BIRDING STORRS

Sunday afternoon was sunny and no too cold. I have 20 species (Sue is in New Hampshire) most of them in Mansfield.

1.-Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
2.-European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
3.-Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata
4.-Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor
5.-Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla
6.-American Robin, Turdus migratorius
7.-American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
8.-Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
9.-White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis
10.-Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis
11.-Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus
12.- Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis
13.-Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens
14.-Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
15.- House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
16.-Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
17.-American Tree Sparrow, Spizella arborea
18.- Rock Dove, Columba livia
19.- Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
20.- House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Cape Cod Birding, Two and Three

Dunes and the Atlantic, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Last night just before falling asleep, we searched a Cape Cod Birding website for the address where the Painted Bunting was seen - right here in Orleans! So, early this morning, after picking up a cup of coffee to go with our homemade cinnamon twists, we headed out for another day of birding.  The day was overcast, temp in the high 30's, leaving the Olde Tavern Motel at 7:22 am, mile 169 on the trip odometer.

We made a quick stop near Chickadee lane, where there happened to be active feeders and continued adding birds to yesterday's list:

20. Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata

21. White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis

22. Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapilla

23. Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor

24. White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis

25. Downy Woodpecker, Picoides pubescens

Next stop, 7 Harborview Lane, where the Painted Bunting was last reported on December 22nd. Wearing all of our layers to keep warm against a light wind, we stood quietly and watched Nancy's birdfeeder, which was filled with sunflower hearts. After about 30 minutes of watching feeder birds in the neighborhood, and after the Blue Jays finally cleared out for a moment, the female Painted Bunting put in her appearance! We were able to catch her on video. This image does not do justice to her beautiful bright green and yellow plumage! but watch until the end, she makes two appearances.  Feeding with her are a Tufted Titmouse and several House Finches.

Female Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris, Orleans, MA, with Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor and House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

Other new birds seen in the same neighborhood:

26. Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris (FEMALE)

27. Carolina Wren, Thryothorus ludovicianus

28. American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis

29. House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus

30. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

31. Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus

32. Merlin, Falco columbarius

33. Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia

34. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura

35. Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
36. Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii

After our success of finding the Painted Bunting we headed north out of Orleans on Route 6A, to Eastham. We picked up a few new birds along the way, stopping at Herring Pond, First Encounter Beach and Great Pond. Parking at the terminus of Samoset Road, we walked First Encounter Beach to the mouth of the Herring River, with views both out to Cape Cod Bay, and inland over extensive saltmarsh.  In addition to several species of duck, we observed a flock of 150 Dunlin, Calidris alpina, feeding at water's edge.

Aythya collaris, Ring-necked Duck, Herring Pond, Eastham, MA

Other new birds seen in Eastham, near Herring Pond, First Encounter Beach, and Great Pond:

37. Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus
38. Cedar Waxwing,  Bombycilla cedrorum
39. Ring-necked Duck,  Aythya collaris
40. Great Blue Heron,  Ardea herodias
41. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
42. Brant, Branta bernicla
43. Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
44. Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis
45. Common Loon, Gavia immer

Way out on the broken ice in the mouth of the Herring River were about a dozen Harbor Seals, Phoca vitulina.  We saw seals again later, in the ocean at Race Point, in Provincetown.  Just their heads were visible, clearly watching us as we walked the windy beach.

Driving east on Samoset Road, we entered Cape Cod National Seashore at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, and spent some time at Coast Guard Beach. The National Seashore protects some 45,000 acres of beaches, tidal marshes, upland pine-oak woodlands, glacial ponds and dunes.  Although the Visitor Center was closed, a separate restroom facility was open, clean and warm, and the access roads are open year-round from 6am until midnight.

