June 2018

Birding the Mud Flats and Tidal Marsh of Charlestown Breachway, Rhode Island

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Local birders are usually out on the mud flats by 8:00 am on weekends. The best birding times are before 10:00 am and after 3:00 pm when the birding area is less crowded. On weekend days between July 4 and Labor Day, the parking lot may fill by 9:00 am and stay full until 2:30–3:00 pm, so early arrival is critical to assure entry. When the lot is full, all cars are denied access at the entrance.

Season passes are checked and day parking fees are collected at the entry kiosk, which is staffed between 8:00 am and 4:30 pm. Entry before 8:00 or after 4:30 is free. Parking fees have varied over the past three years, so check the Rhode Island Division of Parks and Recreation website for current daily fees and season pass rates. Rates in 2017 for Rhode Island residents and nonresident seniors were $6 for a weekday daily pass, $7 for weekend days, and $30 for a season pass. Resident seniors paid $3 on weekdays, $3.50 on weekend days, and $15 for the season. For nonresidents, the weekday daily pass was $12, the weekend day rate was $14, and the season pass was $60.

Charlestown Mud Flats. All photographs by the author.

Directions

The Charlestown Breachway mud flats and marsh are located on the south coast of Rhode Island in the town of Charlestown in Washington County. US Route 1 is the main thoroughfare that provides access to the shore. From the north, take Interstate 95 (I-95) South and bear left at Exit 9 to merge onto Route 4 (RI-4). In 9.9 miles, continue straight onto US Route 1 (US-1). Stay on Route 1 for 16.8 miles to the first Charlestown Beach/Breachway exit and make a U-turn. Take the first right after the exit turnaround onto Narrow Lane and go to the end, turn left onto Matunuck School House Road, then take the first right on to Charlestown Beach Road. Continue to the end of the road for the Charlestown Breachway parking area. It is 2.8 miles from the Route 1 Charlestown Breachway exit to the parking area. Note: Parking for Charlestown Beach is along Charlestown Beach Road, just before the road bends to the right. Do not pull into this lot by mistake, but continue all the way around the bend for approximately 0.5 mile to the end of the road and Breachway parking. See Figure 1 Map A for directions.

From the west, take Interstate 95 (1-95) North in Connecticut to Exit 92 and turn right onto Route 2 east (CT-2 E) toward Route 49 (CT-49) and Stonington; continue on Route 2 for 1.4 miles. Turn right to merge onto Route 78 (CT-78 E) toward Westerly/RI Beaches. Continue south on Route 78 for 4.6 miles to US Route 1 (US-1) and take a left onto Route 1 North. Continue for 10.7 miles and turn right at the third Charlestown Beach exit, just after the General Stanton Inn and Flea Market signs on your right. This will put you on Narrow Lane. Follow the directions in the paragraph above to reach Charlestown Breachway.

To get the most out of birding at the Breachway mud flats, you need to cross a tidal channel. Birding the marsh area is possible without crossing, and you can scope the mud flats without crossing the channel, but this limits the possibilities. The tidal channel at the crossing is approximately 50 feet across, and the water depth ranges from mid-thigh at low tide to mid-chest at regular high tides. Local birders often change into clothing suitable for the crossing in the parking area facilities; after birding, they change back into dry clothes.

Most birders cross the channel from early June through the summer. Crossing before June requires wearing waders, but I have found that it can be quite productive beginning in early May. Water temperatures range from the low 60s in early June to the 70s and 80s after the beginning of July. The channel floor at the crossing is hard packed sand. This makes it easy and safe. You may encounter muddy areas if you attempt to cross in other places. The tidal flats are mostly hard packed sand, but wet areas can be slippery, so caution is advised. Water shoes are highly recommended, and suitable footwear is a must because there are snails and broken clamshells that can do damage to bare feet.

To reach the recommended crossing point from the parking area, walk approximately 100 yards north through the RV park to the boat launch ramp. From the ramp walk right along the shoreline for about 100 yards to the narrow tidal channel at the point. The walk along the bank for these first 100 yards may be dry at low tide or up to two feet deep at high tide. Turn right, go a few yards, cross another narrow shallow tidal channel (depth up to two feet), and look immediately for a narrow, hard-packed sandy area to your left facing the wider channel to the north. This is the area that is most often used to cross. From this area, prior to crossing, it is possible to access tidal marsh grass areas and to use a spotting scope to search parts of the tidal mud flats. For crossing guidance, see Figure 2 Map B.

Another option for accessing the birding areas is to rent a kayak or bring your own, which allows you to visit the flats without a wet crossing and lets you explore the shoreline of Ninigret Tidal Pond on the other side of the Breachway channel. Many uncommon birds have been reported from this area, including Gull-billed and Royal terns and Tricolored Heron. The birding areas are a few hundred yards from the launch area. You can rent kayaks on Charlestown Beach Road, and there's a boat launch just before the entrance to the town beach parking area. To reach the boat launch, take a right to the Charlestown Beach parking area, and just before reaching the lot and entry kiosk, turn right into the launch area. Parking is free, even if you bring your own kayak, but the launch lot may fill by 10:00 am on weekends.

Stilt Sandpipers.

Birds of the Tidal Mud Flats

The Breachway mud flats, although fairly small, are a major stopover for migrating birds. During peak high tide there are almost no exposed flats where shorebirds can feed, but many birds roost on the limited exposed flats. At low tide there are extensive mud flats that you can walk in less than an hour, but I recommend that you spend more time as birds are always coming and going. Some birders bring chairs and stay for a couple of hours, looking over the constantly changing array of birds on the mud flats. My preference is to bird the area around mid-tide and avoid the tidal extremes because birds are more spread out at low tide and less numerous at high tide. The best birding at the Breachway mud flats is during the shorebird migration periods. Birds begin arriving on their northern migration in large numbers in early May and continue until the middle of June. Southward migration picks up in late June and continues to the beginning of September. Peak season is from late June to the end of August. Over the past couple of years I have made an effort to get out there in May and have found numbers of shorebirds close to those of the peak times.

Migrating terns and gulls increase in numbers and diversity from the middle of July to the middle of August. Common and Least terns breed in the area and are common all summer. There are a few sightings of migrating Caspian Terns from late April to early June. Tern species expected each season include Forster's, Black, and Roseate. Black Skimmers and Royal Terns make an appearance most years. A Gull-billed Tern was seen and photographed in May of 2017. Laughing Gulls and an occasional Bonaparte's Gull use the tidal flats for roosting. Tern numbers have decreased over the years, probably due to increased boating and other summer activities, but every year there are notable sightings.

Herons and egrets are common throughout the summer. Great Blue Herons and Great and Snowy egrets feed out on the flats and are joined along the grassy and wooded shoreline by Green Herons and Black- and Yellow-crowned night-herons. The many fish species and fry provide food for a host of bird species. Juvenile and adult Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have been seen annually; in July and August they are usually in the area across from the main channel behind the sandbar.

One of my fondest birding memories occurred out on the mud flats in 2003 when a juvenile Reddish Egret landed 30 yards from us. It proceeded to feed and chase baitfish around for the next hour in typical Reddish Egret fashion. This Reddish Egret was a Rhode Island first, and it stayed in the area for the next two to three weeks, giving a lot of birders and photographers a show. Something special can turn up when you least expect it. In recent years, American Avocets seem to show up every couple of years. Three Black-necked Stilts also made an appearance one year and stayed for a few days.

Swallows are worthy of attention at the Breachway. Barn, Tree, Bank, and Northern Rough-winged swallows hawk insects out over Ninigret Pond and the tidal flats. Look for Cliff Swallows with other swallows beginning in early June. There is a Purple Martin house near the kayak launch area with nesting martins. During Tree Swallow migration in late summer, thousands fly over the area and roost in the shrubs and phragmites.

Birds of prey often cause havoc with feeding shorebirds. Peregrine Falcons and Merlins appear every year in August. Watching Peregrines circling in the distance and diving at lightning speed on feeding shorebirds is quite an experience when you're standing close to the action. Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks hunt close to the wooded edges.

Shorebirds are the main attraction. Every year, thousands of birds migrate through the Breachway and use the tidal flats as a rest and refueling stop. Some stay for one or two weeks and feed, others stop for a couple of minutes and continue their migration, and some fly over without stopping. At times during peak migration there are a thousand shorebirds in an area that you can scope while standing in one spot. This site attracts rare vagrants and Rhode Island firsts and is a must-bird area during late spring and summer. Common migrants include Piping, Semipalmated, and Black-bellied plovers; Killdeer; Least and Semipalmated sandpipers; Greater and Lesser yellowlegs; Short-billed Dowitchers; and Sanderlings. Willets are common; they breed in the marsh grass and are noisy and aggressive if you wander too close to their territory. Young chicks forage on the flats in August, usually close to marsh grass. Other shorebirds include Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones, and Pectoral and White-rumped sandpipers. White-rumps are most numerous in May and June but present in fewer numbers at other times. Dunlin are common during the winter and spring and stay through the end of May. Western and Stilt sandpipers make an appearance almost every year. American Golden Plovers, Baird's Sandpipers, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and Wilson's Phalaropes are seen some years, often in August. Rare vagrant shorebirds that have been recorded at the Charlestown Breachway mud flats include Lesser Sand-Plover, Little Stint, and on two occasions, Curlew Sandpiper.

Little stint.

A couple of my most memorable moments as a birder occurred on these tidal mud flats. The first was a lesson learned involving the Lesser Sand-Plover, known previously as Mongolian Plover. On my first visit to the mud flats in 1999, a couple of local birders told me that they had seen a Mongolian Plover, lost sight of it, and were searching to relocate it. New to birding, I figured that they must be mistaken, and I gave the search only a half-hearted 20-minute attempt. The bird was relocated right after I left. It stayed for a few days, and interested birders were able to observe this rare find. I had no knowledge of the birding hotlines that spread the word and missed out on seeing this great bird—all because I didn't take the initial report seriously enough to put the time into finding it.

