Golden Eagle - But Just Barely, Montague, MA, February 2019

One of the best ways to find Golden Eagles in New England is to spend time at fall hawk watches and get lucky to see one of the small number of birds that pass by each year.  But I’ve never done much in the way of birding at fall hawk migration spots so my chances to find Golden Eagles as fall migrants have been limited.  The other option is to be able to find a wintering bird.  Often a wintering Golden will stick around in a general area for a few days, though these birds will frequently cover large areas and may not be very reliable.  However needless to say, even an unreliable wintering bird will be more chaseable than a fall migrant that’s just passing through.   

As a result of these challenges, I have a rather checkered history with Golden Eagle in New England.  On the positive side, I have seen this species in NH and VT based on the sighting of a single bird on 3/25/14.  The bird had been reported in VT the previous couple days, and I was lucky enough to not only find the bird, but also to watch it fly back and forth over the stateline to add it to both statelists (I happened to be standing in Vernon, VT at the time).  Can’t get much better than that!  At the other end of the spectrum was a frustrating fall sighting I had years earlier as I was birding on Mount Agamenticus in Maine.  The bird was very far to the west and little more than a speck, though it seemed like it could have been an immature Golden.  Then there was the 7-hour roundtrip I made up the Maine coast in January 2013 to Flood Brothers Dairy in Clinton for what was generally described as a reliable wintering bird.  Alas the bird was totally unreliable the day I was there.  Ugh. 

Then on February 15, 2019 came reports of a Golden Eagle in central MA in the town of Montague, feeding on a cow carcass with numerous Bald Eagles.  Two consecutive days of sightings and photographs meant that the Golden was quite reliable.  But I couldn’t get out until after church on the 17th, so I crossed my fingers that it would stick around till that afternoon.   

The actual location where the birds were feeding wasn’t very clear from the posts, but many sightings were from Will’s Ferry Rd.  So when I finally arrived in the area a bit before 2 PM, I drove right to Will’s Ferry Rd to begin my search.  And within a few seconds I saw a large mixed flock of Ravens and Crows milling about.  After just a few seconds I realized most of the activity was focused around a distant field which was the likely location of the carcass (maybe it was a good thing that a slight rise in the field obscured the actual site of the cow’s remains).  Then I started noticing a few Bald Eagles in the area – first one, then two more, then a group of at least six.  And just then I spotted a pair of Eagles flying low over the field – one seemed a bit smaller than the other.  Both then rose up to head to the distant tree line along the Connecticut River and the slightly smaller bird had a white tail with a dark terminal band, and white patches at the base of the primaries on the otherwise dark wings.  I had the Golden Eagle!  I watched it for just a few seconds before it went behind the trees, and then followed it along the river for a few more seconds, mostly obscured by the branches, until it disappeared in the distance to the southwest. 

Now I just waited for it to return to give me better looks.  But over the next 2 hours I never did see the Golden again.  Though I had great views of Bald Eagles, with 10 in view at one time.  Plus I had a calling Fish Crow to give me a sweep of the Corvids.  And a small flock of Redpolls feeding nearby was a nice addition. 

I have to admit that as I continued to wait in vain for the Golden Eagle I began to doubt my sighting.  On the negative side, no one else spotted the Golden that day, and my sighting was brief.  But I was able to see every key field mark except for the golden hind-neck.  And the bird seemed to be passing through the area and then flying off to the south down the Connecticut River, instead of feeding at the carcass.  In other words, perhaps it wasn’t in the area for long that day, giving other birders next to no time to spot it.  So rather than doubting my brief but good sighting, I decided to stick with my initial ID and added it to my MA statelist. 

Golden Eagle was number 415 for MA.  And although MA was my 20th state for this species (the dark shaded states in my statebird map below), I still need it in quite a number of other states especially in the eastern and central portions of its regular range (the cross-hatched states). 

Statebird map

“Sanitized for Your Protection” - Second MA Sighting of Trumpeter Swan, Milford, MA, February 2019

Have you ever checked into a motel and noticed a little ring of paper around the toilet seat printed with these words – “Sanitized for Your Protection”?  My good birding friend David Deifik has used this phrase though in a very different context.  Consider the situation most all of us have been in where, although we have a certain bird on our life lists, in the back of our mind we might question the ID, or maybe we just want to get a better view of that species in general.  Once we do get that more definitive view of the species in question we feel much better about having that bird on our list.  Hence our lists have been - “Sanitized for Your Protection”.  

