Another month birding the 5MR has come and gone, and although it was a quick month, a lot of great birds were had in my 5 mile radius — including two new birds to my Plaistow circle. Most of the birding this month was done in Essex County, but nice birds at a relatively underbirded hotspot in NH made up for the lack of time spent birding around Rockingham County.
Plaistow Circle
While the birding was limited, the Plaistow Circle produced a respectable 51 species in February making up 39.5% of total species seen again Essex County totals.
I put in some time picking through flocks of gulls and was rewarded with many Iceland Gulls of various plumage, but my targets – Glaucous and Lesser-black Backed Gull – are still missing from the list.
In February I added 8 new birds for the year including: Rock Pigeon, Brown-headed Cowbird, Carolina Wren, Wild Turkey, Common Redpoll, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Black Duck, and Barrow’s Goldeneye. The total number of species seen in the 5MR at the end of Feb. is 64.
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck +
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye +
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey +
Rock Pigeon +
Mourning Dove
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Carolina Wren +
Golden-crowned Kinglet +
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Evening Grosbeak
House Finch
Common Redpoll +
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird +
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
Salem Circle
The Salem Circle was restricted mostly to birding to and from work and a few lunch-break forays. The theme of this circle was ‘creatures of habit’. This included two Barred Owls that were seen almost daily in Atkinson, and a Red-shouldered Hawk that really loves a particular perch.
A total of 7 birds were added in February including: Common Grackle, Common Merganser, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Common Redpoll, Red-shouldered Hawk, Turkey Vulture, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. The total number of species seen in the 5MR at the end of Feb. is 54.
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Ring-necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Wild Turkey
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
Common Redpoll
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal
House Sparrow
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