December 2021

Front Cover: December 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:18 GMT

Ruby-crowned Kinglet by John Sill © Massachusetts Audubon Society. Courtesy of the Museum of American Bird Art.

John Sill is a freelance wildlife artist living in the mountains of North Carolina. He was the illustrator for the Bird Identification Calendar for Mass Audubon for many years. His work has appeared in Birds In Art at the Leigh-Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, and in Art of the Animal Kingdom at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont. He continues to illustrate the “About” and “About Habitats” series of natural history books for children written by his wife Cathryn.

Hot Birds: December 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:17 GMT

A Wood Stork was reported flying over Niles Pond in Gloucester on October 29. On November 4, Jeffrey Thomas came across one at Horn Pond in Woburn. The bird was in poor health, and the next day was captured and brought to New England Wildlife’s Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center, where it was still recuperating at press time. It was suggested that the Woburn bird was the one that had been seen in Gloucester a week earlier until a stork was photographed on the Annisquam River in Gloucester two days after the Woburn bird had been captured. Mary McMahon took the photo above.

Suzanne Sullivan picked out a Pacific Golden-Plover from a crowd of 60-plus Killdeer at Spencer Pierce Little Farm in Newburyport. The fifth documented record for Massachusetts, it drew a crowd for the few days that it remained in town. Suzanne took the photo above.

Birding the Roy and Margot Larsen Sanctuary, Fairfield, Connecticut

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:16 GMT

The Roy and Margot Larsen Sanctuary in Fairfield, Connecticut, is one of the Connecticut Audubon Society’s (CAS) most well-known destinations for birders and naturalists alike. It is a landmark location for Connecticut birding. The 184-acre sanctuary features an extensive trail system with more than seven miles of trails that cover many habitats, such as small marshes, streams, a swamp, open meadows, and forests. Nearly 200 species of birds have been observed here, including many uncommon species as well as a handful of rarities. It is an easy destination to bird, with well-marked trails; maps are available from the Connecticut Audubon Society. The CAS website has a checklist of the species that have been recorded on the property.

Larsen Sanctuary can be productive for birding in all seasons, but it is best known for spring migrants and summer breeders. The woodlands are a popular spot for many types of passerine migrants in spring. The woods surrounding the nature center and Farm Pond can hold substantial warbler flocks. Canada, Magnolia, Wilson’s, and many other species can be found there. The Chiboucas Trail loop is an easy walk on a May morning or afternoon. The Wildlife Pond often attracts passerine flocks and holds a handful of American Bitterns. The nearby meadow attracts open-habitat dwellers such as Prairie Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Indigo Bunting.

Tool Use by Atlantic Puffins?

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:15 GMT

Atlantic Puffin. Photograph by Marsha Salett.

Along the New England coast, any sighting of an Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is likely to bring a smile to even the most weary observer. The reestablishment of nesting populations on several islands off the Maine coast has been a conservation success story (Davis 1992), so birders in our area have a chance to observe their behavior. Puffins can dig burrows for their nests and catch their prey underwater, but is it possible that puffins have the capability to use tools? One group of researchers says yes (Fayet et al. 2020a, 2020b), but others have questioned the strength of the evidence and whether it is sufficient to support this conclusion (Auersperg et al. 2020; Farrar 2020; Sándor and Miklósi 2020; Sándor et al. 2021). Here is the story so far.

In January 2020, Fayet et al. (2020a) published a brief report describing two observations of Atlantic Puffins that the authors interpreted as “evidence of true tool use.” The first observation, on June 18, 2014, was of a puffin “sitting on the sea” near Skomer Island, Wales, that was observed through a spotting scope “holding a wooden stick in its bill and using it to scratch its back for ∼5 s.” The second observation, on July 13, 2018, was from Grimsey Island, Iceland, and was recorded by an automatic camera. The authors describe the action in the ten-second video as “an adult puffin picks up a wooden stick from the ground then uses it to scratch its chest feathers.” The video, titled Movie S1, can be found at .

Twenty-fifth Report of the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:14 GMT

European Golden-Plover. April 13, 2021. Duxbury Beach, Duxbury. Photograph by Frederick Bowes.

For its 25th report, the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee (MARC) evaluated 140 records involving 62 species. The committee accepted 127 of those records. New records in 2021 added an impressive four species to the state list: European Golden-Plover, Heermann’s Gull, Roseate Spoonbill, and Great-tailed Grackle. Rereview of a 2009 Common Shelduck and the recent split of Short-billed Gull (Larus brachyrhynchus) from Common Gull (Larus canus) added two more species, bringing the state list to 511 species. In addition, the first formally reviewed Great Auk record was accepted and the state’s first Cave Swallow from the Caribbean population represents a new subspecies group for the state.

