Returning to My Roots

My mother introduced me to birdwatching before I can even remember. I was an infant at the time, and would not consciously appreciate birds until the age of 7. I grew up birding in Eastern Massachusetts, in the village of Newton Highlands. My mother still lives there, and my family and I decided we needed a trip to Massachusetts to celebrate her 21^st birthday. Yup, you guessed it, she is a Leap Year baby, born on Feb 29, 1936. We planned to fly into Logan International Airport in Boston on March 1 and celebrate her birthday the following night. We would stay through March 6 so I began scheming up ways to add new species for my Biggest Year. Several people had reached out to me (or perhaps I reached out to them) and had offered to help me get around the area looking for rarities, including Jim Nealon of New Hampshire, Mike Greenwald in western Massachusetts, and Alf Wilson in Marblehead on Boston/s North Shore. One recent rarity that I had hoped would stick was the Steller’s Sea Eagle, last reported in Georgetown, ME, on February 14. But alas, it hadn’t been seen since that day. Fortunately, there were plenty of other rarities being seen currently that would keep me busy during the days, while I kept busy with family obligations in the evenings. 

I made a list of the highest priority species being reported within a couple hours of Boston. These included Barnacle Goose in Woburn, Black-headed Gull on Cape Cod, Common Gull in northwest Connecticut, Tufted Duck near the Rhode Island border and Razorbill at Cape Ann. I would aim to pick up several other lower priority species well, such as American Woodcock, Northern Gannet, Purple Sandpiper and American Black Duck. I had also hoped for Smith’s Longspur, Pink-footed Goose and Eurasian Lapwing but these three had all moved out of their Massachusetts winter stake-outs. All of these species will be difficult in other locations and seasons, with the exception of Gannet and Razorbill which I expect to see with Eric Hynes in Maine June 25-30.  Well, that was my plan anyway. But you know how plans fare. I like to say “the best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.” Wow that is catchy. Maybe I will convert this blog into a book and lead off with this sentence. I could title the book “Of Mice and Men”. Of course, I will check first to make sure this title hasn’t already been used.

I started my trip with 401 species. on my Biggest Year List. Arriving in Boston with my daughter Angela and wife Elena Maribel, we were picked up on Wednesday, March 1, by my son Nick Jr. and his girlfriend Heide, who had arrived from Austin a short while earlier. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking Boston Harbor, where I spied some American Black Duck (#402). We stayed in an AirBnB in Waltham, MA, overlooking a lagoon of the Charles River. Here there was a nesting pair of Mute Swan (#403). Nick Jr offered to drive me to Horn Pond in Woburn first thing the following morning to look for the Barnacle Goose which had been roosting there, although no confirmed sightings there since Feb 20. I did tick White-throated Sparrow (#404) there first thing on Thursday, March 2, in pouring rain. We had to pick up my niece Yvonne at Endicott College in Beverly MA at 3 PM and everyone had work obligations, so we made plans to drop me off in Cape Ann with Alf Wilson at 10:30 AM while others set up work stations in a Rockport coffee shop.

The rain subsided and birding Cape Ann was productive. At the Fisherman’s Monument, we saw plenty of Common Eider (#405), black and white diving ducks of seacoasts with a green patch on the nape and greenish bills. Also Surf Scoter and White-winged Scoter (#406), Great Black-backed Gull (#407) and a recent spring arrival, the Common Grackle  (#408). We scoured Gloucester Harbor for Alcids, and glimpsed a large unidentified Alcid as it dove near the Jodrey Fish Pier, but we could not come up with a Razorbill, despite many recent reports. At the Eastern Point jetty, we got close up views, photos and audio of a flock of Purple Sandpiper (#409). At Bass Rocks in Gloucester, a lone Red-necked Grebe (#410) disappeared before I could photograph it. We finished up our outing at Granite Pier in Rockport where we observed an adult Kumlien’s Iceland Gull, numerous Harlequin Duck (#411) and a pair of Great Cormorant (#412).

The next day, Friday, March 3, I set up the family at a daytime workstation at a coffee shop in Salem and left them in order to explore the coves of Salem and Marblehead for a couple of hours, hoping to find Razorbill. Razorbill is a penguin-like seabird found only in the North Atlantic Ocean. It winters in ocean waters off New England, and summers on coastal cliffs and islands mainly in Canada. If I miss it on this trip, I have a backup plan to find it breeding further north in Maine in late June. Remaining unsuccessful in my search for a Razorbill, I made one more birding stop after ferrying family members to various places. I visited Cold Spring Park in Newton where a Woodcock was heard calling several days earlier. Perhaps a transient (Woodcock is a sandpiper of the forest that returns north in late winter to breed.), I hoped it was on a breeding territory and would vocalize and conduct its aerial display flights at dusk. No such luck.