I had an opportunity to “sanitize” my MA statelist a bit in February 2019 when a Trumpeter Swan was spotted with Mute Swans at the Milford Pond in Milford.  I already had this species on my MA list based on a sighting on 3/21/04 in Northampton, MA.  Undoubtedly both the 2004 and the 2019 birds were directly or indirectly associated with the re-introduction efforts occurring in the Great Lakes.  But it was only when I started reading about the reports of the 2019 bird that I realized that the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC) did not accept the 2004 bird because it was felt that the Great Lakes population was not yet self-sustaining.  So although there was no question about the ID of the 2004 bird, it was still not countable on your MA statelist if you wanted to “play by the rules” so to speak.  Instead, the first MA record of Trumpeter Swan to be accepted by MARC was a bird from Charlton in May 2018.  So if I wanted sanitize the Trumpeter Swan record on my MA list I needed to go see the Milford bird.  Assuming this bird ends up being accepted by MARC that is. 

The Trumpeter had been spotted daily since January 28, often associating with several Mute Swans.  And even though the pond froze over during that time, the Trumpeter Swan remained at the pond and was quite reliable.  Most importantly it was indicated in one post that sightings before 2018 weren’t countable, otherwise I would have continued to have a non-countable bird on my MA list.  So on February 5th I made the short trek to Milford Pond, followed the directions to park behind the NRG building on the western side of the pond, and then walked down toward Clark Island.  A couple hours earlier there was a post that the Trumpeter was sitting on the ice north of the island with a pair of Mute Swans, so I was quite optimistic. 

As I neared the island I got a glimpse of Swans out on the ice.  A quick binoc view yielded 3 birds – I likely had the Trumpeter and 2 Mutes but all were sleeping.  I needed a better view.  I walked along the trail on Clark Island and got to a spot where I was closest to the Swans.  From there scope views confirmed 2 Mute Swans now walking around on the ice a bit in the distance, and one closer Swan which was still asleep on the ice.  Undoubtedly this was the Trumpeter but I had to be sure – after all I was there to “sanitize” my list.  Here is a phone-scoped photo of the bird as it slept.

After about 10 minutes I still had no view of the third bird’s head and bill to make a definitive ID.  I started to try to compare sizes since Trumpeters are often a bit bigger than Mutes, but the birds weren’t very close together so comparisons weren’t easy.  Then I realized that the necks of the two Mutes were a bit yellower than that of the sleeping bird – but was that definitive?  Then finally the sleeping bird awoke and raised its head just barely enough to give me a view of the base of the bill – it was all black eliminating Mute Swan.  It also eliminated Tundra, though no Tundras had been reported at the site.  I had my bird – after 15 years Trumpeter Swan was “sanitized for your protection” on my MA list. 

Back in 2004, I counted Trumpeter Swan as #365 on my MA list.  Instead I should have added it in 2019 as #414.  That is assuming MARC ends up accepting this bird in Milford. 

My statebird map for Trumpeter Swan is inserted below.  The shaded states are those where I've seen this species; cross-hatched states are those in which this species is regular but I don't yet have it for that state list.  Most of my sightings in the Midwest and East have been after the Great Lakes re-introduction efforts.  I know my VT sighting in 2017 was countable and accepted by the VT Bird Records Committee.  Hopefully all the others are countable as well, or I’ll have to “sanitize” a bunch of those lists too.

Third Time is the Charm for Common Ringed Plover – Lifebird, Westport, MA, September, 2017

My track record trying to pursue Common Ringed Plover has been a frustrating one, with two close calls in the past.  The first came in May 2013 when one was spotted on Plum Island, MA, just over an hour away from home.  I was monitoring the MASSBIRD listserve when the post came across that day just after the sighting was confirmed, meaning I could have dropped everything to chase after it.  Unfortunately I was in Ohio at the time, though on a birding trip to Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario.  In fact I was at birding hotspot Magee Marsh in Ohio when I spotted the post.  Ordinarily being at Magee Marsh in May would be a good thing.  But the 2 days I was there were extremely slow (one local birder called them “dead”), which was why I was spending more time checking my e-mails than I was birding.  The Plover was seen by many birders over its 4-day stay in MA, but was long gone by the time I got home.

