Mass Audubon runs bird walks at Parker River NWR in Newburyport on Plum Island on Wednesdays. I would go to these walks every week except, I work Wednesdays. Since migration is here and really wanted to go on one of these walks, I switched my day off this week from Thursday to Wednesday.
The walk started about 9:30. A lot of people had the same idea as myself. In all 40 people went. We carpooled in 10 different cars. Because so many people went, real walking was out of the question. There was no way to get that many people on trails single file. The only people that would have seen any birds would have been the people in the front. So we drove to different areas and got out of our cars and walked along the road. This was really the only viable strategy with a group this size. It paid off.
On Tuesday there was a "fallout" on the island. One hundred twenty two species were reported. We were not that lucky. In all I counted 49 species including common birds. The highlight of the day was a white eyed vireo. It was a lifebird for a lot of people including myself. I also got two other lifebirds when a bank swallow flew by and a swamp sparrow was around a mud puddle.
Other good birds were green wing teal, black and white warbler, yellow warbler, northern harrier, kestrel, and marsh wrens.
The walk ended at 12:30. My plan for my ride home was to stop at Oxbow NWR in Harvard, MA off of Route 2. I had never been there before and was looking forward to seeing new scenery. I got to the parking lot about 2 pm.
Before I go any further, there are advantages and disadvantages of birding alone versus birding in a group. When alone, I can go at my own pace. Also, if I find a bird and identify it, there is enormous satisfaction. Most importantly, if I want tostay and watch an animal/bird for a while, no one is waiting for me. However, I do give something up when I go alone. Being in a group means there are experts around. These people recognize even rare birds by there call. This is something I am having a hard time learning. They can tell a lot of birds just by flight pattern even if they are back lit against the sun. Another advantage to a group is, the more eyes looking for birds, the better the chance of finding them.
So off I went down the trail at Oxbow alone. It didn't take me long to slow my pace. I came across an American Redstart and Yellow Rumped Warblers. In a swamp I saw a Blandings Turtle which is an endangered species. That was a good find. I also had fun seeing the 4 garter snakes and green frogs along the muddy path.
I ran across an older couple that was birding. They were far better than me. The woman could tell birds by there call and pointed out five calls in our ten minute conversation. They told me about some birds they saw and where to look. The one bird I heard all day but could not locate in the forest canopy was a great Crested Flycatcher. They told me about a Baltimore Oriole and a few other birds. I ended up seeing everything they saw including a Veery, which was another life bird for me. That brought my total to four lifers for the day. Not including life birds, my favorite bird of the day (and I found it on my own) was the beautiful scarlet tanager. I watched it preen itself for ten minutes. I also came across a wood thrush, common yellow throats and rose breasted grosbeak. The woods were a kaleidoscope of colors.
Back to the disadvantage of being alone. Besides not finding the Great Crested Flycatcher I had at least two other species I could not identify. I had 2 blue colored birds that I startled fly away from me. In my mind they were Indigo Buntings, but did not get good looks. The other bird I saw plainly but still could not identify. It was grey and warbler size. I couldn't figure it by looking in the feild guide.
I stayed at Oxbow for almost four hours. I was enjoying being outside on such a nice day. I got back after 7:30. When I got home I tallied up my species. I had 64 species total for the day. Two mammals, 4 reptiles/amphibeans, and 58 birds. Four species of birds were life birds and 12 were first of the year. What a great day.
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