Three individuals and I spent the morning searching the frozen marshes and coastal waters for any signs of life. As you can imagine, numbers were low, but what we did find was worth the effort.
Most of the birds found were on the ocean, primarily at Emerson Rocks. The highlight there was a male King Eider. I had seen the bird a week earlier, and was surprised it was still around.
A gentleman from Pennsylvania came up to us inquiring about any snowy owl sightings as he was there for the day with his family. Unfortunately, I had nothing for him. I then mentioned we had a King Eider, and his stance perked up with him stating, "that it would be a life bird for me". I got it back in the scope and he took a nice long look. A satisfying moment, getting someone a lifer.
Otherwise, the birds were few and far between. Land birding was nearly none existent with only a chickadee, modo and a few robins.
We did manage to do well with birds of prey and alike. We had both light and dark phase Rough-legged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper's Hawk and Bald Eagle. At a very long distance, we had a kettle of 5 Turkey Vultures, circling over the town.
We chased a reported Snow Owl, but was never able to catch up with it.
Below is a summary of our day.
Mike
NAME Count
Canada Goose 350
Mute Swan 5
Mallard 50
American Black Duck 5
King Eider 1
Common Eider 23
White-winged Scoter 10
Black Scoter 50
Long-tailed Duck 12
Bufflehead 15
Common Goldeneye 25
Hooded Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 10
Horned Grebe 7
Rock Pigeon 50
Mourning Dove 1
Sanderling 5
Ring-billed Gull X
Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull 3
Red-throated Loon 3
Turkey Vulture 5
Northern Harrier 2
Cooper's Hawk 2
Bald Eagle 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Rough-legged Hawk 2
American Crow 3
Horned Lark 10
Black-capped Chickadee 1
American Robin 6
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 30
Dark-eyed Junco 3
The South Shore Bird Club (SSBC) was founded in 1946 and the first members set out to explore the birds and birding habitats of the South Shore of Massachusetts. We concentrate on field trips for both members and non members. Most trips involve car-pooling with occasional canoe trips or beach hikes. Non-members are always welcome.