If we drink salt water we get thirstier. But not birds. Some birds — albatrosses, shearwaters, penguins, gulls and pelicans — can drink salt water!
If we drink salt water we get thirstier. But not birds. Some birds — albatrosses, shearwaters, penguins, gulls and pelicans — can drink salt water! Maybe you have observed water dripping from a gull’s beak even when it is not near water. That water is probably very salty as they have glands that remove salt, which drains out of their body near the base of their beaks.
Quite a few lesser black-backed gulls are around but they are still mostly seen as single birds or in pairs. On March 1, I found a lesser at Little Beach, and Matt Pelikan photographed one at Ocean Park. Warren Woessner spotted one at Little Beach on March 12, while Nancy Nordin saw two of them there on March 24. I saw one at Ocean Park on March 17 and again on March 29.
Tree Swallow
Tree Swallow
On March 20, Nancy Weaver and Janet Woodcock located one at Sarson’s Island, as did Bob Shriber. Bob watched another one on Norton Point on March 28, and Charles Morano found one at Lucy Vincent Beach on March 29. They were hardly ever seen before 1990, now they are here throughout the year.
Of course other gulls are more common. In March, American herring gulls (that is their name now) were found from 55 locations, great black-backed gulls from 44 locations and ring-billed gulls from 26 locations. Unexpectedly, we have not seen either Iceland or glaucous gulls this winter.
We had several new sightings for the year. Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber birded the Hoft Farm on March 29 and found an exceptionally early chimney swift. The previous early date was April 14, but most arrive in May. A more seasonal arrival is the great egret, with multiple sightings this week. On March 24, Lisa Maxfield spotted one at Brush Pond and Jeff Bernier saw one in the Sengekontacket marshes. On March 30, Laura Lennihan located two at Felix Neck and Kenny Ivory observed one at Squibnocket Pond.
Barn Owl
Barn Owl
Tree swallows arrived on schedule. On March 27, Matt Pelikan observed one tree swallow at Cranberry Acres and Nancy Weaver and Janet Woodcock saw two at Tashmoo Springs, while Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber counted eight buzzing around the Hoft Farm on March 29.
More eastern phoebes are arriving. Nancy Weaver spotted one at Beech Tree Preserve on March 27, Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber saw one at the Hoft Farm on March 29, and the next day Nancy Nordin found two at Quansoo Farm.
Song Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Great blue herons are still lingering before they head off to their nesting grounds. Cynthia Bloomquist spotted a great blue heron from her kitchen window on March 25, Chris Scott found one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station on March 26, Nancy Weaver had one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station March 29, and Nancy Nordin found one at Quansoo Farm on March 30. Another interesting sighting is of a yellow-breasted chat, which is a rare spring transient. Maybe the previous spring transient chats were really over-wintering birds? The chat that Cindy Jackson and Wayne Jackson saw near the Boulevard in Ocean Heights on Feb. 9 has returned; they saw it again on March 23.
Warren Woessner spotted two green-winged teal in Slough Cove on March 24, and the trio of Luanne Johnson, Shea Fee and Nancy Weaver found two others at Long Point on March 30.
In other waterfowl news, large flocks of mute swans are starting to break up for the coming nesting season. The exception to this claim is that Nancy Weaver observed nine mute swans in Gay Head on March 25. On March 27, Janet Woodcock and Nancy Weaver located one at Tashmoo Springs, and another at Long Point.
Margaret Curtin found one at Squibnocket Beach on March 28, Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber spotted two at the Hoft Farm on March 29, and on March 30 Nancy Nordin observed four at Quansoo Farm. The trio of Shea Fee, Luanne Johnson and Nancy Weaver saw two at Long Point that same day.
Mute Swan
Mute Swan
Barn owls are nesting now. Bucky Burrows reports that a barn owl leaves its nest box every evening, returning 10 minutes later to sit on its eggs. And a pair of them is occupying a nest box in Felix Neck’s Nature Center — their activity can be watched via the owl cam on Felix Neck’s website. Nancy Weaver is good at finding yellow-bellied sapsuckers. She found one at Tashmoo Springs on March 24. With Janet Woodcock she located it again on March 27, and then she observed one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station on March 29. Golden-crowned kinglets are moving northward with a lot of sightings this week. I found one at the Oak Bluffs pumping station on March 20, Tracy Winn observed one at the Gay Head Cliffs on March 21, and Matt Born counted six at Clay Pit Road in Aquinnah on March 28. The next day Charles Morano watched two at Great Rock Bight, and Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber had one at the Hoft Farm. On March 30, Nancy Nordin saw one at Quansoo Farm and Tracy Winn counted five along Lighthouse Road.
Greater and Lesser Black Backed Gulls
Greater and Lesser Black Backed Gulls
We know song sparrows are common. They have been seen at 51 different locations in March. This week’s sightings from across the Island were reported by Nancy Weaver and Tracy Winn in Aquinnah, Isa Brillard at Thimble Farm, Thaw Malin and Cynthia Bloomquist at their West Tisbury home, Chris Scott and Nancy Weaver at the Oak Bluffs pumping station, Janet Woodcock and Nancy Weaver at Tashmoo Springs, me at the Katama Airpark, Nancy Nordin and Bob Shriber at the Hoft Farm, Charles Morano at Lucy Vincent, and Luanne Johnson, Shea Fee and Nancy Weaver at Long Point.
Wild turkeys are puffing up, displaying their finery and strutting their stuff across the Island.
Please email your sightings to [email protected].
Robert Culbert is an ecological consultant living in Vineyard Haven.
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