave would give us one of his two way radios just in case something of interest would pop up or if we'd get lost (not that that would happen of course ;-)).

Despite it being a tad more brisk than what we've been spoiled with recently, the walk in the woods was lovely with the only sound being the crunching of leaves beneath our feet and the notable absence of any birds as we made our way along the trail.

Soon enough sleet would start to fall which seemed only fitting as what's a New England CBC especially in North County without snow, sleet or freezing rain!

We'd come to an area where we could hear some Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) so Steve would do some pishing to see if we could get them in closer for a count. It wouldn't take long for other passerines to respond to the pishing with the most notable being two male Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus), Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) and of course the always reliable Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).

After pishing there for a bit, we'd do some serious bush whacking in search of owls in various evergreens and while we didn't find any, we'd come to an area where were hear more chickadees which brought in quite a few Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) as well as a couple of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Soon enough we'd meet up with Dave and Shelley again who'd tell us that not only did they pick up a Common Raven (Corvus corax), but a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) much to our envy as both Steve and I were hoping for a raptor while out in the woods.

We'd stop at a couple of lovely, quaint homes including one with the sign above where we would see plenty of bird activity over by the feeders so we got out of the car to investigate.

Where we would see many House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), a couple of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) and another Common Raven.

Soon enough Dave would head back to the house to get things in order for the tally at the end of the day so Steve, Shelley and I would hit a few other places in hopes for more birds. It wouldn't take us long to realize there weren't that many birds at all, but we made the best of things and Steve would set up his scope to scan the waters for waterfowl which we'd never find.

I'd be downright chilly at this point so a Dunkin's stop for a Dunkachino was a must!!! It would be here that we'd find our first Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) as well our first Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) of the day much to our excitement (especially Steve's), despite it not being in our circle. Steve would be so thrilled with the discovery that he would have been happy to stay there a bit longer to look for gulls (swoon), but it was getting close to lunch so off we went.

After lunch at a local watering hole that had some real nifty beers to chose from it was off to Doane's Falls in hopes for better luck than what we had at the lake.

There would once again be no birds but the scenery here would help make up for some of that.

As you can see in the picture above.

And this picture too. Seriously, one of the nicest places I've been in a while and something I'd really like to see when the weather is nicer as it seems like the perfect place to get out and canoe in.

We'd make our way back to Dave's and stop every so often as we'd see a lot of passerine activity in nearby yards with the most notable being the MANY Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) so Steve would get out his scope in hopes of finding a Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) amongst the large flock. We wouldn't find one, but did manage to get some pretty respectable numbers along this route including the regulars but also two bonus Red-breasted Nuthatches ( Sitta canadensis), which was most welcoming as it would be another FOY for me.

Soon enough we'd get to Dave's, grab our stuff and follow their car so we could head to Quabbin again and along the way we'd spot an adult male Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) in the picture above which made me very happy as I didn't have much of an opportunity to get many bird pictures so this was an added bonus.

We'd finally get to Quabbin where we'd see quite a few Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) as well as a couple of Common Loons (Gavia immer) like the one above.

One of our final stops for the day where Steve would spot a couple more Bald Eagles as well as one single Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), much to our delight as this would be a first for this bird count which was very cool.

We'd end the day by once again trying for a Saw-whet Owl, but once again it would be a "no go". This would be the first time I'd do the Athol CBC and enjoyed every minute of it so was happy we decided to attend.

Next up will be the Nantucket CBC which I am already excited about and promise plenty of pics and a blog entry so stay tuned for that and happy holidays everyone.

Take care all and I hope you enjoyed my Latin ;-).

Thanksgiving Weekend Birding

Steve and I set out to do some birding this Thanksgiving weekend and headed to the great salt marshes of the South River in Marshfield to once again take advantage of the new moon tide in hopes it would bring in some rails or bitterns. The weather was completely different since we did this last time last month and the waters much calmer as we set the canoe into the water to start our journey.


All would be relatively calm as we drank in the morning and Steve would give me a refresher course on how to row which would be needed as I would soon find out!

Bird activity would be slow at this point but would see quite a few Bufflehead flying by and in the water as well as TONS of American Black Ducks and only a few Mallards which was fascinating to me considering it's just the opposite whenever I bird Central Massachusetts.

After rowing for a couple of hours we'd get into the weedier sections of the marshes as the tide continued to fill the marshes. Bird activity would pick up and we'd get a look at some Eastern Meadlowlarks which was a treat considering I never thought I'd see even one in November!

After much canoeing, Steve would find the perfect spot to settle into to see what birds would appear. It's all fairly strategic and something I'm still learning but Steve has been doing this for so long that he can tell the difference between the different types of sea grasses and which types of grasses different species of birds prefer and what time to get there in conjunction with the tide waters, etc...etc.... I took his word for it and opened up the bag of Italian cookies for fuel after all that rowing. ;-). It wouldn't take long to get some birds including a lifer for me which was a Seaside Sparrow! The bird would be too quick and hunkered down in grass for pics, but I did get a good look at it which was really nice as it's such a striking bird.

We'd also hear a Sora calling for an added bonus as well as see some Common Snipe which is always nice.

After spending a considerable amount of time out in the marshes it was time to head back and this time the wind would be on our side which was nice as we were both rather tired at this point! So all in all, we would row 7.2 miles (and in some areas where the mashes were so thick it as like rowing through mud) and would spend 6.2 hours in the canoe and while we didn't get many birds with it being November, it was a fantastic way to spend on a warm late fall day and something I'm looking forward to doing again.

