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NH.Birds for Sunday, May 18, 2008
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Subject: Great Penacook Walkabout - Phase 1
From: "PAMELA HUNT" <biodiva(AT)verizon.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 6:12am
Greetings all,
The May 2008 Great Penacook Walkabout is officially afoot (ha!). The first leg
(ha again!) occured between 0400 and 0545, and consisted of about 2.5 miles
around the Island and vicinity. The tally at this point stands at 36, with
highlights of American Woodcock, Barred Owl, and Louisiana Waterthrush (latter
a Walkabout first). I now head off on the 6.25 mile Penacook Survey Route,
and the next update will be in 3.5-4 hours.
Stay tuned! (and I'll stop the pedestrian punning!),
Pam Hunt
Penacook, NH
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Subject: Penacook Walkabout - Phase II
From: "PAMELA HUNT" <biodiva(AT)verizon.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 10:09am
Hi again,
It's now just after 10, and with 9.3 miles and 5.5 hours completed, the
Walkabout tally stands at 80. Highlights from the 6 mile survey include 17
species of warblers (2 Blackpolls, 2 Canadas, 1 Magnolia, etc.), Ruffed
Grouse, Bobolink, Lincoln's Sparrow, and 2 Least Flycatchers. Also fresh bear
scat and tracks.
Time now for the long leg to the Merrimack and back,
Pam Hunt
Penacook, NH
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Subject: Spoiled by color
From: <dot7e(AT)habi-scapes.com>
Date: 18 May 2008 10:17am
In my continuing 'Spring Color' series - I had two male Indigo Buntings at
my feeders yesterday.
Quite a treat!
Dot Sevigny, So. Hampton
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Subject: Loons
From: Bruce Boyer <bboyer192(AT)earthlink.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 12:34pm
I saw a Common Loon on Thorndike Pond today, and one on Child's Bog 2
days ago.
Bruce Boyer
Fitzwilliam
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Subject: Brewster's warbler, Durham
From: Kurk Dorsey <kd(AT)cisunix.unh.edu>
Date: 18 May 2008 2:08pm
Birders
A Brewster's Warbler was at East Foss Farm about 12:30 today. I found it
at the power line--take the right fork at the entrance sign, then turn
left just after the cemetary. It was singing a very odd variation of the
Blue-winged song, which was what drew my attention. It had a bright gold
cap, silvery nape, two large yellow wing bars, a white throat, a large
yellow patch on its breast down to its stomach, and white outer tail
feathers.
East Foss Farm can be found by taking Mill Road from the center of town,
turning left at Foss Farm Road (Drive?), then parking on the street at the
sign for Stevens Way. There's a UNH service road that leads in, and you
can probably drive in and park before the gate, but then you'd miss the
Swainson's thrush!
All told, my morning survey of Durham turned up 85 species, with best
finds being 2 Canada Warblers, 3 Indigo Buntings, 1 Swainson's Thrush, 1
Green Heron, and 1 Willow Flycatcher.
Kurk Dorsey
Durham
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Subject: Edward MacDowell Lake and Dam
From: Michael <nhsun100(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 18 May 2008 3:24pm
Edward MacDowell Lake and Dam in Peterborough, NH trails yielded 31 species:
Ravens, one on nest under bridge near dam tower
Song sparrows
Robins
Titmice
Ovenbirds
Tree swallows
Bluejays
House sparrow
Mockingbirds
Solitary sandpipers
Goldfinches
Common yellowthroats
Catbirds
Turkey vultures
Chickadees
Starlings
Downy woodpecker
Grackles
Cowbirds
Chipping sparrows
Rose-breasted grosbeaks
Red-winged blackbirds
Baltimore oreoles
Warbling vireos
Yellow warblers
Pileated woodpecker
Hawk, flew fast into woods, possibly a Cooper's
Kingbirds
Kingfisher
Eastern phoebe
Canada geese, flying
Michael Pachomski
Rochester, NH
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Subject: MIGRATION - 5/18/08 (Goldfinches, swifts, swallows,
hummingbirds, etc)
From: Steve Mirick <smirick(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 6:04pm
Jane and I have found a new fun thing to do in Spring. Count migrating
birds along the coast! Although it is likely there have been some
casual counts of migrating birds in the past, I don't think these spring
counts have been fully documented in New Hampshire. Loads of fun! And
very challenging.
Today was a great morning with a mild front passing last night and
leaving moderately strong West to Southwest winds and lots of birds
moving again. We started at Fantini's Parking lot for about 1/2 of the
time, but we finished the migration count along the boardwalk access to
Seabrook Beach from Lawrence Street. There are some benches at the top
of the dunes which make for a nice vantage point. Particularly with the
sunny conditions when it is MUCH easier to look to the west with the sun
at your back. Map as shown:
http://tiny.cc/f31HA
Once again, the American Goldfinches stole the show. Started slow, but
then just exploded for a while. Majority appeared to fly down the
streets of Seabrook (Atlantic Avenue) rather than venturing east over
the beach or west over the marsh. Possibly using the houses as a
partial wind break? Swallows tended to follow the coastal dunes. Also
very neat to witness kingbird and Bobolinks migrating as well as
hummingbirds.
Time - 6:30 AM - 10:00 AM (3.5 hours). Slowed by 9:30 AM.
Winds - WSW - 15-20 mph
Sky - Partly Cloudy early, then mostly sunny
Temp - 57F - 65F
All of the following birds were counted moving north
------------------------------------------------------
Common Loon - 5
Double-crested Cormorant - 24
Turkey Vulture - 2. Late migrants? Or wind blown locals?
Osprey - 3
Northern Harrier - 1 late female.
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 4
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Merlin - 2. No Kestrels.