Another memorable moment occurred on July 4, 2012. My wife and I often go to the beach on summer mornings to relax, and I usually take an hour to explore the flats. As I crossed the channel, I saw a lot of bird activity. As I got closer, I noticed a bright peep feeding with a group of more than 100 Least Sandpipers. It was a breeding-plumaged Little Stint. Fortunately, I had my camera and the bird was cooperative. After verification, the word went out and a few local birders came by that afternoon. The next morning many more birders showed up, but the stint was not seen again.

Birds of the Grassy Tidal Marsh

The Charlestown Breachway's grassy marsh areas offer their own birding rewards. Extensive areas of marsh grasses and reeds are intermingled in and surround the tidal mud flat area. Saltmarsh and Seaside sparrows are common nesters here. You can hear their songs beginning in May, and both species are easily seen. Saltmarsh Sparrows are prevalent in any short grass area. Seaside Sparrows seem to concentrate more in three areas close to the main tidal mud flats. The first, an area of short marsh grasses bordered by reeds, is east of the channel crossing. It can be reached by walking around the point just before crossing the tidal channels. Both sparrows can be found along this stretch. Just after you cross the channel, there are two islands of extensive grass areas bordered by short shrubs that the Seaside Sparrows use as singing platforms. The first island is directly ahead of the crossing and the other is just east of it. Virginia Rails and Willow Flycatchers are present during spring and summer. There is a tidal pond just south of the main channel crossing that can hold American Bitterns into early May. Virginia Rails also seem to concentrate in this area.

Seaside Sparrow.

Birds recorded during the Christmas Bird Count include American Bittern, Wilson's Snipe, and in some years Nelson's and Saltmarsh sparrows. Dunlin are usually present in large numbers, and Black-bellied Plovers occur some winters.

Strategy for Birding the Charlestown Breachway Mud Flats and Marsh Grass Areas

For an enjoyable birding experience, plan to spend a couple of hours exploring the area. I prefer either early morning or mid to late afternoon. Try to avoid peak high tide when the birds may be limited to a small roosting area.

There are three main areas of mud flats that should get a birder's attention. The first is the substantial area of mud flats right after you cross the tidal channel. Walk to the right after crossing and continue between the two marsh grass islands. I use a combination of two strategies to bird this area. Many birders bring a spotting scope and position themselves in an area with a good view of this entire tidal flat and methodically examine the shorebirds in the area. Keeping an eye on the sky, noticing the new birds arriving on the scene, and being aware of those that are just flying through in migration are all part of this strategy. The composition of the species present is constantly changing with the arrival and departure of new individuals and groups of birds. The second strategy is to walk around the perimeter of the mud flat area with binoculars to obtain a closer view of feeding birds. The shorebirds are usually busy feeding and not too concerned with nearby birders, often walking to within a few yards of people, but please be aware if you are causing nervousness in individuals or the flock and back away.

Another area to explore is a small island of mud flats just a couple of hundred yards to the east. This is a favored roosting area for gulls and terns and a feeding area for shorebirds. Roosting Caspian and Royal terns sometimes mix with the roosting gulls. This is where the Little Stint was found in 2012.

The third area is a sandbar on Ninigret Pond in the middle of the main boating channel that leads to the Breachway and provides access to the ocean. During high tide periods this sandbar can be completely underwater. It's located about 200 yards to the west of the northerly point of the main mud flat. This is a favored roosting area for terns, gulls, cormorants, and for feeding shorebirds. This sandbar has often rewarded birders with the more uncommon visitors such as Black Skimmers, Royal and Caspian terns, American Avocet, and Marbled Godwit. Access the area by walking in the water to the tip of the marsh grass island that is closest to the sandbar. The water is shallow and easy to navigate. This area provides you with a good scope view of the sandbar. Across the channel from the southern end of the sandbar is a muddy area along a wooded shoreline that is frequented by Black- and Yellow-crowned night-herons. Marbled Godwits have also occurred in this area. Visit the sandbar early in the morning, especially on weekends, as boaters anchor their boats and use the bar for sunbathing and other beach activities. For specific areas, see Figure 2 Map B.

The Charlestown Breachway mud flats are surrounded by areas of tidal marsh grass. In addition, the area is dotted with small islands of marsh grass and shrubs. These areas provide great habitat for breeding birds such as Seaside and Saltmarsh sparrows, Virginia Rails, Willets, and Willow Flycatchers. Virginia Rails can sometimes be heard calling from the marsh grass areas. The others are common and usually conspicuous. The two main areas for marsh birds are the grassy islands out on the mud flats and an area to the east of the main crossing. For locations, see Figure 2 Map B. The area east of the channel has many deer paths and paths made by duck hunters that you can use. Mosquitos can be a problem, so take precautions and bring repellant.

Other Birding Spots along the South Coast

There are many other excellent birding areas and opportunities along the south shore of Rhode Island. These are all easily accessible from Route 1. There is good birding in all seasons in southern Rhode Island.

The Frances Fleet out of Galilee does whalewatching trips to areas south and east of Block Island. Combining a whale watch with a morning at the Breachway can make for a productive day of birding. Cory's, Great, Sooty, and Manx shearwaters, Wilson's Storm-Petrels, Parasitic and Pomarine jaegers, and South Polar Skua (2017) have all been seen in the last couple of years. Whale watches normally depart at 1:00 pm and begin running on July 4. Contact the Frances Fleet or check their website for the summer 2018 schedule. To reach the Frances Fleet at Galilee take the Route 108 South exit off Route 1 (a few miles north of Charlestown Breachway Exit) and follow signs for Galilee.

Figure 2. Map B: Tidal Mud Flats.

Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge offers good birding in all seasons. Migrating warblers, vireos, and thrushes are abundant in the spring and fall. Notable species such as Prothonotary and Golden-winged warblers, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, and Philadelphia Vireos have been recorded. Breeders include Least Bitterns; American Redstarts; Black-and-white, Blue-winged, and Yellow warblers; and Common Yellowthroats. White-eyed Vireos are common breeders throughout the Refuge. Winter at Trustom is the season for waterfowl. In addition to the common species, Redheads, Eurasian Wigeon, Barrow's Goldeneyes, Tufted Ducks, Greater White-fronted Geese, and Tundra Swans have been recorded here. To reach Trustom NWR, take the Moonstone Beach Road exit off Route 1 (two exits north from the Charlestown Breachway Exit), go to the intersection at Matunuck School Road, and take a right. The entrance to the refuge will be a mile or so on the left.

Napatree Point at Watch Hill in Westerly, Rhode Island, is another prime shorebirding spot. The birding is excellent from May to mid-September. Parking during the summer months can be a problem. There is two-hour parking on the main road, but finding a spot in the middle of the day can be difficult. Walk through the private parking areas toward the beach. Go past the dirt uphill path to the beach and continue to the bay side. Most birders walk the bay side to the far end of the peninsula—where the best birding areas are—then walk back on the beach side. The entire trip is about three miles. Terns and shorebirds are abundant, and American Oystercatchers are present from May to October. A couple of pairs may breed in the area, but during the August migration there can be over 50 present.

Besides the excellent birding, the south coast of Rhode Island offers many opportunities for relaxing and enjoying a day or a few days in the area. There are great public beaches, such as Scarborough Beach in Narragansett, East Matunuck Beach in South Kingstown, Charlestown Beach, and the Charlestown Breachway Beach in Charlestown.

There are plenty of fine seafood restaurants. Within a couple of miles of the birding site are The Matunuck Oyster Bar and Grill on Matunuck Beach Road in South Kingstown and the Charlestown Breachway Grill, which is at the corner of Charlestown Beach Road and Matunuck School House Road. The town of Narragansett and the Galilee area offer many fine restaurant choices for every taste. From Westerly to Newport, there are plenty of lodging choices along the south coast of Rhode Island. Book early as the area has become a popular summer vacation destination.

Editor's Note: Readers may also access an earlier article about birding Charlestown Breachway titled "Coastal Birding in Rhode Island" by Alan E. Strauss that ran in Bird Observer June 1992, Volume 20 (3): p. 129-135.

Carlos Pedro has been an active Rhode Island birder for the past twenty years. He especially enjoys pelagic birding and has organized 25+ birding pelagics to Coxes Ledge and Block Canyon off the southern coast of Rhode Island. He likes to travel and combine birding with beaches and sightseeing, especially enjoys planning and doing self-guided birding trips, and has visited 32 countries on these birding adventures.

Conservation of Forest Birds in Massachusetts

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Current habitat conditions in Massachusetts can be explained by a complicated land use history. Large-scale forest clearing began with European colonization in the 1600s and 1700s and, by the end of the 19th century, some 70% of forests had been cleared for pasture, farmland, and orchards. Fuel wood and timber were extracted from most other forests, and little virgin old growth remained. The rise of urban-industrial centers and better farming elsewhere led to the abandonment of farmlands, and the successional process began. However, new-found markets led to a second clearing of forests in the early 1900s. These markets declined between 1920 and 1950, and the forests were left to regrow. Now, most forests in Massachusetts are considered to be middle-aged, at approximately 80 to 100 years old. There is little young forest and less old growth (de la Crétaz et al. 2010).

Although it is difficult to neatly categorize each species, for the sake of simplicity forest birds can be placed into two groups: those that breed within early successional habitats (e.g., shrubland and young forest) and those that breed within older, closed-canopy forests.

Early successional birds are categorically in decline, as evidenced by long-term bird monitoring programs such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey and the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas. Of the 41 species identified by Schlossberg and King (2007) as early successional breeders in New England, 33 (80%) require conservation attention, with declines in abundance concentrated in southern New England. Although other factors can contribute to population declines, these losses can largely be attributed to the loss of breeding habitat.

Examples of early successional birds in decline include Ruffed Grouse, American Woodcock, Whip-poor-will, Brown Thrasher, Blue-winged Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Canada Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow.

Other species considered to be early successional breeders are doing well, including Cedar Waxwing, Carolina Wren, Gray Catbird, and Northern Cardinal. These species may be thriving due to their ability to successfully nest within suburban yards. Also, Carolina Wren and Northern Cardinal have spread their ranges northward in recent decades, greatly contributing to their increased abundance in the state.