My next close encounter came in September 2016 in Baie Missisquoi in southern Quebec just across the border from VT.  I birded Baie Missisquoi on my first day in the area finding some locally rare shorebirds including Long-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, and Baird’s Sandpiper.  Plus there were many Semipalmated Plovers.  I spent the next day birding in northern VT unfortunately seeing few birds of interest.  That night after returning home I checked the Quebec listserve to see which of my finds might be still around.  There were a flurry of posts, which after some French-English translation, revealed that a Common Ringed Plover had been found at the same spot I birded the day before.  The bird was seen all day long while I was less than 25 miles to the south in VT.  Could it have been in with all the Semi Plovers I saw the day before?  Needless to say, a very frustrating turn of events.

Then fast forward to September 2017 – a post came across MASSBIRD saying that an immature Common Ringed Plover was discovered at Gooseberry Neck in Westport.  And although the bird was re-spotted several times during the day, I couldn’t break free – hate it when work gets in the way of birding.  But the next day was a definite possibility.  Although I had to fly out on a business trip that day, I had an early afternoon flight which would give me a couple hours to try for the bird in the early morning.  Of course I’d have to hope that the bird would continue and not be a one-day wonder.

The next morning I was out of the house early and arrived at Gooseberry Neck at about 8.  I figured I could stay until about 10:30 before I had to head to the airport, so I was optimistic that would give me enough time assuming the Plover had stuck around.  But there were no sightings of the bird yet when I arrived.  I could see a fair number of birders up ahead on the eastern side of the peninsula looking for the bird.  Another birder at the northern end of the peninsula suggested I bird down the western shoreline to search additional habitat.  Although that would be a logical option, I worried that if I headed down that way on my own I wouldn’t find out if the bird was spotted elsewhere.  What to do?  And then just a minute later that same birder got a text that the Ringed Plover had been spotted at the southern tip of the peninsula.  Good thing I didn’t head off on my own!

It seemed to take forever to make my way the 3/4 mile to the southern tip of Gooseberry Neck.  Especially the last several hundred yards which required walking on large round rocks along the shore – good way to break an ankle especially if you’re rushing to see a lifebird.  Finally I reached the tip and saw several birders together with scopes pointed south.  Within seconds they had me on the Common Ringed Plover – success.  I was able to get several phonescoped shots of this quite cooperative bird.

I also heard it give its distinctive and unique call.  Although I would have never been able to identify it by call on my own, I’m pretty sure I would have realized that the call was something I had never heard before.  

Common Ringed Plover was #414 for me in MA, and either #749 or #750 for my ABA list.  The indecision on my part is whether to count the recently split Cassia (aka South Hills) Crossbills which I most likely saw and heard in Idaho a couple years back.

Little Stint, Chatham, MA, August 2017

Little Stint is a great bird for MA – in fact it’s a great bird anywhere in the Lower 48.  So daily reports of a seemingly reliable bird from Morris Island in Chatham should have gotten my attention.  But despite how rare it is, I hadn’t tried to pursue it for two key reasons – it was discovered while I was focused (in fact obsessed) on trying to get out to see the Bridled Tern in CT (including two unsuccessful boat trips), plus I had thought you needed a boat to get to the Stint’s offshore location making it a logistical challenge.  Then there were the slight complications that I discovered that most of my MASSBIRD e-mails were going into my spam folder and my MA eBird Needs Alerts had been turned off.  So I wasn’t getting many of the regular updates on the Stint, or any other rarity that might be found in MA. 

But then while chatting with another birder as we watched the Common Shelduck in NH, he mentioned he had just seen the Stint.  And it simply required a short walk along the shoreline; no boat was needed.  The next morning I started to wonder if I should try for the Stint after all.  The problem was my window of free time was limited to just that day, and I had planned to head out on the Cross Sound Ferry that afternoon for a second try at Cory’s Shearwater on Long Island Sound (in CT waters of course).  In fact I had already made my reservation on the ferry, though with a bit of research I realized I could cancel the reservation.  I started to piece together directions for finding the Stint, and soon realized tides were a key issue – the bird was principally only showing up at mid to low tides.  I checked the tide cycle and high tide that day was at 11:30 AM, so an afternoon visit would work well. 

