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Birds: Autumnal Equinox
September 22, 2005
Story & Photo By E. Vernon Laux
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The marbled godwit is a rare visitor to Vineyard shores. A large and elegant wader with a long upturned bill, at least two individuals made an appearance on-Island this past week.
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Tropical storm/hurricane Ophelia turned out to be a dud for birds. Fortunately for the Island there was little excitement in harbors and no property damage. The fall migration is "rocking and rolling" with birders out in force, and birds of all persuasions are on the move. For birders at this season, every morning feels like Christmas.
The promise of new birds is always right in front of you, in the next bush, around the next bend in the road or at a favorite nearby location. Many mornings feature strange or unfamiliar bird chip notes (for those that can hear them) emanating from familiar trees and bushes. Or as one goes about one's business, chip notes are detected from somewhere nearby or overhead, making concentration on anything else difficult. This is a wonderful problem to have and it only occurs for a few very special weeks in the fall.
Birds of all sorts are on the move — from loons, taxonomically considered to be the most primitive, to sparrows, the most advanced. Virtually any bird in whatever field guide one uses might actually appear during this season. Falcons, speedy long-winged aerial hunters, and Accipiters, relatively short-winged, long-tailed aerial ambush specialists, are both migrating and can often be seen with little effort. The best way to see these birds is to visit the western tip of the Island, the Gay Head Cliffs, or either north or south facing shorelines, on days with westerly winds, after 10 am. These conditions are most favorable for seeing these birds.
Raptors on the move
In the past week all three regularly occurring falcons — American kestrel, merlin and peregrine — have been seen, often several in different places. The falcon migration is just starting and birders or hawk enthusiasts can expect to see many more of these birds in upcoming weeks. The falcons are not alone, as birds in the Genus Accipiter including sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, are also becoming more common with peak migratory numbers generally encountered in the early part of October. Other raptors on the move include ospreys, northern harriers, and the occasional hawk in the Genus Buteo with the locally rare broad-winged hawk occasionally making a brief appearance. These birds dislike crossing water, so they seldom venture to the Vineyard except the local breeding red-tailed hawks.
Most impressive and hard to miss in places where they are staging and feasting on bayberries are massive flocks of tree swallows. These pleasing birds are superb flyers and during the fall migration gather en masse, often in uncountable numbers. If they weren't so small and didn't have such charming little call notes, they might scare the bejeepers out of people thinking they were seeing the Hitchcock classic "The Birds" come to life. Tree swallows can be seen almost continually passing by, at high altitudes discernible by sharp observers, whereas the massive concentrations down low seem to occur in only a few notable spots like Cape Pogue and Wasque in Edgartown, anywhere along the south shore particularly at the east or west corners of the Great Ponds, Squibnocket in Chilmark, and along Moshup's Trail in Aquinnah. Derby shore fishermen see large numbers of tree swallows (as well as monarch butterflies) while in pursuit of scaly finfish.
Birding bonanza on-Island
There are so many interesting reports of birds from all
over the Island that it really is a bonanza. Rather than list everything, the following are the most significant, from this writer's perspective. A very early record of Lapland longspur — in fact it appears to be the earliest fall record in Massachusetts history, by one day — was found on September 17 by Allan Keith along the south shore in Chilmark. These Arctic nesting sparrow-like birds generally pass through in early November with a few over-wintering. The Lapland longspur was discovered while Allan was studying a nice group of shorebirds, including a Baird's sandpiper, a buff-breasted sandpiper, and 15 white-rumped sandpipers. With this kind of birding Allan continued on and sitting on Sarson's Island in Sengekontacket Pond he was amazed to find a huge flock of 13 Caspian terns. These largest terns in the world have massive red beaks and are rarely encountered on Vineyard shores. This is one of the largest groups ever seen on the Island.
Marbled godwits, impressive large cinnamon-colored shorebirds with long upturned beaks, are always a good find on Vineyard shores. Take a look in a field guide to see where the species ranges. This season they have been turning up in record numbers in many places in the northeast. This past week at least two birds were found along the south side of the Vineyard, one bird on Norton's Point in Edgartown seen by Sally Anderson and Allan Keith on September 18 where they also encountered eastern and western willets and a stilt sandpiper. The other marbled godwit was seen as a fly-by on September 15, again by Sally Anderson and this writer along the south shore in Chilmark. Lanny McDowell of West Tisbury found many birds this past week, highlights including a yellow-bellied flycatcher and Philadelphia vireo at Katama in Edgartown on September 13.
Lastly, comes a couple reports of a ringed turtle-dove from Edgartown. Debbie Carter noticed a different dove at her Katama feeder and carefully identified it as this species on September 13. It was a morning visitor and then it vanished. On September 15, Shirley Craig of Edgartown noticed this unusual dove at her feeder and figured out it was a ringed turtle-dove. The bird has been erratic, showing up in the Ocean Heights section of Edgartown. If anyone lost this bird on or around September 13, please call the bird line and let me know.
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. |