Young forests have traditionally composed the bulk of early successional habitat in Massachusetts. However, young forest is an ephemeral resource—suitable habitat is lost after 15–20 years of regeneration. Most forests have matured past the point of suitability for early successional birds, contributing to the loss of over 90% of this habitat in Massachusetts since 1950—a trend seen throughout southern New England.

Young forests are dependent on medium to large scale disturbances to reset the successional clock. Historic sources of disturbance include flooding from beaver activity, fire (particularly in the pitch pine-oak forests of the southeast), insect outbreaks, Native American activities, and major wind and ice storms. Of course, we now suppress beavers and fire, and Native Americans are no longer heavily influencing the landscape. Furthermore, our middle-aged forests are less susceptible to storm damage.

Estimated acreage of forest age classes in Massachusetts (USDA Forest Service FIA 2018).

Current sources of early successional habitat include wildlife management areas and utility rights-of-way that are specifically managed for this habitat. Forestry operations can create areas of young forest, yet a negative public perception of forestry and a struggling forest economy have reduced these practices. In some circles, "clear-cut" is considered a dirty word. In reality, it is simply a silvicultural term. Appropriately sized and well planned clear-cuts and related practices have proven to be effective in creating habitat for early successional birds.

Birds that breed within older, closed-canopy forest are collectively faring better than their early successional counterparts. These species include Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Pine Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Winter Wren.

However, some species are experiencing long-term declines such as Wood Thrush, Scarlet Tanager, Veery, Northern Flicker, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Declines can be caused by factors on the breeding grounds. For example, species like Wood Thrush are area sensitive, and the fragmentation of forests into smaller areas maybe be causing low breeding success. Also, microhabitat features such as understory vegetation and cavity trees for nesting Veeries and Northern Flickers, respectively, may be deficient. Alternatively, factors during the migratory or wintering periods (e.g., building strikes and tropical deforestation) also may contribute to declines for migratory species. As a result, many research efforts are now focused on identifying conservation issues and actions throughout a species entire year-round range.

Even the most long-term monitoring programs only capture relatively recent population trends, and it is possible that currently stable species were more abundant several centuries ago. Regardless of their past numbers, all species could stand to have their populations bolstered to help overcome current and future conservation challenges, and enhancement of their breeding habitats can contribute to this goal.

High quality habitat is often described as structurally complex. A layer of leaf litter and other organic material on the ground provides nesting habitat for species like Ovenbird. Patches of an understory, up to five feet tall, are important for species like Black-throated Blue Warbler to nest. Areas of a developed midstory, five to 30 feet tall, are important for birds like Wood Thrush. Finally, a relatively tall canopy is where species like Scarlet Tanager nest. Other features of high quality habitat include snags (dead standing trees), which are decomposing and providing arthropod prey, cavity trees for certain species to nest in, logs and other woody debris on the ground, and gaps in the canopy.

These features of structural complexity are typical of old-growth forests and are generally reduced or absent in the middle-aged forests common in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, old-growth forest conditions will not naturally develop until a forest is at least 150 to 200 years old. However, the conservation value of emulating old-growth conditions with forestry practices has been demonstrated and can be used to enhance forest bird habitat (Rankin and Perlut 2015).

Habitat management through sustainable forestry is widely promoted by various state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and bird conservation organizations, but accomplishing on-the-ground habitat management has been easier said than done, in part due patterns of land ownership.

The federal government owns an insignificant amount of forest in Massachusetts. The state government, however, owns about 20% of the forests in Massachusetts, which fulfill various goals, including wildlife habitat and large areas of reserves where—appropriately—no management will ever occur. Meanwhile, about 65% of Massachusetts' forests are in private family ownership. To scale forest bird conservation efforts up to a more meaningful level, some management will have to occur on private lands, though implementing this approach has proved challenging.

In recent years, a conservation strategy has emerged to conduct habitat management on private lands. The program, titled "Foresters for the Birds," emerged in Vermont during discussions between Audubon Vermont and the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Several other states in the region have adopted the program, including Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut.

In Massachusetts, the program is a partnership among the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Woodlands Institute, and Mass Audubon. Consulting foresters, who work directly with landowners, are trained to assess the current habitat conditions in a forest and then write a forest management plan featuring habitat management recommendations. This plan could include creating young forest habitat or enhancing the structural complexity of middle-aged forests. The landowner may also have other goals, such as management for timber or recreational opportunities, which need not preclude management for bird habitat.

By merging the forest management expertise of professional foresters and the ornithological experience of Audubon biologists, the program provides the technical assistance many landowners need to manage for birds, and that service is in demand. According to National Woodland Owner Survey data (Butler et al. 2016), almost 70% of respondents in Massachusetts indicated a desire to protect or improve wildlife habitat as a reason for owning land. Meanwhile, only about 26% of landowners have a forest management plan.

The conservation issues affecting forest birds are not only rooted in past land use history and human activity, but also in future environmental considerations. The forests of Massachusetts face many challenges that can alter ecosystem functions and spur the degradation or loss of habitat.

For example, parts of the state are facing high rates of development and forest fragmentation. Invasive plants are displacing native species and altering ecosystem processes. High densities of deer are overbrowsing forests—of particular detriment to understory nesting birds. Insects and disease are affecting various tree species, and climate change is affecting our forests through complex pathways.

These stressors do not act alone, but can work interactively to exacerbate each other's effects. For example, white-tailed deer preferentially browse on native plants, giving invasive species a greater competitive advantage. Climate change is expected to increase the prevalence of drought conditions, which will stress some tree species and make them more susceptible to insect pests.

While these issues are daunting, the conservation community recognizes several strategies to overcome forest stressors, mostly stemming from everyday conservation actions.

First and foremost, keep forests as forests. Simply put, no forests means no ecosystem goods and services. Local land trusts and conservation estate planning are important resources to combat forest loss.

Second, reduce as many stressors as possible. This work could include managing invasive plants or controlling deer populations. Robust populations of, for example, trees and birds provide the individual and genetic variability needed to overcome and respond to changes in environmental conditions and habitat. By extension, other causes of mortality for birds can be reduced. For example, domestic cats are estimated to kill 1.4 to 3.7 billion birds (and >6 billion small mammals) in the United States every year (Loss et al. 2013). Many prey items are not brought home, so some cats may appear to not be hunters (Loyd et al. 2013). A simple solution is to keep cats indoors.

A final strategy is to maintain or increase the resiliency or responsiveness of our forests (Millar et al. 2007). A resilient ecosystem is able to withstand a stressor and return back to normal in a relatively short amount of time. A responsive ecosystem may undergo a certain amount of change caused by prevailing conditions, yet retain its basic functionality. For instance, a resilient forest will be multi-aged with a diversity of tree species and tree ages. This concept is akin to putting eggs in many baskets to protect against changing conditions. These changes are somewhat predictable, so retaining or encouraging the growth of tree species predicted to do well in, for example, future climate conditions can increase the responsiveness of a forest.

Resilient and responsive forests are more easily able to withstand stressors and seamlessly provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. Luckily, many of the same recommendations to address habitat issues arising from our land use history are compatible with resiliency planning.

While the forest birds of Massachusetts are certainly not without conservation concern, there is an active and engaged conservation community in the state working to protect forests and the wildlife they support. The success of these efforts hinges once again on land use choices. Harvard Forest and their collaborators describe their vision of a sustainable land use future in their Wildlands and Woodlands report (Foster et al., 2017). They suggest that 7% of New England be protected as forest reserves, termed wildlands, where natural processes will shape the landscape over time, and 63% be used as woodlands, which are managed to provide many services, including bird habitat. That's 70% of New England protected as forest! The remaining land area is devoted to farmland, cities, and communities.

Accomplishing this vision of a sustainable future requires the engagement of the public, and includes changes in behavior, such as reduced consumption rates and dietary shifts. There is plenty of work to do, but together we can achieve sustainability, including a thriving assortment of forest birds to enjoy and celebrate.

Jeff Ritterson is a Field Ornithologist with Mass Audubon, where he focuses on working landscapes, including the coordination of the Massachusetts Foresters for the Bird program.

References

Butler, B. J., J. H. Hewes, B. J. Dickinson, K. Andrejczyk, S. M. Butler, M. Markowski-Lindsay. 2016. USDA Forest Service National Woodland Owner Survey: national, regional, and state statistics for family forest and woodland ownerships with 10+ acres, 2011-2013. Research Bulletin NRS-99. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 39p. Available online at: https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/rb/rb_nrs99.pdf
de la Crétaz, A. L., L. S. Fletcher, P. E. Gregory, W. R. VanDoren, and P. K. Barten. 2010. An assessment of the forest resources of Massachusetts. Prepared for the USDA Forest Service. Available online at: http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/stewardship/forestry/assessment-of-forest-resources.pdf
Foster, D.R., K.F. Lambert, D. Kittredge, B. Donahue, C. Hart, W. Labich, S. Meyer, J. Thompson, M. Buchanan, J. Levitt, R. Perschel, K. Ross, G. Elkins, C. Daigle, B. Hall, E. Faison, A. D'Amato, R. Forman, P. Del Tredici, L. Irland, B. Colburn, D. Orwig, J. Aber, A. Berger, C. Driscoll, W. Keeton, R. Lilieholm, N. Pederson, A. Ellison, M. Hunter, and T. Fahey. 2017. Wildlands and Woodlands: Farmlands and Communities, Broadening the Vision for the New England. Harvard Forest, dist. by Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. 36pp. Available online at: http://wildlandsandwoodlands.org/sites/default/files/W%26W%20report%202017.pdf
Loss, S. R., T. Will, and P. P. Marra. 2013. The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications 4: 1-7. doi: 10.1038/ncomms2380
Loyd, K. A. T., S. M. Hernandez, J. P. Carroll, K. J. Abernathy, and G. J. Marshall. 2013. Quantifying free-roaming domestic cat predation using animal-borne video cameras. Biological Conservation 160: 183–189.
Millar, C. I., N. L. Stephenson, and S. L. Stephens. 2007. Climate change and forests of the future: managing in the face of uncertainty. Ecological Applications 17 (8): 2145–2151.
Rankin, D. T., and N. G. Perlut. 2015. The effects of Forest Stand Improvement Practices on occupancy and abundance of breeding songbirds. Forest Ecology and Management 335: 99–107.
Schlossberg, S., and D. I. King. 2007. Ecology and management of scrub-shrub birds in New England: a comprehensive review. Submitted to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Resource Inventory and Assessment Division. Available online at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs143_013252.pdf

State Coastal Waterbird Expert Receives Mass Audubon’s Inaugural Wildlife Conservation Award at Annual Birders Meeting

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

This new award recognizes an individual for success in the preservation, enhancement, and restoration of a New England species and/or their habitat, as well as an enthusiasm for sharing information about their efforts and a commitment to inspiring future generations of conservation professionals.