With Little Stint being a lot rarer than Cory’s Shearwater, and presumably more likely as well, I cancelled my ferry reservation, and planned my 2 ½ hour drive to arrive in Chatham at about 12:45 PM – more than an hour after high tide.  My hope was that I would find the bird on the falling tide soon after I arrived, and be able to start my drive home shortly thereafter.  It was a summer Sunday after all, and departing the Cape would be a nightmare if I couldn’t get out quickly that afternoon. 

As I headed to Chatham I checked my e-mails a couple times hoping for positive reports from the low tide that morning, but there were no reports at all.  Was no news bad news?  Then as I got onto the Cape I saw that Route 6 was already backed up for 5 miles – and it wasn’t even Noon yet - yikes.  I was starting to have that sinking feeling, though I tried to remain positive.  Then I remembered the best access to the bird required parking in the lot at the Monomoy NWR headquarters.  I remembered that that lot is pretty small.  So on a nice Sunday beach day would there even be a place to park?  Sure enough as I got to the lot it was completely full, with two other cars circling along with me looking for a spot.  But just a minute later a couple walked up from the beach into the lot and I was able to take their parking space – things were looking up.

The best directions I found on-line said to take the stairs from the lot down to the beach, and then walk about ½ mile west of the Morris Island access to areas of marsh grasses and mudflats.  Minutes later I was descending the steps and found 3 birders on the landing down below.  They had been there all morning, and perhaps had a sighting of the Stint, but wanted to wait till the lower tides that afternoon to get a better view.  And apparently that was the only possible sighting that morning.  I looked to the west and the tide was high enough that no beach was exposed at all.  Then a birder appeared in the distance wading toward us from the west – he had been out in the proper area but there was still no exposed mudflat.  So we all decided to wait a bit longer for the tide to drop further. 

At 1:30 (2 hours after high tide) we all decided to head to the west, requiring just ankle deep wading in one area.  We got to the area where the bird might have been spotted that morning, but there was still next to no habitat.  Finally at 2 PM there was a bit of mud, and a couple peeps and Semi Plovers flew in.  The peeps were mostly the expected Semi Sands, but then I spotted one bird that was smaller and rustier that the Semi Sands, and had dark legs.  I pointed it out to another birder, but we both eventually decided it was just a Least – in the harsh lighting conditions it was very difficult to see the pale legs (plus the overhead sun meant the bird’s body was shading its legs making them look dark).  And there were no white braces on the scapulars – a feature that was quite visible in most of the pictures of the Stint.  We were trying too hard…

We waited a bit longer at this spot but still had no more than a dozen peeps and Semi Plovers, even though more flats were now exposed.  Sure didn’t seem very promising.  I then remembered one post mentioning that the bird was seen “past a creek”.  We hadn’t come to a creek yet, so I decided to head a bit further west and sure enough came to a small creek discharging water into the bay from the nearby saltmarsh.  And up ahead was another mudflat with perhaps 50 shorebirds.  Maybe this was the spot.

I set up my scope at this western location, and started to scan through the shorebirds.  There was better diversity here, including a Short-billed Dowitcher, a pair of Yellowlegs, and a Black-bellied Plover mixed in with the Semi and Least Sands and Semi Plovers.  But no Little Stint.  Then on another scan I spotted a Buff-breasted Sandpiper on a drier part of the beach – a nice find but still not the target.  More scans yielded presumably the same birds over and over again. 

It was now 3 PM and I was starting to think our target was going to be a no-show.  And my mind started to wander - think how awful the traffic would be getting off the Cape.  Then all of a sudden I picked up a peep that was brighter – so bright in fact that it seemed nearly orange.  Obviously much brighter than the Leasts that I had earlier tried to turn into the Stint.  Within seconds I could see the rusty cap and truly dark legs.  Then it tipped to feed and I saw the white braces.  Little Stint!  It must have just flown in.  I got the birder next to me on the bird, and seconds later the other birders spotted it as well.