Northern Gannet, Morus bassanus

Birding the Atlantic coast here, as well as the salt marshes behind the dunes, we added a few new species:
46. Northern Gannet,  Morus bassanus (photo)

47. Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca
48. Common Merganser, Mergus merganser
49. Northern Harrier,  Circus cyaneus

Continuing north to Wellfleet, we turned west off Route 6 to Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, a 1100-acre preserve of field, forest, marsh and beach.  The Nature Center was closed for the holiday, but the parking lot was cleared of snow, and the 5 miles of trails were accessible - if one was wearing boots! 

After an hour of walking, and time spent watching the Sanctuary's well-stocked feeding stations, we were rewarded with some very good new birds.
50. Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regulus satrapa

51. Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus

52. Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis

53. Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula (FEMALE, photo below)
54. Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla

Northern Oriole, Icterus galbula, female

We left Wellfleet at 2:30pm, mile 190 on our trip, and continued north through Truro on our way to Provincetown.  Detouring off Route 6 to 6A again, we stopped to scan the Bay beside some boarded-up beach houses.  Here we saw species we've already reported: 

Common Eider, Brant, Common Goldeneye, Herring, Ring-billed and Great Black-backed Gulls, Red-breasted Merganser, White-winged Scoter, Black Duck, Bufflehead and Mallard.

In Provincetown proper, we stopped at the town pier between 3:30 and 4 pm (mile 210) and through light rain and a strong wind found three new species.
55. Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, on the breakwater

56. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Larus fuscus, on the breakwater

57. Horned Grebe, Podiceps auritus, swimming in the harbor

As we left Provincetown, the time-and-temperature sign read: 4:07 pm, 41 degrees.  Before turning south back to Orleans, we explored an access road to Race Point Lighthouse.  At 4:30 it was pretty dark, and we could make out only some gulls floating just off the beach.  We'll be back tomorrow to explore Race Point some more.

Blogging while waiting for our take-out

At 5:45 pm, mile 243, we're back in Orleans, this time at the THAI CUISINE - also take-out, with which we finished that bottle of wine.

CAPE COD, DAY THREE

Saturday, December 26th, 2009.

Dunes and snow, pathway to Race Point

Another overcast morning, temperature feels the same as yesterday - maybe 40 degrees as we leave the Olde Tavern Motel at 8am.  A quick stop for coffee at Mobil-On the Run at the corner of Main and Cranberry Highway, and we're on our way north again.

Along the drive we keep watch for birds, finding nothing new:  Crow, all three common gulls, MoDo, Blue Jay, Blk Duck, Bufflehead, Cardinal, Mallard, No. Harrier.

At 9:15 we arrive at Race Point, in the National Seashore's Province Lands, mile 274 in our trip.  This is more classic Cape Cod beach, beautiful sand, wild dunes, with stunted pines back from the dunes.  We walked and walked the beach, watched the Gannets plummet straight down for fish, saw numerous flocks of Murres, gulls and mergansers.  After two hours of walking we turned and came back to the car, for a total of three hours out on the beach.

the yellow line traces our route today

We had many new birds, one of which was a lifer for both of us - the kittiwake.

58. Dovekie, Alle alle

59. Common Murre, Uria aalge

60. Razorbill, Alca torda

61. Black-legged Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (2 Juvenile with bold "M" pattern above, and two adults)

62. Iceland Gull, Larus glaucoides

63. Black Guillemot, Cepphus grylle

64. Red-throated Loon, Gavia stellata

65. Unidentified Shorebird

Several times we watched the amazing spectacle of a Fin Whale coming up for breath.  It was cruising the deeper water just offshore, along with several Harbor Seals.  Jorge took these photos of Fin Whale and Harbor Seal in Nova Scotia in May 2009.

Fin Whale, Balaenoptera physalus, in Nova Scotia, May 2009

Harbor Seal, Phoca vitulina, in Nova Scotia, May 2009

The dunes themselves are home to a unique ecological community.  We hoped to find Horned Larks and Snow Buntings in the dunes, or a Short-eared Owl cruising low over the terrain - but no luck.  The close-up setting on my Nikon Coolpix was able to capture the detail of a British Soldier lichen, nestled right down at sand-grain level.

