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20 Nov South County Birds 11/19 [Peter Capobianco ] 19 Nov Block Island - 3 loons, 2 eiders, a a couple of RNGRs, and a kittiwake ["Thomas M" ] 18 Nov Saw-whet Owl [] 18 Nov Re:feeders ["the moffetts" ] 18 Nov Orange-Crowned Warbler, Providence ["eric88kp" ] 17 Nov birding in Westerly and Charlestown [] 17 Nov Block Island - 3 loons, two eiders, and a RAZO ["Thomas M" ] 17 Nov feeders [Donna Rustigian ] 17 Nov ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/17 [Philip Budlong ] 16 Nov Rumford Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] [] 16 Nov winter wren ["Bryan and Sarah" ] 16 Nov Sunday Nov 15, 2009, 3:30. ["jogagosh10" ] 15 Nov Saturday in Coastal RI ["Michelle St.Sauveur" ] 14 Nov Block Island ["Thomas M" ] 14 Nov RBA: Rhode Island, November 14, 2009 [] 13 Nov Block Island ["Thomas M" ] 12 Nov Tufted Duck at Trustom [] 10 Nov Orange-crowned Warblers/ Dickcissel [] 10 Nov ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/10 [Philip Budlong ] 10 Nov Peregrine Falcon [lmgray1 ] 10 Nov Block Island - PACIFIC LOONS, and others ["Thomas M" ] 09 Nov Sunday at Sachuest Point, plus snow buntings at Second Beach [Bruce Larson ] 08 Nov Rumford Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] [] 7 Nov Saturday, 11/7 [Philip Budlong ] 07 Nov Trustom and Moonstone Beach 11/7 ["eric88kp" ] 7 Nov Camp Cronin 11/7 - YBCH [Tom Auer ] 6 Nov RBA: Rhode Island, November 6, 2009 [] 6 Nov RFI on a Group of Five Sandhill Cranes from Oct 29th [Fred ] 6 Nov Friday, 11/6 [Philip Budlong ] 5 Nov Greater White-fronted Geese, Dickcissel [] 5 Nov Camp Cronin 11/5 - Purple Sandpipers [Tom Auer ] 3 Nov Long-tailed Ducks [] 03 Nov Block Island - Unk large falcon, dickcissel, orange-crowned and others ["Thomas M" ] 3 Nov ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/3 [Philip Budlong ] 3 Nov Lincoln's Sparrow 11/2 [Jim Murphy ] 03 Nov Great Swamp Winter Wren ["Bryan and Sarah" ] 02 Nov East Bay Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] [] 2 Nov Apology ["Nancy H." ] 02 Nov APOLOGIES ["hurricanenancy" ] 2 Nov (unknown) ["Nancy H." ] 01 Nov Blackstone Corridor 10/31 ["Mark Lynch" ] 31 Oct East Bay bikepath ["eric88kp" ] 31 Oct Saturday, 10/31 [Philip Budlong ] 30 Oct Tiverton and Little Compton [] 30 Oct Providence Birds 10/30 ["eric88kp" ] 29 Oct RBA: Rhode Island, October 29, 2009 [] 30 Oct Block Island ["Thomas M" ] 30 Oct Block Island - western kingbird ["Thomas M" ] 29 Oct Vesper Sparrow [] 29 Oct Red Tailed Hawk question [Julie Davids ] 28 Oct Barred Owl at Trustom Pond NWR today 10-28-09 ["ThomasT" ] 28 Oct Block Island - seabirds ["Thomas M" ] 27 Oct 10/27 Camp Cronin - Waterbirds [Tom Auer ] 27 Oct Ipswich Savannah Sparrows [] 27 Oct ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 10/27 [Philip Budlong ] 26 Oct 10/26 Camp Cronin [Tom Auer ] 26 Oct Sachuest Point NWR on Sunday, October 25. [Bruce Larson ] 25 Oct 10/25 Camp Cronin & Moonstone Beach [Tom Auer ] 25 Oct Block Island ["Thomas M" ] 24 Oct Saturday, 10/24 [Philip Budlong ] 23 Oct Block Island - Late posts ["Thomas M" ] 22 Oct Trustom Pond NWR [] 21 Oct Tennessee Warbler [Jim Murphy ] 21 Oct Camp Cronin 10/21 [Tom Auer ] 20 Oct Camp Cronin 10/20 [Tom Auer ] 20 Oct pelagic results [] 20 Oct East Bay Bikepath ["eric88kp" ] 20 Oct ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 10/20 [Philip Budlong ] 18 Oct RBA: Rhode Island, October 17, 2009 [] 17 Oct belated Lincoln's Sparrow, plus mystery sandpipers ["eric88kp" ] 17 Oct Saturday, 10/17 [Philip Budlong ] 16 Oct Pt. Judith Harlequin Duck, Orange-crowned Warbler etc. 10/16/09 [Christian Nunes ] 15 Oct pelagic opportunity [] 14 Oct Wednesday, 10/14 [Philip Budlong ] 14 Oct CORRECTION: Block Island Beane Point on Saturday and Sunday 10/10 and 10/11 [Bruce Larson ] 13 Oct some birds from yesterday ["Michael Tucker" ] Subject: South County Birds 11/19 From: Peter Capobianco <Peter.Capobianco AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:30:08 -0500 Sorry for the late report, but I thought some species Hugh Willoughby and I had yesterday were worth reporting. We had 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS at Camp Cronin feeding with a mixed flock comprised mostly of chickadees. We had one sub-adult Bald Eagle near the 108 exit on Route 1. Also, close to the feeders at Trustom NWR we saw at least 4 Hermit Thrushes, 1 Brown Thrasher, and 1 Field Sparrow. Good Birding, Peter Capobianco Riverside, RI www.naturalescapesimagery.com Subject: Block Island - 3 loons, 2 eiders, a a couple of RNGRs, and a kittiwake From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:13:01 -0000 This morning there were over 200 common loons off the west side of the island. Ten plus red-throateds were seen as well as at least 2 pacifics. These two were not together, and were both adults, that were in almost complete basic plumage. Some white spotting was still present on the back of both. The adult male king eider continues, as well as numerous commons. There were two red-necked grebes also seen. From SE light there were 40+ commons loons, 10+ red-throateds, and an immature black-legged kittiwake, all moving east. Good birding! -Tom M. Subject: Saw-whet Owl From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:45:59 EST Dave Gumbley and I went to Pulaski Park in Glocester to look for owls. We were successful in seeing a SAW-WHET OWL. We heard some soft squeaking sounds, and were fortunate to see it for a brief time sitting in a pine tree. A COMMON RAVEN was flying over Route 295 in Smithfield this morning. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Re:feeders From: "the moffetts" <songbird74 AT comcast.net> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:57:01 -0500 Hi--there was a report about this in the news recently(WBZ Boston). Wayne Petersen basically said that because of all the rain we had this spring, there is an abundance of berries and pine cones, and that is where the birds are feeding right now. Dotty Moffett songbird74 AT comcast.net Mendon, MA ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RIBIRDS/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RIBIRDS/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: RIBIRDS-digest AT yahoogroups.com RIBIRDS-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: RIBIRDS-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Orange-Crowned Warbler, Providence From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:37:30 -0000 While doing the campus censuses I do every Wednesday morning I had an Orange-Crowned Warbler in the bushes behind Machado House (87 Prospect Street). It was with Chickadees, Titmice and Juncos. I had thought about finding this species in Providence for awhile - I had guessed I would find it first in Blackstone Park, which seems like great habitat for it. Oh well... Eric LoPresti Providence, RI Subject: birding in Westerly and Charlestown From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:32:26 EST At Avondale Farm Preserve in Westerly, 1 HOUSE WREN. At Napatree Point, 1 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW, 1 NORTHERN HARRIER and 2 LAUGHING GULLS. At Lathrop Preserve, along Route 1A in Westerly, 1 EASTERN TOWHEE, 2 FIELD SPARROWS, 1 GRAY CATBIRD. Near the tennis courts at Quoony, 2 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, 1 SWAMP SPARROW. At Ninigret Park, near the Senior center, 1 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. Checked many ocean points from Westerly to Charlestown, and there were hundreds of COMMON EIDER and both RED-THROATED and COMMON LOONS. Really slow birding day. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Block Island - 3 loons, two eiders, and a RAZO From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:51:46 -0000 Off the west side of the island this morning there were 121 common, 13 red-throated, and 2 PACIFIC Loons. The pacifics were adults that still had some white in the back. They were hanging together rather close to shore. Also seen, 1 razorbill, 1 red-necked grebe, 15 great cormorants, numerous common eiders, and one adult male KING EIDER. A few american pipits were flybys. Be warned, if you plan on heading out in search of pacific loons, a lot of commons are very tough to identify at a distance. And there are numerous molting commons with the dark throat patch that was a topic of conversation with the "washed up loon" on Long Island last week. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: feeders From: Donna Rustigian <artdon2001 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:40:24 -0800 (PST) Where have all the birds gone?  A few weeks ago, I put out 3 suet feeders, cleaned out the upright bird feeder and filled it with Blue Seal Songbird seed.  During the summer, this seed was a big hit with the songbirds.  Now that they've flown south for the winter, I haven't seen any of the usual winter residents.   Has anyone else experienced the decrease in visitors? Subject: ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/17 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:35:13 -0800 (PST) On an ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group walk at Trustom Pond NWR, Matunuck: 1 Common Loon, 2 Pied-billed Grebes, Great Cormorants, 1 Great Blue Heron, 8 Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, 1 female TUFTED DUCK, Greater Scaup, Buffleheads, 1 Common Goldeneye, Hooded Mergansers, Red-breasted Mergansers, numerous Ruddy Ducks, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-throated Sparrow and 1 Garter Snake. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Rumford Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] From: Jackjsully AT aol.com Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:31:18 -0500 A quick stop by the East Providence\Turner Reservoir produced an OSPREY,a Pied-billed Grebe,13 Gadwall and a Belted Kingfisher. All these birds were at the north end. Good Birding, Jack Sullivan Rumford,RI Subject: winter wren From: "Bryan and Sarah" <nipata AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:22:22 -0000 In the great swamp Monday, along with the usual gang of winter birds, I had 3 WINTER WRENS. Bryan Glemboski Narragansett RI Subject: Sunday Nov 15, 2009, 3:30. From: "jogagosh10" <jogagosh10 AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:09:58 -0000 Riverside Beach had hundreds of Scaup streching out in a long line. Due to the bad light we were unable to tell if they were Lesser or Greater. Subject: Saturday in Coastal RI From: "Michelle St.Sauveur" <bittern AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:37:01 -0000 At Roger Wheeler Beach parking lot I had a Peregrine Falcon hunting a large flock of Snow Buntings. At Charlestown Breachway ... 