Trip Highlights

Sixteen participants came together to enjoy a Saturday morning at Stebbins Refuge.  We had a double-digit duck day!  Click below to view a list of the 37 species we spotted.

Temps were in the mid-30s, but winds from the northwest made it feel colder. That didn’t hinder the eight members who gathered to do some winter birding.  Highlights from the trip included Bald Eagle, Ring-necked Ducks, a Peregrine Falcon on the Calvin Coolidge Bridge perched near the nest box, lots and lots of Canada Geese and three Greater White-fronted Geese as a special prize.

A wind speed of 15 mph and temps in the 20s made the morning at the coast feel quite cold. Tim arrived at Lot 1 on the Parker River NWR very early and received good information from other birders as to the whereabouts of a Snowy Owl.  Indeed, we followed their directions to the boardwalk of Lot 3 and were rewarded with excellent scope views!  With one owl ticked, we decided to head straight to Salisbury.  A Long-eared Owl had been photographed earlier in the morning, perched in the relative open, so a rare view awaited us.  We found the owl in the same position as in the photograph, coincidently also in Lot 3, though this one in Salisbury.  After enjoying once-in-a-lifetime views, we birded the transfer station, picking up sparrows and a Mockingbird, then headed to the boat ramp, where we scoped out Horned Grebe, Wigeon, and Gadwall, in addition to White-winged and Surf Scoters, Bufflehead, Common Loons, Common Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, and a multitude of Black Ducks.

The plan was to head back to Plum Island to see what else we could find there, but instead we decided to try for a Western Tanager that had been reported at a feeder on Broad St in Merrimac. The homeowner was very gracious, inviting us into his driveway and leading us to the feeding stations for better views. There was a Sharp-shinned Hawk perched high up in a tree behind the house, reducing the number of birds coming to the feeders, but after a short while, we spotted the tanager in a nearby tree, getting great views of it before it descended to the feeder.  Success!  

After a brief rest stop at Dunkin, we headed to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester to find our next rarity sitting in the marsh tearing away at a medium-sized carcass.  It was a Swainson’s Hawk, and though we did not get to see it in flight, we did get wonderful scope views. A bonus Short-eared Owl was spotted flying in the distance and landing atop a far-away pole.  What a great morning of birding!

From here we headed to Jodrey’s Fish Pier in search of Iceland Gull.  We missed on the gull but picked up Long-tailed Duck.  Next stop was Loblolly Cove in Rockport, where we added two Black Guillemots, 4 Common Goldeneye, 6 Harlequin Ducks and a Red-throated Loon.  Our final birding of the day was at Granite Pier, where we missed on alcids, but added 10 Brant, bringing our final species count for the day to 53.

Winter coastal birding is a thrill that cold weather will not keep us from enjoying!

Day 1 - The small group of four met up at Lawton Valley Reservoir in Portsmouth, RI to find a very rare bird, the Tundra Bean-Goose.  There, we also found several other bird club members among the dozens of birders gathered to find this species in amongst a throng of Canada Geese.  It was cold and breezy, but weather does not matter to birders when the opportunity to observe such a rare bird presents itself.  The Bean-Goose was found at 7:45 AM.  Other birds on the reservoir included 15 Ring-necked and 13 Ruddy Ducks, 12 Shovelers, 5 Mallards, 2 Coot and a Hooded Merganser.

Our next stop was Fort Adams State Park where we missed finding the reported Lark Sparrow, but did find 9 Snow Geese, a perched Cooper’s Hawk, 2 Bufflehead and 4 Common and 2 Red-throated Loons, both of which would become frequent sightings over the weekend.  While in the area, we made a few stops along the shoreline of Brenton Point State Park.  Here we added a Razorbill, seen well by all, a Common Goldeneye, 6 Harlequin, 5 Horned Grebe, 6 Black and 1 White-winged Scoter, 150 Common Eider, 7 Brant, 8 Double-crested Cormorant, 2 American Wigeon and a fly-by of 40 Purple Sandpipers.