Other highlights from this report include the state’s second confirmed Pacific-slope Flycatcher, third Yellow-green Vireo, third accepted Western Meadowlark, fourth Ancient Murrelet, fifth Chestnut-collared Longspur, and two records of Golden-crowned Sparrow that represent the state’s first (from 1990) and sixth (from 2021) accepted records. Additional context is provided for selected species below.

Species taxonomy, nomenclature, and sequence follow the eBird/Clements Checklist (v2021), which closely follows the seventh edition of the American Ornithological Society (AOS, formerly American Ornithologists’ Union) Check-list of North American Birds (AOU 1998) and its supplements (Chesser et al. 2009, Chesser et al. 2010, Chesser et al. 2011, Chesser et al. 2012, Chesser et al. 2013, Chesser et al. 2014, Chesser et al. 2015, Chesser et al. 2016, Chesser et al. 2017, Chesser et al. 2018, Chesser et al. 2019, Chesser et al. 2020, Chesser et al. 2021).

The list of species reviewed by the MARC (the Review List) is available at www.maavianrecords.com. Please check the Review List to send evidence of records that are not listed in our Searchable Database—even in this Information Age we often do not receive sufficient information for many records. The committee strongly encourages written submissions even when photographs are available.

The statistics in brackets for each species or taxon show the number of records accepted in this report, followed by the total number of accepted records; note that some species have a large number of reports that the MARC has yet to review (e.g., Scissor-tailed Flycatcher). Below, we present data for all records covered, formatted as follows: Record identification number, count of individuals, location, range of observation dates, original observers, and observers submitting documentation. We credit the discoverer with an asterisk (*). We indicate whether the evidence provided was photographic (ph), video (v), audio (au), or a written description (†). We indicate “v.o.” for various observers; several others also saw the bird and supported the identification. We use “m.ob.” for many observers; many people in addition to the listed observers provided documentation for the bird to eBird/Macaulay Library.

BBC Code of Ethics and Conduct

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:13 GMT

Editor’s Note: Bird Observer supports the Brookline Bird Club’s new Code of Ethics and Conduct for its emphasis on respect for birds, people, and the environment. We print it here as an excellent example for promoting accessibility and inclusion of all birders and protecting birds and their habitats. Please read it.

A note from Leslie Kramer, president of the Brookline Bird Club:

If you are involved with the Brookline Bird Club, we know that you have a great love and appreciation for birds and nature. The BBC has always been and continues to be committed to providing programs in which all participants have a safe and welcoming space to explore their own personal connection to birds and nature. During the past two years, the BBC board formed the Committee on Community and Culture (C and C Committee), which has assisted the club in working toward its mission of building a more diverse, more welcoming community and a culture of inclusion and respect. This Committee took a fresh look at and updated our Code of Ethics and Conduct and Trip Leader Guidelines, all of which reflect who we are as a bird club. The resulting updates emphasize the importance of respect for birds, the environment, and for each other. To learn more about our work or to get involved, please contact the committee at community@brooklinebirdclub.org

Across Massachusetts and the country, the birding community is moving forward with a new focus on programming that is more accessible to all who want to enjoy nature and policy that promotes safety and inclusion. The BBC is excited to be part of that movement.

Please visit the club’s website to review informative resources and get involved. If you have meaningful resources you would like us to add to this list, please let us know.

Photo Essay: Birds of the 25th MARC Report

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:12 GMT

This adult Sooty Tern at Race Point, Provincetown, on 8/5/2020 was one of more than a dozen brought to the state by Tropical Storm Isaias. In contrast to many other storms that have brought Sooties, multiple birds were found up to several days after Isaias’s passage, and a couple of birds at Wachusett Reservoir lingered for almost a week, which is unheard of in New England. Photograph by Max Chalfin-Jacobs.

Eared Grebes, like this one on Jamaica Pond, Boston, 12/24/2020, are often first misidentified as Horned Grebes. Focus on the extensively dark face, the head shape with a peak towards the center of the head rather than the rear of the head, and especially bill color and shape. Horned has a pale tip to the bill and lacks the upward bevel at the tip of the mandible (i.e., lower mandible) that gives the bill of Eared an upturned appearance. Photograph by Ryan Schain.

Musings from the Blind Birder: Transitions

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:11 GMT

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Photo by Sandy Selesky

It is mid-afternoon on September 19, 2021, and Alvin and I are lying half asleep on a lawn chair in our Vermont yard. The sun warms our face and bodies as we listen to occasional insect buzzing sounds and squirrels chattering and breaking small branches as they scamper among the trees in the forest. Chip notes from Yellow-rumped Warblers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drift to my ears. We are otherwise awash in silence and stillness save for our quiet breathing.

