Words On Birds by Steve Grinley
Rare Birds Are Happening Now
October 25, 2024
By Steve Grinley
Late October, and all through November, is the time that birders consider to be “anything can happen” time. Late fall is the period when many birds wander, and species that don’t normally occur in Massachusetts show up here unexpectedly. This past week was a case in point.
Margo and I decided to spend some time last Sunday afternoon at the North Shore Community Gardens in Middleton. It is a large community garden that traditionally is a good location in the fall to see many different species of sparrows, as well as indigo buntings, blue grosbeaks, dickcissels and yellow-breasted chats. Some of the more unusual species had been reported over the past few weeks.
As we pulled into the garden, we could immediately see that we were probably too late. The majority of plots were already cleared of vegetation and only about twenty-five percent of them remained with dead stalks. Still, it was a warm, summer-like afternoon so we decided to walk around.
We immediately encountered sparrows along the path. Most were song sparrows, but we did get good looks at a couple of field sparrows, a swamp sparrow and several white-throated sparrows. A phoebe was catching insects at the small, hidden pond there. Yellow-rumped warblers and kinglets were flitting in the trees in several areas.
The highlight was the two palm warblers that were feeding in the weedy growth around the thickets. One was the duller western subspecies but the other was the yellow subspecies that still retained its bright yellow rump and undertail. This cute warbler stays low and constantly “wags” it tail up and down making it fun to watch.
We left the garden and casually made our way back north. We stopped at a small park in Middleton where only a few kinglets were present. I then noticed a report from Plum Island of a scissor-tailed flycatcher. We didn’t recognize the person who reported it and were skeptical. But then they posted a convincing photo!
The rare flycatcher was seen near Stage Island, it was late in the day and we were easily 45 minutes away. We considered the later hour, the Sunday traffic, the construction delay at the Plum Island bridge, and the need to travel the dirt road on the island down Lot 6 or 7 where the bird was seen. We decided to give it a try and made our way there.
The scissor-tailed flycatcher is a bird of Texas and Oklahoma, with a small winter population in south Florida. There was one at Sandy Point more than ten years ago, and it is considered very rare anywhere in Massachusetts.
When we arrived past Lot 6, our friend MaryMargaret was there and waved us down. She pointed ahead to the trees next to the road and we could see the bird perched at the top of the trees. There were several photographers there, but not many birders.
It was a half hour before sunset and the sun shone nicely on the perched bird. providing nice photos, showing some of its salmon color on its flanks. Its long tail was obvious, though this was a juvenile bird and the tail was maybe half the length of an adult, but still well forked.
True to its name, it kept flycatching in the evening sun, flying up and often disappearing to other high point in the trees along the road. As it took flight, we could see the salmon underwing, and the white in the long tail feathers. A pretty bird, indeed.
A few more birders did arrive but the bird also kept disappearing and the sun was going down. Finally, one last birder arrived just in time to see the bird before it flew back above the trees and disappeared out of view. The birder was disappointed that he didn’t get a photo, but very happy he saw the bird just before it departed. The scissor-tailed flycatcher was not seen again that day, nor in the days that followed.
Also this week, a Western kingbird was seen in Barnstable on Cape Cod and a painted bunting was seen in Eastham on the Cape. Dickcissels are showing up at feeders in the state, and we just received word of a rare yellow-throated warbler coming to a feeder in Ipswich! So keep an eye out for rare birds during these “anything can happen” weeks!
Steve Grinley
Bird Watcher’s Supply & Gift
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Newburyport, MA 01950
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