Solitary Sandpiper - 1. One flew overhead calling
Shorebird sp. - 140+. Possibly/probably not migrating? Not clear
whether we had shorebird migration this morning or wandering peeps at
low tide.
Chimney Swift - 73. Nice numbers of swifts migrating. Some moving in
flocks of Goldfinches!
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - 15. Very cool migration of hummingbirds.
All single birds.
Eastern Kingbird - 15. Very cool diurnal migration of Kingbirds. Most
singly or in pairs. One group of 4.
Blue Jay - 121. A few nice flocks. Largest of about 23. Most about 5
to 15.
American Crow - 3 possible late migrants.
Tree Swallow - 150. Ballpark estimate of swallow composition and
numbers. Unfortunately, accurate numbers not kept.
Bank Swallow - 45
Cliff Swallow - 2
Barn Swallow - 75
Cedar Waxwing - 4. 2 groups of two moving north.
Bobolink - 15. (All males) Very cool diurnal migration of Bobolinks.
Some singing as they flew overhead! Mostly 1 or 2 birds at a time.
Red-winged Blackbird - 30. (22 females & 8 males)
Common Grackle - 30.
PINE SISKIN - 4. Possibly more, but many of the goldfinches moving
early before we moved to dunes were backlit not identifiable.
American Goldfinch - 1,270 (!!!!) Flocks ranging from a few birds to
largest flock of 83. Most about 10 to 30 birds.
Steve & Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA
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Subject: NH Coast (Roseate Terns, Iceland Gull, etc)
From: Steve Mirick <smirick(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 6:04pm
Aside from the wonderful diurnal migration early in the morning, Jane
and I spent some time searching for warblers and new spring arrivals.
We tried to avoid the infamous "Tow-De-O" at Hampton Beach State Park.
Ya gotta see this to believe it. Every tow truck in the world descends
on Hampton Beach State Park! Happens every May on this weekend. I
think they were going for a world record today!
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080516/NEWS/805160390/-1/NEWS07
We birded the Seabrook dunes thickets, the Church parking lot off Rt.
101 in Hampton, and a full walk around Odiorne Point State Park. We
finished by watching the tide go out at Hampton Harbor and searching for
shorebirds and terns.
Great Egret - 6 in Hampton/Seabrook marshes
Merlin - 1 perched along Rt. 286 early
Black-bellied Plover - 20 in harbor
Semipalmated Plover - 20 in harbor
Semipalmated Sandpiper (FOY) - 2 in harbor
Least Sandpiper - 5. Likely many more.
Dunlin - 20
Short-billed Dowitcher (FOY) - 1 in Hampton harbor
Laughing Gull - 2. One 2nd summer in Eel Pond. One adult in Hampton harbor
Bonaparte's Gull - 3 1st summer birds in Hampton harbor
ICELAND GULL - 1 1st summer bird in Eel Pond.
ROSEATE TERN (FOY) - 4 in harbor with Common Terns. Great to see these
regularly now along the coast with success of re-introduction offshore
on White/Seavery Islands.
Common Tern - 20 in harbor
Warbling Vireo - 1 at Odiorne. The only vireo of the day.
Northern Parula - 9 (6 at Odiorne)
Nashville Warbler - 1 at Odiorne.
Yellow Warbler - 15 (8 at Odiorne) Likely some were local breeders.
Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1
Magnolia Warbler - 29 (20 at Odiorne). Lots of Magnolias along the coast!
Black-throated Blue Warbler - 5 (3 at Odiorne)
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1
Black-throated Green Warbler - 1
Black-and-white Warbler - 12 (9 at Odiorne)
American Redstart - 8 (6 at Odiorne).
Ovenbird - 3
Northern Waterthrush - 1 at Odiorne
Common Yellowthroat - 22 (15 at Odiorne)
Wilson's Warbler - 2
Savannah Sparrow - 3. Unclear if migrants or local breeders.
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1 at Odiorne.
Swamp Sparrow - 1 migrant in Seabrook dunes.
Steve & Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA
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Subject: GREAT Penacook Walkabout - final tally
From: "PAMELA HUNT" <biodiva(AT)verizon.net>
Date: 18 May 2008 7:15pm
Greetings all,
Legs 3-5 of the walkabout occurred between 1030 and 1645, during which time I
wasn't near a computer to keep you updated. But here are the highlights:
Phase III added only one species between my house and the Merrimack River:
Cedar Waxwing. These are pretty scarce this time of year.
Phase IV was a doozy - a 3.5 hour walk around Morrill's Farm and down to
Sewall's Falls. Goodies in this segment included:
19 Solitary Sandpipers (13 in one small pond)
2 Greater Yellowlegs
1 Lesser Yellowlegs
13 Least Sandpipers
1 Great Cormorant (still!)
1 Horned Lark (singing! I wonder if they occasionally try to breed
here...)
1 Common Merganser (female at Sewall's Falls)
3 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers
1 Willow Flycatcher (FOY)
4 Vesper Sparrows
and much, much more (70 species total - not bad for the early afternoon!)
Phase V was the return trip from the Merrimack to my house, during which it
started to sprinkle, although it never amounted to anything. The only thing
added on this leg was a Hooded Merganser that flew over the Abbott Rd. stump
dump - presumably to forage in the floodplain?
In the end, I walked a record 21 miles and found a record 100 species -
entirely on foot and entirely in the Concord city limits (I was in Boscawen
for 30 minutes, but didn't see anything there only). I suspect I'll be a tad
sore tomorrow, and who knows, I might still find something else (thrush call
overhead?!). What's particularly remarkable is that I did this without a
SINGLE RAPTOR!! No Redtails, no local Coop, no Broad-wings (which have been
scarce so far this spring).
So there you go - 5 species per mile - my best Bigby ratio yet! And the year
list now stands at 138.
Pam Hunt
Penacook, NH
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