Birding On MLK Day

Every year for the past few, I have been taking part in the Buzzards Bay Christmas Bird Count in mid to late December. Every year my birding friends and I swear we're going to do more birding together in the coming year. I believe last year we went once on New Year's Day... True, I did a few days on my own, but for the most part I had to jot down things I saw in passing or while working in the yard.

I made the suggestion a week or so ago that if we had the day off we try to do at least some local birding on MLK day. I did have to work the evening, but I figured I could put in a few hours in the morning. Mark was in, but Tom was going skiing.

Last night I confirmed with Mark that the weather looked acceptable and that I would pick him up at 7:30 am at his house.

I got up around 6:00, fed the critters, had several cups of coffee and a little breakfast, then headed out. I was a little late getting to Mark's due to icy roads. We headed for Falmouth Center in search of a pink-footed goose that had been reported recently. There is very little pond/bay water free from ice so our options were limited as to where to look. We checked several areas around town with no luck on that particular goose, but we ended at noon at, around or slightly above 50 species. I'm still waiting for Mark's e-mail with the complete results.


The Knob

A rather treacherous walk out to The Knob today, but nice to be out there. The weather was overcast and cold, but with very little wind it was tolerable. Buzzards Bay is on the right, Quissett Harbor to the left.


Nobska Point from Shining Sea Bikeway near Trunk River. The water on Vineyard Sound was superb for viewing today. Hardly a ripple in the water. We had excellent side by side views of male and female Common & Barrow's Goldeneye from Falmouth Heights.


Perch Pond

One of our last stops to look for waterfowl was Perch Pond. This is usually a spot that has some open water that helps to concentrate birds. We had pretty good numbers of several species and three drake Eurasian Wigeon which is a nice bird to have. Three in one location is, I think, really good. Below is a wider view of the same spot. There were several shell fishermen in the area breaking through the ice for tasty bivalves.


Finally, introducing the "new" Frost Bottom Farm truck and bird-mobile. Turns out, this is one of the best birding vehicles I've had. The back seats can be lowered allowing for scopes to be placed inside with the legs of the tripods still fully extended which saves time at various stops along the way. Quite comfortable and easy to maneuver.

It really was a nice day and I am glad to have gotten out. The new scope was excellent and I am happy to have finally put some miles on it. We returned to Mark's home just afternoon and the sun began to break through the clouds. I spent the afternoon with Mrs doing a little more organizing in the office and completed a few more of the daily chores.