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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
June 30 - July 6, 2005 Edition
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Birds:
Sparrow tails - another Katama first!
John is a birder who teaches ornithology at Worcester Academy in Worcester, and gets to the Vineyard as often as he can. He spent a lot of time with the red-footed falcon last summer at Katama. He also knew that he had to make very certain that the bird singing was in fact a clay-colored sparrow as they don’t nest in Massachusetts and are not supposed to be here in the summer. It would be, is, a big deal and one never wants to cry wolf. Exciting Massachusetts newcomer This species has recently been expanding its breeding range east through central Ontario into southern Quebec and marginally into northern New York State where they are found in abandoned fields with scrub and small trees, along power lines or in young conifer plantations. These birds have been showing up with increasing frequency this season. In the past five years, one or more birds have been singing, apparently on territory, advertising for a mate, somewhere in the state. A lone bird was discovered singing persistently a few years ago in western Massachusetts, but apparently it never found a mate. There have been several in recent occurrences in the month of June, including one a couple of years back from the Myles Standish State Forest in Plymouth and a bird singing from a field edge at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in S. Wellfleet several years ago. None was ever confirmed breeding, as they apparently were unable to find a member of the opposite sex. This brings us back to the birds — that’s right — birds, singing at Katama. There is not one but two, at least two and possibly three, birds singing on territories. Two male birds (only the males sing songs) are on adjacent territories right out in the most heavily visited section of the beach. As of this writing on June 27, there are two males confirmed, one of which is showing intense site fidelity, possibly indicating the presence of a nest and incubating female. Despite the incredibly high-activity (in terms of human use) location they have chosen, the saving grace for the birds is the dense vegetation with abundant poison ivy and lots of ticks. Beachgoers are obliged to stay on the well-marked paths that allow beach access and the birds don’t seem to mind all the people as long as they (the people) stay where they are supposed to. The reality is that humans, skunks, or other creatures have little choice but to stay on the path as the vegetation is dense, prickly, and poisonous. These birds will remain under some scrutiny in the coming weeks in hopes that some indication of nesting can be confirmed. This would be a first for the state. Some of the many things that would confirm the strong suspicion of nesting would be adults feeding young, adults feeding fledglings, adults carrying fecal sacs, an adult feeding a brown-headed cowbird or any other indication. Because of the location, early morning is far and away the best time to find these birds. Eagle sightings There have been a handful of immature bald eagle reports from around the Island. These impressive raptors always generate a lot of excitement from surprised observers. At least a couple of the eagles were being mobbed by unhappy ospreys and crows that instinctively dislike large raptors in the area while they are attempting to raise young. Kimberly Simonsen noted an eagle getting harassed at Lobsterville in Aquinnah on June 8. She noted that the eagle rolled and dove to escape a pesky pair of ospreys and crows that really took exception to this bird’s presence in “their” nesting area. Immature eagles are frequent visitors to the Vineyard year-round. They seem to be seen more frequently in summer as adult eagles get extremely territorial in the summer months and run any interlopers out of their area. As the nearest bald eagle nest is in Lakeville, the immature birds are safe from persecution by adult eagles but not other birds, particularly birds of prey that have no use for these big and powerful birds that are a threat to their own young. Until next week — keep your eyes to the sky! To contribute news about your birding activities or sightings, call The Times Birdline, 508-693-6100, extension 33; or e-mail birds@mvtimes.com. |
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