Note: To those who are unfamiliar, these social distancing “walks” are not in-person walks but rather a group chat where members share their experiences for the morning and stay connected. South Shore Bird Club is strict about (and very impressed by its members) adhering to social distancing guidelines, which includes avoiding populated areas, large groups, and close social interaction. We fully support members enjoying the healing and mindfulness that nature can provide and want to foster a social environment for those who may feel isolated- these walks are intended to achieve both of these goals with safety at the forefront of our mission.
On Saturday April 25th, South Shore Bird Club hosted their fifth Social Distancing “walk”. The morning started a with a bit of a chill with temperatures near freezing in the morning but quickly warming to a beautiful day high 50’s- low 60’s, full sun, and light winds all day. Precipitation cooking off from the night before created some beautifully dramatic landscapes for those out doing some early-morning birding.
On Saturday April 25th, South Shore Bird Club hosted their fifth Social Distancing “walk”. The morning started a with a bit of a chill with temperatures near freezing in the morning but quickly warming to a beautiful day high 50’s- low 60’s, full sun, and light winds all day. Precipitation cooking off from the night before created some beautifully dramatic landscapes for those out doing some early-morning birding.
 |
| Sunrise |
The early bird vigor (in terms of early birds and birders)
continues to persist, with 7 Great Horned Owls, 6 Barred Owls, and 6 Ruffed
Grouse reported. Brian found a Ruffed Grouse in the Pinehills and got a
recording of it which can be found here https://ebird.org/checklist/S67862096
(since the drumming is such a low frequency you may not hear it unless your
speakers have subwoofers).
As the birds enjoyed the weather, many members enjoyed their
singing, with reports of Winter Wren, Eastern Meadowlarks, Savannah Sparrows,
Field Sparrows, and Brown Thrasher. Traditional late April migrants like Glossy
Ibis and Caspian Terns were observed, along with the first big push of warblers
and other passerines like Brown Thrasher, Eastern Kingbird, Great Crested
Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, House Wrens, Ovenbirds, Northern
Waterthrushes, Black-and-white Warblers, and Yellow Warblers.
 |
| Swamp Sparrow by Carol Molander |
On the non-bird front (as we always seem to delve into a
bit) Pete observed some raccoon tracks, a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle which
features a beautiful iridescent green carapace and is quite common on the
trails although easily overlooked as they tend to be very skittish. Carol
observed a jellyfish in sippican harbor, and Brian continued the tracker theme
by posting what is presumably Ruffed Grouse scat.
Jellyfish by Carol Molander
All in all, it was a beautiful day which I’m sure everyone
participating fully enjoyed and was great to be able to share our experiences
with nature with one another.
 |
| Nature with a capital "N". Photo by Christine Whitebread |
-Nate
| Species Name | Species Count | Sample Size |
| Brant | 136 | 10 |
| Canada Goose | 155 | 24 |
| Mute Swan | 61 | 5 |
| Wood Duck | 15 | 6 |
| Gadwall | 2 | 1 |
| Mallard | 56 | 19 |
| American Black Duck | 28 | 6 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 35 | 2 |
| Greater Scaup | 1 | 1 |
| Common Eider | 176 | 6 |
| Surf Scoter | 49 | 8 |
| White-winged Scoter | 35 | 6 |
| Black Scoter | 7 | 3 |
| scoter sp. | 53 | 2 |
| Long-tailed Duck | 11 | 3 |
| Bufflehead | 163 | 13 |
| Common Goldeneye | 1 | 1 |
| Common Merganser | 7 | 1 |
| Red-breasted Merganser | 239 | 8 |
| Ruffed Grouse | 6 | 2 |
| Wild Turkey | 15 | 8 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 2 | 1 |
| Horned Grebe | 49 | 2 |
| Red-necked Grebe | 10 | 2 |
| Rock Pigeon | 10 | 4 |
| Mourning Dove | 57 | 27 |
| Virginia Rail | 2 | 2 |
| Sora | 1 | 1 |
| American Oystercatcher | 6 | 4 |
