Bird Observer

Hot Birds August 2022

Massachusetts birders are fortunate to live where they can view one of the greatest spectacles in the natural world: the daytime September migration of thousands of Broad-winged Hawks (Buteo platypterus) on their way from the eastern deciduous forest of North America to Central and South America. Nothing can adequately convey the awesome primal beauty of thousands of hawks spiraling ever higher in the heavens until they turn to glide to the southwest on silent wings. You need to see it live. Here I discuss some of what I have learned over 48 years of marveling at and studying the migration of our most abundant diurnal raptor.

This report describes the Rhode Island Avian Records Committee’s (RIARC) evaluation of 94 records, primarily from 2016–2018, but with nine from earlier years (1998–2015). These records are summarized below within a comprehensive list of all the species and distinctive subspecies on the Rhode Island Review List, as well as several species reported in Rhode Island for the first time.

Waldo Bailey was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1885 and moved to Pittsfield around 1918. He was an active and avid naturalist all his life, who not only made constant, detailed observations, but also painstakingly recorded them in his journals. He was also a teacher of natural history, and a pioneer in the development of color photography. Seemingly self-taught, he had a prodigious depth of knowledge of animals and minerals, but especially of birds and botany.

Although fish account for more than 99 percent of their diet, there have been rare reports of Osprey taking nonfish prey (Bierregaard et al. 2020). For example, Proctor (1977) and Campbell and Hillary (2009) reported instances of Osprey capturing meadow voles. In addition, Jung (2016) reported a swimming long-tailed vole captured by an Osprey in British Columbia.

On May 20, 2022, at approximately 10:00 am, I was working outside in my garden in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, when my wife shouted to me to come quickly. I trotted over to my horrified wife as she pointed to an allium plant.

Bird Sightings: March-April 2022

Oh no! Another mystery butt shot, you say? I say, oh yes. Although it is not an everyday birding occurrence, there are times when the view a birder obtains of an unidentified species is not the definitive profile or ideal flight shot that would be most desirable. In such situations of less expected views, proper identification will require knowledge of less frequently needed field marks. This issue’s puzzler falls in this category.

There will be one grand prize winner in each of three categories: photo, video, and writing. Each grand prize winner will receive a $100 gift card to Bird Watcher’s General Store, Orleans, MA; a $100 gift card to Bird Watcher’s Supply and Gift, Newburyport, MA; a $100 gift card to Birds and Beans Coffee; and a two-year extension of his or her subscription to Bird Observer, in addition to being featured in the December 2022 issue of Bird Observer in print and on our website, www.birdobserver.org.