It was lunchtime, but unfortunately, we did not find a place to stop on the way to our next destination, Easton Pond.  Though mostly frozen, we managed looks at Mallard, Common Merganser, a Coot, a Great Blue Heron, and 3 Green-winged Teal that Jim spotted in a ditch beside the road.  Nearby at Green End Pond, we counted 30 more Coot, 5 Brant, another Great Blue Heron, over a hundred Canada Geese, 10 Common and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, a dozen Ruddy Ducks and one Sanderling.

It was well into the afternoon when we headed to Third Beach.  Here the wind subsided for a short time, allowing us to bird in relative comfort.  The light was perfect, and we got beautiful views of 40 Black and 5 Surf Scoters, 3 Horned Grebe, 8 Common Goldeneye, 8 Bufflehead, 20 Greater Scaup, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 6 Brant, a Common Loon and 13 Sanderlings.

Nearby Sachuest gave us a rest stop and a long walk.  Here we added a Harrier, a Great Cormorant, a Long-tailed Duck and a Catbird to our list.  Also there were 80 Greater Scaup, 22 Black and 1 White-winged Scoter, 40 Common Eider, 2 Harlequin, 5 Horned Grebe, 4 Red-throated Loons and a Red-breasted Merganser.

It was getting near dark when we headed to Newport State Airport in hopes of finding a reported Short-eared Owl.  It was not to be.  Now tired and very hungry, after missing lunch, we headed directly to dinner at the Atlantic Grille. Nice to end the birding day with food, laughter, and a review of our day’s good bird finds!

Day 2 – Usually, we begin the second day of our RI trip at Beavertail State Park, but to save time we skipped this spot and headed straight to Narragansett. We stopped briefly at the end of Newton Ave, off Ocean Rd, to try for reported Bonaparte’s Gulls and Razorbills.  We dipped on those species but spotted all the usual sea ducks plus 2 Red-necked Grebes and 9 Brant.

Next, we visited Scarborough Beach State Park, picking up two of our target birds, 15 Snow Buntings and a Black-headed Gull.  Also there were 30 Black, 6 White-winged and 2 Surf Scoters, a dozen each of Bufflehead and Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Horned Grebe, 3 Great Cormorant and 2 fly-by Purple Sandpipers.  We missed the reported Iceland Gull at Galilee Harbor, but Salty Brine State Beach gave us 2 Wigeon and 2 Long-tailed Duck, along with the usual scoters, eiders and mergansers.

Moonstone Beach Rd and a walk down the beach gave us views of Trustom Pond, where many waterfowl huddled together on the only open water in the distance.  Our scopes allowed us to get views of 4 Tundra and 4 Mute Swans, 2 Gadwall, a Bald Eagle sitting on the ice, 2 Redhead and 30 Ring-necked Ducks, 40 Wigeon, 12 Common and 12 Hooded Mergansers, 30 Coots, 4 Bufflehead and 10 Red-breasted Mergansers.  We then headed to the Trustom Pond Visitor Center and added several feeder birds to our list, including two targets, Fox Sparrow and Eastern Towhee.

The South Shore Management Area was a brief stop, failing to find any of the seven different sparrow species that were reported, but the flat open fields looked right and maybe earlier in the day would have been a better time to visit.  The group split up after this stop, but two continued, going to nearby Green Hill Beach and then back to Trustom Pond NWR to walk the mile-long trail to the viewing deck that looks over the same pond visited earlier from a different angle.  Canvasback was reported to be there somewhere in the huddled masses and it was a life bird for Tim.  The sun was behind our right shoulders, casting great light on the ducks, who were still far away in the open water.  Panning carefully with our scopes we picked out the lone Canvasback, with its sloping forehead and bright white body.  A third Redhead, 20 more Ring-necked Ducks, and 3 Harriers added to previous totals. We left very happy for all the great birding RI provided on this winter weekend, a total of 71 species!

Seven members joined together on a snowy morning to visit the Honey Pot in Hadley. There were hopes to find the Western Meadowlark that had been reported, but it was not to be.  However, the trip had several consolation prizes that would bring a smile to any birder’s face. Click below to view trip list.