August 2022

Front Cover: August 2022

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:19 GMT

To view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work.

Birding Great Salt Bay Farm Wildlife Preserve in Lincoln County, Maine

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:17 GMT

If I were limited to birding just one location in the State of Maine, regardless of the time of year, without hesitation I would choose Great Salt Bay Farm Wildlife Preserve in Nobleboro. In winter, Bald Eagles, Belted Kingfishers, and Common Loons are regulars. With spring come the migrating warblers and returning Ospreys. In the summer, the meadows are alive with noisy Bobolinks, and the autumn brush is filled with a diverse array of sparrows. Great Salt Bay is Maine birding at its best.

The Great Salt Bay Farm Wildlife Preserve (hereafter designated as Great Salt Bay) is a 115-acre wildlife preserve that was acquired in several pieces starting in 1994 by the late Mrs. Elizabeth Noyce, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Damariscotta River Association. The Damariscotta River Association merged with the Pemaquid Watershed Association in 2019 to become the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust (www.coastalrivers.org), which now manages the preserve and recently renamed it Salt Bay Farm and Nature Center. The Trust and various other websites and books designate Damariscotta—and even Newcastle—as the geographical home of Great Salt Bay, but do not be fooled. Great Salt Bay is located within the small, 23-square-miles town of Nobleboro. The best way to find the preserve is to enter its street address—110 Belvedere Road—in either Nobleboro or Damariscotta, depending on the map app you use.

On its south side, Great Salt Bay abuts the Damariscotta River, which flows past East Boothbay and Christmas Cove into the Atlantic Ocean 12 miles away. A strong tidal flow pushes brackish water up the river into Salt Bay, which borders the preserve on the west and north.

Notes from the Ground: Observations on Broad-winged Hawk Migration in Massachusetts and New England

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:16 GMT

Broad-winged Hawk. Photograph by Brian Rusnica.

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.

Fall Hawkwatching in Massachusetts

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:15 GMT

In Massachusetts, September is considered the kickoff month for hawkwatching, which is the organized identification and counting of migrating raptors at designated watch sites. Hawkwatchers from all over New England set their eyes to the skies as raptors funnel out of our region and head toward wintering grounds to the south. Massachusetts hawkwatchers regularly see 12 diurnal raptor species every fall season, with several other species possible.

Third Report of the Rhode Island Avian Records Committee: Summary of Historical Records of Rare Birds in Rhode Island and Review of Recent Reports Through 2018

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:14 GMT

Snowy Plover. April 17, 2017. Goosewing Beach, Little Compton. Photograph by Geoff Dennis.

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. Following the name of each species or subspecies on the Review List, four numbers are presented in parentheses (a, b, c, d), defined as follows:

a	the number of records cited by Howe and Sturtevant (1899).
b	the number of records accepted from 1900–2002. This number is derived principally from the Checklist of Rhode Island Birds (Rhode Island Ornithological Club 2002), which represents a synthesis of information from Ferren (in litt.), Conway (1992), and records accepted by a pre-RIARC committee of reviewers for Field Notes of Rhode Island Birds through 2002 (Raithel 2001, 2002). A “++” represents relatively frequent historical occurrence of the species, which could be replaced with a number pending ongoing research.
c	the number of accepted records from 2003–2015, including those published in RIARC’s two previous reports (Mitra et al. 2010, 2021), plus additional records from this period published here.
d	the number of accepted records from 2016–2018 published in the present report. Note: the sum of a, b, c, and d represents the total number of verified records in Rhode Island through December 2018.

To accommodate the full Review List, as well as three years’ worth of records, discussion of individual records has been kept to a minimum in this report. The Committee intends to publish its fourth report in 2023 to cover records from 2019–2022, then annual reports thereafter, with fuller discussions of each year’s individual records.

The current report features numerous highlights, including the first Rhode Island records of Graylag Goose, Snowy Plover, and Black-whiskered Vireo; second state records for Pink-footed Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Little Egret, and Townsend’s Warbler; and third state records for Mountain Bluebird and Varied Thrush. Rates of occurrence continue to increase for some species, such as Ross’s Goose, or to remain at higher than historical levels for others, such as Sandhill Crane. In contrast, other species have occurred less frequently in recent years than in the past, notably Eared Grebe, King Rail, Little Gull, and Gull-billed Tern.