The awardee was Carolyn Mostello, a coastal waterbird specialist for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), who has devoted her career to restoring populations of federally endangered Roseate Terns and other island nesting species in Buzzards Bay.

Mostello holds an M.S. in Zoology (specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology) from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and a bachelor's degree in Biology from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Carolyn holding the inaugural Hemenway + Hall Wildlife Conservation Award with Mass Audubon President Gary Clayton.

The new award is named for Mass Audubon's founders, Boston cousins Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall, who in 1896 began a campaign to stop the commercial killing of egrets and other birds whose feathers were used to adorn fashionable hats of the era.

The intrepid efforts of Hemenway and Hall not only resulted in the birth of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (the wellspring of the national Audubon movement), but inspired a national initiative that prompted federal legislation ending the large-scale hunting and helped protect multiple bird species.

Mass Audubon President Gary Clayton, who presented the award, noted that Mostello's important efforts on behalf of coastal waterbirds align with the legacy of the organization's founding mothers.

"Carolyn personifies excellence in wildlife conservation every day as she demonstrates her commitment to the biodiversity of the Bay State," Clayton said. "She has not only shown success in protecting endangered and threatened bird species, but has served as an inspirational role model for others to take up this crucial work. Thus she is a perfect choice to be the first honoree of the Hemenway + Hall Wildlife Conservation Award.

Mass Audubon protects nearly 38,000 acres of land throughout Massachusetts, saving birds and other wildlife, and making nature accessible to all. As Massachusetts' largest nature conservation nonprofit, we welcome more than a half million visitors a year to our wildlife sanctuaries and 20 nature centers. From inspiring hilltop views to breathtaking coastal landscapes, serene woods, and working farms, we believe in protecting our state's natural treasures for wildlife and for all people–a vision shared in 1896 by our founders, two extraordinary Boston women. Today, Mass Audubon is a nationally recognized environmental education leader, offering thousands of camp, school, and adult programs that get over 225,000 kids and adults outdoors every year. With more than 125,000 members and supporters, we advocate on Beacon Hill and beyond, and conduct conservation research to preserve the natural heritage of our beautiful state for today's and future generations. We welcome you to explore a nearby sanctuary, find inspiration, and get involved. Learn how at massaudubon.org.

Seventh Report of the Maine Bird Records Committee

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Species Accounts

Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis). A pair spent ten days at Collins Pond, Caribou, Aroostook, October 11–20, 2016, and later at Lake Josephine, Easton, Aroostook, October 26, 2016 (Bill Sheehan†; Josh Fecteau†, Bruce Barker, Bruce Cole†, Bob Crowley†, Bob Duchesne†, Steve Mierzykowski†, Robert O'Connell†, Marian Zimmerman*; 2016-029). A report from October 29, also at Lake Josephine, was not accepted by the committee.

Garganey (Spatula querquedula). A male associating with Blue-winged Teal (S. discors) was present near Messalonskee Lake, Belgrade, Kennebec, June 20, 1994, (David Ladd* et al.; 1994-002). This is the first record for Maine (Despres and Brinker 1994). Ladd's original notes had not previously been reviewed, and attempts to recover notes by other observers cited as present (Arthur Stackhouse, Julie Suchecki, D. Winslow) were unsuccessful. The late June timing is perhaps later than expected for a vagrant, but there are other June records for Quebec, the Maritimes, and the Northeastern United States. The ornamental scapular plumes were not noted on this individual. They were either overlooked or not fully grown. The "elongated scapulars or tertials [are] sometimes not fully grown upon arrival in breeding areas" (Cramp et al. 1977). An April 1999 record of a male photographed at Weskeag Marsh, South Thomaston, Knox, remains unreviewed.

Chuck-will's-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis). One was heard and audio recorded at Ellsworth, Hancock, May 24–[about] June 7, 2016 (Stephanie Monk†; 2016-027). NOT ACCEPTED, IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONED: nebulous reports from Jefferson, Lincoln, mid-May to May 28, 2012, (unknown observer fide Kristen Lindquist; 2012-023) and Swans Island, Hancock, May 28–29, 2012, (unknown observer fide Bill Townsend; 2012-024) had no details on which to determine identification. A bird flushed and seen at a distance in Friendship, Knox, May 21, 2016, (2016-008) was thought by a majority of the committee as probably correct, but the brevity of the sighting along with minor details did not eliminate the possibility of error.

Corn Crake (Crex crex). An immature was photographed on Monhegan Island, Lincoln, October 5, 2014 (Doug Hitchcox†; 2014-016). This is the second record for Maine and comes 126 years after the previous record, a specimen taken October 14, 1889, at Falmouth (unreviewed but specimen verified as this species; another bird was taken at the same time but not preserved; Palmer 1949). The Monhegan bird was initially identified as an immature Sora (Porzana carolina) until corrected by Luke Seitz during review of photographs submitted to eBird. Formerly a casual vagrant to northeastern North America in the 1800s and early 1900s, vagrancy of this long-distance migrant diminished with declines of Corn Crake populations in western Europe. A significant increase in vagrants has occurred recently, however, with seven records in the New World from 2002 to 2017—Newfoundland, Guadeloupe, Bermuda, Brazil (first for South America; de Burgos and Olmos 2013), Maine, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus). A first-year female with worn, retained juvenile outer primaries and outer secondaries as well as outer rectrices was at Weskeag Marsh, South Thomaston, Knox, August 2–12, 2017 (Dennis McKenna; Keith Carver†, Don Reimer†, and many observers submitting to eBird; 2017-025).

Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus). A male was present at Reid State Park, Georgetown, Sagadahoc, June 13, 2017 (Zac Fait†; Mimi Edmunson*, Lysle Brinker†, Josh Fecteau†, Noah Gibb†; 2017-016). This is a first for Maine and one of only a few for New England. Interestingly, two months prior to the Maine bird, a Snowy Plover, possibly the same male, was photographed at Goosewing Beach Preserve, Newport, Rhode Island, April 17, 2017 (Geoff Dennis, eBird). The other New England records are one in Massachusetts (summer 1994) and a bird in Connecticut (fall 2004) that is perhaps best regarded as Kentish/Snowy Plover (C. alexandrinus/nivosus).

Wilson's Plover was at Popham Beach, Maine, June 22–24 (here), 2016. Photograph by Brendan McKay.

Wilson's Plover (Charadrius wilsonia). One at Wells Beach, Wells, York, August 25, 1953 (Irma A. Werner; 1953-001) is the first for Maine (Werner 1953). The committee was initially split but ultimately agreed that the description supported the identification. Among concerns, late August was thought unusual for a species that typically occurs as a vagrant to New England from late spring into early summer. During the 1950s, however, this species bred as far north as New Jersey and was a somewhat more regular visitor to southern New England (Zeranski and Baptist 1990); vagrants in recent decades have lingered in Massachusetts until early September. One at Popham Beach, Phippsburg, Sagadahoc June 22–24 and July 11, 2016 (Laura Zitske; Doug Hitchcox†, Josh Fecteau†, Helmut Heuer*, Brendan McKay†; 2016-014). NOT ACCEPTED, IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONED: A published report at Addison, Washington, September 2, 1993, (Wilhelm 1993, 1994; 1993-001) failed to gain acceptance. A fall occurrence during the 1990s met greater scrutiny. The description is somewhat flawed and did not eliminate a possible sand-plover (C. mongolus/leschenaultii). Moreover, the observer reported an extraordinary and unlikely ratio of peeps (Calidris sandpipers), suggesting potential for error. Historical tracks for Hurricane Emily of 1993, cited as a possible transport mechanism, reveal that storm to have been highly unlikely as a source for a Wilson's Plover in New England.

Gray-tailed Tattler, Maine's first and New England's second, flew over Matinicus Rock August 14, 2017. Photograph by Earl Johnson.

Gray-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes). One was photographed at Matinicus Rock, Knox, August 14, 2017 (Earl Johnson; 2017-028). Johnson heard a two-note golden-plover-like call and wisely took photos of the flying bird. The call notes, a mellow tuu-eet, along with the images allow identification as Maine's first and New England's second Gray-tailed Tattler. Characters shown in the photos that support the identification include: mostly white sides and flanks with apparent fine barring; Wandering Tattler (T. incana) would be either broadly gray on its sides and flanks or extensively barred below); a whitish supercilium extending behind the eye (supercilium stops at the eye in Wandering Tattler); and upperparts that appear tinged brown and contrast with paler rump and dorsal tail (grayer and uniform without contrast on Wandering Tattler).

Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus). At least two, and possibly three, first-summer birds were off Bar Harbor, Hancock, July 21, 2017 (Kyle Lima†; 2017-024). The committee agreed that at least two were Long-tailed Jaegers, but failed to reach agreement on all three. Separate juveniles were photographed at Seal Island, Knox, July 21, 2017 (Keenan Yakola†, Will Kennerley, Earl Johnson, and John Drury; 2017-027) and July 28–August 5, 2017 (Keenan Yakola†; 2017-039). Two first-summer birds were at Seal Island, Knox, August 10–13, 2017 (Keenan Yakola†, Isabel Brofsky; 2017-041).

