A few more from Cape Ann last week

Andrews and Hallibut point were good spots for large rafts of eiders and  Harlequin Ducks. Also saw a couple of Northern Gannets, and Red-throated Loons. Missed finding Purple Sandpipers, but a few Sanderlings were sleeping on the rocks.

Harlequin Ducks

Harlequin Dcuks and Common Eider (hen)

Rose thrips

Sanderlings

Sanderlings

And finally ... scene from Sandy Point on Plum Island. I had hoped for raptors and owls in the late afternoon. Had some reports, but except for a Red-tailed and harrier, they were not flying when I went by.

But I also love the bleak beauty of coastal dunes ...

Good Birding!

Coastal Interlude

Dabbler series will continue, but an interlude first: a day trip to Cape Ann ...

Bufflehead (Gloucester Harbor)

Harlequin Duck (Granite Pier)

Purple Sandpiper - Ruddy Turnstone (top left)

Purple Sandpiper (Andrew's Point)

Harlequin Duck (Andrew's Point)

Iceland Gull (Niles Pond)

Good Birding!!

Bad News and Good News

From April through August, the American public watched  the environmental disaster caused by the corporate failures of BP and its associates. Millions of barrels of crude oil poured into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling beaches, marshes, the sea bed, killing untold numbers of wildlife and seafood resources, and threatening the livelihood of people who have lived on those waters for generations.

After months of trial and error, and learn-as-we-go, the oil well was finally stopped, then permanently “killed.” The disaster was over and the American public breathed a sigh of relief. With a normal attention span of a two-year old toddler, the oil spill had taxed the public’s concentration ability almost to the breaking point. The broadcast media, with an even shorter attention span, quickly filled the gap once the oil was stopped. Finally they could report on something really important like the failed drug test and additional jail time for Lindsay Lohan, that poor girl.

Out of sight and out of mind. The New England Patriots won on Sunday. Life is back to normal and good.

Don’t believe it for a minute. The Gulf oil spill is a disaster which will require decades before complete recovery is achieved, if recovery is even achievable.

Collectively, the American public has a very short attention span on average. But imagine what that average would be like if it was not raised by people who have a longer span. Some people do remember, even back many years. And you remember over twenty years ago (1989) when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound in Alaska and spilled its load of crude oil. At that time, we thought it could not get any worse. But recent events have shown that one drunken ship captain is nothing compared to the collective malfeasance of corporate corner cutters.

Sticking with the Alaska spill: scientists have continued to study the effects of oil on the ecology of Prince William Sound. Living Bird, published by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, reported in the Summer, 2010 issue, some of the results of the continuing study. Before the Exxon Valdez, it was thought that oil from a spill dissipates rather quickly and natural systems rebound. “So scientists were surprised when a 10-year reassessment shows that many species in Prince William Sound had not recovered, and some, such as Pigeon Guillemots and herring, were still getting worse.” They have also found thousands of gallons of unweathered crude under the sand and rocks, particularly the intertidal areas where it periodically gets stirred back into the water.

 Harlequin Ducks provide one example of the long term effects. These ducks have the ability (shared with many vertebrates) to make an enzyme when they encounter the toxins contained in oil, such as PCBs and dioxins. “There are few natural resources of these compounds, especially in otherwise largely unpolluted Prince William Sound, so finding the enzyme indicates that the ducks have recently ingested some toxic oil ... In the 2010 study, Harlequin Ducks in oiled areas had up to four times as much toxin-fighting enzyme activity as ducks from clean comparison areas - a clear signal they were still being exposed to toxins on a day-to-day basis.”

When the Exxon Valdez spill occurred, 7 percent of the Harlequin Ducks died outright. Fortunately, the toxins to which they are still exposed do not seem to be fatal. Their numbers are increasing, though they are still a long way from fully recovering.

Enzymes and toxins are rather arcane, and it all happened a long time ago, and things are better, so why worry? Paris Hilton, the media reports, got busted again for drug possession. Spoiled rich girl.

Maybe it is time for people with longer attention spans to have some good news, and there is good news to be had.

A posting on the website of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies (vtecostudies.blogspot.com) summarizes the 2010 breeding season for Common Loons in Vermont. The years-long work of the Vermont Loon Recovery Project is (cautiously) showing success.

In 2010, 72 loon pairs attempted to nest. 57 pair were successful. 70 loon chicks survived through August. Ten years ago there were only 38 nesting pairs and 44 chicks survived.

