The first arrivals
We planned to meet at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge visitor's center at 8am. (Which is across the street from the Mass Audubon Visitors center - a bit confusing for those who had not been before - a mistake on my part!) A few photos were taken and we introduced ourselves - both by real names and blogs, twitternames etc. Dawn had the foresight to bring name labels, which helped to match names to faces for a little while - remember this is the first time that most of us had ever met face-to-face, and sometimes those little photos and avatars are difficult to relate to a real person. It was evident right from the start that the group was going to get on wonderfully. Everybody was talkative and animated, chatting about each other's blog posts, what software they used, comparing cameras, etc. After a little while, we rounded up the troops, figured out carpooling and headed to the refuge.
Unfortunately, we started the day by losing one of our group. Andy got an early start, only to have a flat when he got to the meeting place, and had to have his car brought to the Saturn dealership to have it fixed. By the time it was done, he didn't have enough time to rejoin the group. (Just one more reason to do this again!)
The first stop was at Lot 1, where we watched and photographed the Purple Martins at the boxes that are there, while Laura broke out her homemade cranberry-blueberry bread that she had just baked that morning. (mmmmmm)
We then made a quick stop at the ocean to see what could be seen from there, and where I caught up with Janet, who was at her post as a volunteer Plover Warden on the refuge. She helps to make sure that the area remains safe for the threatened Piping Plovers who use the beach area for nesting. From this spot, the plovers are quite difficult to see, and she mentioned that she'd not heard yet that the parking lots at the south end of the refuge were full, and suggested we head down there before they did, as there was a fishing program going on that day. Heeding her advice, we made plans to catch up with her when her shift was over, and carpooled to the south end of the refuge to Sandy Point. Along the way, we spotted several of the expected birds of the refuge at this time of the year (just past migration) including Yellow and Common Yellowthroat Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Greater Yellowlegs, Great and Snowy Egrets, etc.
Sandy Point is a public beach just beyond the refuge boundary, and between the fishing program and the beach-goers (especially after several days of drizzly cool weather) there was not a parking spot to be had, so we headed back to the Hellcat Marsh area, where we would be able to get out of the cars, and interact more.
We walked the boardwalk through the marsh in hopes of seeing Virginia Rail (where Amanda had seen a mother with chicks earlier in the week) but today remained hidden. A few in the group heard a few short clicks which we interpreted as mama rail calling her chicks in close to avoid the large group of pink monkeys walking the boardwalk. The Marsh Wrens though were less shy and popped out and "sang" for us a bit. A Red-winged Blackbird also perched out on a reed and repeated let us know that we were in his area, with incessant "conk-la-ree" calls.
In the flattened reeds we spotted a few pairs of Gadwall, and we also heard many (and spotted a few) Willow Flycatchers along the way. We worked our way around the boardwalk for a while, then headed back to walk up dyke and look for Least Bittern. While searching I received a call from Lauren to let me know that she had finished up doing her rounds in New Hampshire and would be joining us shortly. It was getting closer to the time where we needed to meet with Janet also - although the group was still far from heading back to the north end of the refuge. Everybody was having such a great time talking and catching up with each other, we were moving at a much slower pace than if we were seeing a lot of migratory birds! So after Lauren caught up with us, I headed off to meet with Janet and rejoin the group.
Once we got back, we learned that the group had spotted a Least Bittern - excellent! It was also a good time to try a get a group photo.
Second row left to right: Catie, Dawn, Sharon, Janet, Steve
Third row left to right: Amanda, John, Laura, Pamela, Mark, Dan
A little past noon, a few of our group needed to move on with the rest of their days. The rest of us continued north along the refuge. Our next stop was at the North Pool Overlook where we were treated to an up-close (within a few feet) and personal concert from a Savannah Sparrow. I believe this is the same bird I have photographed and posted about earlier - and it was great to be able to share it with this group of bloggers and photographers. This is also a great spot for Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks. At the "Wardens" our next stop, a perched up Eastern Kingbird gave us nice looks as well as the nesting Barn Swallows.
Our last stop on the refuge was at the Salt Pannes, where we did finally spot a few Common Terns, and a few cars picked up a few shorebirds - including a White-rumped Sandpiper. At this point a few more participants needed to peel off (Dan's son was sick, and he didn't want to be away for too long, and Janet was struggling to stay on her feet after staying up late for the Sox game before working the refuge early in the am)
The next stop for the rest of the group was for lunch at the Courtyard restaurant in Newburyport for roast beef sandwiches (and Dunkin'Donuts for those needing a caffeine fix) . Then we headed north to New Hampshire, following Lauren to one of the Mississippi Kite nest sites, where one bird was on a nest. We spent some time in the area, hoping that we'd spy a second bird flying in the area, but we just had to be satisfied with the one. Aw, shucks. Then John and his wife, as well as Catie and her boyfriend had to get going.
Then we were off to Chapman's Landing for sharp-tailed sparrows. There were plenty of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows and a few Nelson's which gave us some comparative (and occasionally confusing) views. Lauren had to leave as she was heading much further north in New Hampshire to catch-up and camp-out with friends. Before the rest of the group left, we had a Virginia Rail calling within 10' of us, but it remained hidden in the reeds.
At this point our group that had reached 16 was down to 8. We made one last stop while still in New Hampshire for Upland Sandpipers at Pease. Upon arriving at the airport, we found an adult Raven feeding fledglings. The Upland Sandpipers were there, but so far away as to be simply distant specks in the spotting scopes - hardly a satisfactory view. Nevertheless, everybody seemed to be happy with the way the day had gone. As dusk settled, we decided to finish up the day with another meal - why not, friends always enjoy a meal together. Since we needed to head back to Newburyport anyway to where some cars were still parked, we decided to have a meal at Andaman Thai in Newburyport. We toasted the day, and more so - new friends.
Once again I'd like to thank everybody that came along and made it such a wonderful day:
Dawn & Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog
Bev from Behind the Bins
John from Birding Maine
Sharon from A New England Life
Catie from Birding Girl
Janet from The Plover Warden Diaries
Steve from Shooting My Universe
Amanda from The Fledgling Birder
Lauren (Lowie)from Worn Field Guide Blog
Laura from The Interstitial Spaces
Mark from Strack16 Blog
Dan from Nature Observances by Forestal
