Words On Birds 12-05-25

     This particular bird was seen in the dunes on the Parker River Refuge, and the refuge staff was quick to put up signs, and again post on their Facebook page and their website the “rules” for safe owl observation. I encourage you to read them, and to abide by them. The main points include viewing from more than 100 yards away, and limiting your stay to only 10 minutes. 

 

     With today’s camera lenses and spotting scopes, there is no reason to approach owls any closer. Birders usually share their scopes with onlookers to see these beautiful birds. Photographers should spend a short time to take their shots from afar and not wait for the owl to “do something.” It is often resting, as it needs to without being disturbed.

 

     Margo and I saw our first snowy owl of the season a few days later.  It was more than 100 yards out in the marsh near Lot 3 on the refuge.  It was on the other side of the river and, being on the refuge marsh, it was not going to be disturbed. There were people looking with binoculars and photographing with long lenses from the road. We encouraged those with just binoculars to view the bird through our scope which brought it several times closer. It gave everyone a very rewarding view.

 

     In other news, that rare scissor-tailed flycatcher that I wrote about in late October was rediscovered a week ago. In October, we had missed seeing the bird three times in one day. First, we missed seeing it on the refuge, again on the residential end of Plum Island, and again at the Plum Island Airport. It hadn’t been seen again until it was re-found last week at the Spencer-Pierce Little Farm in Newbury – just a stone’s throw from the airport! 

 

     We finally got some excellent views of the bird through our scopes. It was very active, flying and feeding along the trees and shrubs along the edges of the open fields. Not many insects around for this flycatcher, but it seemed to be feeding on the bittersweet and other berries that were still available. It was still there as of this writing, and has been seen by most everyone who has tried.

 

     I had also written about the rare roseate spoonbill that had shown up in Marshfield more than a month ago. It stayed only a couple of days, last seen heading south. Sunday, another rarity from Florida was discovered in Scituate. A limpkin was discovered in a neighborhood in Scituate, a first record for Massachusetts! 

 

     A limpkin is a very unusual bird, almost like a giant rail or small crane with long legs and a long bill. It is a bit larger than a glossy ibis that regularly occurs here. It is dark brown with large white spots and primarily feeds on snails and grubs. Usually found in wooded swamps and along ponds and streams in Florida, this bird was feeding on the lawns of a small neighborhood. It was very out of place, moving actively from yard to yard, feeding on grubs in the small lawns.

 

     When a bird this rare shows up, so does the birding community. When the police showed up, they just advised everyone to park on one side of the roads so as not to impede cars from getting through (a good practice anywhere). Everyone complied and the neighbors were all fine, friendly and mostly curious about the event and the bird. The news media also showed up. The bird was walking the area,  moving from yard to yard for much of this week.

 

     As it got colder this week, birders noticed the limpkin becoming a bit lethargic and feared that it may not survive the plunging temperatures predicted for the end of the week. There was a large discussion on social media about involving a wildlife rehabilitator to rescue the bird and that is being conducted as of this writing. Hopefully all will turn out well for this wayward bird.

 

     Brian Cassie, our birding friend, retired teacher and author wrote the following poem in honor of the limpkin: 

 

Limpkin in the Limelight

 

It’s December, rainy and cold,

And down on the Irish Riviera,

In a place it never should be

Is a Limpkin.

 

It’s a superstar, a New England first,

A bird anatomically unique

But geographically challenged

And feeling the winter as never before.

 

Hanging around seaside front lawns

And seaside back lawns, as well,

Looking for freshwater snails 

In a freshwater-less landscape

 

Open up those speckled wings of yours

Mister or Mistress Limpet

And point your beak south

And fly off as soon as you can

 

Bird watchers and photographers

Can catch up with you later,

When and where you and they

Will be a lot warmer.