The statewide loonwatch survey done in July counted 210 adult loons on 127 lakes, down from 228 adult loons in 2009. “The reasons for the decline are unclear although early high winds and waves might be a major factor. Also, two adult loons were killed by other loons in June during territorial battles. Loons are very territorial, and competition will likely cause Vermont’s loon population to level out. This might be the beginning of that.” (Footnote: one of the territorial loon fatalities was in Brattleboro.)

Species which are at the top of the food chain, such as the Common Loon, are relatively few in number. We have removed or mitigated many of the unnatural causes of loon mortality, such as DDT in the environment, human caused habitat loss, and human disturbance. But the loon population in Vermont will not experience unlimited growth. On its own our loon population will achieve a balance brought about by the genetic strength of individuals, territorial limits, predation, weather patterns, and other complex interrelated forces.

One final piece of good news: It is unlikely that Vermont’s loons will be affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Our loons migrate to the New England coast for the winter. Adults usually leave the chicks to fend for themselves and head toward the coast in October. If the chicks have figured out the last bits of surviving on their own, they will head to the coast in November.

Good birding.

Harlequin

Harlequin became a stock character in French passion plays by the sixteenth century. He was a comic character, often portrayed as stupid and gluttonous, a buffoon. But he was also nimble and acrobatic, performing cartwheels and flips. His head was shaven and his face masked. He dressed in motley - tights made out of discordant, multicolored diamond patches. His origin was probably in the court jesters, or fools, who itinerated during the middle ages, providing entertainment in marketplaces and royal courts. Recall the Fool in Macbeth who tries to lighten the king’s dark mood and speak a word of truth to the self-absorbed monarch.

In the natural world, Harlequin’s boldly patterned attire and acrobatic nimbleness is memorialized in Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus). Among North American waterfowl, the drake Harlequin ranks second only to the drake Wood Duck for the striking beauty of its plumage. Harlequin is a small northern duck found in turbulent waters: rushing rivers and surf pounded rocky coasts.

Twenty-five years ago, I went looking for the Harlequin Duck. Our family was camping in Yellowstone National Park. The park’s bird list included the Harlequin, and I knew that the duck summered and nested along fast moving rivers. So whenever we stopped near by a rushing river, I looked for Harlequin Ducks. I had no success.

I did not see a Harlequin Duck until I moved to Vermont a dozen years ago. During my first winter, I made a day trip to Cape Ann along the Massachusetts coast. In the pounding surf along the rocky coastline, “Lords and Ladies” popped to the surface like so many cork bobbers. They swam briefly, then dove again, and bobbed up again.

I know better than to expect any guarantees when looking for birds. But, every winter along the Cape Ann coast, I see flocks of Harlequin Ducks diving close to the rocks. The flocks range from as few as six and to as many as twenty or thirty.

There are two North American populations of Harlequin Ducks - in the Pacific Northwest and in the Atlantic Northeast. In the Northeast, the status of this species is uncertain. Several sources suggest that the population is in series decline and may be threatened. On the other hand, Edward Forbush, the Massachusetts ornithologist, wrote in the 1920s: “It has never been my good fortune to see the eastern race of this rare and lovely duck, but in summer I have watched by the hour many flocks of Pacific Harlequins on the west coast.” It is hard to imagine that Forbush never visited Cape Ann during the winter. Whatever the larger status of this duck may be in its north Atlantic range, along the New England coast during the winter its presence seems to have increased.

The Harlequin Duck breeds along fast moving streams and rivers from the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec northward through Labrador and eastward to Greenland, Iceland, and western Russia. In the Northwest, it moves from its wintering grounds along the Pacific coast to mountain streams in the northern Rockies.

Last week, we were in Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada (the Canadian portion of Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park which spans the U.S. border between Montana and Alberta). We drove one of the few roads in this small park, stopping often to view the deep canyon and dramatic peaks of the glacially sculpted mountains. As the valley opened out, the road ran close to a mountain stream. We stopped at a picnic area so that we could sit by the river’s edge, and (in the back of my mind) look for an American Dipper, a small, stumpy gray bird that feeds by walking upstream underwater. There were no dippers, but on the opposite side of the creek, a family of five brown, nondescript ducklings were being carefully watched by an equally brown, nondescript hen.  Serendipity! Here were the Harlequin Ducks on a fast moving mountain stream that I had looked for twenty-five years ago.

I watched as the young dipped their heads beneath the water looking for food, while mother kept a wary eye on the human movement. Occasionally Harlequins will dabble. More typically, they dive to the gravel river bottom where they walk along the bottom against the current. They poke among the stones, eating nymphs, larvae, and adults of various aquatic insects. It seems like a much lighter diet than when they are along the coasts where they feed on crustaceans and mollusks, but apparently the insects do the trick. The ducklings I watched appeared healthy and vigorous, swimming upstream and scrambling over rocky barriers in the rushing waters.