This Franklin's Gull was well-described and expertly sketched when seen off Rockland, Maine, August 24, 2016. Notes and sketch by Christian Nunes.

Franklin's Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan). An adult in basic plumage was well described by an experienced observer off Rockland Harbor, Knox, August 24, 2016 (Christian Nunes*; 2016-024).

Bridled Tern (Onychoprion anaethetus). An adult in breeding plumage visited the tern colony at Machias Seal Island, Washington, July 6, 2017 (Ralph Eldridge† and Mark Dodds; Collette Lauzau*; 2017-020). Photos show white on the underwing extending as rays distally along the inner webs of outer primaries, a white supercilium extending posterior to the eye, and gray-brown upperparts. Sooty Tern (O. fuscatus) shows a sharp break from the white underwing coverts to the black underside of the primaries, a supercilium that stops at the eye, and blacker upperparts. This or another Bridled Tern spent about two weeks at a tern colony on Falkner Island, New Haven, Connecticut, arriving there twelve days after the Machias Seal Island sighting.

Pacific Loon (Gavia pacifica). Three records were accepted: off Biddeford Pool, York, November 18–25, 2015 (Andrew Aldrich† and Alan Murray; Kevin Couture†; 2015-013); off Biddeford Pool, York, December 2–4, 2016 (Derek Lovitch†; Josh Fecteau†, Pat Moynahan* 2016-033); off Cliff House, Cape Neddick, York, and later off Ogunquit, York, January 28–February 19, 2017 (Dennis McKenna*; Edward Flanders*, Derek Lovitch†, and Jeannette Lovitch; 2017-006).

Magnificent Frigatebird, a juvenile, was at Stratton Island June 12, 2017. Photograph by Zeke Smith.

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens). A juvenile was at Stratton Island, Saco, York, June 12, 2017 (Wray Gabel and Zeke Smith†; Josh Fecteau†, Timothy Fennell†; 2017-014). The brown triangular wedge extending medially at the breast sides combined with all-white head, gray bill, and triangular, white rear belly patch combined to eliminate Great Frigatebird (F. minor). NOT ACCEPTED, IDENTIFICATION QUESTIONED/LOCATION-DATE UNCERTAIN: A secondhand report attributed to Kittery, York, October 1 or 3, 2016, (2016-028) was not certainly a frigatebird nor certainly seen in Maine.

Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster). An adult female, based on a dusky spot anterior to the eye and yellow skin around the base of the bill, was photographed offshore over the Schoodic Ridges, Hancock, September 17, 2017 (Phillip Torrey†; 2017-033). (See photograph on page 189).

Swainson's Hawk is a rare visitor to Maine, and this juvenile was at Millinocket September 26–October 4, 2016. Photograph by Rhonda Little.

Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni). A juvenile visited the Millinocket Municipal Airport, Penobscot, September 26–October 4, 2016 (Anita Mueller† and Rhonda Little-Aifd†; many observers and photographs; 2016-026).

Burrowing Owl has been seen only once before in Maine. This one was at York June 7, 2017. Photograph by Jon Colcord.

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia). One was along Short Sands beach, York, York, June 7, 2017 (Courtney Smith; Jon Colcord†; 2017-015). The pattern on the underparts showing a white central divide to the breast band and then much diminished broken bars on the abdomen is consistent with western populations, A. c. hypugaea. Currie and McLaren (2012) discuss identification of Burrowing Owl subspecies and their occurrence in northeastern North America.

Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya). Two records: one at Pemaquid Point, New Harbor, Lincoln, September 6–9, 2016 (Joe and Wendy Mallory†; Louis Bevier†, Josh Fecteau†, Doug Hitchcox†; 2016-025), and another on Monhegan Island, Lincoln, September 16–17, 2017 (Jess Foley*; Kristen Lindquist†; 2017-031).

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). A well-described male was on Isle au Haut, Knox, May 9, 1994 (Debra Schrader*and Dave Hiltz, Jr.*; 1994-003). Another male, apparently a first-year, visited Hog Island, Lincoln, April 17, 2017 (Arlene Beech, Olivia Brohammer†; Louis Bevier†, Josh Fecteau†, Nathan Hall†, Doug Hitchcox†; 2017-007). The Isle au Haut bird was previously published (Perkins 1994, Schrader and Hiltz, Jr. 1994) but long regarded as hypothetical, chiefly due to it being a sight report from a time of year outside the pattern of vagrancy for the species to the Northeast. The Hog Island bird provided fresh impetus to review the older report. This record was a remarkable find for other reasons too. It was first observed by a volunteer in the United Kingdom monitoring an Osprey nest camera hosted by National Audubon and Explore.org. News was shared, and a short video clip provided a close-up view of the bird (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcTGkbcmp9M). Given that most vagrants of Vermilion Flycatcher to eastern North America are immatures in fall, members discussed the potential that these spring records could involve austral migrants from populations that breed in southern South America (rubinus subspecies group) and would be in migration to northern South America during the boreal spring, a pattern shared with Fork-tailed Flycatcher (see below). These austral migrant Vermilion Flycatchers are regarded by some authors as a separate species, Scarlet Flycatcher (Carmi et al. 2016, Gill and Donsker 2018). North American Vermilion Flycatchers (mexicanus subspecies group) are only separable from Scarlet Flycatchers in the field by vocalizations. Besides the Maine birds, the only other spring record in the Northeast is a male photographed at Burton Island, Delaware, May 2–5, 1993 (Hess et al. 2000).

Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana). One adult male at Gilsland Farm, Falmouth, Cumberland, September 16–19, 2017 (Angus King†; Barbara Carlson†, Doug Gochfeld†, many observers; 2017-044). Photos show three deeply emarginated outer primaries consistent with the austral migrant, nominate T. s. savana (Zimmer 1937).

Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris). Maine's first accepted record for this Eurasian thrush was at Newcastle, Lincoln, April 19–23, 2017 (Jeff Cherry†; many observers and photographs; 2017-008).

Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria). An adult male black-backed form visited a feeder at Whetstone Pond, Abbot, Piscataquis, August 3–5, 2015 (Ellen Blanchard; Cheryl Ring†, Louis Bevier†, Doug Hitchcox†, Margaret Viens†; 2015-015).

Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula). An immature visited a feeder at Belgrade, Kennebec, November 17, 2016 (Seabird McKeon†; 2016-031).

Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bullockii). A long-staying immature male was at Camden, Knox, November 14, 2016–April 2, 2017 (Melinda Sortwell†; many observers and photographs; 2016-032); another immature male was seen at Alexander, Washington, December 1–8, 2016 (Grazyna Kirsch†; 2016-034).

Dedication

The committee lost one of its founding members in 2017. Peter Vickery passed away on February 28, 2017 (see in memoriam by Jan Pierson, a past committee member, and Malcolm Hunter, Jr. https://doi.org/10.1642/AUK-17-121.1). Peter's numerous contributions and expertise will be missed. His legacy will be a comprehensive volume on the status and distribution of Maine's birds, the topic that motivated Peter to establish the committee.

Acknowledgments

The committee thanks Peter Vickery for help digging up old notes. Thank you to the following for help: Regina Hornung, coordinator of Osprey cameras, and Juanita Roushdy, both of whom alerted Maine birders about the Vermilion Flycatcher; Jason Forbes, Chris Hepburn, and Sylvia Martin from the Brookline Bird Club; Greg Hanisek and Julian Hough regarding Connecticut records; and Steve Howell on frigatebird identification. Thank you to the following committee members and secretary who provided comments on drafts of this report: Tom Aversa, Doug Hitchcox, Becky Marvil, Trevor Persons, and Bill Sheehan. The committee as of June 2018 includes: Tom Aversa, Louis Bevier (chair), Lysle Brinker, Doug Hitchcox, Becky Marvil (secretary), Pat Moynahan, Will Russell, Luke Seitz, Bill Sheehan, and Margaret Viens. Trevor Persons, past chair of the committee, voted on many of the records in this report; Trevor rotated off the committee in fall 2017.

References

de Burgos, K., and F. Olmos. 2013. First record of Corncrake Crex crex (Rallidae) for South America. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 21(3): 205–208.
Carmi, O., C. C. Witt, A. Jaramillo, and J. P. Dumbacher. 2016. Phylogeography of the Vermilion Flycatcher species complex: Multiple speciation events, shifts in migratory behavior, and an apparent extinction of a Galápagos-endemic bird species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102: 152–173.
Cramp, S., and K. E. L. Simmons, (editors). 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Currie, D. A., and I. A. McLaren. 2012. Nova Scotia's First Burrowing Owl. Nova Scotia Birds 55(1): 44-48.
Despres, J., and L. Brinker. 1994. The Nesting Season: 1 June–31 July, 1994. Maine Bird Notes 7(2): 40–44.
Gill, F., and D. Donsker (editors). 2018. IOC World Bird List (v8.1). doi: 10.14344/IOC.ML.8.1.
Hess, G. K., R. L. West, M. V. Barnhill, III, and L. M. Fleming. 2000. Birds of Delaware. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Palmer, R.S. 1949. Maine Birds. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 102.
Perkins, S. 1994. New England Region. National Audubon Society Field Notes 48(3): 274–279.
Schrader, D., and D. Hiltz, Jr. 1994. Vermilion Flycatcher: First Maine report. Maine Bird Notes 7(2): 32-33.
Werner, I. A. 1953. Miscellaneous bird notes. Bulletin of the Maine Audubon Society 9(4): 86.
Wilhelm, G. 1993. Wilson's Plover. Maine Bird Notes 7(1): 5.
Wilhelm, G. 1994. Occurrence of Wilson's Plover in Maine. Maine Naturalist 2(2): 113–114.
Zeranski, J. D., and T. R. Baptist. 1990. Connecticut Birds. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England.
Zimmer, J. T. 1937. Studies of Peruvian birds. No. XXVII: Notes on the genera Muscivora, Tyrannus, Empidonomus, and Sirystes, with further notes on Knipolegus. American Museum Novitates 962: 1–28.

