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Cape Ann/Newburyport Trip Report

January 13 and 14, 2024

Trip Leader: Frances D’Amico

Participants: Al Gatti, Sharon Pope, Greta Gribkoff, Polly Parker, Roy Parsons, & Wendy Parsons

*Sharon joined the birders for meals and spent time exploring the area.

It was raining on Saturday morning and forecasted to last until noon. After breakfast, Al gave an impromptu tutorial in eBird which lasted till 10 am the rain had stopped. The six birders piled into 2 cars and headed out for the day’s adventure. It was a good day of birding in spite of the wind. There was one more short downpour in the late afternoon. Wind was the only remnant of the storm.

The first stop at Folly Cove where our bounty included Canada Goose, Mallard, Harlequin, and Long-tailed Ducks, Surf & White-Scoters, Bufflehead, Great Cormorant, American Crow, & Common Goldeneye.

Then on to Halibut Point State Park, where we walked out to the Point which juts out into the ocean. Birds had to be identified as they bobbed between the huge waves. Common Eider, Herring Gull, and a small flock of Northern Gannet flew by us. As the gannets got further out in the water, we observed how they dive head first into the water to feed. There were some songbirds (Tufted Titmouse and Carolina Wren as we emerged from the trail and back to our cars. After lunch back at the Rockport Inn, our last stops in Rockport were at the Granite Pier and Emerson Rocks which added Black Scoter, Common Loon and Common Merganser to our bird list before heading to Gloucester to finish the afternoon of birding.

Heading down the coast in Gloucester, we parked in the Elks lot and crossed the street. This has always been a reliable spot to see Purple Sandpiper, and they didn’t disappoint. It was impossible to get an exact count because the birds’ feather coloration blended well with the rocks and could only be seen when they moved. The waves were pretty ferocious, bringing the cold air off the ocean. Satisfied, we headed down to Jodrey Fishing Pier, where the boats bring in their catch to be processed. Lots of gulls were seen but none were white-winged. However, the bird of the day and maybe even the trip was a Dovekie – a small black and white bird in the Auk family which every one of our group was able to see.

Sunday we packed cars and had an early start to Newburyport environs. It was disappointing that the Mass Audubon building at Joppa Flats is no longer open on Sunday.

We crossed over the bridge to Plum Island and headed south onto the Parker River National Refuge stopping at Parking Lot 1, where we saw a pair of Northern Harriers. Next stop was the Salt Pannes, great for waterfowl this time of year and for shore birds in summer and fall. There was a Bald Eagle seen proudly sitting on a hillock taking advantage of this raised vantage point to survey the marsh. Our final stop was at Hellcat where we attempted to walk the boardwalk in search of land birds, but it was icy, and we retreated. Shortly thereafter our group began to retreat towards home. Maybe more of you will be tempted to join us next year and the lemmings will be gone forcing the snowy Owls to come further south in search of food.

Leader: Sylvia Halkin.

Participants were about 25 birders watching from paved and lawn areas around the Hartford Housing Authority building, 180 John D. Wardlaw Way, Hartford, CT, and thousands of crows.

The temperature was around 50 degrees F, winds were calm, and the clouds to our west were lit orange and yellow at sunset.

Between 4 and 4:30 pm, looking east from our hilltop location, we could see crows flying from north to south, sometimes in a dispersed line, sometimes in groups of a hundred or more: they appeared in the sky as tiny dots that got larger as they approached, and they flew on to disappear behind the trees to our south.  At about 4:30, a Red-tailed Hawk landed in a tree at the edge of the parking lot and watched with us as about 800 crows flew in from the north, right over our heads, and landed near the tops of trees immediately south of us.  We could hear the caws of American Crows, the more nasal double calls of Fish Crows, and rattling calls that are likely only given by female crows.  Shortly after 4:45, the crows that had landed near us started to call more, rose circling from their trees, and then flew toward the trees on the west side of Newfield Ave. where we could already see clusters of crows in the upper branches.  We could see many thousands of more distant crows flying from the southeast toward the same Newfield Ave. roost area: some may well have been the same crows we had initially seen flying by to our east, but the total number was much larger, in a denser group.  Periodically groups of crows rose from the roost trees, circled, calling, and re-landed in the same area; this may be a display to attract stragglers to the roost, but twice seemed to be triggered by honks from a truck horn, perhaps from a non-fan of the crows roosting nearby.  When we left at about 5 pm, the roost trees were quite full of crows, with more still flying into the roost area from the southeast, but far fewer new crows were arriving than 10 minutes earlier.

