South Shore Swing
Leader, Steven Arena
Sunday, March 14
A field trip today co-sponsored by Athol Bird and Nature Club and the South Shore Bird Club yielded a wonderful variety of late winter, early spring migrants.
The Day started at Scusset Beach State Reservation where the winds were howling in excess of 30 mph and light snow was in the air. Our group of 29 birders braved the elements and ventured out on the jetties. We were rewarded with the following birds in, around, and near the jetty area.
Scusset Beach
- Red-Throated Loon 1
- Common Loon 15
- Horned Grebe 1
- Red-necked Grebe 1
- American Black Duck 25
- Common Eider 300
- Oldsquaw 2
- Black Scoter
- White-winged Scoter
- Surf Scoter
- Common Goldeneye
- Bufflehead
- Red-breasted Merganser 125
- Northern Harrier 1
- Cooper’s Hawk 1
- Sanderling 6
- Purple Sandpipers 25
- Iceland Gull 2 (both 1W)
- Glaucous Gull 1 (1W)
- Black Guillemot 1
- Large un-identified Alcid 1
- Horned Lark 8
- Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
At Manomet Point
- Red-throated Loon 1
- Common Loon 25
- Horned Grebe 25
- Red-necked Grebe 1
- Great Cormorant 2
- Common Eider 250
- Harlequin Duck 3 (2 drake, 1 hen)
- Black Scoter
- White-winged Scoter
- Surf Scoter
- Common Goldeneye
- Red-breasted Merganser 55
- Razorbill 15
- Black Guillemot 1
In Plymouth at Jenny’s Pond
- Pied-billed Grebes 2 (vocalizing)
- Red-breasted Merganser 7
- Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
- American Coot 5
- Belted Kingfisher 1
At the Plymouth Beach; a raging gale with
- Common Loon 18
- Horned Grebe 12
- Brant 65
- All three Scoters
- Common Eider
- Red-breasted Merganser
- Turkey Vulture 1
- Tree Swallow 1 (inner side of Plymouth Beach
At Plymouth Harbor/Nelson’s Park
- Lots of water fowl with a wonderful view of a 1st year Glaucous Gull.
At Cumberland Fields in Middleboro
- Canada Geese
- American Black Duck 400
- Mallard 100
- Northern Pintail 12
- American Widgeon 1 drake
- Northern Harrier 5
- Sharp-shinned Hawk 1
- Red-tailed Hawk 4
- Rough-legged Hawk 1 light morph
- Ring-necked Pheasant 2
- American Woodcock 4
- Short-eared Owl 7
- Am. Tree Sparrow
- Vesper Sparrow 1
- Savannah Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow 1
- Red-winged Blackbirds
- Common Grackles
- Eastern Meadowlark 2
All in all, we tallied 73 species and had a wonderful day.