Trip Highlights

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.

The day was cold and windy, with temps hardly breaking 30 degrees and the wind bringing the “feels like” temp to 20.  Our small group left Ludlow and headed straight for Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge on Morris Island in Chatham. The trip was scheduled for Falmouth and Sandwich birding, but that plan was rerouted when we read about various sightings of a western hawk in the Chatham area.  It was a Ferruginous Hawk, very rare in this locale, and would be a state bird for most birders gathered there that morning.  The parking lot was full and there was even a reporter from the Cape Cod Times present to capture a few photos and get the birding excitement in the news.  While hunting for the hawk, we managed to spot a Hermit Thrush, several Northern Gannets, Common Loons, Long-tailed Ducks, White-winged Scoters and a Cooper’s Hawk that flew in, just a few feet in front of us, and perched very close in a leafless shrub.  He did not seem daunted by the small crowd of birders gathered there.  Alas, the Ferruginous Hawk was not to be found by anyone that day.  Many birders had been there before daylight in heated search, so by 11:30 AM we gave up hope and turned our combing to less rare species at other locations.

Since we were so far out on the Cape, we decided to hit some beaches that had never been explored on this annual January trip.  At West Dennis Beach the reported Lesser Black-backed Gull was observed in good light, along with 15 Sanderlings, and Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and Common Eider were surfing the waters.  

Onward to the next stop, Eugenia Fortes Beach in Hyannis, home of the Kennedy Compound.  We searched in vain for the reported Black-headed Gull, but this bird was also not to be spotted by any-one that day.  While walking the beach, we passed in front of the Kennedy mansion.  Interesting, but we agreed that finding the gull would have been our preference.  

The next stop on our route brought us to the Mill Pond at Marston’s Mill.  Here we racked up a few dabbling ducks, including Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail, as well as a couple of Mute Swans.  Next, we headed back to the shore to Loop Beach in Cotuit and were rewarded with a male and female Barrow’s Goldeneye among the many Common Goldeneye.

We next journeyed inland to Old Meeting House Road in Falmouth, where we hoped to find an Ash-throated Flycatcher that was most recently spotted just two hours previous to our arrival.  This flycatcher is a western bird, whose winter range is Mexico and Central America.  Unfortunately for us, a Sharp-shinned Hawk swept low in the area as we approached and a Red-tailed Hawk was perched in the tree right above.  This could very well be the reason we did not get eyes on the flycatcher.

Shawme Pond in Sandwich was next, and while driving in we noticed a throng of ducks at the north end of the pond.  Searching through 130 American Wigeon and a few Hooded Mergansers, we found the lone male Eurasian Wigeon.  It is a stunning bird and the light was great for us to take it all in.  Also at Shawme were a Ring-necked Duck, 45 Gadwall, 2 Bufflehead, Mallards and Canada Geese.  The trees and bushes along the shore often give us a variety of land birds and this day was no different.  We picked up a flock of 50 Robins, a Hairy and a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Tufted Titmouse, 2 White-throated and 3 Song Sparrows, 3 White-breasted Nuthatches, a Catbird and another Cooper’s Hawk perched low nearby.

It was getting late, and skipping Town Neck Rd, we sped over to Scusset Beach only to find that the gates to the beach close at 4:00 PM.  The guard was nice enough to allow us entrance at 3:45 for a quick look around.  Not having time to walk out to the beach overlook, we settled for scanning the canal to find a Great Cormorant, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 3 Common Loons, 22 White-winged Scoters, Black Ducks, Mallards and a raft of 500+ Common Eider, but no Razorbills.

Our last stop with dimming light was at the south end of Great Herring Pond.  Here we added 60 Lesser Scaup, 15 Common Goldeneye, a Hooded Merganser, 3 Common Loons and another Great Cormorant.  By dark we had identified a total of 48 species.  It turned out to be a great birding day after all, despite the cold weather!

This was our 34th year of participation in Audubon’s Christmas Count as Cobble Mtn Circle, with our first count taking place in 1991.  Here’s a rundown of how we did this year compared to past years.  We brought in a total of 61 species, down five species from last year, eight species from 2022, but just two below average over all the years.  Observer effort was up by one birder and hours in the field was up by four, both were above average for the count.  

Conditions for the count were fairly comfortable.  Waters were mostly unfrozen and open, with some ice along the edges and covering shallow areas. The temperature ranged from 23-30 degrees, clouds prevailed throughout the day, with some light snow in the morning.  Winds were from the northwest at 5-30 mph, mostly light in the morning and increasing in the afternoon with stronger gusts.

There were several species found in higher numbers than usual.  Of these, four species were at an all-time high, Red-bellied Woodpeckers at 68 (avg 29), Winter Wren at 4 (avg 2), Dark-eyed Juncos at 1384 (avg 636) and Common Grackles at 2,000 (avg 320).  The grackles were found in one flock by Al and Lois.  Other high counts were Tufted Titmouse at 228 (avg 143, max 230 in 2004), Carolina Wren at 35 (max 46 in 2023), and American Tree Sparrow at 114 (numbers have been well below 100 from 2007-2023).  

There was just one species found in notably lower numbers than usual.  The Northern Mockingbird count of a just 5 individuals this year was the lowest ever in count history (avg 32, max 59).  

We were fortunate to find some rarer species.  It seems Congamond always comes through for us, and this year the lakes gave us a Common Loon (last seen in 2011).  Two teams found Fish Crow, though as Dave suggested, it might be the same individual as the territories were adjacent.  Red-headed Woodpecker was found by Josh in the Southwick WMA, with the only other count sightings occurring in 1997 and 1998.  Finally, White-crowned Sparrow spotted by Dave and Kim was only recorded on one other count since 2006.

Unfortunate misses this year were Horned Lark and Purple Finch (both hit or miss species on the count), Red-breasted Nuthatch (only missed on 3 other counts over the years), and Cedar Waxwing (first year missed in count history).

One count week species was added by Dorrie Holmes, and a very special species at that, a Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Special thanks to Joanne Fortin, who hosted the compilation and is always so gracious about sharing her home with the group.

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2024 Cobble Mtn CBC Results

Click below to view or download complete count results.

2024 SPFLD CBC Results