After that it would be off to the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary with a pit stop to Dunkin Donuts for food and coffee as we were both starving and while stuck in traffic we'd get rear ended by someone much to our horror as we still had more birding to do!!!! We'd pull over in the Dunkin's parking lot to exchange papers and would be relieved to see only minor damage to Steve's car and even the canoe seemed to be okay. I don't know what it is about the canoe, but whenever we have it something weird happens. We'd get a flat tire last month and now a fender bender. Who knows what will come next. HA ;-).

We'd finally make our way to Daniel Webster and the first thing we'd see were the numerous Canada Geese that seemed to be everywhere!!!

It would be around here that we'd see a Red-shouldered Hawk fly by which is always an added bonus! Another bonus would be a "pumpkin" Northern Harrier looking as dashing as ever with all of it's pretty fall coloring which seems rather suiting this time of the year.

We'd make our way to a certain spot to just chill and enjoy the sunset and we'd be treated to seeing numerous blackbirds flying by on their way to their roosting site as well as hundreds of American Robins doing the same as the sky continued to turn pink and it felt more like a nice day in May than a day in November!

Soon enough the sun had disappeared and it was time to head back to the car. We'd be walking along the path and could hear the Canada Geese honking away and both of us would be deep in thought and just listening. Suddenly I'd hear a noise and think it was Steve's phone even though it was to the far left of us as he has a ring tone for a Barn Owl so I'd wait for him to answer but instead he looked at me and I at him and realized it wasn't the phone but the real deal which would explain why it sounded louder to me! We'd stop dead in our tracks in hopes of getting it again, but it would be around this time that some of the f*&#*@* Canada Geese would decide to take flight and all we would hear was more hoking and the sound of wing beats as they flew by. I'll go on record and say this and admit if I wasn't a birder, and heard that call, I'd be petrified as it's not at all pretty like the Great Horned or Barred.....An amazing sound just the same and the perfect way to end a perfect day.

After that it was the drive back with a stop at the grocery store as both of us were still starving. We'd grab more food than we could eat including a whole loaf of bread and a block of cheese and inhale most of it, but heck we needed it after all of that rowing! ;-)

The next day we'd head out to Lakeville for more birds, coffee, company and of course great weather! Our first stop would be the Oceanstate Cranberry corporate headquarters where we'd be treated to the most cooperative Great-blue Heron I've ever encountered! The bird would be perched on top of the bridge as we made our way near and we both expected it to fly but it didn't which caused us to stop dead in our tracks and get the cameras ready for pictures. Soon enough it would fly to the water with the Mallards and start hunting which allowed for some "killer views" and half way decent pics like the one above. We'd spend about 1/2 hour here watching it and in that time I realized, I really think heron feet are pretty cool!!

Soon enough it was off to Little Quitacus pond to scope for ducks and the first thing that struck me was just how pretty it was. We'd get quite a few birds here including quite a few Ring-necked Ducks, 5 Pied-billed Grebe and of course the always adorable Ruddy's!

And what would Thanksgiving weekend be without Santa of course!!! Seriously, this guy must have been sweating something fierce as it was already toasty outside. Wish we could have this weather all winter!

After waving to Santa it was off to Great Quittacus Pond in hopes for some Scaup which still continue to intimidate me. Steve and I would do the same thing as we did when we were sea watching which was set up our scopes on the same birds so we could discuss, compare, etc. After some scaup 101, I started getting the hang of it again and started being able to distinguish between the greater and lesser which was much appreciated as its something I really need to do every year but have been slacking lately.

Birds here:

87 Greater Scaup

14 Lesser Scaup

1 Pied-billed Grebe

6 Horned Grebe

15 Bufflehead

2 Common Goldeneye

6 Hooded Mergansers

The day would still be young so we decided to head to Assawompset Pond for hopeful loons, grebes and coot!

And it wouldn't take us long to realize we picked the perfect time to get there as there were quite a few birds and many were so close you could get killer looks at them with just the bins like the female Common Goldeneye above!! Seriously, I never realized how gorgeous these birds are until I saw them as close as I did. Even the female is striking and I love that golden eye!

There would also be one lone American Coot nearby that you could see with the naked eye which was very welcoming considering my experience with these birds have always been so so views and lousy pictures, but not this time as you can see in the picture above.

When we first got there, Steve would remark that it was odd we hadn't seen any Bald Eagles yet and I would nod in agreement but it wouldn't take us long to finally spot one and I'd be lucky in that my camera was already out as I stalked the goldeneye which allowed for this half way decent picture.

After spending a considerable amount of time here, we realized all of the birding we had done the past couple of days had tuckered us out so we plopped down right in the middle of the path to rest our legs some. Steve would be on his Blackberry doing our bird tally and I would still be stalking the goldeneye and I'd realize at that point just how lucky we were to be sitting there as comfortable as we were in late November with the temps as warm as they are. It makes for some lazy but very nice birding instead of freezing my a** off which is how I'm usually birding this late in the year!

Bird List:

3 Common Loon

7 Horned Grebe

12 Pied-billed Grebe

38 Common Goldeneye

27 American Coot

1 Double-crested Cormorant

6 Common Mergansers

8 Hooded Mergansers

1 Adust Bald Eagle

We'd make one more stop for passerines and we'd see one more Red-shouldered and Steve would roll down his sunroof for better looks and pics, but all of mine came out lousy. I still can't get over all of the Red-shouldered we had seen those two days as I usually get one or two a year tops so it was most welcoming.

Our final stop would be Cumbies which would be very quiet except for some model airplanes and a few hunters. The highlight would be another Northern Harrier perched upon a hay bale which made me happy as I'm so used to seeing these birds in flight that its not often I see them which allowed for views I normally don't see with this type of bird.

All in all a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving weekend and better than shopping any day as far as I'm concerned!!!

Take care all.