British Soldiers, Cladonia cristatella

Back at the car, we ate a quick lunch while resting from our beach walk, then drove into Provincetown again.  We walked halfway out the breakwater connecting town to the tip of Long Point (see map above), facing a stiff, cool wind until we scrambled down to the sand flats out of the wind.  We had no new birds here but it's always a fascinating spectacle to watch a gull break open a mollusk on the rocks.  Facing the strong wind, the birds positioned themselves less than two feet above a particular rock, dropped the clam, swooped down to claim it, then either picked it up again and repeated the operation, or having been successful, ate the morsel.

Mid afternoon now, time to head south again, we wanted to get back to Orleans before 5pm to take a look around the Birdwatcher's General Store.  On the way down Route 6 we detoured to another National Seashore access point at Pilgrim Heights, and picked up a surprise new bird:
66. Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata - several were feeding in small pines with the Chickadees and Titmice

Continuing down Route 6 through Truro, another detour, this time through the town's Old North Cemetery - usually a good habitat for open-space birds, like sparrows.  And indeed, no sooner had we pulled in, than we flushed two sparrows from their roosting place.  With rusty crowns and yellow bills, they had to be:

67. White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys - Juvenile

Sue and Jorge watching whales at Race Point, Cape Cod National Seashore

Wrapping up our two days of birding on Cape Cod, we left the Birdwatcher's General Store at closing time, 5PM, having selected a few books, a t-shirt and a souvenir mug.  At mile 488 - 9pm, we arrived back home in Willington after a supper stop en route, and unpacked our treasures.  We decided it would be okay to add one last bird to our list - one we heard twice but never saw:

68. Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon

Birding Cape Cod, Day One

Mile 0 to 150, overcast, 38 degrees F, wind from the NE at 8 mph.

Thursday afternoon, we're leaving Willington just after 1pm, on our way to Cape Cod for a few days of winter birding. December 24th to 26th, our own Christmas Bird Count. We've made reservations for two nights at a motel in Orleans, a good base for all points within the Cape.
 

leaving the Mass Pike for 495

Along the drive east on I-84, I-90 and I-495 we have scattered flocks and individuals of:

1. Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis - three total

2. American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos - five total

3. Rock Pigeon, Columba livia - many groups of two dozen or so perched on power lines

4. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris - many hundreds in separate flocks

5. Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus - over a hundred in one flock

overlooking the Cape Cod Canal

Just after 3 pm we've crossed the Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, and take Route 6 east. Finding a canalside overlook, we stop and look down on a passing cargo vessel and several ducks:

6. Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
7. White-winged Scoter, Melanitta fuscus
8. Common Eider, Somateria mollissima
 
detour to Hyannis Harbor

Driving on, we leave the main highway and head south to Hyannis to find quiet water before the sun sets. The traffic is stop-and-go, local holiday shoppers out for last-minute errands. In Hyannis Harbor, near the ferry terminal for Nantucket, we stop again and find:

9. Herring Gull, Larus argentatus
10. Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
11. Great Black-backed Gull, Larus marinus
12. Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola - one

13. Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos - a few

and more Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Eider

JFK Memorial Park, Hyannis, bare grass under Pitch Pine, amid much snow

A quarter mile farther along we pull off again, in Veterans Memorial Park (newly signed JFK Memorial Park), and with telescope in hand, walk down to the beach. The snow has had time to compact a bit since Saturday's big storm, about 20 inches of snow fell here! But we tromp through about 6 inches of wet snow to reach the shore.

