Trip Highlights

It was mild, but damp and when the wind blew across the CT River, it felt downright cold.  That didn’t stop seven members from trying to find open water on the river, which was mostly frozen.  Craig spotted two Bald Eagles flying upriver from the parking lot of our meeting spot at the South Hadley Public Library.  

To find open water, we headed towards the Coolidge Bridge in Northampton.  On our way we stopped on Aqua Vitae Rd in Hadley and Craig spotted 18 Horned Larks, a male Northern Harrier, and a handful of Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. Heard birds at this location were Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal and House Sparrow.  

Arriving at the marina in Hadley, we found a female Northern Pintail nestled along the shoreline with a group of Mallards, two Buffleheads diving and popping up again downriver, and a Peregrine Falcon perched in a bare-branched tree across the river. En route we spotted the usual suspects, Rock Pigeons, Canada Geese, American Crows and European Starlings.  The birding turned out to be quite good, and it was very nice to chat with birding friends we had missed over the winter.  Spring is on its way - hooray!

Six members took advantage of the clearing weather after the big storm that hit New England last weekend.  Rhode Island recorded 34-36” of snow, but we went prepared with snowshoes, just in case access was blocked to our favorite destinations.  Fortunately, the snowshoes were not necessary.

Day 1 - Saturday was warm and sunny. We had six target birds for the weekend, and our first stop was at Blackstone Field in East Providence to find the female Tufted Duck that was reported. No luck with that, even though we tried for it from both sides of the Seekonk River.  We did find 2 Gadwall, 4 Bufflehead, 4 Red-breasted and 3 Hooded Mergansers, C Goldeneye along with Mallards, Canada Geese and Mute Swans.  Greenwood Point, located on the opposite side of the river gave us 54 Horned larks, 2 Shovelers, 4 Wigeon, 4 Black Ducks, 16 Gadwall, 20 C Goldeneye, 1 Ring-necked Duck, 15 Bufflehead, a C Loon and a Wood Duck.

Next stop was to a new location, Sabin Point State Park in Riverside, where a Barrow’s Goldeneye was reported.  We did not miss out this time, and all of us got great views of the Barrow’s, even though it took some thorough scanning through at least 60 Common Goldeneyes to find it.  Also there were 30 Wigeon, 42 Brant, 2 C Loons, 20 Bufflehead, 5 Greater Scaup and a single Horned Grebe.

The pickings were slim at Colt State Park in Bristol, but we managed to spot 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 2 Hooded and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, Bufflehead, a Horned Grebe and a bucket load of Brant, a minimum of 120 birds finding some open grass to feed on in the field.

It was noontime before we stopped at Grafik Coffee in Portsmouth for a nice picnic lunch outdoors on their picnic table.  Yes, it was warm enough to do that!  We shared lots of laughs, while we took a break from the birding.

Next stop was Glen Manor House in Portsmouth, a banquet facility that we hoped did not mind our presence.  We picked up 50 Surf and 100 Black Scoters, 50 Greater and 2 Lesser Scaup, along with other species we observed earlier.

Middletown Town Beach and nearby Third Beach gave us more Surf and Black Scoters, Bufflehead, C Goldeneye, Wigeon, C Loon, C Eider, and Brant, but also added two White-winged Scoters, 35 Sanderlings, 7 Ruddy Turnstones and a lone Dunlin to our growing species list.

Some packed down snow and ice along was present on the trail at Sachuest Point NWR, but we trudged through to a couple of lookouts anyway.  We added a dozen Harlelquins, 4 Great Cormorants and a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds.

We tried one last birding spot before calling it a day. Unfortunately, Green End Pond was frozen over and only Mallards, Crows and gathering gulls were using the ice to rest.

After checking in at the Howard Johnson by Wyndham in Middletown, we dined at the Atlantic Grille, where Lobster was in short supply, but good food, good company and laughter was not.  

Day 2 - It was colder and windier today.  After breakfast at the hotel, we headed straight to Beavertail State Park.  We found the heavy snowfall had caused the authorities to close off the area around the point, but we parked and walked in.  We found all 3 scoter species, Great Cormorant, C Loon, Horned Grebe, C Eider and new for the list, 2 Razorbills.

A sighting of 5 Black-headed Gulls was reported at Narragansett Town Beach, but when we arrived, the beach was loaded with people walking dogs and no Black-headed Gulls.  We also missed this bird at Scarborough Beach State Park, though not for lack of scanning with the wind in our faces.

The dirt road into Camp Cronin Fishing Area was in rough shape, but we made it and found more Harlequins, a couple of Horned Grebe, 20 Black Scoters and a C Goldeneye for the effort.

