eBird Report - Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, 9/6/10 - A pleasant afternoon at my favorite place to find solitude!

I just could not waste this amazingly gorgeous day with a slight breeze in the air, temps in the mid 70s, the sky boasting bright sunshine and a few wispy clouds. Though you may have thought I did waste a good portion of the day sleeping in until 11:20 am, but it was so worth it and necessary! After a great day of birding (and stuffing my face) yesterday, I had to continue this blessed Labor Day weekend being out and about enjoying Mother Nature! Of course, I made sure I completed what errands I had chosen to tackle today before ending my day the best way I could, by taking in all the sights and sounds, the atmosphere and environs of my favorite place to find solitude, that being Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge in Harvard, MA!


I arrived at Oxbow and started on my way at about 3:15 pm EST, not coming back to the parking lot until 3 hours later. I did my usual, routine route, going from the gate to Riverside Trail that parallels the Nashua River, then following Turnpike Trail that cuts across the vast wetlands until it joins up with Tank Road. Most times I would take a right at this junction following Tank Road all the way back to the parking lot, but on occasion, as I did today, I went left following Tank Road north that eventually comes upon Route 2. I didn't go as far as Route 2, for I typically will stop at the pond that is on the right-hand side, but is fairly close in proximity to Route 2 nonetheless.


I did not expect to see much in the way of birds, even though sometimes birds will become more active again in the late afternoon to evening hours. But once must consider that it is late in the summer and the summer months out here in the inland areas of MA tend to be rather quiet, that is of course until the Fall migration begins anew, which should be within the next week or 2 I believe. All the birds I saw there were of the usual variety, but a few favorites that one can typically find there were in attendance! The most notable birds observed were indeed a few favorites, such as a couple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, one along Turnpike Trail (great looks!) and one at the parking lot when I had returned. A few Eastern Phoebes were seen, one on Turnpike Trail, one along Tank Road and one at the pond catching some flying insects. 2 noisy, yet striking Belted Kingfishers made their presence known with said explosive chatterings, one briefly seen along Riverside Trail near the junction of Turnpike Trail and one seen at the aforementioned pond that is on the right-hand side of Tank Road. The 2nd Kingfisher was especially cooperative and active. It seemed that he was diving into the water for some din dins, but no, it was diving in to the pond to help preen itself, for it would return to the same snag and start picking away at its water-soaked feathers.


However, the most noteworthy warm-blooded fauna observed were as follows: A Beaver down at that pond along Tank Road nearest to Route 2. This lovely beaver was just lounging, eating some vegetation, caring not for my presence. A Fisher was unexpectantly seen just sitting on the railroad tracks that run parallel to the eastern edge of the refuge, near the entrance to the dirt road that leads down to the parking lot. Initially I did not recognize this mammal to be a fisher until I got my binocs on it! Best looks I have ever had of a fisher, with its dark-grayish head, dark-brown body and very long, bushy tail....it stared at me for a few moments before deciding I was not a threat and headed onwards into Oxbow NWR. What a treat that was, for this was on the way heading out of Oxbow!


I must apologize for my narrative of today's exploits not being so boisterous and exuberant, for I am still feeling a bit exhausted after this long and fruitful weekend! At any rate, my bird observations are below! Happy birding to all!

Location:     Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge
Observation date:     9/6/10
Number of species:     17

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     3
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     2
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon     2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus     2
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens     3
Hairy Woodpecker - Picoides villosus     2
Eastern Phoebe - Sayornis phoebe     3
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     10
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     31
Tufted Titmouse - Baeolophus bicolor     14
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     9
American Robin - Turdus migratorius     8
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     4
Red-winged Blackbird - Agelaius phoeniceus     1
Common Grackle - Quiscalus quiscula     2
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis     4

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

eBird Report - Parker River NWR, 9/5/10 - 4 More Lifers---JOOOOY! Gotta love Plum!