On Saturday, March 4, we were under a winter storm watch, and we awoke to rain, sleet and snow falling throughout the state of Massachusetts. The wind was forecast to reach 40 mph out of the northeast by 1 pm. This could be a gold mine for ocean birds blown to the coast by wind. I reached out to several contacts who might be interested in accompanying me for a stormy sea watch. Peter Crosson of Barnstable had the same idea and invited me to join him at Sandy Neck beach on Cape Cod at 1 pm. I left Newton at 9 AM, making a birding stop at Lake Pearl in Wrentham, near the border of Rhode Island. Here, through falling snow, I observed Tufted Titmouse (#413) and a staked-out overwintering female Tufted Duck (#414). Driving south and east towards Sandy Neck, the snow turned to rain and the wind picked up strength. Peter called me from Sandy Neck and reported that the winds were not as effective as he suspected so he redirected us further east to Corporation Beach in Dennis, MA. I arrived at 1:15 PM and immediately noticed three Black-legged Kittiwake (#415) resting on the beach. This species normally winters at sea. Despite being the world’s most abundant gull, it is rarely seen on land away from its massive breeding colonies on remote coastal cliffs. However, other oceanic birds were missing, except for a lone Northern Gannet (#416) that made a rare pass close to shore, struggling in the wind. I decided to check out the south side of Cape Cod and headed to Craigville Beach, where Chris Floyd had reported a Black-headed Gull the previous day among a flock of roosting Ring-billed Gulls. A common Eurasian species, only a handful stray to North America each winter. Despite the off-shore wind, or maybe because of it, Buzzard’s Bay appeared quiet. I noticed a Red-throated Loon (#417) swimming parallel to the beach in the calm bay waters. As the sun sank in the western sky, it eventually fell below the storm clouds, which brightened up the gloomy afternoon, and gave a false impression that the storm was over. One very pale gull on the beach looked like an adult Glaucous Gull. But its tiny bill and large dark eyes led me to a different conclusion: a nominate Iceland Gull, presumably from Iceland itself. These palest of the Iceland Gulls normally winter in Europe, whereas the Canadian breeding Kumlien’s Iceland Gull winters in coastal Northeastern USA and carries darker gray pigment in its wingtips. After it flew east disappearing down the beach, I refocused on the growing number of Ring-billed Gulls arriving to roost for the night. The flock of 50 eventually grew to 500 as the sun fell below the horizon, and then I found it. A smaller gull with a thin bill and a black ear spot – the Black-headed Gull (#418) had returned to roost. Too dark for successful photography, I retreated to my vehicle and drove 2 hours back to Newton through more wind, rain and snow.

On Sunday, March 5, the weather was much improved and I started birding early at Crystal Lake in Newton, where my brother Oliver had found the Barnacle Goose in December. It wasn’t there today. I then picked up my Mom in Newton Highlands and we returned to Cold Spring Park hoping to run into that American Woodcock. That did not happen. Dropping off Mom, I returned to my AirBnB via Newton Cemetery. This was another hangout for the overwintering Barnacle Goose, but not this day. We checked out of the Airbnb by 10 AM. I then dropped off the family at the Freedom Trail downtown and headed to Draw 7 State Park, a tiny urban park along the Mystic River in Somerville. I arrived around noon, and quickly spotted the big attraction, a staked-out Thick-billed Murre (#419), as well as an overwintering Eastern Towhee (#420). Other rarities here included a small flock of Red Crossbill and an early migrant Osprey. I ran into an old friend from my early birding days in Massachusetts here – Bob Stymeist. While reminiscing about the good old days, I noticed a report on the Rare Bird Alert in my BirdsEye App. The Barnacle Goose had been re-found 30 minutes away, in Concord MA! Bob encouraged me to go for it, and off I went. It did not take me long to find it in a group of 150 Canada Geese feeding in a fallow farm field along the Concord River. #421. I rushed back to the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston to pick up my family at the end of the Freedom Trail. I needed to return my niece to Endicott College in Beverly, which gave me another chance for Razorbill. Checking BirdsEye, I found an eBird report of Razorbill from earlier in the day at Halibut Point State Park, Gloucester, a 30-minute drive from Endicott College. The sun was almost setting by the time I arrived at the rocky shoreline of Halibut Point. Here I encountered dozens of Harlequin Duck, dozens of Long-tailed Duck, and about a hundred Black Scoter (#422), but alas, no Razorbill. Returning to Newton for our last night in Massachusetts, I made a plan for our final day.

On Monday, March 6, I left Newton at 5 AM with my Mom heading west on the turnpike (Interstate 90). We turned south at Sturbridge, on Interstate 84. Daylight was encroaching so I took the first exit onto US20 and then Rt 49 and followed signs into Wells State Park. I was looking for Woodcock habitat. When the road crossed a low wet spot in the forest I pulled over. The dawn chorus was vibrant. My Merlin App recognized about a dozen species, including Pileated Woodpecker and Golden-crowned Kinglet (#423) but Woodcock would elude me again. After about 20 minutes of the entertaining menagerie of bird calls and songs, we forged further south into Connecticut, finally stopping at a shopping center in Mansfield, CT. We were searching for a staked out rarity – another European gull species called a Common Gull. Perhaps common in Europe, this species (recently split off from Mew Gull) is exceedingly rare in North America. A few Ring-billed Gulls were around, so we began feeding them bread crumbs. Within a few minutes about a hundred “ringers” were at our feet. Sure enough, one of them was slightly different. This was the Common Gull (#424). A full description along with photos are available on my eBird checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S130305481.

I returned to Colorado by nightfall having added 23 species to my Big Year list, all while juggling family responsibilities. More photos and eventually audio files from species observed during the trip can be perused on my Massachusetts Trip Report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/112270. I observed at least 80 species of birds (2 species, Wild Turkey and Cooper’s Hawk didn’t make it onto an eBird checklist). The trip helped me in my quest for 900 species in the USA and its territories in 2023 and helped me stay competitive in the regular Big Year categories of ABA Area and Lower 48. In the lists of the “top 100”, available from eBird.org, I am currently ranked fifth in each of those categories. My next destination is Central California, March 8-16 with local guide Logan Kahle and 3 others from Colorado, leaving in a few hours! Most of my tours have seats available. Tour schedule is available at www.pbase.com/quetzal/bigyear.