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WORDS ON BIRDS
Soggy Birdathon yields record numbers of birds
May 26, 2007
Steve Grinley
They should label the 24-hour Birdathon as an aquatic
event. It has rained three out of the last four years. Such was the
case last weekend when the Birdathon commenced at 6 p.m. on Friday and
continued through 6 p.m. Saturday. Teams from each of the Mass Audubon
Sanctuaries combed the state to see the most number of species in 24
hours. Donations based on the number of species found, or lump sum
donations are made to support the Audubon Sanctuary represented. For
Joppa Flats, its teams covered just Essex County for its search. I
participated once again this year, except for seven hours of work on
Saturday.
I met my team at the Bald Hill Reservation/Crooked Pond
in Boxford a little before 6 p.m. Friday. The rain was coming down,
and we donned our raincoats, rain pants and hats and headed down the
trail. We arrived at the first stream crossing by 6 p.m. to start our
count. There was a barred owl box in sight, which we always check, but
no owls were evident. I then gave a few "hoots" on my owl call and a
barred owl flew in and perched high overhead in the rain. It was hard
to get good looks, as we had to stare straight up in the rain, but we
had found our first target bird.
We searched the usual spots for a couple of other
target birds, winter wren and Louisiana waterthrush, but found
neither. We were surprised by a solitary sandpiper that flew from the
ponds edge - an unexpected addition. We passed the hole of a nesting
pileated woodpecker, another target bird, but saw no activity there.
However, on our way back, we heard a pileated woodpecker calling and
spotted the male a short distance from the nest. We watched as the
bird went to the hole and exchanged positions with the female inside
who, in turn, flew off to feed.
The next morning, we met at 6 a.m. to walk the North
Dike on Plum Island. This walk was one of the events of the Plover
Festival and gave us the rare opportunity to walk restricted area for
another perspective of the North Pool. A group of about 20 people
gathered in the drizzle to walk from Hellcat to the Warden's. As we
started out, a king rail called from the Bill Forward pool. We stood
for a while and watched, but it wasn't until we started down the dike
when it made an appearance and gave everyone excellent views of this
uncommon rail. Along the dike, we also heard soras and Virginia rails.
An American bittern was seen flying into the reeds and moorhens called
from the tall marsh grasses. Distant views of a marbled godwit, red
knot and other shorebirds were seen on the mudflats in the river to
the west.
From there I headed to the Joppa Flats Mass Audubon
Center to mind the store while the rest of my team went back to
Crooked Pond (with limited success) and birded the Ipswich, Essex and
Rowley areas. The rain picked up again during the day, yet they were
able to find a rare white-faced ibis among the glossy ibis in Essex,
and a little blue heron, as well as several other key birds. Poster
boards of the Birdathon checklist were set up in the lobby of the
center and teams called in their birds that were then checked off on
the list. It was easy to see which birds were not yet found and I
would phone my team to try to get them to locations where those birds
might be found.
At the center, I watched the harbor frequently to try
to find additional birds. I was able to add a kestrel, which was
sitting atop the newly erected osprey pole behind the building. A
running total was kept on the list to see how we were performing. Late
in the afternoon, we approached and then surpassed the previous year's
total of 174. Then a group of birders came in that were not part of
any Birdathon team and told me that they had seen a little gull at the
north end of Plum Island within the past hour - a bird not yet on the
list. With only about an hour left to go, I wasn't sure that any team
in the field could get there. I called my team and they were in
Rowley, but said that they would head there to try to find this bird.
I decided to head there myself, leaving backup at the store.
I got to the north end and scanned the area, but there
were only fishermen along the beach and no gulls or terns around. I
then hiked out the beach to get a better view of the jetties, but
still no birds. My team met me there, and we decided to try the harbor
one last time before time ran out. We raced to the harbor and scanned
the shoreline as we headed to the Sewerage Treatment Plant to view
some gulls that were gathered there. It was there that we found the
beautiful little gull in adult plumage, with a full black hood and
dark underwings. It was just 6 p.m. when we found the bird, so we
called it in and headed back to the center for the final tally.
When we returned, the last birds were being added by
returning teams and, when all was totaled, we hit an amazing 200
species! The previous high was 182 birds, and that was in a year with
good weather. This Essex County total represented the highest species
total of any sanctuary doing a limited area. In fact, only four
sanctuaries that covered the entire state did better than we did, with
the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield coming out on top
with 233 birds. We were pleased with our efforts and congratulated
ourselves with pizza and homemade ice cream.
If you would still like to contribute to our Birdathon
effort, you can mail a check to the Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education
Center. They will be most grateful, as will all us slightly
water-logged, but accomplished, birders. Steve Grinley
Bird Watcher's Supply & Gift and Nature Shop at Joppa Flats
Newburyport, MA
BirdWSG@Verizon.net
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