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Big Sit on Saturday 10/12/14

10/13/2014

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Leader: Dan Berard

This morning, from 6am to 3pm, over 20 birders were present throughout the day for the Ocean State Bird Club's Big Sit at Beavertail State Park in Jamestown.
Our count circle was located right near Lot 3 which allowed us good views of the thickets, ocean, and scopeable views of the main land.

This location allowed us to scan a variety of habitats from one convenient location (near bathrooms). And with northern winds the previous night, birds that were blown out over the ocean turned around and dropped into the thickets just north of the light house near sunrise. We were able to see several species try to migrate out of the water, rethink their decision and turn back and drop into the thickets in front of us. While seeing migrants such as Yellow-rumped Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos, and kinglets do this is exciting, it's interesting to see species less often seen as migrants do this as well. Some notable instances of this are - a 'flock' of three Downy Woodpeckers, a flock of a dozen or so Blue Jays making it to the light house and turning around, a Red-bellied Woodpecker returning to the thicket and landing upside down on a wire, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Other highlights include many Monarchs, one or two Red Admirals, Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Yellow-legged Meadowhawks, and several unIDed dragonflies.

The real surprise of the day was a pod of about 40 Atlantic White-sided Dolphins moving by to the north that we watched for about 5 minutes.This is the third species of dolphin seen during a club trip this season! We had Short-beaked Common and Bottlenose Dolphins on the pelagic a few weekends ago.

In the end we tallied 78 species of bird from our circle. All in all a great day with good birds, people, scenery and weather!

Here is the full bird list -

  • Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  19
  • American Wigeon (Anas americana)  2     With a flock of black ducks
  • American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)  11
  • Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  3
  • Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)  23
  • Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)  1
  • White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca)  29
  • Black Scoter (Melanitta americana)  9
  • Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)  1
  • Common Loon (Gavia immer)  7
  • Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  500     Estimate, likely low; Constant presence in low numbers flying by and medium to large flocks overhead
  • Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)  5
  • Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1     Fly-over at dawn
  • Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  7     Possibly more
  • Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)  1
  • Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)  8     Some probably gone unnocticed
  • Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  71     Difficult to keep track, most likely many more. Starting around 8:30am they were consistently flying by over head and at a distance. All were seen heading south and south east, none seemed to be returning
  • Accipiter sp. (Accipiter sp.)  3     Not seen well enough to confidently tell at distance
  • Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1     Immature
  • Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  10     Estimate; A few in the distance and several passing by close and heading back north and north east
  • Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)  1     Possibly more; heard at dawn
  • Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  1     Vocal fly-over
  • Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)  30     Estimate
  • Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  2
  • Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)  250     Estimate; Many flying by and at fishing boats
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)  1     Adult passed by close with Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls. Coal gray 'back' with long thin wings, quicker wing beats than GBBG, Dark streaking around the eye.
  • Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)  50     Estimate; Many flying by and at fishing boats
  • Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  3     Prob more
  • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)  1     Seen flying in at dawn, later one seen flying in same direction but enough time passed to be the same bird
  • Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  5     Prob more; Possibly some local birds with migrants. At one time 3 birds were seen redirecting north
  • Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)  1     Possibly more; One bird seen several times redirecting north
  • Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus)  8     Possibly more
  • Merlin (Falco columbarius)  1
  • Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)  2
  • Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)  2     Seen together; several birds seen redirecting throughout the morning
  • Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  2     Two distinctly different plunaged individuals. Seen sporadically throughout the day
  • Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus)  1     Somewhat drab individual; Short tail, dark lores, and yellow-ish throat. Seen well several times throughout the day
  • Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  2     Two distinctly different plunaged individuals. Seen sporadically throughout the day
  • Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  20     Estimate; Small flock trying to fly out over water a few times in the morning
  • American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  20     Estimate
  • Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)  1     Fly-over just before dawn
  • Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  12     Estimate
  • Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  6     Estimate
  • Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  6     Estimate
  • Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  2
  • White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  5     A pair consistently redirecting
  • Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  3
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  3
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)  2
  • Gray-cheeked/Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus minimus/bicknelli)  X     NFC heard but unable to ID specifically
  • Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)  X     NFCs heard predawn. Unsure if more than one individual
  • American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  12     Estimate
  • Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  4     Estimate
  • Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum)  1
  • Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)  3
  • European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  12     Estimate
  • American Pipit (Anthus rubescens)  3     Several flyovers of individuals throughout the day and atleast two at sunrise
  • Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  5
  • Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  1     Seen several times throughout the morning
  • Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)  1     Smallish very drab warbler, with a short sharp bill. Overall drab olive color, slightly brighter on undertail coverts
  • Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  1
  • Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  1
  • Blackpoll Warbler (Setophaga striata)  4
  • Palm Warbler (Yellow) (Setophaga palmarum hypochrysea)  6     Estimate
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata)  30     Estimate; Constantly present throughout the day moving through thickets and flying over head, most likely many more
  • Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens)  1     Single bird heard just before dawn with a single bird seen shortly after
  • Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)  1
  • Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)  1
  • Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  10     Estimate; Likely more
  • White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)  2
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (Junco hyemalis hyemalis/carolinensis)  1
  • Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  6     Estimate
  • Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6     Estimate
  • Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  10     Estimate
  • House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  12     Estimate
  • Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)  6     Estimate; Several heard only fly-overs, and a few seen well including one with a female House Finch offering great comparisons
  • Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)  9     Estimate; Flocks of 5, 3 and a single flyover several time
  • American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  6     Estimate
  • House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  8

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