Louis Bevier can be reached at 25 Great Meadow Lane, Fairfield, Maine 04937, email: lrbevier@colby.edu.

Musings of the Blind Birder: Connecting, Calming, Centering

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

I have had the unique perspective of starting my birding avocation able to see birds but unable to hear them, only to have these capabilities reversed as my vision declined and I received cochlear implants that opened the world of bird songs for the first time at the ripe old age of 58. Fortunately, birding is not just a visual experience and indeed, it is often primarily an auditory experience, especially when birding habitats favor hearing birds much more than seeing them. In some respects, if I had to choose one sense versus the other, I would choose being able to hear bird songs at the expense of seeing them rather than the other way around. It requires effort to identify a bird, by sight or sound, but so much less effort to just stand there and listen rather than struggle to find a small bird in dense foliage or stumble over obstacles to get a better angle on a flitting bird that you may be lucky to see for a second or two. By contrast, a bird's song fills the entire space around you, momentarily drowns out all other senses, often lasts longer than visual connections, freezes you in the moment, and can allow for more focused and lingering attention on the singing bird.

Still, I would not be honest if I said that I never miss seeing birds, particularly the more spectacular ones or those closest to our hearts.

Many of us are entering older decades of life, ever more aware of our mortality and increasing risk of personal issues that may affect our birding enjoyment. But precisely because we love to bird, our passion helps us navigate through the ups and downs of personal crises. I have so often gone birding or just for a walk outdoors to help me distract from whatever may be going on and to help lift my spirits. Even if our habits for birding change with age, be it finding contentment in local and regional birding or thirsting for global travel to see as many birds as possible, our deep-rooted love for birds and birding never wavers regardless of our personal situations or affinities for birding locations.

For birders in the Northeast, there is no match for brightening our dispositions than the arrival of spring. Each spring is a re-awakening with the burst in song and the ever-increasing stream of migrants continuing ancestral practices carried across millennia. As bird song crescendos through the spring into early summer, so too does my overall outlook on life. Even as I recognize the challenges that bird populations face from human activities, I take great solace in their presence in the here and now, reveling in the return of "our" Wood Thrush in the exact same spot as previous years, or in "our" Northern Waterthrush returning to a specific marsh near our Vermont home. A dormant and silent winter gives way to a renewal of frenzied activity and bird song, a nonstop din of early morning hormonal activity, with birds flying here and there to set up territory, mate, raise young, and perhaps begin all over again for another brood before heading back south again.

There is no end of wonderment about what our migratory birds do, and there is no end of the extent to which they can lift me from valleys forged by life challenges to peaks of excitement and optimism. Of course, not everyone shares values of bird and habitat conservation, nor does the sight or sound of a bird stir in everyone unexpected connections to the bird. But for me, as I contemplate where I have been so fortunate to have gone and think about what lies ahead, birds, birding, and the natural world have been and will continue to be a common thread linking so much of my life together. I just love walking with my husband or birding friends when we simultaneously call out the name of the bird we just heard. These moments, unassuming yet special, are ones to savor and truly appreciate and try not to take for granted, especially as we move through our later years. Connecting, calming, centering, and grounding. Such are birding and outdoor peregrinations for me.

Martha Steele, a former editor of Bird Observer, has been progressively losing vision due to retinitis pigmentosa and is legally blind. Thanks to a cochlear implant, she is now learning to identify birds from their songs and calls. Martha lives with her husband, Bob Stymeist, in Arlington. Martha can be reached at marthajs@verizon.net.

Gleanings: Adapting to Climate Change

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Socolar et al. (2017) have taken advantage of a comprehensive survey of California terrestrial vertebrates, directed by Joseph Grinnell, the founding Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, between 1904 and 1940. One century later, the Grinnell Resurvey Project (mvz.berkeley.edu/Grinnell/) is generating data from the same areas as the original survey to assess changes in habitats, distributions of vertebrates, and phenology. Socolar and colleagues focused on the full spectrum of avifauna from two areas of these projects, California's Southern Sierra Nevada (SN = 160 species) and Coast Range (CR = 150 species). The two study areas contain a total of 224 species over 6.5° latitude and 6.2° longitude. For current data, they used a database of more than 47,000 monitored nests from Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project NestWatch (nestwatch.org) to assess nest success versus ambient temperature.

Data sets were far too small to study changes in individual species, but using the entire avifauna provided an unparalleled view of breeding-season phenology for the suite of species. Nesting dates have shifted 5–12 days (mean of 8.6) earlier between the 20^th and 21^st century surveys. Overall, this temporal shift in breeding dates compensates for the 1oC increase in maximum daily temperature over the last century. The observed shifts are most significant in June and become less consistent in July.

Without any compensation for rising temperature, nesting success can suffer. Analyses of Project NestWatch data on 110 species suggest that temperature at the nest site is a complicated determinant of nest success. At the edges of the species' range, a 1°C increase in temperature changes the probability of fledging young birds by 0.03, both an increase at the cold end and a decrease at the warm end.

These analyses suggest that these birds adapt to increasing temperatures due to climate change by moving to earlier, cooler breeding dates, a phenological adaptation. This response could help to explain the lack of altitudinal changes in 16% of Sierra Nevada bird species and 37% of individual range margins found in previous studies by this research group.

While it is clear that birds would be most successful in evolutionarily determined temperature ranges, especially considering the low thermoregulatory capabilities of very young birds, the connection between phenological adaptation and resource tracking remains unclear. Of course, resources such as insect emergence probably track temperature but may be more dependent on winter conditions than spring warmth. If temperature tracking in birds diverges from resource availability, then geographical range shifts could compensate.

The strengths of this ongoing series of investigations lie in the long timeline and the large base of species included. Analyses from these studies are, of course, providing new and refined questions for future studies as the march of anthropogenic climate change proceeds.

Reference

Socolar, J. B., P. N. Epanchin, S. R. Beissinger, and M. W. Tingley. 2017. Phenological shifts conserve thermal niches in North American birds and reshape expectations for climate-driven range shifts. PNAS 114 (49): 12976-81.

David M. Larson, PhD, is the Science and Education Coordinator at Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center in Newburyport, the Director of Mass Audubon's Birder's Certificate Program and the Certificate Program in Bird Ecology (a course for naturalist guides in Belize), a domestic and international tour leader, President of the Nuttall Ornithological Club, and a member of the editorial staff of Bird Observer.

About Books: Zugunruhe And TANSTAAFL

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Beehler starts in coastal Texas visiting some of the migration hot spots well known to birders. This includes Mad Island, High Island, and Nunez Woods. Beehler, like every birder who visits the Texas coast in spring, is hoping for one of those legendary "fallouts" of migrants as they make their first landfall after crossing the Gulf. Looking for spring migrants here is not exactly the same as looking for migrants at South Quabbin or Mount Auburn:

For those used to Mid-Atlantic birding, the remarkable thing about the arrival of songbirds along the Gulf Coast is that it takes place in the afternoon, not in the predawn hours. A woodland silent at 9 a.m. or 1 p.m. might start swarming with birds at 4 p.m., and birders can experience first-hand the phantomlike arrival of the migrants over the water in full daylight. (p. 39, North on the Wing)

For those who have trouble getting up in the pre-dawn hours, you may want to start booking your trip now. Even more unusual, as Beehler points out, migrant warblers here rarely if ever sing. That only starts as the birds move a number of miles inland.

Beehler is the perfect guide on this "trip of a lifetime." He is not only an enthusiastic birder but also a patient teaching ornithologist. Readers will get a sound introduction to migrant behavior, how birds find their way along their route at night, and what "our" warblers do in winter in Central and South America. Beehler also makes it his mission to introduce the readers to the researchers, state and national park guides, conservationists, and citizen scientists he meets along the way. North on the Wing is an inspiring overview of the hardworking individuals who study migration, educate visitors to the parks, and preserve critical habitat along the migratory routes.

The only organization that is soundly criticized by Beehler in North on the Wing is the Army Corps of Engineers.

To many Americans, the Corps is synonymous with environmentally questionable boondoggles. The levee system that failed in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina, flooding the city of New Orleans, epitomizes the overexpenditure and underperformance of this massive federal bureaucracy. The next big failure is expected to be the Old River Control Structure in central Louisiana, which currently prevents the Mississippi from changing course and following the Atchafalaya to the Gulf. That failure, when it happens, will dwarf the economic impact of Katrina. (p. 75)

Each chapter focuses on one species of warbler. Though the wood warblers are the focus of his trip, Beehler takes time to marvel at the other wildlife and human history he comes across. Beehler takes particular interest in Native American and First Nation (Canada) history. The reader learns of the horrific history of the Trail of Tears and marvels at the sites of the Mississippian Mound Building Culture.

While at Caddo Lake State Park in northeast Texas, Beehler joins a herpetologist and his students from Texas A & M University as they do their annual herp surveys. Beehler is hoping for an alligator snapping turtle, a lifer, but has to settle for a three-toed Amphiuma and many more cottonmouths than most birders would be comfortable encountering. Beehler also writes about Caddo Lakes' other unusual residents. For example, the area hosts an important population of the endangered paddlefish: " a primitive ray-finned fish related to the sturgeons, it has a prominent, long, paddle-shaped snout and can boast relatives dating back 300 million years." (p. 93)

Caddo Lake seems to attract the unique and unusual, because Beehler also mentions that Caddo Lake is where there have been hundreds of sightings of Bigfoot, a.k.a. Sasquatch. Sadly, no effort is currently being made to preserve Sasquatch habitat here, unlike the paddlefish.

As Beehler moves ever northwards, the reader is introduced to a number of bird-rich areas that are well known to locals but are poorly known to many in the Northeast. Readers will find themselves earmarking certain sections for potential future research for bird trips.

When Beehler begins his foray deep into northern Ontario along a long and lonely road past Pickle Lake, North on the Wing takes a dark turn. Beehler was expecting to find large tracts of virgin forests loaded with breeding warblers and with plenty of large mammals. What he found instead was sobering.