Over the next few minutes I got a couple barely passable phonescoped photos of the Stint.  And although these shots don’t do a good job capturing the rusty color of the bird, I was lucky enough to get a couple pictures of the bird next to a Semi Sand (on the left) showing the Little Stint’s white braces.

As we all headed back to our cars we compared notes regarding our upcoming drives to head home.  The other birders were from the central coast of Maine, Pennsylvania, and Ontario.  And one birder we passed heading out to the spot had just flown in from Florida.  Although my drive back would be a long one, even with the extra 30 minutes to get through the 7 mile backup getting off the Cape, my trip home would be the shortest of them all.

Little Stint was #413 for my MA list, and the 517th species I’ve photographed.  But it was not a lifer – my only other Little Stint was in NH in 2003, in the same pool the Common Shelduck has been frequenting.

And as for that missed chance for Cory’s Shearwater in CT – as of this writing, no more Cory’s have been reported from the ferry.  I’ll just have to try for them again next summer.

Hammond’s Flycatcher and Bell’s Vireo, Massachusetts, November 2016

That’s certainly a nice pair of rarities for New England – let alone in the same state and on the same day! 

While I was away on 2 weeks of business trips in early November there were several really nice rarities seen in New England.  These included Gray Kingbird and Bell’s Vireo on Cape Cod, and a White Wagtail on the NH coast.  Although each one stuck around for a while, one by one they were gone before I got back home.  The Wagtail was by far the biggest miss for me since it would have been a lifer.  Very disappointing.  At least I included a long weekend of birding in WA while I was away and found some great birds out west.

But just after I returned home there was a report of another Bell’s Vireo in MA, this one in Plymouth.  This bird had apparently been banded in the area weeks earlier, and was amazingly still sticking around.  There had been several Bell’s Vireos found in MA the last several years, but I was never able to chase after any of them.  So along with the frustration of missing the one on the Cape earlier in the month, I really wanted to go after this one.  So with a bit of effort I was able to clear my calendar in a couple days to give the Vireo a try. 

And just as I was finalizing my plans for the Vireo chase there was a report of an Empidonax spotted near Boston in Medford.  The next day that bird was confirmed to be a Hammond’s Flycatcher, only the 4^th record for MA.  I’ve had no luck chasing after western Empids anywhere in New England, so this was another one that I really wanted.  But I wasn’t sure if I could squeeze them both in in the same day, and I likely only had that 1 day available.  The Flycatcher was rarer than the Vireo, so the former was the higher priority target.  But I didn’t want to give up on the Vireo either.  That just meant I had to try for them both that day, and hope that whichever one I tried for first cooperated quickly so I could move on to the other bird early enough in the day while it would hopefully still be active.  Since the Flycatcher was the rarer target, that would be my first stop, and then I would drive down to Plymouth for the Vireo.

As I made my final preparations I researched the eBird reports and the listserve for detailed directions.  Unfortunately the Flycatcher was reported from 5 discrete locations in Middlesex Fells – that is if you believed the eBird reports.  Luckily a couple birders responded to my request for details giving me explicit micro-directions to the one spot where the bird was actually being seen.  (That level of detail used to be included in the listserve posts, but so few people post to the listserve anymore...)  At least the directions to the Vireo were pretty good, so I was optimistic I could easily find the proper location for that bird.  I was ready to go.

I arrived in Medford at 8, after an hour and 15 minute drive in ugly rush hour traffic.  The Flycatcher was not seen until 9 AM the previous day so I didn’t think I needed to be there too early.  After a 5-minute walk I could see the small wetlands up ahead where the bird was being seen.  And before I even got to the spot I could hear the bird giving its “pip” call in the distance.  Three birders were already there with binocs pointed over to the woods.  I quickly picked out the bird as it foraged for insects in the low tree branches and underbrush.  Success!

I’ve now seen Hammond’s Flycatcher in KS and MA as a rarity, along with most all of the states in its regular range (see my statebird map below).

The bird had just become active 5 minutes earlier so my timing was almost perfect.  And the bird continued to call and flick its wings and tail almost non-stop during the 5 minutes that I studied the bird.  Luckily it was most cooperative because I needed to get to Plymouth to try for the Bell’s Vireo.  I hated to “bird and run”, but within a few minutes I was back on the road heading south.