1 American Tree Sparrow, 2 Black Scoter. At East Matunuck Beach Parking lot I had a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting a large flock of Snow Bunting. At Camp Cronin close to shore ... 5 Black Scoter and 1 White-winged Scoter. Several Northern Gannets could be seen from Point Judith. I may have seen a female Dickcissel at the home near Aunt Carries where the male had been frequenting last winter. I had only a short glimpse before it disappeared into the thickets but the bird was large-billed and yellowish. It's worth another look. Here are a few photos I've taken recently ... http://picasaweb.google.com/michellelynnsts/RecentPhotos1# Michelle St.Sauveur Coventry, RI Subject: Block Island From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:58:07 -0000 Today there was a red-necked grebe, marsh wren an american bittern on the north end. On the south end there was another red-necked grebe, a pied-billed grebe, and an imm. peregrine falcon. There were numerous gannets, common loons and scoters, common eider, and red-breasted mergansers, as well as a few great cormorans, a gadwall, and three american wigeon on the south end. Shai Mitra reported an adult male king eider and two pacific loons off the west side today. A breeding plumage pacific was reported on thrusday off west beach by Dan Finizia, Sue Talbot, and Graeme Fincke. I have put much thought and research into to my earlier siting and post of a large unknown falcon, and now believe without a doubt that it was a gyrfalcon. I was not going to put a name to it, but everything leads me back to gyr. It was the same age and plumage of the one seen around the same time in both MA and LI. While watching the peregrine today and after all the researching of books and photos, I am labeling it. My hawkwatching experience also figures into to my decision to call it a gyr. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: RBA: Rhode Island, November 14, 2009 From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:15:36 EST * RBA * Rhode Island * Statewide * November 14, 2009 * RIRI0911.14 - Birds mentioned: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Canada Goose Baltimore Oriole TUFTED DUCK Eastern Meadowlark Snow Bunting Bonaparte's Gull Laughing Gull GLAUCOUS GULL PACIFIC LOON Black-legged Kittiwake Greater Shearwater Long-tailed Duck American Bittern Virginia Rail Great Egret Brown Thrasher American Pipit Blue-headed Vireo Eastern Bluebird Purple Finch Pine Siskin Dickcissel White-crowned Sparrow Northern Gannet ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER Ruby-crowned Kinglet Fox Sparrow Swamp Sparrow American Tree Sparrow Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Broad-winged Hawk Wood Thrush Snow Goose Yellow-breasted Chat Black-crowned Night-Heron Lapland Longspur American Oystercatcher Ruddy Turnstone Tree Swallow Horned Lark date: November 14, 2009 (401) 949-5454 or 245-7500 ext 3052 to report: email to: _DLSaint AT aol.com_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol.com) coverage: statewide compiler: Janice St.Jean transcriber: Janice St.Jean (_DLSaint AT aol_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol) ) _www.asri.org_ (http://www.asri.org/) Welcome to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's bird alert for November 14th, 2009. This report covers the period from November 6th to November 13th. The next update will be in about one week. The 2 juvenile GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in Middletown, first spotted on the 5th, were reported again several times this past week. They were seen with a flock of CANADA GEESE in a field along Green End Avenue, just east of Third beach Road. They were also seen in the field north of the parking lot for Norman Bird Sanctuary on the 9th. In the weedy lot at the eastern end of Green End Ave, 1 BALTIMAORE ORIOLE was seen on the 2nd. A female TUFTED DUCK was reported at Trustom Pond NWR on the 12th. It was seen from Osprey Point with over 300 Scaup species. Also, 2 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS were observed in the fields to the east of the main trails. A SNOW BUNTING, 2 BONAPARTE'S GULLS and a LAUGHING GULL was seen along Moonstone Beach that day. On the 7th, a GLAUCOUS GULL was noted there. Three PACIFIC LOONS were found from the southwest side of Block Island on the 9th. Other sightings from Block Island from the past week included: 6 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, 1 GREATER SHEARWATER, 3 LONG-TAIELD DUCKS, 1 AMERICAN BITTERN, 1 VIRGINIA RAIL, 3 GREAT EGRETS, 1 BROWN THRASHER, 1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE, 22 AMERICAN PIPITS, 3 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS,1 BLUE-HEADED VIREO, 4 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, 3 PURPLE FINCHES, 3 PINE SISKINS, 3 DICKCISSELS, 1 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and 13 SNOWBUNTINGS. Over 400 NORTHERN GANNETS were also observed feeding offshore. On the 10th at Avondale Farm Preserve in Westerly: 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 1 FOX SPARROW, 4 SWAMP SPARROWS and 1 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. Also in Westerly, at Manfredi Farm along Langworthy Road, 1 DICKCISSEL was found, and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was seen along Route 1A that day. At Avondale on the 7th, a BROAD-WINGED HAWK was observed along with 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER. A late WOOD THRUSH was spotted near the Hazard Road Saltmarsh in Newport on the 11th. On the 9th and 10th a SNOW GOOSE was observed on the turf fields in Slocum. A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was seen at Camp Cronin in Narraganset on the 7th. On the 12th, a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was seen at Succotash Marsh in Jerusalem, and another was recorded at Watchemoket Cove in East Providence on the 6th. At Napatree Point on the 7th there was 1 LAPLAND LONGSPUR and 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARLBER. On the 11th, 7 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, 3 RUDDY TURNSTONES, 3 TREE SWALLOWS and an AMERICAN PIPIT were noted. Finally, flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS have been reported from many coastal beach parking lots this past week, the largest flock of about 70 birds at Misquamicut Beach in Westerly, along with 14 HORNED LARKS. That's all for this week, thank you for calling and good birding! - End transcript Subject: Block Island From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:02:21 -0000 On the 9th at SE Light from 0830-1000 northern gannet - 30 common loon - 70 red-throated loon - 40 great cormorant - 3 laughing gull - 10 black scoter - 26 surf scoter - 35 white-winged scoter - 5 common eider - 4 snow bunting - 2 on the 12th from the south end 0810-1050 northern gannet - 450 (this is an undercount as I stopped counting when I picked up the kitiwakes and shearwater) herring gull - 130 common eider - 50 white-winged scoter - 10 great cormorant - 2 long-tailed duck - 3 black-legged kittiwake - 6 common loon - 25 greater shearwater - 1 laughing gull - 6 surf scoter - 8 red-throated loon - 7 at the SE light on the 13th common loon - 24 northern gannet - 105 red-throated loon - 7 white-winged scoter - 11 black scoter - 30 surf scoter - 20 common eider - 5 black-legged kittiwake - 3 Good Birding! -Tom M. Subject: Tufted Duck at Trustom From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:06:46 EST Linda Gardrel and I found a female TUFTED DUCK at Trustom Pond along the east shore at Osprey Point early this morning. The wind had pushed most ducks into more protected areas, and this duck was with over 300 Scaup species, very close to shore. It has a very visible "tuft", dark back, and small amount of white at the base of the bill. Easy to spot when the head is tucked. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Orange-crowned Warblers/ Dickcissel From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:47:37 EST At Avondale Farm Preserve in Westerly: 2 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, 1 FOX SPARROW, 4 SWAMP SPARROWS, 1 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW. At Manfredi Farm in Westerly, along Langworthy Rd, north of Route 1, 1 AMERICAN KESTREL and 1 DICKCISSEL. The Dickcissel was on the blue fence post behind the pumpkin field, just north of the parking area for the farm. In the parking lot at Misquamicut Beach, 14 HORNED LARKS and 50 SNOW BUNTINGS. Along Route 1A, just east of Weekapaug Rd, 1 YELLOW-BELLIED SPASUCKER. At East Beach, 1 MERLIN. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/10 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:13:24 -0800 (PST) On an ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group "wild goose chase" this morning on Aquidneck Island we saw hundreds of Canada Geese (Green End Avenue, Third Beach Road, Howland Avenue, Braman's Lane, Mitchell's Lane, Wapping Road, Hammersmith Farm, Newport Country Club) but no sign of any more interesting goose species. At Norman Bird Sanctuary there was a Northern Harrier and a Red-tailed Hawk. At the northeast corner of Green End Avenue at Vaucluse Avenue there was a Northern Mockingbird and a BALTIMORE ORIOLE. At Third Beach there were Common Loons, American Black Ducks and Common Eider, and at Sachuest Beach there were Buffleheads. All said and done it was a poor birding experience. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Peregrine Falcon From: lmgray1 <lmgray1 AT cox.net> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:49:38 -0500 Photo in photo section taken last Thursday at Fogland Beach in Tiverton. It was back today. LMGray Subject: Block Island - PACIFIC LOONS, and others From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:17:31 -0000 Sorry for late posts, but here is a quick catchup of my sitings. Nov 4th on the north end yellow-rumped warbler - 35 great egert - 2 virginia rail - 1 american bittern - 1 common loon - 5 bufflehead - 10 ruddy duck - 55 ruby-crowned kinglet - 3 common eider - 35 northern gannet - 10 purple finch - 3 brown thrasher - 1 Nov 5th on the end pied-billed grebe - 1 hooded merganser - 20 ruddy duck - 114 gadwall - 5 bufflehead - 35 great blue heron - 5 great egert - 3 green-winged teal - 16 common loon - 17 pine siskin - 3 golden-crowned kinglet - 6 brant - 3 yellow-rumped warbler - 24 northern flicker - 10 common eider - 500 white-winged scoter - 300 surf scoter - 75 black scoter - 50 northern gannet - 100 great cormorant - 1 red-throated loon - 7 eastern bluebird - 4 american pipit - 1 baltimore oriole- 1 gray catbird - 4 hermit thrush - 1 white-throated sparrow - 50 red-bellied woodpecker - 1 ruby-crowned kinglet - 1 field sparrow - 2 white-crowned sparrow - 1 Nov 6th on the north end eastern meadowlark - 3 american robin - 170 chipping sparrow - 1 northern gannet - 25 purple finch - 2 golden-crowned kinglet - 3 Nov 7th on the south end in the morning hermit thrush - 2 yellow-rumped warbler - 23 northern flicker - 3 eastern meadowlark - 2 northern harrier - 1 cooper's hawk - 1 surf scoter - 25 laughing gull - 1 common loon - 10 ruby-crowned kinglet - 1 snow bunting - 7 purple finch - 1 black scoter - 104 northern gannet - 9 common eider - 40 white-winged scoter - 4 dickcissel - 3 gray catbird - 2 pine siskin - 1 south end in the afternoon golden-crowned kinglet - 8 eastern meadowlark - 2 blue-headed vireo - 1 great cormorant - 10 common loon - 1 northern gannet - 2 snow bunting - 13 american pipit - 22 savannah sparrow - 1 Yesterday on the 9th I checked the whole SW side and tallied a total of 73 common loons and 3 pacific loons! So, their back, the spring was not a fluke. the questions now are, will they stay the winter? And, how many will show? Are the surrounding waters of Block Island the core winter habitat of this species on the east coast? Or, just a stopover site? Hmmm..., so many questions. All three were still sporting some assemblage of breeding plumage. Two only had breeding plumage on their backs, (the white stripes), but one was sill in it's breeding glory, with a very pale crown and nape, black throat, and back pattern. It was getting rather ratty looking though, as it is starting to molt. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: Sunday at Sachuest Point, plus snow buntings at Second Beach From: Bruce Larson <bruce.r.larson AT verizon.net> Date: Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:29:46 -0500 Seaduck hunters were in boats around the refuge, so waterfowl were generally scarce. Location: Sachuest Salt Marsh Observation date: 11/8/09 Notes: Temp 56F, wind NW 5-10mph, 0% cloud, no precipitation. American Black Duck 46 Mallard 2 Bufflehead 11 (5m,6f) FOS (First of Season) Ring-billed Gull 2 Herring Gull 14 Great Black-backed Gull 2 American Crow 1 Fish Crow 1 Northern Mockingbird 2 European Starling 550 Song Sparrow 2 Location: Sachuest Point NWR Observation date: 11/8/09 Notes: 9:00 - noon. 56F >> 62F, wind NW 5-10mph, 0% cloud, no precipitation. Greater Scaup 1 (1f) Sachuest Bay FOS (First of Season) Common Eider 212 (99m, 113f) HARLEQUIN DUCK 35 (28m, 7f) Surf Scoter 80 (57m,23f) Sakonnet Bay Black Scoter 1m Island Rocks - FOS Bufflehead 18 (9m,9f) Sachuest Bay - FOS Red-breasted Merganser 1m Island Rocks - FOS Common Loon 7 Northern Gannet 1 Double-crested Cormorant 13 Northern Harrier 1 Ruddy Turnstone 3 Sanderling 340 Purple Sandpiper 2 RI Sound - FOS Herring Gull X Great Black-backed Gull X American Crow 7 Carolina Wren 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3 Song Sparrow 6 Location: Second Beach - Middletown Observation date: 11/8/09 Notes: Noon time, north end of Second Beach parking lot. Snow Bunting 27 FOS These reports were generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) Subject: Rumford Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] From: Jackjsully AT aol.com Date: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:42:32 -0500 In the Hunt's Mills section of the East Providence/Turner Reservoir,one WINTER WREN. Subject: Saturday, 11/7 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:57:20 -0800 (PST) Birding this morning with Carlos Pedro, Sandy Saunders, Chris Sidler and Scott Tsagarakis at Westerly Land Trust's Avondale Farm Preserve: 1 Northern Harrier, 1 BROAD-WINGED HAWK, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Gray Catbird, 1 Northern Mockingbird, 1 flyover American Pipit, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds. At Watch hill Lighthouse there were Common Loons, 1 Great Cormorant and Common Eider, and on the beach side of the Misquamicut Club golf course there were 4 Sanderlings. At Misquamicut SB there were 8 Horned Larks and an Osprey, and over Weekapaug Road salt marsh 1 Belted Kingfisher. On private farm property in Dunns Corner: 1 American Kestrel, 2 Wilson's Snipe, 1 Northern Mockingbird, 3 flyover American pipits, 1 Palm Warbler, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, 3 EASTERN MEADOWLARKS and House Finches. This afternoon with Paul L'Etoile, Carlos Pedro, Sandy Saunders and Scott Tsagarakis at Perryvile there was 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, 2 Red-tailed Hawks and a Northern Flicker. At Trustom Pond NWR, Matunuck: hundreds of Northern Gannets plunge diving into a large school of bait fish offshore, 1 Great Cormorant, 2 Gadwall, 1 Lesser Scaup, ~30 Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, numerous Ruddy Ducks, 1 GLAUCOUS GULL, 8 Golden-crowned Kinglets, 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 3 Hermit Thrushes. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Trustom and Moonstone Beach 11/7 From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:03:34 -0000 Took out a couple new birders from the club today - who were treated to a wonderful day, both bird and weatherwise and enjoyed themselves immensely it seemed. Notable birds at Trustom: 2 male ringneck ducks, loosely associated with some scaup, then flew off. First ones of the season for me. At least 3 Pied-billed grebes. A pair of goldeneye - kindly pointed out to us by another birder. First of the season for me. A probable immature bald eagle. The bird was a long way away - at the limit of binoculars, but I got him in the scope briefly - dark bird (and the light was behind me, so I would have seen colors on him), wings flat, and proportions were perfect for an eagle, but it was such a brief view that I still have my doubts. Also all the common birds: harrier, hoodies, bufflehead, gadwall, coot, ruddies, scaup, both kinglets, etc... At moonstone, we walked east up the beach: A great egret in the marsh. An Osprey flew over low and slow, fighting the wind. Tons of loons, a few eider. And lastly: the greatest gannet show I have ever witnessed ~500 birds, some plunging into the water 10 meters from shore - absolutely spectacular. Awesome day of birding! Eric Subject: Camp Cronin 11/7 - YBCH From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Sat, 7 Nov 2009 09:15:49 -0500 Birders, A YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT was seen along the parking lot road at Camp Cronin around 9am. There was a flock of 21 COMMON LOON and 1 HARLEQUIN DUCK seen from the parking lot as well. Otherwise, a bit quiet. Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: RBA: Rhode Island, November 6, 2009 From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 19:27:33 EST * RBA * Rhode Island * Statewide * November 6, 2009 * RIRI0911.06 - Birds mentioned: GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE Canada Goose DICKCISSEL "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow Eastern Phoebe EURASION WIGEON American Bittern Lincoln's Sparrow COMMON RAVEN Great Egret Snowy Egret Brant Common Eider Northern Gannet Black-bellied Plover Semipalmated Plover American Oystercatcher Ruddy Turnstone Laughing Gull Tree Swallow Eastern Meadowlark Long-tailed Duck American Pipit Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Snow bunting ICELAND GULL Greater Yellowlegs Merlin Red-necked Grebe Horned Grebe Blackpoll Warbler Baltimore Oriole American Tree Sparrow Winter Wren Purple Finch date: November 6, 2009 (401) 949-5454 or 245-7500 ext 3052 to report: email to: _DLSaint AT aol.com_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol.com) coverage: statewide compiler: Janice St.Jean transcriber: Janice St.Jean (_DLSaint AT aol_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol) ) _www.asri.org_ (http://www.asri.org/) Welcome to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's bird alert for November 6th, 2009. This report covers the period from October 30th to November 5th. The next update will be in about one week. Two juvenile GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen with a flock of CANADA GEESE in Middletown on the 5th. The birds were in a field along Green End Avenue, just east of Third beach Road. Also in Middletown that day, in a weedy lot at the eastern end of Green End Ave, 1 DICKCISSEL, 1 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW, and 1 EASTERN PHOEBE. On the 2nd in Barrington, along Lakeshore Drive, 1 EURASION WIGEON was found. An AMERICN BITTERN was seen at Easton's Pond in Newport on the 1st. On the 4th, in Glocester, at Durfee Hill Management Area, 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW and a COMMON RAVEN were observed. At Winnipaug Pond salt marsh along Atlantic Avenue in Misquamicut, 1 GREAT EGRET was seen, and a SNOWY EGRET was seen at Avondale Preserve in Westerly on the 3rd. On the 31st at Napatree Point in Westerly, 20 BRANT, 230 COMMON EIDER, 1 NORTHERN GANNET, 12 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 11 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, 4 RUDDY TURNSTONES, 2 LAUGHING GULLS, 1 TREE SWALLOW and 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK were recorded. In Charlestown on the 3rd, 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS were observed in Ninigret Pond. At East Matunuck State Beach, 2 AMERICAN PIPITS and 2 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROWS were reported this past week. In Tiverton, 2 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS were seen along Seapowet Ave, and a LINCOLN'S SPARROW was found at Pardon Gray Preserve on the 30th. A SNOW BUNTING was observed at Little Compton Beach that day. Highlights from Block Island on the 30th included: 1 ICELAND GULL, 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 25 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 3 GREAT EGRETS, 1 MERLIN, 10 TREE SWALLOWS, 3 RED-NECKED GREBES and 1 HORNED GREBE. Miscellaneous reports this past week included: 1 BLACKPOLL WARBLER near Brown University in Providence on the 4th, 1 BALTIMORE ORILE in Riverside on the 1st, an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW in Warren, a WINTER WREN on the 2nd at the Great Swamp Management Area, and 2 PURPLE FINCHES in Exeter on the 2nd. The total species count for the year at the end of October was 315. (Thanks to Dave Gumbley for the statistics.) That's all for this week, thank you for calling and good birding! - End transcript Subject: RFI on a Group of Five Sandhill Cranes from Oct 29th From: Fred <fred AT cetussoft.