On Saturday, Pamela and I joined our friends Laura & Mark on a BBC trip they were leading that started in Gloucester, and continued all day including locations in Rockport, Merrimac, and eventually Plum Island - with just six of us winding up the day for a nice meal at a local Mexican restaurant in Newburyport. Although we dipped on the Slaty-backed Gull (not too big a deal for us as we had seen it in December, but I wouldn't mind making it a year bird and maybe snapping a picture or two...) we got great looks at a few other rarities that have been in the area of late, as well as some of the more expected, but nevertheless wonderful birds that visit the north shore in the winter. There were two real highlights of the day for me:
The Townsend's Solitaire that has been somewhat regular at the Rockport Country Club. I did get to see this individual last weekend, but this week he came down to a bird bath in spectacular light.
And:
A Westen Tananger that has been visiting a feeder in Merrimac for the last several weeks.
There are additional pictures in my pBase Gallery, in the "New England - Uncommon to Rare Birds" gallery
In the interest of full disclosure, the other "more expected, but nevertheless wonderful birds" that I mentioned above include Glaucous & Iceland Gulls, King Eider, Common Murre, all three scoters, Long-Tailed Ducks, and Harlequin Ducks. I am also relatively confident that I picked out a first-cycle Thayer's Gull at one point, but inexpereince with this bird make me hesitant to add it to my list yet. Hopefully I'll have a hundred or so to study when in California later this month.
I also spent a couple of hours on my own Sunday moring at Parker River to try to add a few species to my 2008 Plum Island Competition list. Unfortunatley, I don't think I picked up anything new for the list, but I did manage the 'regulars' - Snowy Owl, Northern Shrike, and Rough-legged Hawk, so I can't really complain...