A small tidal creek flows into the harbor here, attracting

14. Hooded Mergansers, Lophodytes cucullatus - maybe 20 in all

15. Dunlin, Calidris alpina - one, feeding in the wave-line

16. Gadwall, Anas strepera - four

17. Black Duck, Anas rubripes - two

18. Mute Swan, Cygnus olor - three flying in from the open water

and more Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, Mallards and gulls

19. American Robin, Turdus migratorius - flock of 20-30 as we left the park

Calidris alpina, Dunlin, Lewis Bay, Hyannis, MA

By 4:30 the sun has set on a cloudy afternoon, Christmas lights have come on all over town, on boats in the harbor, trees, homes, stores. It's time to head for "home", the Olde Tavern Motel in Orleans. We make our way back to route 6, and continue east a few more miles to exit 12, where we pick up route 6A east and shortly arrive at the motel.

Brandon Baden welcomes us with the easy banter of a seasoned host - a young man, he runs the motel year-round, with assistance from his father. "The front desk girls" have the holidays off, so Brandon gives us his phone number and says he'll be over in a minute if we need anything. His family home is on the motel property.

We turn up the thermostat to something more reasonable than the 45 degrees that it seems to be set for, and head out in search of take-out food in downtown Orleans on Christmas Eve. It's no surprise that everything is closed down for the night - except - the Double Dragon and the Thai Garden. We place our order at the Double Dragon, and wait patiently with MANY others for our takeout.

Christmas Eve wine, an appropriate winter bird!

Back at the motel, Jorge opens a bottle of "Little Blue Penguin" merlot, from Australia, and we tuck in to our Chinese Food.

Our first day produced nineteen species, not bad for three hours of birding, 2 hours of which was driving - we'll see what tomorrow brings. Now, to check the Massachusetts Rare Bird Alert - gotta love a motel with free wireless.

110th Christmas Bird Count

Saturday December 19th was the 110th Annual National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. We counted birds in the Storrs Circle, one of 18 such counts in Connecticut taking place over this weekend and the next two. Each count area is defined by a circle with a radius of 7.5 miles, and each area coordinator tries to be sure as much of that circle gets counted as possible.

Max, Sebastian, Sue, Jorge: the Storrs sector birding team
Our count team was Jorge, Sue, Sebastian and Max, who joined in halfway through the morning. Specifically our sector was bounded by four major roads: Route 44 on the north side, Route 195 on the east, Route 275 on the south and Route 32 on the west. Within this area lie several farm fields and marshes, most of the campus of the University of Connecticut, several wooded residential neighborhoods and a few Mansfield town preserves

The day was cloudy and cold, with temperatures between 20 and 25 degrees all day; the previous three days had also been very cold, so we anticipated no standing water. That said, we began birding at first light (6:50 am), counting ducks and geese on Mirror Lake right on campus, which always has at least some open water. All the waterfowl counted, we birded the trees and bushes around nearby buildings.

We then moved on to a local birding hotspot, W-lot, the large commuter parking area at the far north end of campus. Near W-lot is a small marsh (frozen), large cornfield and some lightly wooded areas. After this it was time for a Hot-Chocolate-and-Coffee Breakfast Break, with a few other stops on campus along the way.

At 10 am, with Max now on board, we chose to explore and count birds in the beaver marsh on Hunting Lodge Road where it intersects North Eagleville. A small stream flows fast enough to remain open here, so we stepped carefully in order to keep our feet dry. Counting done, we drove on to Mansfield's Shelter Falls Park off Birch Road, and hiked the trail well into the woods before turning and coming back. Photo: Shelter Falls

Next stop Depot Campus, where we drove meandering driveways amongst small buildings, counting juncos and sparrows. Finding a small stream with flowing water and open fields nearby, we spent a little extra time trying to scare up new species for our list. Now 2pm, with calls for food coming from the backseat, we made a quick plan to have Jorge walk Ravine Road alone, while Sue drove back to campus for lunch provisions.

Lunch in our bellies, we headed into the neighborhoods to count feeder birds. Then, with just an hour of good daylight left, took a pass through campus again, and headed for the Community Gardens north of the Mansfield Supply. It was important to check the manure piles here, the garden itself, and the surrounding fields and woods.

