February 2023

Hot Birds: February 2023

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:13 GMT

A Smith’s Longspur in Hadley was the most shocking and most cooperative rarity of the season. After Scott Surner detected it on December 12, It remained in the area for at least a month, and was counted during the Northampton Christmas Bird Count. Only the fourth state record, it frequently fed within inches of the roadside, even with birders watching from the other side of the road. Sam Zhang took the photo.

Tony Baldasaro was in the right place at the right time to photograph a Northern Lapwing flying north up Plum Island on December 17. December 26, Miles Brengle came across it or another lapwing at Maplecroft Farm in Ipswich. Although access to the area was closed temporarily due to misbehavior by a few visitors,the area reopened. The bird remained at the farm through early 2023. Lisa Schibley took the photograph above.

Two Bullock’s Orioles seen in Massachusetts this season were both one-and-done sightings. Janice Strong photographed this oriole in Concord on November 10. A mockingbird soon chased it off and it was never seen again. A few days earlier, Suzanne Sullivan and John Keeley had a similarly brief encounter with one in Rockport on November 5. In Arlington, a third oriole visited a private feeder in mid-November.

Wheelchair Birders Face Challenges in New England

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:11 GMT

Heather, wheelchair birding. Photograph by Richard Morreale.

Birds have delighted me since age 14 when I began volunteering at a wild animal hospital. I always loved animals, but I became captivated by the birds I encountered there. I flipped through bird guides, from color photo to color photo, dreaming of adventures with tanagers and buntings.

As an adult, I transmitted birding fervor to my husband, and we often hiked. On our honeymoon in Hawaii, we searched high and low for a Nene by foot and by car. When we chose trails, we rarely considered trail lengths or difficulty. We simply chose the most interesting-sounding trail.

Ten years ago, on a hike in Kentucky, my lifelong but until then manageable foot pain became intolerable. Each step was agony. For the next few years, I limped along, only painfully doing short trails. This was later explained when I was diagnosed with an autoimmune neurological condition. It was now impossible for me to walk trails. I delighted in watching the birds at our feeder, but I thought my outdoor birding days were over.

Accessible Birding in Winter

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:10 GMT

Birding from the accessible gazebo at Longmeadow Flats. Photograph by Steph Almasi.

Many folks are content limiting their birding to the abundance of spring. Seems like a smart decision. I live in small-town and rural Massachusetts, where the climate can create dangerous outdoor conditions for the six months that we split between Thanksgiving blizzards, actual winter, and faux spring. Tall snowbanks block crosswalks and views. Parking lots that are plowed on a somewhat predictable schedule are unpredictably left unsalted. Black ice surreptitiously creeps up on you when you least expect it. And even on the most popular “accessible” birding trails and bike paths, you must fend for yourself once frozen precipitation hits the ground. When you get out the door, the subzero temperatures and wind chill will surely turn your limbs into ice. And these are just the barriers that nondisabled birders experience in northern winters.

“Winter in the Northeast often instigates extra exhaustion for people like me who navigate painful, fatiguing chronic illnesses and related disabilities,” says Jacqueline Raposo, a birder and journalist based in New York City. “The same distance crossed during warmer months requires extra physical effort because of snow or ice; regulating body warmth and temperature requires more attention; gray skies trigger headaches, etc.”

Accessible Birding Sites in Massachusetts: 2023 Update

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:09 GMT

Swift River Universal Access Trail Loop, Palmer. Photograph by Marcy Marchello.

[Editor’s Note: In the October 2011 issue of Bird Observer, Marcy Marchello and I wrote an article about accessible birding sites in Massachusetts. This 2023 update features more locations, provides up-to-date links and resources, tweaks the format and geographical regions, and adds a section about beaches.]

From the shores of Cape Cod to the top of Mount Greylock, bird and wildlife enthusiasts with disabilities—or those who have family members or friends with disabilities—can find a greater number and variety of accessible viewing sites in Massachusetts to meet their needs than were available in 2011. Many government agencies, local municipalities, and environmental organizations have successfully integrated accessibility into outdoor settings. If a site is wheelchair accessible, it will also be suitable for people using strollers, walkers, and other devices. Some All Persons Trails have interpretative guides such as Braille maps or audio tours for blind or deaf birders. Other locations provide neurodiverse birders with quieter spaces to bird. The sites in this article offer a range of possibilities, whether you prefer viewing from your vehicle, remaining stationary outdoors or in a nature center, keeping your feet and wheels clean on boardwalks and paved trails, or trekking into the open landscape.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Universal Access Program offers accessible hiking programs at selected parks statewide for those who would like to try rugged wheelchairs on conventional hiking trails with support. Other year-round accessible activities include canoeing, kayaking, cycling, cross-country skiing, camping, fishing, and birding. These programs use adaptive recreation equipment and support staff to ensure an enjoyable experience for all. DCR has an extensive network of seasonal nature interpreters who offer free programs to the public, many of which are on accessible sites. Call the parks nearest you and ask about accessibility and the current program schedule. For more information, call the DCR Universal Access Program at 413-545-5353 (Universal Access Program – Mass.gov).

Photo Essay: Accessible Birding Sites in Massachusetts

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:08 GMT

Arlington Reservoir, Observation Deck. Photograph by Kari Sasportas.

Quabbin Reservoir, view from Gate 35, Athol-New Salem. Photograph by Marcy Marchello.

About Books: The Rasa of the Mango-Colored Bird

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:07 GMT

Conversations with Birds. Priyanka Kumar. 2022. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions.

“Birds are my almanac: they tune me into the seasons, and myself.” (p. 1)

“I owe a debt to this mango-colored bird; once it quite possibly saved my life.” (p. 5)

A few years back, during the Sturbridge Christmas Bird Count, we were standing on a small bridge over the Quabog River just before dawn. The early morning light gave the snow-covered landscape a bluish tint. The river was mostly open, although ice had formed along the edges of the cattails. I looked along the banks and there was a bobcat standing still, attention focused on something on the river. It was a drake Mallard. The bobcat was attempting to stalk it, but the edge ice was too thin to support its weight. The Mallard seemed to know this and would swim towards the bobcat quacking, until the bobcat started to slowly creep closer. Then the Mallard would back off, but only so far. It was driving the bobcat crazy. It would try one spot to get closer to the duck, and then another. All the while the Mallard would approach time and again, taunting its potential predator. What was the Mallard doing? I waited for the bobcat to just jump into the water. Bobcats are decent swimmers, but the water was freezing. This mesmerizing and comical scene played out in just minutes, until the blue tint to the snow began to become the first pinkish light of dawn. While watching this scene, all thoughts of the Christmas Count faded from my mind, and there was a feeling of being “in the moment.” Then a car stopped, blocking our view. The driver asked what we were looking at, and I was snapped back to reality. In hushed tones we told him about the bobcat. He took a glimpse and proceeded to have a conversation with us about the wildlife he had seen. That magical moment with the natural world was over. By then, of course, the bobcat had left, although the Mallard remained, quacking away.

Thinking about the experience later, I realized that what I most intensely remember about my days birding is not the list of rarities that I have ticked. My most vivid memories are those special experiences of the natural world that I have come across while birding. These moments feel like glimpses of a world outside of our human-centered life. A world we do not usually see. You become captivated, transfixed, and everything else in your life melts away. You feel closer to the rhythms of nature. These are the experiences that Priyanka Kumar writes about in Conversations with Birds.

At a Glance: February 2023

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:03 GMT

JOHN KRICHER

Can you identify the bird in this photograph?

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Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:02 GMT

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Thu, 02 Feb 2023 00:00:01 GMT