"That Guy" gets #707 - Dream Yr Update (long)
GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Tue, 3 Nov 1998 11:37:46 -0500
Howdy All!
Executive summary:
Great Skua -nope
Dovekie -nope
Snowy Owl -nope
Iceland Gull -YUP! (#707)
Baseball Cap -gone (see below)
Friday, Oct 30
Flew into Manchester, NH and drove down to Waltham, MA to
meet Attu birding friend, Carol Ralph. The weather was cold and
blustery with strong NW winds. Flying into Manchester, I could
see the beautiful color of the leaves in the wooded areas below.
Nearly 80% of the trees were still leaved and in full fall
regalia. It was absolutely gorgeous. Ahhh. A cool, brisk
autumn day. It was dark by 5:00pm when I arrived in Manchester
and made the drive down to Waltham.
Saturday, October 31
Still windy and cool. I found out the Plymouth pelagic to
Stellwagon Bank is weathered out. So, I drove up to Newburyport,
MA and birded Plum Island. A Snowy Owl had been reported near
the gate house on Monday. I spent four hours there, but found no
owl. The weather was an idyllic fall day in New England. It was
sunny and the cool, brisk, refreshing air met my face as I took
in the orange and yellow landscape before me. Dunlins were at
the Salt Pans, as well as lots of Black Ducks, Greater
Yellowlegs, and a Black-bellied Plover. A distant Northern
Harrier teetered three feet above the marsh in the morning wind.
I caught a glimpse of a powerful, migrating Cooper's Hawk on the
move.
Down at Hellcat Marsh, I found an American Bittern
"sneaking" only 50 ft north of the platform. It's neck stretched
out awkwardly, it continued slowly and purposefully in full view
for a couple minutes before vanishing into the safety of taller
marsh vegetation. A flock of eight Snow Buntings flew by.
Several Greater Scaup were near the corner of the canal where I
had seen the Fork-tailed Flycatcher only two months previous.
I walked the dune trail. It was warmer here, sheltered from
the wind. A couple Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Black-capped Chickadee
brightened the already beautiful setting. I had the boardwalk to myself.
I decided to whistle my Eastern Screech-Owl
impression. Yellow-rumped Warblers immediately responded and
soon I was being dive-bombed by a couple of excited warblers and
chickadees. Birds were all around me within several feet. A
Downy Woodpecker came in for a look-see. I stood still for
several minutes as I sorted through all the birds. The only
additions were American Tree Sparrow, American Goldfinch,
Northern Cardinal, and White-throated Sparrow.
I headed back up to the parking area near the gate house. I
climbed the dune trail toward the beach. It was an elevated
position affording me a good view of the northern marsh of Plum
Island where Snowy Owls frequent. Today there were no Snowy
Owls. I turned and looked out over the ocean. The surf was deep grayish
blue and turbulent. I found several large rafts of White-winged Scoters,
and a few Surf Scoters, Oldsquaws, and Buffleheads. I could see Northern
Gannets lazily circling, then performing their interesting tuck-and-dive
routines. Several Red-throated Loons flew by, too.
As I sat in my car, munching on a peanutbutter-and-jelly
sandwich, I considered my next move. No owls yet. It's still
early. I had noticed Iceland Gull arrivals in Maine, New York,
and Connecticut during the previous week. That would be my next
target. I checked Joppa Flats and found lots of gulls including
Great Black-backed, Herring, Ring-billed, and Bonaparte's. I
found more of the same at Cashman Park. At the park on the north
side of the Merrimack River, I heard Lapland Longspur but was
unable to locate them. Two American Golden Plovers greeted me at
the entrance to the camping area. I ended the afternoon with a
seawatch by spending a couple hours at the north jetty. Several
Great Cormorants stood guard on the rocks at the end of the
jetty. The wind felt colder as the sun lowered behind me.
Red-throated Loons passed by in good numbers as did small flocks
of 20-30 Common Eiders. Northern Gannets numbering in the
hundreds were everywhere as I panned the horizon. It was a
fitting end to a relaxing, beautiful day out birding.
Sunday, November 1
The Plymouth trip to Stellwagon Bank is a go. I'm excited
about the trip, but also missing the opportunity to bird with
Carol Ralph and here female birding friends, the "birding babes",
who were headed out to Plum Island for the day. My attention
returned as I stood in line to board the ship. I had already
found one Laughing Gull in the harbor and had hoped for a chance
at the Iceland Gull. On this trip, I was hoping for a slim to
remote shot at Great Skua and a little better shot at Dovekie.
The winds were wrong for Dovekie, though. Strong winds from the Northeast
are preferred. Winds were still out of the Northwest.
Oldsquaws zipped across the water ahead of us. White-winged
Scoters flocks were scattered everywhere. Sanderlings were on
the shoreline as we departed. We passed several groups of Great
Cormorants with only a couple of Double-crested Cormorants
present.
It was colder than I had anticipated. The wind blew through
my light clothing and chilled me to the bone. I shivered as I
stood on the upper deck and light ocean spray covered my face. I
was happy I at least had a baseball cap on my head. The wind
seemed more fierce as we continued our trip. I would turn my
head often to avoid the wet spray. But when I turned back one
time, "Woooosh!", my lucky Cleveland Indians baseball cap was
gone. Sacrificed to the angry Boston waters. :-(
We came upon several Black-legged Kittiwakes, lots of
Northern Gannets, and several Greater Shearwaters out near
Stellwagon Bank. We went over close to Race Point. Red-throated
Loons were present and we saw a couple fly-by Black Guillemots
and a Razorbill. We ended the afternoon with a chum slick, but
attracted nothing new. Within a couple miles of the Plymouth
Harbor, someone on the back of the boat hollered out, "Where's
THAT GUY?" I jumped up immediately (as I chuckled to myself--I
knew he meant that guy who's doing a big year) and turned around
as I heard the birder call out "Iceland Gull!". It was right
over the back of the boat and all of us got great looks at this
very pale first year bird (#707).
The drive back to Waltham was two hours instead of one,
thanks to an accident on Rt 128. The accident involved a
rear-ended police cruiser. Even though the accident was off the
road, people were gawking. Judging from the length of the line
of traffic back up, I am certain this event has NEVER before
happened in the annals of Bostonian traffic history. Yeah.
Right.
Monday, November 2
I left Waltham, MA at 4:00am. I could hear an Eastern
Screech-Owl calling near parking lot as I packed up my car for
the return trip home. I slept on the flight back to Baltimore
and then drove directly to work...
-Greg Miller
Lusby, MD