What I found was a fire-scarred pine barren inhabited by an impoverished and underserved indigenous population who were living by their wits and largely forgotten by the rest of the world. This underdeveloped land was built upon a glacier-scoured shield of granite, with sand and gravel for soil. Because of past and present impacts of current fire, an array of gold-mining operations, and the centuries-long fur trade, the land was scarred and bruised. (p. 185)

For those readers, like myself, who have dreamt of traveling deep into interior Canada and experiencing an Eden of wildlife, this section will come as a rude awakening. The area is mostly scrubby jack pines, though not a single Kirtland's Warbler nests here. What breeding birds that are here are few and far between. Beehler works hard to see just a handful of birds every day he is here. Mammals are also rare or skittish because the native people have to subsist on them. Beehler sums up his Canadian foray this way:

Was I disappointed by what I discovered? Like a person who has had a glass of cold water thrown in his face at an unexpected juncture, I was shocked and brought up short, but the experience was bracing and memorable. I got what I deserved. (p. 185)

When I interviewed Beehler recently, he also mentioned that perhaps he should have researched the area more thoroughly. Perhaps the imagined Great North Woods still does exist, just not in the area he traveled.

After the interior Canada misstep, North on the Wing gets back on track around the Great Lakes and ends successfully in New York.

North on the Wing is the kind of book that you wish lasted longer, and the reason is Beehler's wide range of interests and his writing. Beehler's prose perfectly captures the feeling of being in the piney woods, cypress swamps, oak glades, and other unique habitats he visits. The reader will also learn a lot about the warbler species we encounter in migration and during the breeding season here in New England. If you have ever sought the few remaining breeding Blackpolls high atop Mount Greylock here in Massachusetts, or even just marveled at the long voyage a Blackpoll makes every year, you will identify with Beehler's quest in North on the Wing.

I am the count compiler for the Sturbridge Christmas Bird Count. This year, for the first time, I fielded several complaints by sector leaders about the loss of habitat due to the erection of solar farms, large arrays of solar panels typically sited in neglected fields, former farms, or old sand lots. This has rapidly become an issue for birders in Massachusetts. Though a few solar farms are erected with care for the larger environment, I have seen solar farms placed where there used to be populations of Grasshopper Sparrows, Whip-poor-wills, and other open-space-loving species. Who green-lighted these projects and why is a question that needs to be asked. MassBird has recently hosted comments about parts of the Cumberland Farms fields now being turned over to solar fields, so this is a situation all Massachusetts birders will eventually come across.

Solar fields and wind farms are supposed to be a big part of a green solution to help us move away from petroleum-based fuels and prevent a further descent into global climate change. So it seems anti-environment to criticize these supposedly ecologically sound efforts. To further complicate matters, it has become a politically charged issue, and you will hear or read certain politicos who are beholden to the oil companies shedding crocodile tears over the birds killed by wind farms.

To date, more serious scientific literature has been written about the effects of wind farms on wildlife. We can hope that similar efforts will be done with solar fields and their environmental problems. It has been long known that wind farms kill some birds, but what wasn't well understood globally was which species were most prone to collision and what can be done about it. Fortunately, there are researchers addressing those issues. In 2007 I reviewed in Bird Observer one of the first books concerned with bird collisions and wind farms. Its title was Birds and Wind Farms: Risk Assessment and Mitigation by Manuela de Lucas et al. This was a first attempt to bring together a variety of researchers to assess the risks of wind farms and suggest some remedies. The two volumes of Wildlife and Windfarms, Conflicts and Solutions continue this process.

Although a wide range of monitoring and research studies have been undertaken, only a small body of that work appears to make it to the peer-reviewed literature. The latter is, however, burgeoning, concomitant with the interest in the interactions between wind energy and wildlife as expressed by the continuing CWW (Conference on Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts) series of international conferences on the topic. In 2015, 391 participants from 33 countries attended CWW 2015 in Berlin. (p. ix, Wildlife and Wind Farms, Conflicts and Solutions V. 1)

The two thick volumes of Wildlife and Wind Farms, Conflicts and Solutions present a number of papers offering the latest information on what we know about the impact of land based, or "onshore," wind farms on wildlife and habitat. This includes not just birds, but also reptiles and amphibians, invertebrates, aquatic organisms, terrestrial mammals, and bats. Volume 1 identifies some of the potential conflicts; Volume 2 describes some potential solutions.

It's not just about collisions. Not only are some birds directly killed by wind farms, wind farms also cause serious displacement of breeding species. Some bird populations move away from the vicinity of wind farms. They just don't want to be near them. These are often not the same species associated with the greatest number of impacts. There is also the possibility of habitat fragmentation caused by wind farms. Some of the problems seem unique to wind farms. Barotrauma occurs in bats as a result of atmospheric pressure changes they experience when they fly close to turbines. (V. 2, p. 186)

As is to be expected, large birds like raptors were among the first and easiest to identify as having collided with a wind turbine. This is changing. In "Birds: Collision" by Manuela de Lucas and Martin R. Perrow (V. 1, p. 155- 90):

New species continue to be found under turbine blades and in some cases passerines are being detected as one of the avian groups with the highest collision mortality rates. (V. 1, p. 182)

I cannot possibly summarize the wealth of information and ideas presented in these papers. But I will say that a lot of this seems to be a work in progress. There are promising ideas and plans, but no one solution fits all sites. We don't know a lot of what we need to know to make wind farms collision free. Each wind farm presents a complicated array of problems. We don't really even have a standard methodology for monitoring existing wind farms for collision kills. As Lucas and Perrow note:

There is, however, some general agreement in the scientific community that a range of factors is important in bird collision, but the relative weight of each one seems to be different in each case. However, the interaction between different factors also complicates any comparison of mortality estimates between and among species and studies. A further clear source of variation among studies results from the methods employed, with bias among the number of collisions introduced by variables such as removal of bodies by scavengers, search efficiency and search radius, which are not always integrated in the experimental design and monitoring protocols. To standardize results across studies, it will be necessary to adopt common and rigorous methodologies. (V. 1, p. 182)

Volume 2 presents a variety of monitoring schemes and plans. The reader will immediately want to ask who is monitoring our already erected wind farms using what protocols. There are papers on different designs of turbines and their effects on wildlife. Finally, an important paper is "A best practice approach to future planning" by Victoria Gartman et al. (V. 2, p. 185-208). This gives a sound outline of how to evaluate a proposed site and then how to monitor mortality caused by it after the wind farm is built.

As environmental activists will tell you, yes, wind farms cause some collisions, but compared to the long-term effects of climate change, these effects are minimal. So, we should sacrifice some raptors or grassland species now for the promise that somewhere in the distant future, everything will be better? Well, we are still learning how to evaluate the effects of wind turbines as the papers in these two volumes indicate. We are making progress, but a lot is not well understood. What is not clearly addressed is what the overall effect will be if we have to build all the wind farms and solar fields we will need to meet our burgeoning global population's energy needs. It will require many, many miles of wind farms, and the cumulative effect of those obstacles may be very different than that of a single wind farm. Furthermore, is eating up other species' habitats to serve our energy needs really the best solution? Could we perhaps place solar panels in cities or along highways? Let's come up with some alternatives to the alternatives.

There is an old acronym: TANSTAAFL. It means "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." It has been used by writers as diverse as biologist Barry Commoner and science fiction author Robert Heinlein as well as a number of economists. It was derived from an observation that bars that served free food often raised the price of their drinks. In other words, you never get something for nothing. In the case of the current technology we have for alternative energy sources, they are certainly not "a free lunch" as far as the environment goes. But all of us need to decide how much we are willing to pay. We all need to become active in the ongoing and upcoming conversations and debates about siting and monitoring these wind farms and solar fields. Critical to those conversations is to become informed, and these two volumes of Wildlife and Wind Farms, Conflicts and Solutions will help.

Literature Cited

Teale, E. W. 1951. North with the Spring. New York, New York: Dodd, Mead and Co.
Lucas, M., Janss, G. F.E., and Ferrer, M. (editors). 2007. Birds and Wind Farms: Risk Assessment and Mitigation. Madrid, Spain: Quercus.

Bird Sightings: January–February 2018

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

February opened with a mild reading of 46 degrees. The month averaged 38 degrees, six degrees above normal. The high for the month was 72 degrees on February 21, the second highest reading in record keeping. (The previous record of 73 degrees was set just last year!) Don't let the mild temperatures fool you though; on Groundhog Day, Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter! Rainfall totaled 3.77 inches, almost an inch above normal. Boston recorded 8.3 inches of snow during the month, most of it falling during a fast-moving storm on February 17–18. Snowfall totals were highest north and west of Boston with areas in Middlesex and Essex Counties receiving more than seven inches. The highest snowfall was nine inches in Haverhill.

R. Stymeist

Bygone Birds: Historical Highlights for January-February

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

20 YEARS AGO

January–February 1998

An immature Brown Pelican fishing in the frigid surf off Nantucket in January was the first winter record of this species for the state. A Gyrfalcon arrived at Logan Airport on January 10 for a layover that lasted through February and into March. An Eastern Whip-poor-will on Martha's Vineyard was the first January record for the state, possibly a beneficiary of the mild winter that year, which was attributed to the El Niño effect.

Best sighting: Ancient Murrelet, Race Point, Provincetown, January 4. This was the second record for the state of this north Pacific alcid, the first being from Rockport in November 1992.

40 YEARS AGO

January–February 1978

Five Cattle Egrets in Westport on January 28 became the first winter record for this species in the state. A high count of 1,500 Canvasbacks in Assonet was not atypical for the period 1975–1981. An impressive 13 Goshawks were counted in January and a gray phase Gyrfalcon was present at Orleans February 11–15. Red Knots overwintered, including 50 at Revere Beach. Boreal Chickadees were recorded in West Boylston, Waltham and Clinton. A flock of European Starlings on Martha's Vineyard included a male Brewer's Blackbird. 1977–1978 saw an excellent flight of winter finches: 1,000+ Pine Grosbeaks in the state; 1,258 Pine Siskins on the Concord CBC, and 500 at one feeder in Lincoln; and Plum Island alone hosted 27 Red Crossbills and over 200 White-winged Crossbills.