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:57:07 -0500 Hello, RI. This may be an unusual request (a "long shot"), but here goes... I am hoping that someone might have seen (and maybe even photographed) a particular group of five sandhill cranes (one having an obvious notch in the left wing - please see photo info below) that recently headed southbound from Wareham Massachusetts, along the south coast of New England, towards Florida (or thereabouts). Here's the story: There is a group of five sandhill cranes that recently left Wareham Massachusetts (just across Buzzards Bay from Cape Cod) on their way to Florida (I would assume). These birds have spent part of each year for the last several years on the cranberry bogs and ponds of Wareham MA, and they have been actively watched by MA birders (especially since sandhill cranes are pretty rare birds "up here" in New England. On October 29th, the last day the cranes were seen in Wareham, a group of five cranes were spotted flying from MA into RI (and followed as far as Portsmouth, I believe), and later that day there was a report from a hawk watch in Greenwich CT recording a tight formation of five cranes heading towards the NYC area. Then, on October 30th, there were two northwestern NJ reports, of a group of five cranes seen both lifting off the ground at Merrill Creek NJ and of a group of five in the air at a hawk watch at Scott's Mountain NJ. And then, on November 3rd, a group of five cranes were heard and then seen overhead at Woodstock GA heading southward (and this was a bit unusual because that was somewhat earlier than the usual migration of sandhill cranes coming through that area from the Hiwassee TN staging). Of course, the big question is, ARE THEY THE SAME FIVE CRANES? While certainly not completely definitive, a comparison of a photo taken of the birds in flight at the Scott's Mountain NJ hawk watch on 10/30 ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/jrd_photos/4063137832/sizes/l/ ) and my photos from Wareham MA of "our" cranes flying at sunset on 10/26 ( http://fredw.smugmug.com/Animals/WarehamCraneberryCranes-102609/10104828_2y3Tr/1/693923477_HJvqD/Large http://fredw.smugmug.com/Animals/WarehamCraneberryCranes-102609/10104828_2y3Tr/1/693925004_AH4v3/Large ), shows one of the five cranes in each case having what could seem to be the same notch in the left wing. (The notch is quite obvious in a photo, but may not be so obvious to an observer's eyes.) What is most intriguing, I think, is that the cranes may be taking a somewhat inland route, along the Appalachians, rather than a more coastal route. (But, of course, who knows what is a "normal" path for quite uncommon New England sandhill cranes migrating to and from Florida or thereabouts?) So, I have been trying to ask those on the flyways to Florida, where the cranes might be heading for the winter season, if anyone happened to see (and maybe even photographed) a distinctive group of five sandhill cranes going over. The group likely went through MA, RI, CT, and NY (on the way to NJ) on October 29th. I am hoping to hear of any additional reports (or see any additional photographs) from along the way, to "fill in the blanks" on the route taken. So, might there be any other RI reports? Yes, I know that this all sounds like a "wild "Grus" chase", but who knows... Thanks for listening. Fred (Frederick Wasti) Marshfield Massachusetts ("craneberry country") Subject: Friday, 11/6 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2009 09:37:13 -0800 (PST) At Trustom Pond NWR (Otter Point Trail), Matunuck, this morning there was 1 Turkey Vulture, Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, American Coot and 1 Belted Kingfisher. At Winnipaug Pond salt marsh, Atlantic Avenue, Misquamicut, there was 1 GREAT EGRET and 1 Greater Yellowlegs. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Greater White-fronted Geese, Dickcissel From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 16:05:43 EST At about noon today, in Middletown, along Green End Ave, just east of Third Beach Road, 2 juvenile GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE with about 100 CANADA GEESE. The birds had orange legs and bill, no white coloring at the base of the bill, brown neck, chest and sides without black streaking. At the corner of Green End Ave and Vaucluse Ave, in a weedy lot, 1 DICKCISSEL, 1 EASTERN PHOEBE, 1 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW, plus loads of common birds. The owner was very nice, and gave permission to poke around this lot. His name is Henry, and he owns seven acres there. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Camp Cronin 11/5 - Purple Sandpipers From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 5 Nov 2009 11:37:12 -0500 Birders, Had nine PURPLE SANDPIPERS on the PJ safe harbor breakwall from Camp Cronin this morning. My first of the season. Nothing else out of the ordinary. Sparrows were abundant: Song, White-throated, and Swamp. Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: Long-tailed Ducks From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 17:37:27 EST At Ninigret Pond, seen from the Grassy Point trail, 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS. At the cut along Moonstone Beach Road, 3 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROWS, 1 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 10 DUNLIN. At Green Hill Beach, 1 NORTHERN GANNET. At East Matunuck, 2 AMERICAN PIPITS. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Block Island - Unk large falcon, dickcissel, orange-crowned and others From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:01:05 -0000 First, yesterday I birded briefly in town to get a lifer dicksiccel for Will Young. It was there, an adult male. I last I saw appeared to be a female, so I am unsure, but it appears that two may be hanging around? Today on the north end I had saw a large falco that I will leave as unidentified. It was absolutely massive. I saw it for a minute max. It never flapped, just road teh updraft of the bluff and I saw it soar once. I have seen plenty (hundreds) of peregrines in my days, and if this was a a peregrine it woulf be the fattest, honkenest female that ever took to the skies. It was an immature bird. It jumpedme and I saw it nakedeye and thought, wow my first goshawk for the island and then it turned. That is when I realized it was a falcon. I got my bins on it as it was starting to head away from me. The underside was completely streaked, even on the vent. The body and wings were so broad and huge, massive I have to say. The wings appeared pointed. But the body looked like a stovepipe, hence the first impression of gos. Was it a gyr, your guess is as good as mine, it would havebeen a lifer. I have no experience with them, but I feel I might have blown a stellar call of an incredible bird! Ah well, you win some and lose some! There was an orange-crowned warbler, baltimore oriole, white-crowned sparrow, and snow bunting on the north end of the island. No kinglets were found up there, so they may have gone with the wind. However there were a lot of dark-eyed juncos, so there must have been a flight of that species last night. The rest of this week and this weekend looks really goood for some odd vagrant out here. The more eyes the better. People need to hop a boat and head out! Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 11/3 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 10:47:42 -0800 (PST) On an ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group walk this morning at Westerly Land Trust's Avondale Farm Preserve: 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 SNOWY EGRET, American Black Ducks, 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flickers, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, 1 Brown Thrasher, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbirds and House Finches There also was one peep frog seen and others heard. At Watch Hill Lighthouse there were 2 Common Loons, 100+ Common Eider, 1 White-winged Scoter and 1 Sanderling. In Winnapaug Pond salt marsh, Misquamicut, there was 1 GREAT EGRET. and at Noyes Neck, Weekapaug, there were ~25 Common Eider. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Lincoln's Sparrow 11/2 From: Jim Murphy <jimride0457 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 05:36:37 -0800 (PST) A little late, but yesterday morning I had a Lincoln's Sparrow and a raven around the deer pit at Durfee Hill. The Lincoln's was in the fen next to the deer pit. A very bright buffy bird with fine, heavy streaks, and white eye ring.Remember that deer hunting season begins tomorrow and one needs 200 inches of fluorescence on for safety. Jim Subject: Great Swamp Winter Wren From: "Bryan and Sarah" <nipata AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:09:08 -0000 Monday at 11:30 am, in the Great swamp, I had a Winter Wren just off the main parking lot, among the usual gang of chickadees, titmice, and G.C. kinglets. Bryan Glemboski Narragansett, RI Subject: East Bay Birds - [ " Jack Sullivan " ] From: Jackjsully AT aol.com Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:20:57 -0500 While working with Mike Tucker at the ASRI's Touisset Wildlife Refuge this morning we were able to see a sole American Tree Sparrow. Overall there a paucity of birds. Subject: Apology From: "Nancy H." <hurricanenancy AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 03:57:00 -0800 (PST) I DID NOT post that link to this group. I hope the list owner can delete it. Seems I've been hit with a virus... My apologies. Nancy H. Subject: APOLOGIES From: "hurricanenancy" <hurricanenancy AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:55:37 -0000 I did not post the link that is on this group. Apparently I've been hit with a virus or something. I hope the list owner will delete it. I'm so very sorry! Subject: (unknown) From: "Nancy H." <hurricanenancy AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2009 02:45:13 -0800 (PST) http://sites.google.com/site/edckhpiach/zyasbzp7ev Subject: Blackstone Corridor 10/31 From: "Mark Lynch" <moa.lynch AT verizon.net> Date: Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:15:10 -0500 We birded a few ponds in the BLACKSTONE NATIONAL CORRIDOR, mainly to see how waterfowl migration was doing: SNEETCH POND, CUMBERLAND RI: Pied-billed Grebe (3) Wood Duck (25) Mallard (3) American Black Duck (4) Ring-necked Duck (11) E Screech Owl (1) DIAMONDHILL/ARNOLD MILL RESERVOIRS, CUMBERLAND RI: Double-crested Cormorant (4) Great Blue Heron (6) Mute Swan (2) Canada Goose (85) Mallard (30) Green-winged Teal (6) Ring-necked Duck (8) Hooded Merganser (3) Common Merganser (21) Ruddy Duck (102) Osprey (1) Cooper’s Hawk (1) Killdeer (3) Greater Yellowlegs (1) American Pipit (6) PAWTUCKET COUNTRY CLUB, PAWTUCKET RI: Double-crested Cormorant (1) Mute Swan (1) Mallard (45) American Black Duck (3) Hooded Merganser (2) TURNER RESERVOIR, EAST PROVIDENCE RI: Pied-billed Grebe (1) Double-crested Cormorant (7) Mute Swan (28) Canada Goose (62) Mallard (91) A Black Duck (3) American Wigeon (4) Gadwall (2) Lesser Scaup (14) Ruddy Duck (10) SEEKONK RIVER, PROVIDENCE RI: Double-crested Cormorant (23) Mute Swan (30) Mallard (26) American Black Duck (6) Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Red-tailed Hawk (3) WOONSOCKET RESERVOIR, LINCOLN RI: Bald Eagle (1ad) Red-tailed Hawk (2) Peregrine Falcon (2ad bathing) MEADOW POND, NORTHBRIDGE MA: Mute Swan (10) Mallard (16) Ring-necked Duck (179) Lesser Scaup (1f) Ruddy Duck (4) Common Raven (2) Common Grackle (flock of 600+ working leaf litter in forest) Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll Moa.lynch AT verizon.net Subject: East Bay bikepath From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:33:58 -0000 Biked down to Barrington and back with Jimmy Tarrant and Orla O'Brien: Ebird totals just for trip down. Location: East Bay Bikepath (E. Prov. - Bristol) Observation date: 10/31/09 Notes: No mimids, song sparrows or carolina wrens! Probably the 10-20 mph sustained winds had something to do with the lack of landbirds. Number of species: 36 Brant 16 Canada Goose 16 Mute Swan 47 Gadwall 44 American Wigeon 216 Everywhere. American Black Duck 59 Mallard 78 Lesser Scaup 22 Hooded Merganser 24 Pied-billed Grebe 3 2 south lake, 1 in res in Barrington. Double-crested Cormorant 6 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Red-tailed Hawk 4 Lesser Yellowlegs 5 Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs 2 distant Ring-billed Gull 161 Herring Gull 120 Great Black-backed Gull 5 Rock Pigeon 10 Mourning Dove 1 Belted Kingfisher 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 woodpecker sp. 1 f/o probably red-bellied. Blue Jay 9 American Crow 1 swallow sp. 1 Brief and distant glance - 90% sure tree swallow, but rather late. Over south lake in Barrington. Black-capped Chickadee 7 Tufted Titmouse 3 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 American Robin 16 European Starling 34 Cedar Waxwing 5 White-throated Sparrow 7 Northern Cardinal 4 Common Grackle 120 House Finch 4 House Sparrow 42 Swallow was interesting, one of the PBGB's was close to s. lake drive, giving us great views. Great Egret was in E.Prov in a pool south of Watchemoket. Checked Bold Point, but nothing was out, the winds were particularly intense then. Eric LoPresti Providence, RI Subject: Saturday, 10/31 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:27:03 -0700 (PDT) Birding this morning with Linda Gardrel, Patty O'Neill, Carlos Pedro, Sandy Saunders and Chris Sidler, at Perryville: 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Belted Kingfisher, Savannah Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and 3 White-crowned Sparrows. At Sunset Farm (Kinney Bungalow), Narragansett, there was a Cooper's Hawk and Savannah Sparrows. At Point Judith there were Northern Gannets, Common Eider and Surf Scoters. At Camp Cronin there were Common Eider and a Peep Frog. At Sand Hill Cove there were 15 Snow Buntings in the west end of the parking lot. At Succotash Marsh MA, East Matunuck, there was 1 Great Egret, 1 Black-bellied Plover, 7 Greater Yellowlegs and ~15 Dunlin. In the tern nesting area west of the East Matunuck SB parking lot there were 2 "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrows and 1 Savannah Sparrow. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Tiverton and Little Compton From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:03:48 EDT Linda Gardrel and I birded Tiverton and Little Compton. It was quiet, but a few highlights: 2 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS along Seapowet Ave, 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW at Pardon Gray Preserve in Tiverton, 1 SNOW BUNTING at Little Compton beach, and at Sakonnet Point, 10 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, 12 RUDDY TURNSTONES, 1 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, many COMMON EIDER and a few BLACK AND SURF SCOTERS. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Providence Birds 10/30 From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:22:46 -0000 Enjoyed a long walk around the east side today - which resulted in many good birds. At blackstone park - a pair of wood ducks, along with a hybrid black duck x mallard, a cooper's hawk and other common birds. Down by the Providence River, across from the Wild Colonial - an immature Black-Crowned night heron, a red-tailed hawk and two swamp sparrows. Eric LoPresti Providence, RI Subject: RBA: Rhode Island, October 29, 2009 From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:00:14 EDT * RBA * Rhode Island * Statewide * October 29, 2009 * RIRI0910.29 - Birds mentioned: SANDHILL CRANE Tennessee Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Palm Warbler American Pipit Long-tailed Duck Red-necked Grebe Blue-headed Vireo Peregrine Falcon White-crowned Sparrow Nelson's Sparrow DICKCISSEL Western Sandpiper Merlin Lesser Yellowlegs White-rumped Sandpiper VESPER SPARROW Field Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Eastern Bluebird Common Loon Northern Gannet Greater Shearwater Cory's Shearwater Sooty Shearwater Manx Shearwater NORTHERN FULMAR LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL Pomarine Jaeger American Bittern Little Blue Heron Green-winged Teal Blue-winged teal Northern Pintail Gadwall American Wigeon Ring-necked Duck Hooded Merganser Ruddy Duck Pied-billed Grebe American Coot Marsh Wren Barred Owl Osprey "Ipswich" Savannah Sparrow Parasitic Jaeger American Woodcock Nashville Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Pine Siskin Ruby-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Baltimore Oriole Eastern Meadowlark Cape May Warbler Purple Finch Winter Wren CLAY-COLORED SPARROW WESTERN KINGBID Wilson's Snipe Snow Bunting date: October 29, 2009 (401) 949-5454 or 245-7500 ext 3052 to report: email to: _DLSaint AT aol.com_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol.com) coverage: statewide compiler: Janice St.Jean transcriber: Janice St.Jean (_DLSaint AT aol_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol) ) _www.asri.org_ (http://www.asri.org/) Welcome to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's bird alert for October 29th, 2009. This report covers the period from October 18th to October 29th. The next update will be in about one week. Five SANDHILL CRANES were seen in flight over Portsmouth on the 29th, quite possibly the same five birds that have spent the last several weeks in Wareham, Mass. A TENNESSEE WARBLER was identified in Johnston near the power lines along Route 5 on the 21st. Also seen were several BLACKPOLL WARLBERS and a PALM WARBLER. Also in Johnston, 15 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen in a field at Dame Farm. Birds seen at Camp Cronin in Narraganset included: 1 LONG-TAILED DUCK, 1 RED NECKED GREBE, 3 AMERICAN PIPITS, 1 BLUE-HEADED VIREO, 1 PALM WARBLER, 1 PEREGRINE FALCON, 1 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW and 1 NELSON'S SPARROW. On the 23rd at Brenton Point in Newport, 3 DICKCISSELS, 6 WHITE CROWNED SPARROWS and 10 PALM WARBLERS were found. A WESTERN SANDPIPER was found at Sachuest Point NWR on the 18th along with 1 MERLIN, 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. On the 21st, 5 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS were observed. Another WESTERN SANPIPER was found at Beavertail Point in Jamestown on the 25th. On the 29th, near the Perryville Trout Hatchery in South Kingstown, 1 VESPER SPARROW, 2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 3 FIELD SPARROWS, 1 CHIPPING SPARROW and 4 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS were recorded. Birds seen on a dedicated pelagic to Mud Hole/ Cox's Ledge on the 20th included: 3 COMMON LOONS, 73 NORTHERN GANNETS, 286 GREATER SHEARWATERS, 23 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 1 SOOTY SHEARWATER, 3 MANX SHEARWATERS, 14 NORTHERN FULMAR, 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and 4 POMARINE JAEGERS. At Grassy Point Trail at Ninigret Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown, 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL continues. In Westerly, at Misquamicut, 1 AMERICAN BITTERN was reported on the 22nd, and 3 LITTLE BLUE HERONS were found on the 24th. One AMERICAN BITTERN was found at Succotash Marsh in Jerusalem on the 22nd. At Trustom Pond: 28 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 11 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 6 NORTHERN PINTAILS, 26 GADWALL, 111 AMERICAN WIGEONS, 2 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 3 HOODED MERGANSERS, 160 RUDDY DUCKS, 10 PIED-BILLED GREBES and 41 AMERICAN COOT. In the fields on the east side of the pond, 1 PALM WARBLER, 3 MARSH WRENS and 1 NELSON'S SPARROW. One BARRED OWL was observed on the 28th, and 1 OSPREY was seen on the 29th. On the 27th in Tiverton, at Seapowet, in the parking area at the bridge near the Management Fields, 1 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW was reported. Finally, highlights from Block Island included: 130 NORTHERN GANNETS, 1 PARSITIC JAEGER, 3 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 1 PEREGRINE FALCON, 1 AMERICAN BITTERN, 1 AMERICAN WOODCOCK, 1 DICKCISSEL, 1 NASHVILLE WARBLER, 1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, 1 PINE SISKIN, 1 AMERICAN PIPIT, 26 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, 60 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 6 BLUE-HEADED VIREOS, 1 BALTIMORE ORIOLE, 1 VESPER SPARROW, 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK, 1 CAPE MAY WARBLER, 7 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 1 EASTERN BLUEBIRD, 6 PURPLE FINCHES, 2 WINTER WRENS and 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. On the 29th, a WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen in flight near the Southeast Light, along with 2 WILSON'S SNIPE. Four SNOW BUNTINGS were also reported that day. That's all for this week, thank you for calling and good birding! - End transcript Subject: Block Island From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:03:26 -0000 I forgot to mention that there is dickcissel in town and field sparrows have been seen in a couple of different locations. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: Block Island - western kingbird From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:19:30 -0000 This afternoon I was treated to a flyby western kingbird as I walked in to Southeast Light. It is always nice to lookup nakedeye and that is "", and this time it was a western kingbird! A quick pick with the bins confirmed it with a stellar look and the unmistakeable white outer rects were blazing. Number three for Block Island this fall, not to shabby! This siting was followed by two wilson's snipe, also a flyby. This morning there were loads of gannets and laughing gulls off the south end, and my FOS snow buntings. A flock of four. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: Vesper Sparrow From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:38:14 EDT In South Kingstown, in the weedy dirt mounds on the way into Perryville Trout Hatchery, (near the northern end of Moonstone Beach Road), 1 VESPER SPARROW, 2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 3 FIELD SPARROWS, 1 CHIPPING SPARROW, 3 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and numbers of SWAMP, SONG and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. Also, 4 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS. In Johnston, at Dame Farm, 15 AMERICAN PIPITS. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Red Tailed Hawk question From: Julie Davids <jdavids13 AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:30:01 -0400 I live in Edgewood, Cranston a few blocks from Roger Williams Park. Last Friday, a Red-Tailed Hawk caught a full-grown squirrel in a tree by my kitchen window. The same or another hawk had been there in the spring, and it looked like it was trying to get a baby squirrel at that time in a hollow branch but was unsuccessful despite much fur flying... But this time it was successful, and then spent about 1/2 hour flying from tree to tree in my and nearby back yards, with the squirrel dangling... It came back to the original tree where it caught it at least 2 times, while other squirrels cowered on the trunk below and nearby. Why the display/delay in eating it? Julie Subject: Barred Owl at Trustom Pond NWR today 10-28-09 From: "ThomasT" <tjtetzner AT cox.net> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:13:10 -0000 Hi Today at Trustom Pond NWR Barred Owl 10-28-09 at 11:00 am Osprey trail tom tetzner Subject: Block Island - seabirds From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:02:22 -0000 Seawatching from SE Light the last few days has been fruitful! 26th from 0845-1000 northern gannet - 12 common loon - 9 red-throated loon - 17 black scoter - 270 surf scoter - 166 whiye-winged scoter - 27 red-breasted merganser - 1 laughing gull - 92 herring gull - 18 double-crested cormorant - 27 common eider - 125 great cormorant - 2 27th from 0840-1040 northern gannet - 130 red-throated loon - 6 common loon - 5 black scoter - 285 white-winged scoter - 39 surf scoter - 117 laughing gull - 36 herring gull - 72 ring-billed gull - 1 greta black-backed gull - 35 red-breasted merganser - 5 common eider - 11 lesser scaup - 5 double-crested cormorant - 3 parasitic jaeger - 1 peregrine falcon - 2 28th from 0845-1000 northern gannet - 124 great black-backed gull - 7 herring gull - 23 laughing gull - 9 ring-billed gull - 3 surf scoter - 150 black scoter - 3 white-winged scoter - 2 red-throated loon - 3 mallard - 2 canada goose - 1 cory's shearwater - 3 peregrine falcon - 1 american pipit - 1 One cory's was trailing a small pod of dolphins, which I believe were white-sided. I have also confirmed as occurence of sedge wren on sep 14th. This is a bird I heard and was positive that it was, but needed to research the rattle note. It took me a bit to find it on line, but it confirms what I heard. This is the third record for RI this fall. Not a bad year for this elusive speices. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: 10/27 Camp Cronin - Waterbirds From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:30:21 -0400 Birders, With fairly brisk east winds, passerines were hard to come by, but waterbirds were moving. My list from counting waterbirds for 25 minutes from Camp Cronin. 3 American Black Duck 1 Green-winged Teal 5 Greater Scaup 650 Common Eider 178 Surf Scoter 10 White-winged Scoter *137 Black Scoter* *1 Long-tailed Duck* 7 Red-breasted Merganser 2 Red-throated Loon 1 Common Loon *1 Red-necked Grebe* 6 Northern Gannet 120 Double-crested Cormorant 5 Sanderling 10 Laughing Gull 1 Ring-billed Gull 35 Herring Gull 45 Great Black-backed Gull 16 American Robin 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Song Sparrow Tomorrow morning should be even better! Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: Ipswich Savannah Sparrows From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:38:19 EDT At Seapowet in Tiverton, at the parking area at the bridge near the Management Fields, 1 "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW, along with dozens of Savannah Sparrows, Song and Swamp Sparrows. Another "Ipswich" SAVANNAH SPARROW with SONG SPARROWS at Briggs Marsh in Little Compton. (private) also: 1 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 12 BALCK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 1 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, 160 DINLIN, 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 11 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 1 LEAST SANDPIPER, 2 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS, 2 TURKEY VULTURS and 1 OSPREY. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 10/27 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:27:02 -0700 (PDT) On an ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group walk this morning at Sachuest Point NWR (including Third Beach and restoration marsh), Middletown: 1 Red-throated Loon, Common Loons, American Black Ducks, Common Eider, 13 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Black Scoter, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Northern Harrier, 4 Semipalmated Plovers and 1 Sanderling. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: 10/26 Camp Cronin From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:43:47 -0400 Birders, Passerine diversity has been dwindling significantly the past two weeks, so I was pleasantly surprised to see: 1 Blue-headed Vireo 1 Field Sparrow ...amongst more seasonable migrants. Other starting-to-get-on-in-the-season birds include: 1 Red-winged Blackbird 9 Brown-headed Cowbird 1 American Pipit 2 Tree Swallow 1 Peregrine Falcon Waterbird movement was practically non-existent prior (at least while I was out before 8am). Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: Sachuest Point NWR on Sunday, October 25. From: Bruce Larson <bruce.r.larson AT verizon.net> Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:21:57 -0400 . Here is my report from Sachuest on Sunday October 25. Sunday was the first day of the winter Harlequin survey. Sachuest Salt Marsh -- 8:35 - 9:10AM 55F, wind N 8-10mph, 20% cloud American Black Duck 10 Mallard 4 Double-crested Cormorant 2 Northern Harrier 1 Semipalmated Plover 6 Semipalmated Sandpiper 6 Dunlin 2 Ring-billed Gull 34 Herring Gull 12 Great Black-backed Gull 4 American Crow 4 Fish Crow 1 Tree Swallow 4 Main Refuge -- 9:15AM - 12:15PM: Common Eider 105 HARLEQUIN Duck 15 (9m, 6f) Surf Scoter 52 Common Loon 7 Double-crested Cormorant 77 Black-bellied Plover 1 Sanderling 250 Laughing Gull 9 Ring-billed Gull 12 Herring Gull 5 Great Black-backed Gull 2 American Crow 3 Carolina Wren 1 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 2 Yellow-rumped Warbler 29 Song Sparrow 3 Northern Cardinal 1 House Finch 2 American Goldfinch 3 Happy Birding! Bruce Larson Milton, MA bruce.r.larson AT verizon.net Subject: 10/25 Camp Cronin & Moonstone Beach From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 12:29:09 -0400 Birders, Highlights. *Camp Cronin* ~1000 Common Eider 2 Brant Great Cormorant numbers increasing. 