Yeup, 4 more Lifers (White-rumped Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper & Whimbrel), bring my Life List total to 249 species of birds seen to date!! Thanks be to my excellent buddy Kirk Marshall and fellow birder extraordinaire Eric Labato for such an awesome day of birding (though it had a wee bit of a rough start). What I mean by that is Kirk's scope he purchased earlier this spring already is having issues. The prism near the eyepiece was off-kilter, for it had lost its adhesive that kept it in place. Kirk pulled a MacGuyver and jimmy-rigged his scope, using part of a Q-Tip to wedge it in-between the prism and the inner casing. It worked, though he will try to properly amend his beloved scope later!


Anyhow, thanks to posts from Eric Labato from Plum Island (Parker River NWR) over the past couple of days, Kirk and I had our sights set on a few target species, that being the Stilt Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper and the Whimbrel. But this is not the only thanks we must give Eric, for we met up with him at Hellcat on the boardwalk leading to the observation blind. His expertise and observation skills were invaluable as the 3 of us proceeded to hit up the Dune Loop at Hellcat, The Pines and Bill Forward Pool Observation Platform. It was at BFP that we came upon the aforementioned Stilt and Baird's Sandpipers! They were intermingling with White-rumped Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a pair of Black-bellied Plovers. A pair of Pied-billed Grebes were nearby, as well as a Belted Kingfisher of which I thought was kinda a bit out of place with all those shorebirds around! But in nearly one fell-swoop, all aforementioned shorebirds took off in flight thanks to a strafing run by a Peregrine Falcon that had been buzzing back and forth in between the Pines and Hellcat! Always a treat to see such an impressive, speedy raptor!


But the first Lifer of the day was also the best bird of the day, seeing 6 Whimbrels at the Salt Pannes before making our way down to Hellcat. What a striking, remarkable and rather large shorebird with down-curved bill, prominent black head stripes and gray legs! Simply lovely! A great day of birding that was finished off with a nice meal at the Agawam Diner in Rowley! I hope everyone else's Labor Day weekend has been good so far! Happy birding to all my friends!

Location:     Parker River NWR
Observation date:     9/5/10
Notes:     Birded with Kirk Marshall and Eric Labato. Pied-billed Grebes, Stilt Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plovers, White-rumped Sandpipers, Belted Kingfisher and about half of Semipalmated Sandpipers seen at Bill Forward Pool Observation Blind at around Noon time before being strafed repeatedly by an impetuous Peregrine Falcon; Willet, other Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers and Whimbrels seen at Salt Pannes; Killdeers seen at Plum Island Airport while trying to find Buff-breasted Sandpiper (no luck).
Number of species:     38

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis     32
American Black Duck - Anas rubripes     10
Pied-billed Grebe - Podilymbus podiceps     2 (Bill Forward Pool)
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus     8
Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias     4
Great Egret - Ardea alba     9
Snowy Egret - Egretta thula     6
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura     1
Peregrine Falcon - Falco peregrinus     1 (In between The Pines, BFP and Hellcat)
Black-bellied Plover - Pluvialis squatarola     2 (Bill Forward Pool)
Killdeer - Charadrius vociferus     4 (Plum Island Airfield)
Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca     8 (Salt Pannes)
Willet (Eastern) - Tringa semipalmata semipalmata     1 (Salt Pannes)
Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes     5 (Salt Pannes)
Whimbrel - Numenius phaeopus     6 (Salt Pannes)
Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla     21 (BFP & Salt Pannes)
Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla     3 (Salt Pannes)
White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis     13 (Bill Forward Pool)
Baird's Sandpiper - Calidris bairdii     1 (Bill Forward Pool)
Stilt Sandpiper - Calidris himantopus     1 (Bill Forward Pool)
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis     4
Herring Gull - Larus argentatus     6
Great Black-backed Gull - Larus marinus     1
Mourning Dove - Zenaida macroura     1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris     1 (The Pines)
Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon     1 (Bill Forward Pool)
Blue Jay - Cyanocitta cristata     2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos     5
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor     8 (Dune Loop at Hellcat)
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica     1 (The Wardens)
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus     5
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta canadensis     1 (Dune Loop at Hellcat)
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis     1
Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinensis     2
Cedar Waxwing - Bombycilla cedrorum     1 (The Pines)
Eastern Towhee - Pipilo erythrophthalmus     1 (heard only near Lot 2)
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis     2
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis     3

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