Best sighting: Eurasian Curlew, Menemsha Pond, Martha's Vineyard, February l8. This bird, the second record for Massachusetts, stayed into March.

Front Cover: June 2018

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Black-billed Cuckoo

The Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) is a generally silent and secretive bird that has an amazing array of biological adaptations for its specialized breeding and feeding ecology. The sexes and juveniles are similar in plumage: drab brown tinged with olive above and light whitish-gray below, with a long tail with dull whitish spots, a dark decurved bill, and a red orbital ring. These characteristics help to distinguish it from its congener, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (C. americanus), that shows rufous in its primaries, has bold white tail spots, and a yellow lower mandible and orbital ring. The Black-billed Cuckoo shows no geographic variation in size or plumage and thus has no recognized subspecies. It is more closely related to the South American Gray-capped Cuckoo (C. lansbergi) than to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo with whose range it overlaps.

Black-billed Cuckoos breed from Alberta eastward across southern Canada to Nova Scotia and in the United States from Wyoming and Montana east through New England and south to Virginia, and farther south in the Appalachians. The breeding range covers more than one-third of the United States. In Massachusetts, it is an uncommon breeder, but may periodically be considerably more common in years when gypsy moth, tent caterpillar, or other caterpillar infestations occur. Black-billed Cuckoos are long-distance nocturnal migrants, wintering in South America as far south as Bolivia, but their cryptic plumage and behavior leaves their migration paths and winter distribution poorly known. In Massachusetts, they are considered uncommon to sometimes fairly common migrants. They tend to be late migrants, often not arriving until late May or early June. After their arrival, they appear to be somewhat nomadic, apparently searching for caterpillar infestations once they are on their breeding grounds. In fall, they migrate south from late August to occasionally as late as early October.

The breeding biology of Black-billed Cuckoos is not well known, but they are probably monogamous and single brooded. The most common call, given by both males and females, is a repetitive, somewhat liquid cu-cu-cu-cu, accompanied by tail pumping. They call most often during pair formation and nest building and regularly call at night during the breeding season. They also give a variety of calls and choking sounds during courtship and in alarm situations. Little is known about pair formation or nest building in this secretive species.

Black-billed Cuckoos prefer deciduous or deciduous-coniferous forests or woodland edges, often with water and scattered thickets nearby. In Massachusetts, they are particularly common breeders in the scrub oak forests and woodlands of Cape Cod and the Islands. Both parents may construct the usually flimsy nest, which is generally well concealed by foliage, three to six feet from the ground in forking branches. Nests are flimsy, shallow cups made of twigs and lined with leaves, pine needles, plant fibers, down, moss, or other fine materials. Sometimes, Black-billed Cuckoos are intraspecific brood parasites, laying their eggs in other Black-billed Cuckoo nests. They occasionally lay eggs in the nests of other species such as American Robins, Gray Catbirds, or Northern Cardinals. This brood parasitism is apparently a response to abundant food as typified by extensive caterpillar infestations. The Black-billed Cuckoo egg color of blue green may be an example of egg mimicry as most of the species they parasitize lay blue green eggs.

In normal nesting situations, both parents develop brood patches, and both parents incubate the usual clutch of three to six eggs for the 10–11 days until hatching. The chicks are altricial, being nearly naked with eyes closed at hatching. Both parents feed the chicks crushed rather than regurgitated food. The young fledge in about a week, although they can't fly for another three weeks. This rapid growth is perhaps an adaptation to interspecific brood parasitism, when the young have to outgrow their foster siblings. The parents will defend the nest with aggressive postures, shoulders humped, tail fanned, and wings spread. They will sometimes even fly at intruders with bill open and tail spread while giving alarm calls. Chicks respond to intruders by remaining motionless with an erect posture, outstretched neck, and bill pointed to the sky, bittern-like.

Black-billed Cuckoos, when feeding on caterpillars or katydids, usually remain stationary until they sight their prey, then hop or run to glean prey from the branch or foliage. They may hover-glean foliage as well. They regularly rip open the tents of tent caterpillars, and sometimes even feed on the ground. They take mostly large prey such as caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, and butterflies. They also occasionally eat bird eggs and sometimes fruit in summer. Black-billed Cuckoos are versatile in their food preferences and will exploit almost any local concentrated prey. An interesting adaptation to extensive foraging on hairy caterpillars whose spines puncture the cuckoo's stomach lining and may obstruct digestion, is to slough off the stomach lining—spines and all—and periodically regurgitate it as a pellet.

Black-billed Cuckoo populations have generally declined, especially in the 1980s and 1990s, partially as the result of pesticide poisoning and reduced caterpillar availability due to extensive spraying. Predation is poorly known, but Black-billed Cuckoos are probably subject to the usual mammalian and avian predators, and many are killed in collisions with structures during migration. Their skulking behavior and dull plumage, however, probably help to reduce predation. Population trends are hard to follow because Black-billed Cuckoos are at least partially nomadic in their search for local outbreaks of caterpillars. We can only hope that populations of this secretive species will remain stable.

William E. Davis, Jr.

At a Glance: June 2018

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Can you identify the birds in this photograph?

Identification will be discussed in next issue’s AT A GLANCE.

At a Glance: April 2018 Revealed

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Superficially, this bird resembles a Northern Mockingbird; however a mockingbird lacks the conspicuous eye ring, possesses conspicuous white wing bars, and has a longer and more down curved bill. Even the posture of the mystery bird is wrong for a mockingbird—a species that usually holds its tail elevated rather than pointing downward. The mystery species' bold eye ring, long tail, and even-colored back also vaguely suggest a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, but that species diminutive size, black-and-white tail, and super-fine bill at once remove it as a candidate.

Once Northern Mockingbird and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher are eliminated as identification possibilities, there really is no North American bird species other than Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) that the mystery bird could be. If the wings were shown spread or in a side view, there would also be a buff-colored wing stripe running along the mid-wing, and the outer tail feathers would be white if the tail was not folded.

The Townsend's Solitaire is a casual and nearly annual late fall visitor to Massachusetts from the west that often lingers into winter, particularly in thickets where there are plenty of red cedar and other berries for them to eat. Most occurrences in the Commonwealth are from coastal areas. The author photographed this Townsend's Solitaire in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming on January 19, 2007.

Wayne R. Petersen

Advertisers 46-3

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

In this issue:

Hot Birds: June 2018

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

At least two and possibly three White-faced Ibis spent nearly a month circulating around wetlands in Essex, Newbury, and Ipswich with flocks of Glossy Ibis. Phil Brown first noticed one of them on April 18 near the Essex/Ipswich town line. Dan Prima took the photo above.

A stunning adult male Bullock’s Oriole appeared at Vi Patek’s feeders in Nahant on April 20. It reappeared there the next day, to the pleasure of a crowd of birders, before leaving. Sean Williams took the photo above.

A Swainson’s Warbler on Cape Cod, found by Peter Crosson on May 6, was the fifth documented record for the state. It was another one-day wonder, but several birders arrived in time to see it. Astonishingly, another one was well described from Amherst a few days earlier, but seen by only the birder who reported it, and not photographed. Neil Hayward took the photo above.

Help State-listed Birds

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT

Endangered	Threatened	Special Concern
Pied-billed Grebe (5/10– 8/1) Leach’s Storm-petrel (6/1–8/15)* American Bittern (5/15– 8/1) Least Bittern (5/25–8/1) King Rail (5/15–8/1) Upland Sandpiper (5/20– 7/15) Roseate Tern (6/1–8/5)* Short-eared Owl (4/15– 7/15) Sedge Wren (6/1–8/1) Golden-winged Warbler (5/20–8/1)	Bald Eagle (4/15–8/15)* Northern Harrier (5/10– 8/20)* Peregrine Falcon (5/15– 8/1)* King Rail (5/15–8/1) Piping Plover (5/15–8- 15)** Northern Parula (6/1–8/10) Barn Owl (4/1–8/1)* Vesper Sparrow (5/10–8/5) Grasshopper Sparrow (5/25–8/10)	Common Loon (6/1–8/15)* Common Moorhen (5/25–8/25) Common Tern (6/1–8/5)* Arctic Tern (6/1–8/5)* Least Tern (6/1–8/15)* Barn Owl (4/1–8/1)* Long-eared Owl (4/1–8/1) Blackpoll Warbler (6/5– 8/10) Mourning Warbler (6/5– 8/10) Eastern Whip-poor-will (5/25–7/15)

Endangered

Threatened

Special Concern

Pied-billed Grebe (5/10–
8/1)

Leach’s Storm-petrel
(6/1–8/15)*

American Bittern (5/15–
8/1)

Least Bittern (5/25–8/1) King Rail (5/15–8/1)

Upland Sandpiper (5/20–
7/15)

Roseate Tern (6/1–8/5)*

Short-eared Owl (4/15–
7/15)

Sedge Wren (6/1–8/1)

Golden-winged Warbler
(5/20–8/1)

Bald Eagle (4/15–8/15)*

Northern Harrier (5/10–
8/20)*

Peregrine Falcon (5/15–
8/1)*

King Rail (5/15–8/1)

Piping Plover (5/15–8-
15)**

Northern Parula (6/1–8/10) Barn Owl (4/1–8/1)*

Vesper Sparrow (5/10–8/5)

Grasshopper Sparrow
(5/25–8/10)

Common Loon (6/1–8/15)*

Common Moorhen
(5/25–8/25)

Common Tern (6/1–8/5)*

Arctic Tern (6/1–8/5)*

Least Tern (6/1–8/15)*

Barn Owl (4/1–8/1)*

Long-eared Owl (4/1–8/1)

Blackpoll Warbler (6/5–
8/10)

Mourning Warbler (6/5–
8/10)

Eastern Whip-poor-will
(5/25–7/15)

*The presence of an adult at an active nest is required.
**Pair demonstrating breeding behavior is required.

Visit mass.gov/vprs to register an account and to record rare bird breeding observations.

Have questions about VPRS? Please email VPRSAdmin@state.ma.us.