eBird Report - Sachuest Point NWR, 1/1/11 - GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE - What an amazing way to kick off the New Year of 2011!!

What a way to kick off the New Year of 2011 right by snagging an amazing Life Bird with my great birding buddy, Kirk Marshall and my own lucky bird-charm (and sweetheart), Jennifer Carson!! I say this because during the past few months or so, for the most part, whenever Kirk and I went out bird watching, we would always nearly have bad luck finding the target birds we were looking for (like the Cave Swallows for instance). This time, I was joined by my own very lucky bird-charm, Jen! Her charisma and aura seemed to give us the good fortune we needed to start off 2011 right!


Our whole point and goal heading down to the Newport/Middletown area of Rhode Island was to observe the vagrant Green-tailed Towhee that had made the northwesterly border of Sachuest Point NWR (adjacent to the campground near Second Beach) home for the past couple of weeks! My god, what an utterly amazing and GORGEOUS Lifer!! Tis a bird that Kirk and I have wanted to see for quite some time since first seeing its likeness in our birding field guides. Of course, its range is mainly found out in the Rocky Mountains down through the Southwest and western Texas. From my understanding, it is only the 2nd or 3rd recorded sighting of a Green-tailed Towhee within the Ocean State! This bird was fairly cooperative, though a bit timid at times, hopping in and out of the thickets, kicking up dirt and debris looking for yummy goodness along with a number of American Tree Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, and Song Sparrows.

Photo of Green-tailed Towhee taken on 12/30/2010 by Myer Bornstein of Taunton, MA

The towhee was obviously the big-time highlight of the day, and I would have been completely happy if that were the only bird I saw this day, but again, thanks to good luck that Jen brought with her, we had numerous other birds of interest that made this day superb, including a Northern Shrike!! The shrike is only the second time I have ever had good fortune to observe one (though I have only been an active birder for a few years), this particular bird being found perched atop the highest shrub overlooking the Flint Point Loop side of Sachuest Point NWR. Other rather notable birds included: A half-dozen Common Eiders along the Third Beach side of Sachuest Point; 4 lovely Surf Scoters seen through Kirk's spotting scope off of Flint Point on Sachuest; a lone Brant seen resting on the Island Rocks with a flotilla of a dozen other Brant seen along the Third Beach side of Sachuest near Flint Point; 3 Common Loons in their nonbreeding plumage off of various points of interest along Sachuest; 7 Red-breasted Mergansers, most near Flint Point and the Island Rocks; 2 American Pipits that we heard (through their flight song of course) flying over our heads when we first got to the area where the Green-tailed Towhee was being seen; a pair of Harlequin Ducks (my all-time favorite duck!) seen near the observation platform overlooking Island Rocks off of Sachuest; and lastly, a cluster of 15 Ruddy Turnstones that had been pointed out to us by a very friendly birder from Bristol, RI, whom found them roosting atop the rocky shoreline on the northerly side of Flint Point looking towards Third Beach.


A truly remarkable day filled with wonderful companionship, beautiful weather, and great bird-watching! As always, below you will find my full list of sightings today whilst at Sachuest Point NWR! Happy New Year to everyone, and more importantly, happy birding!!!

Location:     Sachuest Point NWR
Observation date:     1/1/11
Notes:     The lone and vagrant Green-tailed Towhee that has been seen since the 18th of December, 2010 was observed my numerous birders throughout the course of our time down and around Sachuest Point NWR, mingling with various other ground-feeders, such as American Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Savannah Sparrows; Northern Shrike was seen while trekking along the southerly side of the Flint Point Loop trail, looking inland perched atop the tallest shrub in that area.
Number of species:     30

Brant - Branta bernicla     13
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos     42
Common Eider - Somateria mollissima     6
Harlequin Duck - Histrionicus histrionicus     2
Surf Scoter - Melanitta perspicillata     4
Red-breasted Merganser - Mergus serrator     7
Common Loon - Gavia immer     3
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus     1
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     1
Northern Harrier - Circus cyaneus     1
Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis     2
Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres     15
Sanderling - Calidris alba     13
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis     3
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus     5
Northern Shrike - Lanius excubitor     1
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     6
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     6
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus     1
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     1
Northern Mockingbird - Mimus polyglottos     5
European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris     200
American Pipit - Anthus rubescens     2
Green-tailed Towhee - Pipilo chlorurus     1
American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea     10
Savannah Sparrow - Passerculus sandwichensis     2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia     3
White-throated Sparrow - Zonotrichia albicollis     1
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis     3
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis     4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Cape Ann, North Shore and Miscellaneous - American Bald Eagles & Harlequin Ducks

What a most gorgeous day to be outside today, getting some fresh air whilst looking for whatever birds we could find! I met up with my good friend Kirk Marshall today in Burlington early enough around 7:30 am. We then made a go of it for a fair portion of the day, first stopping in Newburyport and Amesbury, then heading southward to the Gloucester area and finally in the Rockport area. After dropping Kirk off back in Burlington around 4 pm, I made a quick stop in Concord at Great Meadows NWR. Here are some highlights of what we observed. If I forget anything, I am sure Kirk will post an addendum to this message!

Cashman Park, Newburyport: Here we tried first to spy ourselves an American Bald Eagle or Great Cormorant, but no luck. However, it was nice to hear and see a Northern Mockingbird calling. About a half-dozen Common Goldeneyes were also seen. Other than that, not much to mention.

Deer Island, Amesbury: Our second stop in looking for eagles. Here, after about 10 minutes, we were rewarded with an adult American Bald Eagle first coming in over the Merrimack along the tree tops, then riding the thermals in giant soaring circles, heading downstream of the Merrimack from there. Amusing to me was a Red-tailed Hawk shadowing this Baldy, riding the thermals as well and staying within about 50 feet or so below the Bald Eagle.

Good Harbor Beach, Gloucester: Observed a few White-winged Scoters and Surf Scoters here, as well as a couple of Common Loons...I believe a few Common Eiders as well. Fellow birders that were there had reported seeing Purple Sandpipers around, but we could not get on them.

Cathedral Ledge, Andrews Point & Halibut Point, Rockport: I will start off with saying that we saw nothing off of Halibut Point, nothing that we could see anyhow. Andrews Point and Cathedral Ledge were more rewarding, with a total of about 40+ Harlequin Ducks spotted between the 2 locations. I believe we observed about 4 Common Loons, a mating pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, and about a total of 20+ Common Eiders. Song Sparrows were certainly very abundant amongst the residential area there near both Andrews and Cathedral.

Great Meadows NWR, Concord: I came here to try and see if that Eurasian Green-winged Teal was still hanging around, but again as with 9-Acre Corner off of 117 in Concord, no luck. However, about 10Common Mergansers, 3 Red-winged Blackbirds and 1 American Bald Eagle were seen. This eagle was best seen through a scope from the observation tower overlooking the Upper Pool. From the tower overlooking the Upper Pool, look across to the far side near the Concord River amongst the trees. Well, that is where myself and a number of other birders observed him. The eagle could be anywhere else around Great Meadows come tomorrow. A very nice gentleman allowed me to observe this eagle through his scope. You could still make the eagle out with binocs, but obviously not anywhere near as good as with a scope. Oh, I almost forget to mention, while driving to Great Meadows along Route 62 heading west, just before you cross into Concord from Bedford, I estimate a flock of about 40 or so Common Grackles flew over my car. Largest group of grackles I have seen so far this year.

Well, there you have it. A good day of birding and a great day just to be outdoors! Good luck and happy birding to all!