The Bell’s Vireo had been apparently pretty reliably seen or heard in thick brush at the edge of a cranberry bog in the Manomet portion of Plymouth.  At least the reports made it sound like it was reliable – there had been no negative reports but that doesn’t always mean that everyone that looked for it had been successful.  After a long 2 hour drive in more rush hour traffic, I finally got to Manomet and quickly found the proper bog.  With perfect directions I was standing at the edge of the brush at the northwest corner of the bog in hopes of finding the bird.  And within a minute I heard the Bell’s Vireo calling back in the brush, giving its “chee chee chee” call that was reminiscent of a Titmouse.  Sure was nice to have found it so quickly, but now I wanted to see the bird.  So I stared back into the brush where the call had come from fully expecting to see my target, but saw no movement at all.  I continued to peer into the thick brush, from multiple angles, but still with no luck.

Two hours later I was still watching and listening for the elusive Bell’s Vireo.  Although I could have just checked it off based on the calling bird, I wanted to see it as well.  While I was waiting, 4 different times I spotted a most cooperative Orange-crowned Warbler, which at times foraged just a few feet from me.  And each time I spotted the greenish-yellow bird I tried unsuccessfully to make it into the Vireo.  I also found a late Blackpoll Warbler, but had no Vireo calls or sightings.

It was nearing lunchtime and I was thinking about calling it quits when another birder arrived.  As he walked toward me he called ahead and said he had the Vireo.  But it turned out to be just the Orange-crown.  But then a couple minutes later he said he had the Vireo again – and this time it was indeed the Bell’s Vireo.  We got reasonably good views of the bird as it moved through the brush to the east, and even once saw it near the top of 20-foot junipers.  His timing was impeccable.  Five minutes later I re-found the bird at its “regular” area at the northwest corner of the bog.  Wonder where it had been for the last 2 hours.

MA was my 3^rd New England state for Bell’s Vireo, along with NH and ME.  Plus I’ve seen this species in most of the states in its regular range in the Midwest and Southwest.

 
I now have 413 species in MA, my second highest statelist.  And the Hammond’s Flycatcher was #436 for me anywhere in the 6 New England states.  After missing several New England potential ticks while I was away, it was good to get back to adding birds to my New England statelists.

Franklin’s Gull, Newburyport, MA, July 2016

I was puttering around the house early in the morning when I noticed an e-mail from Tom Wetmore on the Plum Island listserve (PIBirds) with this subject - “Franklin’s Gull!!!!!”.  And the body of the e-mail simply said – “At lot one now!!!!”.  Tom birds Plum Island all the time, especially in the early morning, and is great at finding rarities.  And just as importantly, he is great at reporting them right away – I subscribed to the PIBirds listserve just so I could get his posts.  The post came across at 6:24 AM and undoubtedly Tom sent it while he was looking at the bird in real time. 

All of that would be great news if it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t see the post until an hour after it came out.  And since my drive time to Lot One on Plum Island is an hour and 15 minutes, along with a few minutes to get my gear ready, I wouldn’t be able to look for the bird until more than 2 hours had elapsed since the first sighting occurred.  What to do?  I quickly sent an e-mail back to Tom to ask if the bird was still being seen, but didn’t hear back from him right away.  Last fall I had chased after another Franklin’s Gull in MA only to find out that the bird had already flown away by the time the observer posted the sighting.  Would this be another example of looking for a Franklin’s Gull long after it had flown away?  I waited a couple more minutes but still no response from Tom.  But with all the birders likely to be on Plum Island in general, plus others heading there to look for the gull, I hoped that even if it had flown away it would be re-found nearby.  So I decided to take my chances and head to Lot One.

I finally arrived at Plum Island 2 ½ hours after Tom’s initial post.  Just as I was walking out the boardwalk toward the overlook at Lot One I received Tom’s reply to my earlier e-mail – “It flew north.”  Ugh.  Back in July 2014 I chased after a Sandwich Tern also found at Lot One only to find out that it too flew away before I arrived.  However, I was able to re-find that bird as it returned just a couple minutes later to its earlier roost on the beach beyond the Lot One platform.  So I hoped the Franklin’s Gull would do the same.  But several scans of the beach to the north and south came up empty for the target bird.  Though nesting Piping Plovers and Least Terns were nice consolations. 