The Harlequin Duck is charismatic with its clownish attire and acrobatic diving, as evidenced by its many folk names: lords and ladies, painted duck, totem pole duck, rock duck, glacier duck, mountain duck, white-eyed diver, squeaker and blue streak. But this is a tough little duck. It winters in turbulent coastal waters where rocks are pounded by surf. Adult Harlequins often suffer broken bones from the rough coastal niche where they make their living.

The Harlequin Duck family I encountered on the rocky mountain stream were all drab and camouflaged. The splashy drake is too conspicuous to hang around and help raise the young. He had made his contribution and departed.

My trip to the Canadian Rockies was not a birding trip, but when the birds came around, I naturally watched them. I rarely get to the remote places where so many of our birds breed. Encountering the Harlequins on a mountain stream was enough to make for a good birding trip.

Coastal Birding

A day trip yesterday to the Massachusetts coast - Cape Ann & Newburyport area - produced good birding (which is something of a redundancy, since birding is, by definition, good - and a good way to spend a day).

About halfway through the morning, I realized that Common Loon was still absent, and made a particular point to look for it. No luck. Perhaps they were out to sea, or went - were blown - south by the recent, and rather strange, coastal storm.

Other than that, the usual suspects were present, though it seemed to be that the numbers were low. Tide was low in the morning, and the birds that were seen were rather far out, so photography was difficult.

On a day when wintering sea ducks, grebes, and alcids were the expected targets, the highlights were quite different.

At Eastern Point Lighthouse, an American Pipit posed briefly ...

... and at Salisbury Beach, a flock of 50+ Snow Buntings swirled around the campground.

Buffleheads were quite common all along the coast. The sharp contrast between the Bufflehead's bright white hood and bright white body with the dark wings, head, and neck have made this a challenging bird to get a good photograph of, and I have yet to meet the challenge. Nevertheless, in the low angle of the winter sun, the head and neck glistened with an iridescence that was stunning. This gentleman quite apparently has his eye on the lady.

The contrasting light and dark plumage on the Harlequin Duck poses the same photography challenge as does the Bufflehead. They were quite common along our route from the Granite Pier to Andrews Point - a reliable area to see these birds if you need them for a life list.

The King Eider was out to sea, or at least our of our sighting, yesterday. Common Eiders were - well, common - though there were no huge rafts as I have often see, and most were too distant for good photos. But this female was near the breakwater at the lighthouse ...

Good birding!

Birding Cape Ann

I finally got over to Gloucester, Massachusetts, for a day of winter coastal birding. The highlights of the day were a King Eider (too distant for a good picture, but very recognizable), Thick-billed Murre (way too distant to even try for a picture), and Dovekie (barely popped to the surface before diving again).

Among the unusual wintering gulls, was the Black-headed Gull (in rear near rock). Even though the gull is small in this photo, I liked the other gulls and ducks in the foreground. (Greater Black-backed, Herring, Common Eider, female Red-breasted Merganser). This was near the fishing pier in Gloucester Harbor.


Also in the harbor was a first year Iceland Gull, or as the more precise and obsessive birders like to say, a "Kumlien's" Gull (a subspecies of a difficult to classify light-colored, or light gulls).


On Niles Pond, there were at least four additional Iceland (Kumlien) Gulls among the many Greater Black-backed and Herring Gulls of assorted ages. Also at least two Glaucous Gulls and a Nelson's (Glaucous x Herring. Hockey players kept the roosting gulls at a considerable distance. Glaucous is the large white gull in the center.


Sea ducks are always a significant feature of winter coastal birding, and all of the usual suspects were there, including all three scoters. This White-winged Scoter was quite close ...


... and one of the showiest of all ducks, the Harlequin Duck.


A day of Good Birding.

Winter on Cape Ann

Note: This was a post with Short-eared Owl photos. I've remove the photos from this post so they can be used with column on 2/9. Here are a few other photos from winter birding around Cape Ann.

American Black Ducks and Gadwalls photographed near lighthouse on Eastern Point, Cape Ann.

Harlequin Ducks near Andrews Point.

Great Cormorants were roosting at low tide on rocks off the Granite Pier near Rockport.



Began the day birding Cape Ann. At Halibut Point, a flock of 75 Purple Sandpipers were feeding & bathing in their manner, on the rocks as the high surf broke.




Off the Granite Pier in Rockport,captured this Harlequin Duck just as it dove.