By the time we got to the end of Moonstone Beach Road, also a slog through water filled potholes, snow flurries were falling that soon turned into pellets bouncing off our only exposed areas, our faces.  This describes our walk on the beach to an opening where we could view Trustom Pond.  The spot did not disappoint, even though the access was difficult.  We added 20 Redhead Ducks and 2 Canvasbacks, but no Tundra Swans.  There were also over 200 Greater Scaup, at least one Lesser Scaup, 10 Ring-necked Ducks, 20 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, a Hooded and 15 Common Mergansers, a C Loon, 2 Black Ducks, 6 Mallards and 7 Horned larks.

Our last stop was at the Trustom Pond Visitor Center, where we hoped to pick up some birds at the feeder station.  The feeders were empty, but we spotted a Bald Eagle and a Northern Harrier flying overhead from the parking lot.  We finished with a total species count of 67 and three of the six target species we sought, while enjoying a wonderful weekend of winter birding on the coast.  Click below to view complete species list.

We delayed the scheduled trip by one day to avoid 3-5” of snow expected to fall early morning on Saturday.  The destination was also changed to Cape Ann, rather than the originally scheduled day on Plum Island.  The weather was comfortable, with temps in the mid-30s, though the wind picked up during the day.  

Six members gathered in Gloucester and headed to Jodrey’s State Fish Pier to begin the day of birding. We got our first looks at Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter and Common Loon, three of each species and two each of Bufflehead and Horned Grebe.  Also there were 50 Common Eider and a few Red-breasted Mergansers.

Next stop was Rocky Neck Beach where we added 25 more Long-tailed Ducks, 3 Gadwall, 2 Surf Scoters and a Black Scoter.  Niles Beach gave us more of the same species and added a Common Goldeneye and a White-winged Scoter.  

By 10 AM, we reached Eastern Point. We were unable to walk out to the dog bar or the rocky cliff to scan the open ocean as we usually do, but still managed to add 4 Greater Scaup, 4 Brant and a dozen Purple Sandpipers to the list.  Other species spotted from the parking lot were a dozen each of Canada Geese, Black Duck and Long-tailed Duck, 8 Gadwall, 6 Bufflehead, and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers.

Niles Pond was frozen, so we headed to nearby Brace Cove spotting 34 Canada Geese, 4 Common Loons, 4 Mallards, 3 Black Ducks, 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Bufflehead, 6 Common Eider, 2 Common Goldeneye, a dozen Robins and a Downy Woodpecker.  

On Atlantic Ave, we noticed 3 Great Cormorants perched on Cormorant Rock, which shouldn’t really be a surprise. A fly-by of Sharp-shinned Hawk was spotted as we approached the Elks Club. New birds here for the list included, a Black Guillemot, 2 Mockingbirds, and 3 Razorbills, along with more Robins, Common Eiders, Buffleheads, Black Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, a Common Loon and another Great Cormorant.  It was here that we noticed the wind picking up, lowering the feels-like temperature and allowing the cold to creep in.

It was time for a quick lunch break at our favorite Stop & Shop, before heading up the coast to Loblolly Cove in Rockport. On our arrival, a Carolina Wren was singing and a Northern Cardinal, too. Two Rock Pigeons perched on wires above the street. There were 6 Common Eider, a Razorbill, two each of White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead, Black Duck and Mallard and another Great Cormorant.

Our next destination was Granite Pier. Here we added a dozen Harlequin to the list and saw a dozen Common Eider, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, two each of Horned Grebe, Bufflehead and Black Scoter, 3 White-winged Scoter and 10 Surf Scoter.

On to Cathedral Rocks to observe a raft of 30 Harlequins, with a raft 40 Black Scoters just a bit more distant in the water. There was a Razorbill sitting on the water and 5 more spotted by Chris flying past.  Other species were Bufflehead, Horned Grebe and Red-breasted merganser.

Close by at Andrew’s Point, we were tipped off by another birder that floating in Hoop Pole Cove was a single Dovekie in very close.  This sighting not only added to our 250-Challenge list and the day list, but lifted our spirits a notch, too.  Three more new birds for the day were House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Song Sparrow, all heard from the trees near the car park.  Other species seen were a whooping 77 Long-tailed Ducks, 50 Harlequin, 40 Black Scoters, 12 Common Eider, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Common Loon.

It was 2 PM now and a consensus was reached to quit early due to weather advisories for a big storm to arrive by evening, forecast to bring 18-36 inches of new snow to New England.  One member decided to stay a bit longer and bird Plum and Folly Coves.  It was with luck that the reported Thick-billed Murre was at Plum Cove and sitting up upon a rock on the edge of the water, a Razorbill.  All three scoter species were there, too, along with 15 Bufflehead and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers.  Folly Cove had 2 White-winged Scoters, 5 Great Cormorants, 14 Black Ducks, 2 Common Loons and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers.  To end the day, a Red-tailed Hawk was spotted high in a tree across the street.  