Now what should I do?  There were no other birders around looking for the Franklin’s so I was on my own.  I was just about to throw in the towel and conclude I had missed yet another MA Franklin’s Gull by hours or less when I remembered one of my initial thoughts – even if the bird had flown from Lot One maybe it decided to head to another spot on the island.  Tom said it had flown north so I should probably focus my attention in that direction.  The tide was now quite low which meant sandbars would be exposed on the Merrimack River, so I thought that might be the best place to try.  It was a long shot, but I was already on the island, so why not.

I haven’t birded the north end of Plum Island north of the refuge very much, and I wasn’t sure exactly where to go to get a view of the river.  So I decided to head toward the northern tip of the island on Northern Boulevard to try to find some good vantage points.  When I got to the end of the road I found myself at a parking lot overlooking the mouth of the Merrimack River – perfect!  No sooner had I gotten out of the car did I notice a tidal island in the distance to the northwest in the middle of the river.  And there were a number of gulls milling about on the island!  I quickly set up the scope and began to scan.  There were several Black-backs and Herrings, and then I noticed a smaller gull –I thought I spotted the black ear patches of a non-breeding Franklin’s Gull, but the bird was pretty distant and I couldn’t be 100% sure.  I realized I could get a little closer to the island by walking to the end of a nearby fishing pier, so I memorized the part of the island where the potential Franklin’s was, and headed down the pier to try to get a better view. 

I set up my scope at this closer location but I couldn’t pick out the bird that could have been the Franklin’s.  And instead I found a small flock of Bonaparte’s that were molting out of breeding plumage, each with varying amounts of black on their heads.  Now I worried that my potential Franklin’s had been just a molting Bonie.  Then I scanned a bit to the left and realized I was actually looking at a different part of the island.  And now that I was looking in the right place, I quickly picked up the basic-plumaged Franklin’s Gull, roosting just a bit to the left of the Bonie flock. 

I was very happy to have re-found the bird 2 ½ hours after the initial sighting and about 2 miles to the north as the gull flies!

Franklin’s Gull was #411 for my MA list.  And MA was my 20th state for this species - of course most are out west in its regular range, and now I’ve seen it in 3 eastern states (along with NH and MD) as a rarity.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, Hingham, MA, May 2016

A tantalizing e-mail came across the MA listserve in early May saying that a Golden-crowned Sparrow was spotted at a private residence somewhere in Hingham, MA.  And then two days later came another post that discussions had been held with the homeowners and their neighbors where approval was obtained to allow birders to visit the yard in a somewhat controlled manner.  A process was set up where individual birders would ask for details on the bird’s location, and then the information would be forwarded back to you directly (and not to the listserve).  Since Golden-crowned Sparrow would not only be a new species for my MA list, but also new for my New England list, I was happy to play by the rules, and requested and then received the details on how and where to find the bird. 

The next morning I was on the way to Hingham, getting a very early start to beat the rush hour.  At 7 AM I was the first birder to arrive along the sidewalk outside the homeowner’s yard to start my vigil.  The bird was being seen at the feeders as well as foraging in the beds and shrubbery in his yard.  And it was even singing at times.  So with multiple places to look, I was happy to be joined by a couple other birders to have more eyes searching for the Sparrow. 

I had only been waiting a few minutes when I spotted a large sparrow in a forsythia hedge in the yard behind where it was typically seen.  I only got brief and partially obstructed views of the bird, but could see the gold and black crown striping confirming that it was the Golden-crowned Sparrow.  Then it dropped down toward the ground out of site.  The views weren’t very good, but at least the pressure was off.  And despite being able to check it off, I decided to stay a little longer to see if it might come closer into the yard and feeders in front of us to give a better view.  Minutes later there was some motion in a raised flower bed in front of the house.  And a few seconds after that the Golden-crowned popped out into the open providing great views.  And better yet, a minute later it flew to a small bush and sat there for several moments.  It was so cooperative that I was able to get these photos holding my phone up to my binoculars.

Golden-crowned Sparrow was #410 for me in MA, and #435 for my entire New England list.  I’ve now seen this species in the four Pacific coast states in its regular range, as well as in CO and MA as a rarity.