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk ~100 Laughing Gull (strong movement) 1 Field Sparrow 2 Swamp Sparrow *Moonstone Beach/Trustom Pond* 5 Hooded Merganser 130 Ruddy Duck 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 White-rumped Sandpiper Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: Block Island From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:34:21 -0000 On the 23rd there was a clay-colored sparrow on the north end and an adult male dicksissel was in town. A nashville warbler and a fly over pine siskin were also present on the north end. On the 24th an american pipit was on the north end. Cheers! -Tom M. Subject: Saturday, 10/24 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:02:31 -0700 (PDT) Birding this morning with Bob Jones, Paul L'Etoile, Kathy Patric, Carlos Pedro, Sandy Saunders, Chris Sidler and Jun Zhuang with strong SE winds at Point Judith: 1 Common Loon, Northern Gannets, numerous Double-crested Cormorants, Common Eider, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Black Scoters, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Peregrine Falcon and numerous Gull sps. At Camp Cronin, Point Judith: Northern Gannets, Common Eider, all three Scoter sps. and 1 Palm Warbler. There also was a Peep Frog seen and others heard. At Sunset Farm (Kinney Bungalow), Narragansett: 2 Killdeer, Field Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows and a White-crowned Sparrow. At Westerly Land Trust's Avondale Farm Preserve: 1 Cooper's Hawk, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Kinglet sp., Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Palm Warbler, Savannah Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, 1 White-throated Sparrow and 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK. Two Peep Frogs were seen and numerous were heard. At Watch Hill Lighthouse: Northern Gannets, numerous Double-crested Cormorants, 1 Black-bellied Plover and numerous Gull sps. In Winnapaug (Brightman's) Pond salt marsh, Atlantic Avenue, Misquamicut, there were a number of Great Egrets, 3 juvenile LITTLE BLUE HERONS and a Greater Yellowlegs. This afternoon at Trustom Pond NWR, Matunuck, with Kathy Patric, Carlos Pedro, Chris Sidler, Scott Tsagarakis and Jun Zhuang in strong SW winds: Pied-billed Grebe, 11 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, 1 EASTERN PHOEBE and Golden-crowned Kinglets (heard). Off Card's Pond Road, Matunuck there was 1 Black-bellied Plover and 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Block Island - Late posts From: "Thomas M" <sunsetseeker78 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:30:00 -0000 On the 15th at Andy's Way, there were 30 black-bellied plovers, 30 sanderling, 3 greater yellowlegs, 7 great egerts, 8 green teal, 5 dunlin, 1 nelson's, 2 saltmarsh, and 1 savannah sparrows. On the 16th at SE ligh from 1200-1300, 1 cory's shearwater, 28 laughing gulls, 67 northern gannets, 126 black scoter, 140 surf scoter, 40 white-winged scoter, 200 double=crested cormorants, 5 american black ducks, 7 common loons. On the 17th at SE light from 0850-0950, 9 common loons, 53 northern gannets, 16 laughing gulls, 33 surf scoter, 33 white-winged scoter, 147 black scoter, 15 double-crested cormorants, 1 cory's shearwater, 1 red-brested merganser, and 1 red-throated loon. On the 19th off the south end, 300 common eider, 6 great cormorant, 25 laughing gull, 25 northern gannet, 6 white-winged scoter, 6 common loon, 4 red-breasted merganser, 1 wood duck. Off spring street, 5 semi-palmated sandpipers, 1 sanderling, 2 white-rumped sandpiper. Sachem pond, 45 american black duck, 10 mallard, 2 great blue heron, 1 buffelhead, 2 hooded merganser, 11 ruddy duck, 1 belted kingfisher, 25 red-breasted merganser, 1 pied-billed grebe, 1 green-winged teal, 1 snowy egert, 2 ring-necked duck, 1 american bittern, 1 killdeer, and 1 american woodcok. On the 20th, at the north end, 52 american black duck, 10 mallard, 4 great blue heron, 3 belted kingfisher, 40 ruddy duck, 2 ring-necked duck, 42 red-brested merganser, 425 common eider, 100 white-winged scoter, 13 common loon, 18 laughing gull, 2 ring-billed gull, 1 great cormorant, 4 red-breasted nuthatch, 172 yellow-rumped warbler, 40 song sparrow, 65 american robin, 42 red-winged black bird, 26 ruby-crowned kinglet, 60 golden-crowned kinglet, 6 blue-headed vireo, 1 baltimore oriole, 5 hermit thrush, 14 white-throated sparrow, 1 western palm warbler, 1 vesper sparrow, 1 eastern meadowlark, 10 blackpoll warbler, 1 cape may warbler, 2 brown creeper, 1 white-crowned sparrow, 1 great egert, 1 northen gannet, 1 black-bellied plover, 14 blue jay, 1 black-throated blue warbler, 2 common yellowthroat, 4 swamp sparrow, 1 red-bellied woodpecker, 1 downy wood pecker, 1 pine warbler On the 21st, at the north end, 45 ruddy duck, hooded merganser - 4, 1 peregrine falcon, 3 belted kingfisher, 8 mallard, 1 great blue heron, 1 great egert, 3 ring-necked duck, 50 american black duck, 50 red-breasted merganser, 1 white-rumped sandpiper, 1 blackpoll warbler, 25 golden-crowned kinglet, 1 northern gannet, 80 american robin, 6 purple finch, 7 ruby-crowned kinglet, 1 eastern meadowlark, 3 common loon, 30 cedar waxwing, 70 yellow-rumped warbler, 1 bobolink, 2 red-breasted nuthatch, 2 winter wren, 5 white-throated sparrow, 4 hermit thrush, 1 brown creeper, 115 common eider, 5 swamp sparrow on the 22nd, on the north end, 12 savannah sparrows, 30 song sparrows, 20 yellow-rumped warblers, 7 white-crowned sparrows, 2 western palm warblers, 7 swamp sparrows, 2 house wrens, 1 eastern bluebird, 1 golden-crowned kinglet, 2 ruby-crowned kinglet, 1 eastern phoebe, 1 common yellowthroat, 1 hermit thrush, 1 field sparrow. Good birding! -Tom M. Subject: Trustom Pond NWR From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:10:56 EDT At Trustom Pond (survey for US Fish and Wildlife) 102 MUTE SWAN, 28 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 6 BLUE-WINGED TEAL, 94 AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, 49 MALLARD, 6 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 26 GADWALL, 111 AMERICAN WIGEON, 2 RING-NECKED DUCK, 151 GREATER SCAUP, 4 BUFFLEHEAD, 3 HOODED MERGANSER, 160 RUDDY DUCK, 10 PIED-BILLED GREBE, 41 AMERICAN COOT. In the fields on the east side of the pond, 1 PALM WARBLER, 3 MARSH WRENS, 1 NELSON'S SPARROW and numerous SWAMP SPARROWS, also, 1 NORTHERN HARRIER and 1 COOPER'S HAWK. On the beach near Card's Pond, 1 BONAPARTE'S GULL, 2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, 2 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 7 DUNLIN and 5 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and off the beach, 2 RED-THROTED LOONS. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: Tennessee Warbler From: Jim Murphy <jimride0457 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:33:57 -0700 (PDT) Birding along the trails around the powerlines in Johnston off route 5 this morning I had a female Tennessee Warbler that appeared to be a female still in summer plumage. This bird was in a small flock that contained a few blackpoll warblers, a palm warbler, yellow-rumps, and my first fall junco! They appeared to be feeding off a black ant hatch that were flying into the trees. Jim Murphy Subject: Camp Cronin 10/21 From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:02:42 -0400 Birders, Highlights from Camp Cronin this morning include the following: Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow - feeding in dune grasses past the parking lot towards the sandy beach. ~1000 Common Eiders - pretty steady stream Peregrine Falcon The morning was punctuated with relatively frequent gunshots from hunters taking aim at the migrating waterfowl just beyond the breakwall. Good Birding! Tom Auer Subject: Camp Cronin 10/20 From: Tom Auer <mthomasauer AT gmail.com> Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:42:56 -0400 Birders, I had a similar list of birds as the ASRI group walk. Highlights early (7am) this morning: 2250 Common Eider, 1 f Harlequin Duck (along the east outside of the breakwall), and 1 Field Sparrow. A full list follows. Good Birding! Tom Auer 6 Brant 2 American Black Duck 3 Mallard 2250 Common Eider 1 Harlequin Duck 5 Black Scoter 3 Common Loon 75 Double-crested Cormorant 1 Osprey 1 Cooper's Hawk 28 Sanderling 6 Laughing Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 60 Herring Gull 60 Great Black-backed Gull 2 Rock Pigeon 2 Eastern Phoebe 3 American Crow 1 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Carolina Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 30 American Robin 1 Gray Catbird 1 Northern Mockingbird 10 European Starling 3 American Pipit 10 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Eastern Towhee 1 Field Sparrow 4 Song Sparrow 2 White-throated Sparrow 1 White-crowned Sparrow 3 Dark-eyed Junco 1 Northern Cardinal 12 Red-winged Blackbird 10 House Finch Subject: pelagic results From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:50:59 EDT Birds seen on a dedicated pelagic to Mud Hole/ Cox's Ledge: 3 COMMON LOONS, 73 NORTHERN GANNETS, 286 GREATER SHEARWATERS, 23 CORY'S SHEARWATERS, 1 SOOTY SHEARWATER, 3 MANX SHEARWATERS, 14 NORTHERN FULMAR, (including 1 dark) 1 LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and 4 POMARINE JAEGERS. Also, 1 Eastern Phoebe, and 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler. Jan St.Jean Chepachet, RI Subject: East Bay Bikepath From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:37:09 -0000 Rode the first 10 miles of the path today at around 11:30, which was pretty much high tide. A kestrel at India point and two pied-billed grebes on S. Lake Drive in Barrington were the highlights. Winter ducks appear to be trickling in, though wigeon numbers seem down. WT sparrows and Juncos were everywhere. Eric LoPresti Providence, RI Subject: ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group, 10/20 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:46:56 -0700 (PDT) On an ASRI Kimball Refuge Tuesday group walk this morning at Camp Cronin, Point Judith: ~2000 Common Eider, 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk, ~20 Sanderlings, 1 Northern Flicker, ~1000 Tree swallows, 1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 1 Gray Catbird, 1 Northern Mockingbird, Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Field Sparrows and 5 House Finches. At Sunset Farm (Kinney Bungalow), Narragansett: 9 Killdeer, 1 Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Savannah Sparrows and 1 White-crowned Sparrow. At Mud Pond, Matunuck: 2 Northern Gannets flying SW, 2 Northern Harriers, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 2 Belted Kingfishers and Yellow-rumped Warblers. Linda Gardrel reported that earlier this morning there were 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Hooded Mergansers and Cedar Waxwings. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: RBA: Rhode Island, October 17, 2009 From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 08:08:24 EDT * RBA * Rhode Island * Statewide * October 17, 2009 * RIRI0910.17 - Birds mentioned: LARK SPARROW White-crowned Sparrow Indigo Bunting Palm Warbler Blue-headed Vireo COMMON MOORHEN Black-billed Cuckoo Sora CLAY-COLORED SPARROW Lincoln's Sparrow Ruby-crowned Kinglet ORANGE CROWNED WARLBER American Pipit Harlequin Duck Long-tailed Duck Bobolink Wilson's Snipe Brant Common Eider Osprey Northern Harrier American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon Caspian Tern Western Sandpiper Nelson's Sparrow LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL Bald Eagle Broad-winged Hawk Field Sparrow Eastern Meadowlark American Bittern Green Heron Lesser Scaup Green-winged Teal American Oystercatcher Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Northern Parula Black-throated Blue Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Tennessee Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Magnolia Warbler American Redstart DICKCISSEL Winter Wren Wood Thrush BICKNELL'S THRUSH Hermit Thrush Swainson's Thrush date: October 17, 2009 (401) 949-5454 or 245-7500 ext 3052 to report: email to: _DLSaint AT aol.com_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol.com) coverage: statewide compiler: Janice St.Jean transcriber: Janice St.Jean (_DLSaint AT aol_ (mailto:DLSaint AT aol) ) _www.asri.org_ (http://www.asri.org/) Welcome to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's bird alert for October 17th, 2009. This report covers the period from October 8th to October 17th. The next update will be in about one week. A LARK SPARROW was found at Walkers Farm in Barrington on the 11th. It was still present on the 12th. Other sightings from here included: 3 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 1 INDIGO BUNTING, 1 PALM WARBLER and a BLUE-HEADED VIREO. On the 12th, a COMMON MOORHEN was observed at Trustom Pond, on the west side of the Osprey Point trail. Also, a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO was found at Otter Point on the 14th. On the 9th, a SORA was spotted at Mud Pond. The bird was seen in the shrubs near the end of the road as the water level in pond remained high. Along Card's Pond Road, 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW was seen on the 10th. At Camp Cronin at Point Judith this week the following birds were noted: 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW, 1 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, 1 BLUE-HEADED VIREO, 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and 1 ORANGE CROWNED WARLBER. On the beach an AMERICN PIPIT was seen on the 16th, and a HARLEQUIN DUCK was also found just off shore. A LONG-TAILED DUCK was seen from the Point Judith Lighthouse parking area on the 16th. At Sunset Farm, along Route 108 in Narraganset on the 10th, 2 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, 3 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and a BOBOLINK were recorded. On the 17th, 2 WILSON'S SNIPE, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and 2 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS were found there. On the 10th at Napatree Point in Westerly, 6 BRANT, 250 COMMON EIDER, 2 OSPREY, 1 NORTHERN HARRIER, 1 AMERICAN KESTREL, 9 MERLINS, 1 PEREGRINE FALCONS, 2 CASPIAN TERNS, and 1 WESTERN SANDPIPER. At Succotash Marsh in Jerusalem, 2 NELSON'S SPARROWS were seen on the 10th. One LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was found at the Grassy point Trail at Ninigret NWR in Charlestown. In Westerly, at Avondale Farm Preserve, 1 BALD EAGLE, 1 BROAD-WINGED HAWK, 5 MERLINS, 5 PEREGRIENE FALCONS, 1 LINCOLN'S SPARROW and 4 PALM WARBLERS. At Perryville Trout Hatchery on the 12th, 1 BOBOLINK, 6 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 2 FIELD SPARROWS, and 3 EASTERN MEADOWLARK were reported on the 12th. Lastly, sightings from Block Island included: 6 PEREGRINE FALCON, 5 MERLINS, 1 OSPREY, 2 AMERICAN BITTERNS, 2 GREEN HERONS, 1 LESSER SCAUP, 9 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 2 AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS, 4 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS, 2 NORTHERN PARULAS, 1 BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, 2 BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, 1 TENNESSEE WARBLER, 3 BLACKPOLL, 1 MAGNOLIA, 20 PALM WARBLERS, 1 AMERICAN REDSTART, 1 CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, 8 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 1 DICKCISSEL, 1 WINTER WREN, 1 WOOD THRUSH, 1 BICKNELL'S THRUSH, 2 HERMIT THRUSHES and 1 SWAINSON'S THRUSH. That's all for this week, thank you for calling and good birding! - End transcript Subject: belated Lincoln's Sparrow, plus mystery sandpipers From: "eric88kp" <eric_lopresti AT brown.edu> Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:00:41 -0000 On Thursday, I led a group of the Brown bird club to Blackstone Park and in addition to the normal sparrows around, we had a Lincoln's and an immature White-Crowned. Today while at the fields on Plains street at URI - two sandpipers flew overhead, calling loudly. It was a clear one-syllable note, rather short and abrupt. They had noticeable bills, but not overly long. Unfortunatly, I was there other reasons and thus did not have binoculars. I would be curious to hear what you think. In the shrubs there were Savannah, Song, and Swamp sparrows, in good numbers. Worth checking again. Eric LoPresti Providence, RI Subject: Saturday, 10/17 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:17:55 -0700 (PDT) Birding today with Kathy Patric, Carlos Pedro, Phil Rusch, Sandy Saunders and Scott Tsagarakis, at Succotash Marsh MA, Jerusalem: 4 Great Blue Herons, ~25 Great Egrets, Brant, 1 Kingfisher, Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Nelson's Sparrows and a Saltmarsh Sparrow. At Sunset Farm (Kinney Bungalow), Narragansett: 1 Cooper's Hawk, 6 Killdeer, 2 Wilson's Snipe, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (found by Chris Nunes), Common Yellowthroat and 2 White-crowned Sparrows. At Scarborough SB, Narragansett: Common Eider, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 1 Semipalmated Plover, 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderlings and Dunlin. At Card's Pond/Moonstone Beach, Matunuck: 6 Hooded Mergansers, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 11 Semipalmated Plovers, 2 White-rumped Sandpipers and Dunlin. On Moonstone Beach Road, Perryville, there were 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and 1 White-crowned Sparrow, and at Perry's Mill Pond there were 2 Great Blue Herons, 2 Wood Ducks and 2 Red-tailed Hawks. At Quonochontaug there was 1 Red-throated Loon, 5 Common Loons, 1 Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Bufflehead, 8 Black-bellied Plovers, 3 Semipalmated Plovers, Sanderlings, 3 White-rumped Sandpipers and Dunlin. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: Pt. Judith Harlequin Duck, Orange-crowned Warbler etc. 10/16/09 From: Christian Nunes <pajaroboy AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:49:21 -0400 Hello everyone, I spent a few hours poking around the Pt. Judith Light and Camp Cronin this morning. Sea watching was spectacular, with hundreds birds in constant motion flying from eastish to westish. Birds flying by the point included: 1 female LONG-TAILED DUCK 200 + SURF SCOTERS 200 + COMMON EIDER (Surf Scoters and Eider flying by in groups of 5-100 every minute or so) 6 COMMON LOON LAUGHING GULL (many, most numerous flying gull out over the water followed by Ring-billeds) NORTHERN GANNET (scores, all ages) 15 BRANT 5 RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS At Camp Cronin, there were a few birds to be found in sheltered hedges including 1 ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, 3 Myrtle YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET,1 male Slate-colored DARK-EYED JUNCO, 1 immature Taiga WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, 6 SWAMP SPARROWS, 15 SONG SPARROWS, 4 (3 tan-striped, 1 white-striped) WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, 1 SAVANNAH SPARROW, and 1 bright AMERICAN PIPIT on the beach inside the breakwater. Just off shore near the big rock was a female HARLEQUIN DUCK. This is the first time I have seen this species off Pt. Judith, a fact that I was reminiscing while watching the Long-tailed Duck fly-by earlier at the lighthouse. I like it when that happens. Great birding, Christian Nunes pajaroboy AT hotmail.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/ _________________________________________________________________ Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222985/direct/01/ Subject: pelagic opportunity From: DLSaint AT aol.com Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:12 EDT A pelagic on October 8th had to be postponed due to weather conditions. As a result, the trip was rescheduled for Tuesday,October 20th and there are 2 openings for anyone interested in participating. The trip will depart the Galilee dock on the 'SNAPPA" at 7am and return at 3pm and cost $95. If you are interested please e-mail me at dcpedro AT cox.net . Jan St.Jean for Carlos Pedro Subject: Wednesday, 10/14 From: Philip Budlong <blp8391 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:10:00 -0700 (PDT) This morning (10:15-12:00) at TNC's Tillinghast Pond MA, West Greenwich, there were numerous Blue Jays, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Blackpoll Warbler, 2 Field Sparrows and other common deep woods species. Phil Budlong, Westerly Subject: CORRECTION: Block Island Beane Point on Saturday and Sunday 10/10 and 10/11 From: Bruce Larson <bruce.r.larson AT verizon.net> Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:41:12 -0400 CORRECTION I believe the rail that I reported was most likely a virginia rather than a clapper. I think the depth and power of the call was due to my nearness to the bird, it was the first time I heard one calling from so close. My apologies for the confusion or excitement this may have caused.. Bruce Larson Milton, MA bruce.r.larson AT verizon.net Subject: some birds from yesterday From: "Michael Tucker" <mtucker AT asri.org> Date: Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:46:19 -0400 Yesterday with Jack Sullivan and Ryan Miller, we stopped at an old quarry/gravel pit area off New London Turnpike in West Greenwich. We had 4 Blackpoll Warblers, several Yellow-rumped Warblers, several White-throated Sparrows, several Juncos, 4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 2 Golden-crowned Kinglets and 1 Blue-headed Vireo. Mike Tucker Sekkonk, MA