The days are getting shorter and the sun lower as we approach the autumnal equinox. The lush green of the summer is starting to give way to the brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges of the northern forest’s fall foliage. Migrants, largely silent, are passing through on their way to their wintering grounds. We listen and look for our resident Ruby-throated Hummingbirds to record the last day we note their appearance before they, too, are gone.

Field Notes: Cedar Waxwings with a Taste for Salt

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:10 GMT

Cedar Waxwing. Photograph by Jaden Thompson.

In late August on Cape Cod when fruits are ripening—beach plum, bayberry, chokecherry, Virginia creeper, and eastern red cedar’s gin-scented berries—it is not unusual to see Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at a frequency that belies their nomadic habits. Their diet consists almost entirely of sugary fruits (Witmer et al. 2020) and, in August 2021, the sanctuary had an abundance of food for them.

For several days, I had seen a small flock of waxwings flying around Goose Pond and landing in the oaks that border the pond, near the eastern red cedars that were laden with blue waxy berries this year. The birds did not feed on the cedar berries—a primary source of food in winter—leading me to think that the berries were not quite ripe enough yet. And I did not notice any waxwings feeding on other fruits while I was birding the trails.

On August 29, 2021, around 3:00 pm, my grandson Jaden Thompson and I stopped at Goose Pond to look for shorebirds, although the pond has been reduced to a trickle of water most of the summer. We were delighted to see several Cedar Waxwings fly back and forth across the pond and land in a nearby oak, providing us with good looks of these beautiful frugivores. We continued our walk to the beach and returned to Goose Pond at approximately 5:30 pm.

Field Notes: New Hampshire’s Mississippi Kites Have a Rough Year in 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:09 GMT

Mississippi Kite with dead chick. Photograph by Deb Powers.

Mississippi Kites in New Hampshire had a difficult year in 2021. On the plus side, all four pairs that attempted to nest in 2021 returned to the same territories where they had nested previously, but unfortunately we were able to confirm success in only one of the four territories. The kites were first made famous in 2008, and 2021 is at least the thirteenth consecutive year in which between one and four pairs have nested in New Hampshire in this isolated, rare, nesting colony.

Durham

The Madbury Road territory was first noted in 2017, and 2020’s nest successfully fledged one chick as is the norm. In no breeding season has there ever been more than a single chick in a nest in New Hampshire. This year, 2021, the pair moved the nest back down the street to the same location where they nested three years ago. They nested in the same white pine tree in the same backyard as in 2018. Deb Powers found the nest this year. The homeowners were gracious and welcoming—as they were in 2018—of the birds and birders to visit. But the nest did not succeed. The incubation start date was not documented but hatching occurred roughly on June 30. July started with cold wet weather and this combination likely led to the death of the recently hatched chick. Deb Powers captured the horrific end of this nest on July 6 with a photo of what appears to be an adult trying to remove the dead baby from the nest: <https://www.flickr.com/photos/143862779@N08/51295275588>.

About Books: Learning Nests and Loving Vultures

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:08 GMT

Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests. Casey McFarland, Matthew Monjello, and David Moskowitz. 2021. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

A Vulture Landscape: Twelve Months in Extremadura. Ian Parsons. 2020. Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland, United Kingdom: Whittles Publishing Ltd.

Although these two books are about birds, they could not be more different. One book is a revised, updated, and expanded field guide to North American bird nests written by three authors. The other book is one man’s paean to just one group of birds and the unique region where he has watched it for years.

When you find a nest, be open to a range of possibilities, and look for interesting clues. (p. 7 Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests)

In the introduction to the new Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests, the three authors cite the 1975 Peterson Field Guide to Birds’ Nests by Hal H. Harrison. That old field guide had been a favorite of theirs, but now their personal copies are dog eared and worn, and it has gone out of print. They were a good choice to write and edit this updated and expanded version of that important guide. This new guide covers 650 species and has 750 color photographs and several line drawings. Under species accounts there is typically one accompanying color photograph, but for some species there are more. Under Great Blue Heron there is a shot of a rookery as well as a close-up of a single nest (p. 189). Marbled Murrelet rates four nest shots. This seems odd since so few of us will ever just stumble across the unique nest of that Pacific alcid. I will explain why below.

The introductory sections, pages 6–65 of this guide, are well worth reading by all birders. The authors begin with a cautionary note to discourage birders from getting close to birds’ nests. “Well-intentioned curiosity about a nest can too easily lead to the demise of its contents.” (p. 2)

It is always tempting to get close to any bird nest just to see what is going on or to take a photograph, but readers of this guide are well warned by the authors to give nests some distance.

