Trip Highlights

Seven participants braved an early morning cold and windy start to a wonderful day of bird watching. As is typical the day started at the Jodrey State Fish Pier which provided a viewing of the typical candidates such as the Common Eiders, Surf Scoters, Long-tailed ducks and Double-crested Cormorants along with others. As the trip proceeded to Rocky Neck beach and Niles Beach more ducks were added such as the Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead, White-winged Scoter along with an adult Bald Eagle. At Eastern point we were graced with a great viewing of a Green-winged Teal.

Moving back up the shoreline we were on the lee side of the cape providing much awaited warmth. Stopping at Niles Pond we were not disappointed as restricted open water due to ice that developed during the previous cold weather conditions contained its occupants. Many ducks were on display with great late morning lighting. Among the ducks seen were Ruddy, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked, Mallard, Wood Duck and 25 Hooded Mergansers. On to the Elks parking lot along Atlantic Ave, where we got a view of more Scoters, Red-necked Grebes, a Black Guillemot and 3 Northern Gannets. After taking a lunch break, we continued on our journey with a stop at Pebble Beach, which had a limited viewing due to the angle of the sun. Around the corner lay Loblolly cove which gave us a viewing of the Harlequin ducks, another Black Guil-lemot and a couple of Northern Harriers. Our last stop was Old Granite Pier which pro-vided more of the previously seen ducks and gulls. As there was a rare bird sighting in our path home, we made a side trip to Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary for a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, which a couple of lucky participants had the opportunity to see. Also at the location we had a viewing of a Merlin flyover and landing in a distant tree.

All in all, everyone had a great day of birdwatching with a total of 50 species.

A big thank you to our leader and newer member, Will Fitzgerald, who provided a wonderful tour of Plymouth birding for seven lucky members.  We began our day by visiting Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary, exploring trails, walking over 3 miles and gathering a few puddle ducks (incl. Black Duck, Am. Widgeon) and many land birds (incl. Downy, Flicker, Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Tree and Swamp Sparrows, a Palm and 6 Yellow-rumped Warblers).

From there we headed to White Horse Beach, Manomet, parking along side of the road.  Scanning the ocean, we picked up 5 Surf and 20 Black Scoters, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, 20 RB Merganser, 7 Red-throated and 2 Common Loons.  We were almost certain we were looking at 2 Dovekie, but they turned out to be Razorbills.  Just down the road at Manomet Point, we added 1 White-winged Scoter, more Long-tailed Ducks and RB Mergs, another Razorbill, a Bonaparte’s Gull, 3 Horned Grebe, a Northern Gannet and a surprise Bald Eagle flying across and well over the ocean waters.  

A rest stop at Leyden Coffee House was welcome by all, great coffee!  From there we headed to the Plymouth Beach parking area along 3A, where we added beautiful views of Red-necked Grebe.

Nelson Field was our next destination, and we checked off our usual sighting there, 20 Brant. We saw several already mentioned sea ducks but were delighted to add 12 more Bonaparte’s Gulls to our list.

Cumberland Farms, entered by River St., was our last and very rewarding stop. We walked and counted a total of 7 Northern Harriers and 24 Red-winged Blackbirds, but backtracked to the solar panel area, where we stood atop a structure in the field to get good looks at 2 or 3 Short-eared Owls making their way back and forth in the area of the solar panels.  It was an excellent way to end our day at the coast with a total species count of 51.

On November 2 six members met and scoped out the lakes in Berkshire County.  We tallied 38 species, including 15 species of waterfowl.  We had 4 Pied-billed Grebes, 3 together at No Name Road; a nice male Pintail at the "Teal Hole" plus one more; many Hooded Mergansers throughout; 10 Black Scoters at our first stop on Pontoosuc; and 7 Ruddy Ducks on Richmond (and possibly 3 more at Stockbridge Bowl).  One Common Loon was seen from Burbank Park as well.  We also saw one Bald Eagle, one Harrier, and heard a Raven.  At No Name we saw about 100 Grackles flying swiftly and had a few Red-winged Blackbirds as well. At the Teal Hole we had 3 Carolina Wrens together and saw a Kingfisher.  A Berkshire Lakes trip would not be complete without a stop at Bartlett's Orchard, and all enjoyed that.

Four stalwart members gathered to explore Quabbin Reservoir and were rewarded with a list of 26 species.  Click below to view trip list.

Six members gathered to enjoy a 2-mile walk along the shores of Ashley Ponds.  Click below to view trip list.