For each record below, we list the RIARC Committee report number; the vote of the Committee (accept–not accept, or when three numbers then accept–not accept–accept identification but natural status uncertain); the number of individuals; the location of record; the date(s) of occurrence; and the observer(s), with the following codes: I = initial finder, R = provided a written report, and P = provided photo(s).

The History of Bird Observer - Chapter 3: More Change, More Success

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:13 GMT

[Editor’s Note: All of Bird Observer’s content from 1973 to 2015 has been digitized to SORA, the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive at https://sora.unm.edu/. This archive is a resource that is open to the public. You can access all articles through SORA as well as through Bird Observer’s archives.]

Bob Stymeist became president and Dorothy Arvidson became editor of Bird Observer in 1983. In other personnel changes, Janet Heywood became production manager and David Lange became subscription manager. The April 1983 issue introduced a new masthead that listed current Bird Observer staff to the inside front cover of the journal. Arvidson introduced other changes in the journal, including a section called Field Notes from Here and There that became an important feature of Bird Observer in the years ahead. Arvidson wrote an At a Glance column that also became a regular feature of Bird Observer. Chris Floyd, Janet Heywood, and David Lange compiled the “Bird Observer of Eastern Massachusetts Index, 1973–1983.” The monthly reports of bird sightings, now titled Field Records, continued to be the dominant feature of Bird Observer.

Nature Writing at its Best: The Journals of S. Waldo Bailey

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:12 GMT

Excerpt from S. Waldo Bailey Journal. www.HoffmanBirdClub.org

I have been an avid nature enthusiast since I was “knee-high to a grasshopper.” Growing up in Pittsfield, at a very early age I gravitated to the Junior Naturalist Club at the Berkshire Museum and later to the Hoffmann Bird Club (HBC). It was through the HBC that I met Priscilla Bailey, daughter of the late S. Waldo Bailey. Around 2013, in conversations with Priscilla, she mentioned to me more than once her desire that I should someday edit her father’s journals into a book form. I really had no idea what she was asking of me since she never showed me any of her father’s journals (“the Journals”). I told her I might consider the project but would need to see the journals before making any commitment. At that time, she was not willing to let them be seen. In 2015, Priscilla passed at the age of 95. At her funeral, Priscilla’s neighbor informed me that Priscilla had recommended that her father’s books and papers should be given to me. The administrator of Priscilla’s estate was made aware that I should have the rights to this material. Almost two years elapsed before I was informed by a neighbor near Priscilla’s house that the contents of the house were being cleared out and everything was going to the dumpster. As the house was being prepared for sale, I was informed that, “If you still have any interest in the books and papers, you better get down here right now!” I got there as quickly as I could. I was met by the administrator who said, “Oh, so you are still interested in all those old books and papers?” I had to move fast because everything was in the process of being cleared by a work crew.

Bird Observer's Fiftieth Anniversary Photo, Video, and Writing Contest

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 00:00:02 GMT

Bird Observer is celebrating our fiftieth anniversary in 2022 with the publication of Volume 50 of our journal. We invite our subscribers to join the celebration by entering the Bird Observer Fiftieth Anniversary Photo, Video, and Writing Contest. We welcome submissions from photographers, videographers, and writers of all skill levels, except for Bird Observer staff, board members, and their immediate family members.

The contest is open only to Bird Observer’s current subscribers. Subscribe now and be eligible to enter.

Contest Dates

The Bird Observer Fiftieth Anniversary contest runs from April 1, 2022, to October 1, 2022. Winners will be announced in our December 2022 issue.

Prizes for Entering

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.

At least 12 honorable mentions will win a one-year extension of his or her subscription to Bird Observer. Additional honorable mentions may be awarded at the discretion of the judges.

In addition to the winners, all contest entries have a chance to appear on our website.