Thanks to Beverly Greenspan, who helped me to scout for the trip the evening before, Sarah Faulkner, who sent out an endorsing email, and everyone who showed up to enjoy the crow show!

September 16, 2023

Seven birders gathered for this hawk watch at Booth Hill in West Hartland, CT.  Weather was cloudy, however we recorded 1 Osprey, 4 Bald Eagles, 4 Sharpshins, 2 Cooper’s; 100 Broad Winged and 2 Red Tail.  Considering the weather, it was a good day for hawk watching.

September 17, 2023

A nice, sunny day with mild winds, perfect for viewing hawk migration. Six members gathered for this hawk watch. We were delighted to have our new president attend his first hawk watch event and witness his first Broad Winged kettle.  We recorded 1 Osprey, 1 Bald Eagle, 1 Cooper’s, 1 Red Shoulder, 1 American Kestrel, 187 Broad Winged.

Thanks to all who participated and look forward to even more members joining us next September.

Submitted by Joan Lupacchino & Richard Nieman.

The morning started out with overcast skies and a smaller group than usual. Walk start time 8:08 a.m.

There were seven attendees in total counting the trip leader, myself.

We walked a clockwise route starting at the golf course parking lot moving west to south to east through a wooded trail and then north past the cricket fields to make a full circle back to our cars. This standard takes approximately 2.5 hours and our walk did go on for a typical 2 hours and 37 minutes. We had 46 species substantially less than last year’s 66 on Mother’s day.

The bird that caused the group the most difficulty to find, yet the most reward was a fun sighting of a single Scarlet Tanager. High up in a canopy it took some as long as ten minutes to locate the male tanager.

There were ten warbler species in all, including Blackburnian and Cape May. Seeing 2 Swainson’s thrushes in the pathway were a delight as well.

The most unexpected bird was a Grasshopper sparrow across from the parking lot when we first started out. It was under some shrubs and next to the adjacent golf course hole, and it flew up to a nearby branch during our approach.

Trip Leader, Annette Pasek

Elizabeth Park Trails Day Birdwalk
On Saturday, June 3rd HAS sponsored a beginner’s birdwalk in Elizabeth Park, West Hartford as part of CT Trails Day.

Leader Sarah Faulkner was joined by 22 beginning birders of all ages.  While it was a quiet morning, cloudy, damp and cool, the group did see or hear 24 species including a green heron, flicker, red-bellied woodpecker, wild turkey, Carolina wren, a pair of red-tailed hawks, and a Blackpoll warbler.

Sarah taught everyone how to use binoculars and the Merlin app.

Station 43 Wetland Birds, South Windsor

On Saturday May ^27th, three birders gathered at Station 43 for a walk focused primarily on wetland nesting birds. Our small group size and enthusiasm allowed us to successfully bird the entrance road to the marsh by discovering hard-to-spot species such as Canada Warbler, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Warbling Vireo. A beautifully teed up male Orchard Oriole on a dead tree branch allowed the trip leader to place the bird in the scope for all to enjoy. A Great Crested Flycatcher and a myriad of singing Yellow Warblers accompanied us the remainder of trail until we finally reached the marsh. Once there, the sounds of Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens and Red-winged Blackbirds let us know that we were in the right place! As we scanned the wetlands, a female Wood Duck was anticipatedly logged on our trip list. Moments later, the first of two Virginia Rail sightings surprised us all as it darted quickly across the pathway. Our only encounter with a Least Bittern was a good one as it flew directly in front of us before dropping into dense vegetation. A visit to the Hartford Audubon Observation Platform turned into an unexpected wet adventure thanks to a busy beaver and his impressive handiwork. From the elevated platform, birders were able to observe Eastern Kingbirds and Willow Flycatchers as well as a Green and Great Blue Herons. An Osprey was also spotted circling over the Station 43 preserve. As we splashed our way back along the road, a Virginia Rail was discovered cleaning and preening itself right out in the open! What a nice way to conclude a wetland bird walk!  We ended our day with 42 bird species.

Respectively submitted,
Paul Cianflaglione
Trip Leader

Machimoodus State Park Birding Trip

Submitted by:  Rob Mirer,  Field trip leader

Ten birders met at Machimoodus State Park in East Haddam on the mostly sunny morning of May 13.

In 4 hours of birding, we accumulated a list of 53 species. Some of the highlights were 2 Hummers, 3 Bald Eagles, Brown Thrasher, lots of Orchard Orioles, Prairie Warblers and a Wilson’ Warbler.

If you want to do a deeper dive, our list can be found in Ebird (go to hot spots, zoom in on CT, find Machimoodus in East Haddam, and open Steven Saunders checklist dated May 13.