Plum Island & vicinity - 11/03/2012

On Saturday, November 3rd, two members and myself participated in the Plum Island & vicinity trip.
Temps were in the range of 45-50 with on and off wind 5-15 mph.

We had hope to view some of the recently reported rarities from the recently departed Hurricane Sandy, but none were seen or reported. At least in these parts.

However, the winter finches, specifically White-Winged Crossbills and to a lesser extent Pine Siskins were still present. The crossbills were present on Plum Island and at Salisbury. Both flocks were highly active, constantly on the wing.



White-winged Crossbill Flock


Here are a couple of closeups of individuals at Salisbury.



White-winged Crossbill




White-winged Crossbill


Other birds of note on the trip include an Eurasian Wigeon shown below (the right most bird) and an American Golden-Plover both found on Plum Island.

At Salisbury, we had close up looks at other unidentified flying objects



UFO


At Cherry Hill Reservoir, the duck show was well underway with large numbers of Ruddy and Ring-necked ducks.

Below is a summary list of birds seen on the trip.

	Location	Total
Canada Goose	Plum Island	13
Canada Goose	Cherry Hill Res.	69
Mute Swan	Plum Island	8
Gadwall	Plum Island	12
Eurasian Wigeon	Plum Island	1
American Wigeon	Plum Island	14
American Black Duck	Plum Island	157
Mallard	Plum Island	10
Northern Pintail	Plum Island	225
Green-winged Teal	Plum Island	250
Ring-necked Duck	Cherry Hill Res.	205
Common Eider	Plum Island	10
Common Eider	Salisbury	50
Surf Scoter	Plum Island	8
White-winged Scoter	Plum Island	10
Black Scoter	Plum Island	1000
Long-tailed Duck	Plum Island	3
Bufflehead	Plum Island	3
Bufflehead	Cherry Hill Res.	1
Hooded Merganser	Plum Island	6
Ruddy Duck	Cherry Hill Res.	195
Red-throated Loon	Plum Island	3
Common Loon	Plum Island	8
Pied-billed Grebe	Cherry Hill Res.	1
Horned Grebe	Plum Island	1
Northern Gannet	Plum Island	2
Double-crested Cormorant	Plum Island	15
Great Blue Heron	Cherry Hill Res.	1
Great Egret	Plum Island	3
Turkey Vulture	Plum Island	1
Northern Harrier	Plum Island	3
Red-tailed Hawk	Plum Island	2
American Coot	Plum Island	2
American Coot	Cherry Hill Res.	4
Black-bellied Plover	Plum Island	14
American Golden-Plover	Plum Island	1
Greater Yellowlegs	Plum Island	7
Sanderling	Plum Island	75
Dunlin	Plum Island	10
Bonaparte's Gull	Plum Island	1
Ring-billed Gull	Plum Island, Salisbury	X
Herring Gull	Plum Island, Salisbury	X
Great Black-backed Gull	Plum Island, Salisbury	X
Downy Woodpecker	Plum Island	1
Blue Jay	Plum Island	1
American Crow	Plum Island	4
Black-capped Chickadee	Plum Island	3
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Plum Island	6
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Salisbury	6
Northern Mockingbird	Plum Island	2
Northern Mockingbird	Cherry Hill Res.	1
Song Sparrow	Plum Island	2
Dark-eyed Junco	Plum Island	2
Northern Cardinal	Plum Island	2
Red-winged Blackbird	Plum Island	5
White-winged Crossbill	Plum Island	20
White-winged Crossbill	Salisbury	40
Pine Siskin	Plum Island	2
American Goldfinch	Salisbury	1