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While only a couple of new additions this week to the patches, some good birds were had. By finally getting on the board with some winter finches, discovering why the gulls love the stateline parking lot in Plaistow/Haverhill, and catching up with old friends, and finally breaking 50 for both circles.
A little bit of birding in the home patch this weekend, some nice birds around but not much different than last week. The only addition was a Brown-headed Cowbird at a feeder on Main St. in Plaistow.
One quick visit to the Merrimack River in West Newbury yielded a nice gathering of Ring-billed Gulls (150+) resting on the ice which is the largest I’ve seen in the circle.
Speaking of gulls, I found out the lure for the parking lot gulls on the state line — Donuts! I’ve had some nice gulls here in the past (LBBG, ICGU) but nothing special so far.
Month total: 29 | 1 new birds puts me up to 57 total.
The Work patch took the cake this week, with mostly incidental sightings to boot. I started out with a nice group of Golden-crowned Kinglets. These tiny energetic fluff balls came within feet of me as they actively fed around a small pond at Hawkin’s Farm – my only real birding of the week.
The highlight was definitely catching up with a nice flock of Common Redpolls feeding in the birches right down the street from the office. This is only my SECOND record for these guys in town – last time was March of 2015! Now bring on the grosbeaks!
Another nice incidental sighting was a continuing Barred Owl in Atkinson. This bird consistently hunts from a perch along my ride home most nights, and I was able to catch up with it 3 times this week! It is certainly a good year for Barred owls.
And after several visits by an old friend’s with nobody home — my little red friend is back!
Other highlights included: immature Bald Eagle over Rt.28, Cedar Waxwings and a Red-winged Blackbird at Hawkin’s Farm.
Month total: 43 | 2 new birds (GCKI, CORE) puts me at 51 for the year.
Contact me at kyle.wilmarth[at]gmail.com