Belle Isle Bird List July 8 2007

2007.07.08
Belle Isle Marsh
5:00 - 8:30 am dst
Libby Frederolli, Cindy & Marie Herrick, Dana Jewell, Soheil Zendeh
High tide: 5:50 am dst
Sky: partly cloudy
Temperature: 68° - 78°F (20° - 25°C)
Wind: calm early, then w 5 - 10 mph (8 - 16 kph)
Visibility: excellent
Tide: high

Notes:

Weeds, flowers, seeds and insects on the meadow meant a lot of butterflies, bumblebees and swallows were cruising and hunting. Most of the butterflies, as usual, were Cabbage Whites, but there was a Sulfur and a Monarch as well.

Barn Swallows are suddenly abundant. At least some nests are under the bridge to the observation tower island.

Sharp-tailed sparrows are also abundant. I still don't have the smoking gun: No adults feeding young so far, no nest found.

Shorebirds have started their southward migration already. Lesser Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher and Least Sandpiper are the usual early fall migrants, and they were here, as were some greater Yellowlegs and one
Willet. The Willet, of course, is probably local--may have even bred at the marsh,though I never saw any the whole month of June.

Ah, yes, this was the first of this season's Belle Isle Heron Counts. Almost all herons were concentrated in the easternmost pan in East Boston, clearly visible from the Boardwalk, but not close. Shorebirds were also there. The presence of a batch of Greater Yellowlegs hunting busily almost always means there are marsh minnows available for the plucking.

The presence of 5 Great Blue Herons with the white egrets and ibises was fun and slightly unusual. 4 of the 5 were immature birds, so they just fledged and began to fly about. Great Blue is an early nester. By contrast, all of the white egrets looked like adults. We'll start seeing the young toward the end of this month, once they fledge.

About the Ospreys: They still come and go and watch over the "nest" expectantly. I have almost no doubt that there is no young and no eggs there. At the Rumney Marsh platform last week there was already a half-grown
chick. However, just as at Rumney, the adults at Belle Isle keep picking up clumps of grass and dumping it on top of the nest. It seems like they keep building up the nest as long as they are around it.

On the Boardwalk today I had some early-bird extra eyes come to help: Two ladies from Newton, a lady from East Boston and the ubiquitous Dana Jewell. Thanks to all for a very sociable Heron Count.

Number of bird species:    33

American Black Duck    6
Mallard    4
Ring-necked Pheasant    1
Double-crested Cormorant    6
Great Blue Heron    5
Great Egret    16
Snowy Egret    37
Black-crowned Night-Heron    2
Glossy Ibis    5
Osprey    2
Greater Yellowlegs    12
Lesser Yellowlegs    8
Willet    1
Least Sandpiper    43
Short-billed Dowitcher    16
Herring Gull    5
Common Tern    3
Least Tern    1
Mourning Dove    8
Chimney Swift    2
Tree Swallow    5
Barn Swallow    15
American Robin    12
Gray Catbird    2
Northern Mockingbird    3
European Starling    60
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow    10
Song Sparrow    2
Northern Cardinal    1
Red-winged Blackbird    20
Common Grackle    60
American Goldfinch    4
House Sparrow    2

Soheil Zendeh
42 Baker Ave
Lexington, MA 02421
home phone 781-863-2392
cell phone 617-763-5637
office phone 617-528-4013