| Black-bellied Plover | 7 | 1 |
| Piping Plover | 21 | 2 |
| Killdeer | 24 | 5 |
| Upland Sandpiper | 2 | 1 |
| Sanderling | 3 | 1 |
| Dunlin | 53 | 1 |
| Purple Sandpiper | 1 | 1 |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | 5 | 1 |
| Wilson's Snipe | 11 | 3 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 59 | 13 |
| Willet | 9 | 3 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 1 | 1 |
| Razorbill | 1 | 1 |
| Laughing Gull | 17 | 3 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 24 | 3 |
| Herring Gull | 508 | 19 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 105 | 13 |
| gull sp. | 24 | 1 |
| Caspian Tern | 14 | 2 |
| Red-throated Loon | 24 | 5 |
| Common Loon | 26 | 9 |
| Northern Gannet | 12 | 5 |
| Great Cormorant | 6 | 2 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 917 | 22 |
| Great Blue Heron | 25 | 8 |
| Great Egret | 63 | 13 |
| Snowy Egret | 29 | 8 |
| Little Blue Heron | 2 | 2 |
| Green Heron | 1 | 1 |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | 21 | 4 |
| Glossy Ibis | 3 | 2 |
| Turkey Vulture | 9 | 6 |
| Osprey | 42 | 17 |
| Northern Harrier | 3 | 3 |
| Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 |
| Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 1 |
| Bald Eagle | 4 | 4 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 3 | 3 |
| Broad-winged Hawk | 1 | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 11 | 9 |
| Buteo sp. | 1 | 1 |
| Great Horned Owl | 7 | 4 |
| Barred Owl | 6 | 3 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 5 | 5 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 38 | 15 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 34 | 16 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 21 | 9 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 4 | 2 |
| Northern Flicker | 57 | 21 |
| American Kestrel | 15 | 5 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 24 | 12 |
| Eastern Kingbird | 1 | 1 |
| White-eyed Vireo | 1 | 1 |
| Blue-headed Vireo | 1 | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 135 | 24 |
| American Crow | 71 | 27 |
| Fish Crow | 17 | 11 |
| crow sp. | 1 | 1 |
| Common Raven | 4 | 4 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 151 | 26 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 138 | 25 |
| Horned Lark | 4 | 2 |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 7 | 3 |
| Purple Martin | 4 | 1 |
| Tree Swallow | 131 | 18 |
| Barn Swallow | 21 | 9 |
| Golden-crowned Kinglet | 1 | 1 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 7 | 3 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 7 | 5 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 39 | 16 |
| Brown Creeper | 7 | 4 |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 19 | 8 |
| House Wren | 3 | 3 |
| Winter Wren | 7 | 3 |
| Marsh Wren | 1 | 1 |
| Carolina Wren | 35 | 19 |
| European Starling | 51 | 9 |
| Brown Thrasher | 2 | 2 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 16 | 7 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 8 | 4 |
| Hermit Thrush | 25 | 6 |
| American Robin | 267 | 33 |
| House Sparrow | 21 | 8 |
| House Finch | 25 | 9 |
| American Goldfinch | 88 | 25 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 69 | 16 |
| Clay-colored Sparrow | 1 | 1 |
| Field Sparrow | 17 | 2 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 4 | 1 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 32 | 9 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 52 | 9 |
| Song Sparrow | 118 | 30 |
| Swamp Sparrow | 18 | 6 |
| Eastern Towhee | 59 | 17 |
| Eastern Meadowlark | 12 | 3 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 158 | 25 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 61 | 18 |
| Rusty Blackbird | 10 | 1 |
| Common Grackle | 155 | 24 |
| Ovenbird | 2 | 1 |
| Northern Waterthrush | 8 | 5 |
| Black-and-white Warbler | 5 | 5 |
| Yellow Warbler | 5 | 3 |
| Palm Warbler | 11 | 6 |
| Pine Warbler | 92 | 14 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 69 | 6 |
| Northern Cardinal | 90 | 27 |