Anthus rubescens, American Pipit, at the manure piles behind the community gardens, Storrs CT, video by Jorge de Leon
With the sun setting at 4:30, we tried to call owls along Hunting Lodge Road, to no avail. Finally calling it a day at 4:40, we turned and headed to the home of our compiler, Steve Morytko, where warm food and the fun of compiling the day's results awaited. Other birding teams at the gathering were: Steve, Maura & Jack, who birded Ashford-Willington-Mansfield, Kathy and Chris who birded Willington, Sue and Tom who birded Mansfield-Windham, another Steve who birded Mansfield, and our team of four.

After mugs of hot cider, beer and wine, and bowls of delicious chili with cornbread, we gathered around the living room to report the day's numbers.

Our numbers for the day:
Canada Goose - 196
Mallard Duck - 85
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
Ring-billed Gull - 10
Herring Gull - 1
Rock Pigeon - 3
Mourning Dove - 16
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 10
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Hairy Woodpecker - 2
Northern Flicker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Blue Jay - 32
American Crow - 15
Horned Lark - 50
Black-capped Chickadee - 30
Tufted Titmouse - 38
White-breasted Nuthatch - 15
Brown Creeper - 1 (heard)
Carolina Wren - 3
Golden-crowned Kinglet - 6
Eastern Bluebird - 7
American Robin - 71
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 42
American Pipit - 6
Cedar Waxwing - 46
American Tree Sparrow - 31
Savannah Sparrow - 2
Song Sparrow - 7
White-throated Sparrow - 40
Dark-eyed Junco - 262
Northen Cardinal - 8
Brown-headed Cowbird - 2
House Finch - 33
American Goldfinch - 37

Species total for our team: 38
Other teams got 37, 35, 32 and 27 for their totals - so we were very proud of a hard day's work on the part of all of our birders! And a big thank you to Carol Isakson, whose video of the Pileated Woodpecker, taken an hour before we arrived at her feeding station, put us out in front of the other teams.
Carol's video:   http://www.youtube.com/user/knitterful1

Sunday after snow

Early morning light touches Cedar Swamp on route 195 in Mansfield

Last night was the first snow of December. About 2 inches of soft fluffy snow covered the ground and stuck to the bare branches all day since there was no wind. I started birding after 3pm when the sun was already getting low in the sky. The sharp clear light of this winter afternoon made beautiful intense colors in the snowy field. The temperature was in the upper thirties as I began birding in the upper W lot on the UConn campus in Storrs. A very noisy flock of over 350 Canada Geese flew in from the southwest and landed in the recently cut cornfield, joining a small group of Ring-billed Gulls already feeding there.

some of the many Canada Geese in the W lot cornfield

Moving on to Horsebarn Hill, I found more intense activity in the bushes behind the manure piles, where a mixed flock became very animated at my approach and pishing. This flock included a couple dozen White-throated Sparrows, a few House Sparrows, half a dozen juncos, a pair of cardinals and a very curious mockingbird. Starlings circled continuously overhead.

Northern Mockingbird
Sitting quietly in the trees at the edge of the manure pile, was a beautiful Hermit Thrush, who cooperated nicely for my camera.

Hermit Thrush

Next stop was the paved roadway along the west side of Horsebarn Hill, where I found my best bird. As I scanned the hillside for signs of reported Snow Buntings, a male Northern Harrier came into view, gliding elegantly, very close to the ground. This magnificent bird in its natural setting, in the clear winter light, put a smile on my face as I drove home this afternoon.

Northern Harrier cruising over Horsebarn Hill

male Northern Harrier showing typical field marks

Today's birds in the order of appearance:

Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis

American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos

Ring-billed Gull, Larus delawarensis

Canada Goose, Branta canadensis

European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris

White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis

House Sparrow, Passer domesticus

Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata

Hermit Thrush, Catharus guttatus

Northern Harrier, Circus cyaneus

Black-capped Chickadee, Poecile atricapillus

Hairy Woodpecker, Picoides villosus

sunset over Horsebarn Hill