Learning to identify nests starts first with acknowledgement that, for birds, nesting is a difficult and taxing behavior that often ends in failure. Our interest in this aspect of avian life can have real consequences for the birds we so admire—many eggs and nestlings never make it through the hurdles of this initial stage of life, even without human disturbance contributing to the odds. (p. 2)

Staff Change: Where to go Birding (WTG) Editor

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:07 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.

Bird Sightings: July-August 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:06 GMT

A Note on Taxonomy

Bird Observer follows the taxonomy published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). The AOS was previously known as the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) before its merger with the Cooper Ornithological Society in October 2016. Each summer the AOS’s Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of North and Middle American Birds (NACC) publishes an annual supplement to its bird checklist. This summer the AOS published their 62nd update (Chesser, R. T. et al.).

The biggest change for Massachusetts birders in the 62nd update is the addition of one species to the state list; Mew Gull was split into Common Gull and Short-billed Gull, both of which have been recorded in the state. The genus Phalacrocorax, which previously served as an umbrella genus for Old and New World cormorants, has been split. Phalacrocorax (sensu strictu) is now an Old World genus, although retains our Great Cormorant. Our Double-crested Cormorant is now Nannopterum auritum, sitting in the same genus as the extralimital Neotropic Cormorant. Within the kinglet family, Regulidae, Ruby-crowned Kinglet is now recognized as being sufficiently different from Golden-crowned as to warrant its own genus, Corthylio, and now appears before Golden-crowned Kinglet in the linear sequence order.

Weather

Statistically, July is one of the sunniest months of the year, but not this year. Boston, like many municipalities in New England, set a record for most July days with measurable rain. A total of 10.07 inches of precipitation fell over 19 days during the month, Boston’s second wettest July since 1872. July was also unusually cold; a high temperature of 60 degrees in Boston on July 3 set a new historical record for the coldest high temperature for the city for July. Worcester logged a high of only 57 degrees that day, setting its own record for lowest high temperature for the city on that date. For only the third time in Boston since 1872, July was colder than June. The month ended with no heat wave nor even a prolonged stretch of warm weather. Boston’s average temperature for the month was 1.7 degrees below normal. On July 9, Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at Watch Hill, Rhode Island, the first tropical storm to hit New England directly since Tropical Storm Beryl in 2006. Elsa brought extensive flooding to most of eastern Massachusetts. Boston picked up 2.04 inches of rain from Elsa, while other towns to the west and south reported nearly four inches. Elsa, however, was a dud for bringing in any significant pelagic birds along the coast.

RED CROSSBILL BY SANDY SELESKY

Bygone Birds: Historical Highlights for July-August

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:05 GMT

5 YEARS AGO

July–August 2016

A flock of 11 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks was photographed in Sandwich on July 12. The Brookline Bird Club’s pelagic trip on August 20–21 produced a Black-capped Petrel, five Audubon’s Shearwaters, six White-faced Storm-Petrels, six Band-rumped Storm-Petrels, and six Long-tailed Jaegers. A day before the pelagic, a Red-billed Tropicbird was photographed south of Nantucket Island. An American Avocet spent nearly three weeks at Plum Island between July and August and a Franklin’s Gull was observed there on July 8. A Bridled Tern was photographed flying past Race Point on July 9.

Best nesting: the first breeding record of Merlin for Worcester County was confirmed in Barre. Blue Grosbeaks attempted to nest at Cumberland Farms.

10 YEARS AGO

July–August 2011

Tropical Storm Irene battered the state on August 28 and blew in a good number of rarities including single White-tailed Tropicbirds at Lake Onota in Pittsfield and Quabbin Reservoir, Sooty Terns in six coastal locations as well as inland at Onota and Quabbin, Band-rumped Storm-Petrels and Bridled Terns at three locations on the southern coast, and a Gull-billed Tern at Westport. A Brown Booby–the fifth for the state–spent a week at Corporation Beach in Dennis in mid-August. A Little Egret was photographed on Plum Island on July 10 and again on August 6. A Sedge Wren was found in Tyringham in July and August.

Best sighting: an Elegant Tern on Plum Island on July 23 was the second record for the state.

At a Glance: October 2021 Revealed

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:04 GMT

David Clapp

For the second issue in a row, the mystery species possesses a conical bill suggestive of a member of either the Family Emberizidae or Fringillidae. The online color image fails to show any of the bright reddish, pink, or yellow color characteristics of some of the fringillids, or the small bill, fine streaky plumage, and short tail of other species such as Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin. Although a female or juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird also has a conical bill similar to members in the two families above, the presence of brownish patterning on the back, nape, and rump of the mystery bird, along with some white feathering on the wings and a long tail, are inappropriate features for a cowbird. With these points in mind, the mystery species is likely an emberizid of some sort.

At a Glance: December 2021

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:03 GMT

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Wed, 01 Dec 2021 00:00:02 GMT