V18 N35

Despite the late date, I went to the
hawk watch on a day with NNW
winds. Under ice-blue skies, 20-30
die-hard hawk watchers were
treated to lots of Red-shouldered
and Red-tailed Hawks, a bunch of Northern
Harriers and all the usual late migrants —
bluebirds, cedar waxwings and American
Robins. One thing we did not have was Pine
Siskins. This wave of winter finch seems to
have moved on. Where I had 40 at my feeders
last week, yesterday there were three.
The American Goldfinch was the dominant
finch, but word is that Common Redpolls are
not far behind. These red-capped Subarctic
breeders and winter nomads sometimes
arrive in hordes in January and February,
once they’ve consumed all the birch catkins
in New England. One cold February morning,
I watched waves of redpoll come in off the
Atlantic and festoon the withered goldenrod
like animate Christmas Tree ornaments and
enliven the air with their brittle call notes.
The point of this essay is to point out
Bird Droppings
Dispatches from the nation’s birdwatching capital… by Seymore Thanu
that Fall migration doesn’t end on November
30. The hawk counter’s contract may end,
but it doesn’t mean the hawks won’t migrate
when winds turn cold and northerly. A big
dump of snow in New England will send
big burly buteos south, seeking open ground
where rodents are not sheathed in a layer of
snow. I’ve seen Rough-legged Hawks arrive in
March, driven south by a blanketing blizzard.
While most puddle ducks have already
arrived, sea ducks and other sea birds will
continue south into January. A dozen Black
Scoters flew over the hawk watch while I
was there. Loons, Northern Gannet and the
odd alcid or two might be seen from the
Avalon Seawatch. Or grab your binoculars
and scan offshore. The skeins of birds writhe
like strands of smoke along the horizon. Surf
and Black Scoters are most common. Whitewinged
Scoters flash white wing patches and
eiders are overall larger. You may even see the
odd puddle duck migrating with scoters.
Winter is the season for special treasures.
A walk down to Stone Harbor Point may garner
a treasured look at Snowy Owl. It will certainly
produce Herring Gulls whose keening
cries make the air seem 10 degrees colder. The
belly-laugh grunts of the Great Black-backed
Gull cast aspersions upon the human preoccupation
with meaning.
The meaning you seek is written in the
tracks laid by tiny sandpipers, erased by the
incoming tide. Enjoy your walk along unpeopled
beaches, a special gift of the season.
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November 26, 2020 EXIT ZERO Page 47