Fortunately, all got home safely, just as the first snowflakes began to fall. It was a fine day of birding and fellowship!  Our final species total was 38, with some rarer species bringing excitement to the day.

We were 7 members that gathered to search the fields of the East Meadows in Northampton for the much-anticipated Snowy Owl(s).  There have been two Snowy Owls reported since the beginning of the year, so we were quite hopeful that birders were already on the bird – and they were!  We had very nice scope views of the male Snowy sitting in the field.  While there, we spotted a Northern Harrier hunting the fields; it was a “gray ghost.”  Flocks of Canada Geese were counted as they flew high above, with the “seven sisters” of Skinner State Park as a backdrop.

We decided to move on to the Honey Pot in Hadley to look for Lapland Longspurs.  Though we did not find a Longspur, we thoroughly enjoyed scanning the large flocks of Horned Larks, with Snow Buntings mixed in.  While some were feeding in the road, many were close by in the fields.  They would take to the air when a car drove past, and then settle back down into the field very close to where we were set up for excellent views.  Just before we left this location, we spotted a Merlin perched high in the farthest tree, where the dike separating the fields meets the dike along the river.  Our scopes were as zoomed in as possible and we could barely make out the field marks; not a very satisfying view, but enough to clinch the identification.  

Next spot was Fitzgerald Lake in Northampton, where we searched and searched in vain for the reported Varied Thrush.  We did pick up a variety of songbirds, a woodpecker, and a Red-shouldered Hawk, but no robins and no sign of the rarer thrush.  It had been spotted that very morning, but this conservation area has lots of terrain to cover.

Some of the group continued birding to look for a reported Barrow’s Goldeneye on the river farther south, but it was not to be found.  It seems the Snowy Owl was the star of the day!

Click below to view the list of species identified.

The traditional first stop on the first club fieldtrip of the new year is Sider’s Pond in Falmouth and so it was this year, too.  We gathered, 7 in total.  The weather was sunny, but cold at 20-30 degrees, with 5-10 mph winds from the west.  At Sider’s Pond we had our first looks at Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Loon far out on the ice-free portion of the pond.  We picked up songbirds here, too, including 10 Yellow-rumped Warblers showing beautiful color in the morning light.

Next stops were Salt Pond, the oceanfront across the street, and Surf Drive Beach.  The pond was mostly frozen over, but the second viewing area did have some open water, revealing a half dozen Common Goldeneye, 4 Hooded Mergansers and 2 Bufflehead. The ocean side stops gave us another dozen Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Mergansers.

The south end of Ashumet Pond was next. Here we spotted more of the same species and Hooded Mergansers, 2 Bald Eagles and a Red-tailed Hawk.  The north end of Ashumet had open water and added a Gadwall, 20 Lesser Scaup and 10 Greater Scaup, 15 Common Goldeneye, 8 American Wigeon, 8 Coot and a Bluebird to our list.

There was a King Eider reported at North Chatham Landing, but we decided not to go that far out, reasoning more birding, less driving.  Instead, we opted to try for the reported Northern Shrike at Francis A. Crane WMA.  The bird was not to be found, but we did spot Eastern Meadowlarks and a couple of beautiful little Fox Sparrows. Feeding in the same area off the entrance road by the playing field were Savannah, Field and Tree Sparrows, and the ubiquitous Dark-eyed Junco.

At Loop Beach in Cotuit, we spotted the reported two Barrow’s Goldeneyes, one male and one female.  Long-tailed ducks, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Eider, Mallards, and Black Ducks were all present, as well as 10 Brant and another Common Loon.

From here we headed due north to Shawme Pond in Sandwich.  The pond was mostly frozen over, but one area in the center was open and loaded with over a hundred American Wigeon. Though we scanned and scanned we did not find the Eurasian Wigeon we hoped for.  There were a couple of Ring-necked Ducks, two Mute Swans, 20 Hooded Mergansers, and a Bufflehead in the opening, a Great Blue Heron standing on the ice at the edge of the open water, and a Wild Turkey perched high above in a tree.  A Raven and several Crows called while we were scanning and we picked up a few songbirds and several woodpeckers, including Red-bellied and Hairy and a Yel-low-bellied Sapsucker.

The next spot was not far away, the popular Tree House Brewing Company on Town Neck Rd.  The parking lot was almost full, but finding a space here and there, we managed to stay and bird a bit on Cape Cod Bay.  We did not find alcids, but we did spot 500 Common Eider, 4 White-winged Scoters, 2 Common Loons, Long-tailed Ducks and a Great Cormorant.

Our final stop, and it was almost dark by then, was at the Great Herring Pond boat launch in Bourne.  The pond was frozen over, but we eyed a cluster of at least 10 Wild Turkeys in the trees that skirt the water’s edge.

We ended the day all smiles, with 54 species and 3 new species to add to our 250-Challenge!

Click below to view complete species.