2006.07.02
Belle Isle Marsh
6:30 - 10:30 am (dst)
Jeremy Dibbell, Soheil Zendeh
High tide: 4:30 am
Sky: clear to partially cloudy
Temperature: 78°F (25°C)
Wind: wsw 10 - 20 mph (16 - 32 kph)
Visibility: good
Total # of species: 31
Extensive notes at end
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American Black Duck 15
Mallard 3
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Egret 5
Snowy Egret 15
Green Heron 1
Glossy Ibis 3
Osprey 2
Killdeer 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8
Willet 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 9
Herring Gull 10
Great Black-backed Gull 1
Common Tern 4
Least Tern 6
Rock Pigeon 5
Mourning Dove 12
Willow Flycatcher 1
American Crow 5
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 2
American Robin 20
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 250
Yellow Warbler 2
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 25
Common Grackle 3
American Goldfinch 2
Notes:
Today, the stiff breeze kept the mosquitoes away and the temperatures
pleasant. But some birds, notably shorebirds, may have been keeping low due
to the breeze.
Waterfowl:
At least 7 chicks accompanied one of the ABlack Ducks.
Herons:
Herons were scattered at the marsh. High tide was long past by the time we
arrived with day break. In the next few weeks, as young herons begin to
leave nests and go out to forage, there is a potential for large numbers of
Snowy and Great Egrets to show up at dawn on high tide days. I expect to be
there at (or close to) dawn on the following Sundays for the Belle Isle
Heron Watch (in its 26th year):
Sundays Sunrise High Tide
July 16 5:22 3:49
July 30 5:35 3:11
August 20 5:57 9:44
Sept 3 6:12 7:46
Sept 17 6:26 8:26
Oct 1 6:41 6:19
Oct 15 6:58 6:55
Odpreys:
One adult Osprey was almost continually on the nesting platform, low, so
that only the head was occasionally visible. Another adult Osprey flew by
and dove to come up with a large dripping mass-- seaweed?. At one point
both adults arrived at the nest within a few minutes of each other carrying
what looked like sticks. They continue building up the nest.
Though I heard from a friend recently that he saw feeding behavior at the
nest, neither Jeremy nor I ever saw unambiguous behavior that we would call
feeding: Neither bird showed up with what we could recognize as fish and
there were no young visible or getting fed.
In contrast, later in the day, we visited the Rumney Marsh Osprey platform
(easily visible from Rte 107, Saugus). There were 2 half-sized Ospreys
there, looking like overgrown quail. An adult flew in after a while.
Curiously, the adult did not bring any food. The nest is tall with old
vegetation and sticks that the adults have piled up for the past 7 or 8
years of nesting at this site.
The large size of the young was striking at Rumney. In each case (Belle Isle
and Rumney) the adults arrived and began nesting activity some time in
April. Yet, at Rumney, there are half-grown chicks and at Belle Isle
nothing is visible except the adults. I continue to suspect that the Belle
Isle Ospreys are very young and just trying it out, whereas the Rumney
birds have been at it quite a few years and have no trouble producing young.
Shorebirds:
Shorebirds are beginning to arrive from the arctic on fall migration. Aside
from a few yellowlegs and dowitchers, peep kept flying by at irregular
intervals. None ever landed near enough for us to identify them, but from
the lack of distinctive Least Sandpiper calls I would guess that most if
not all were Semipalmated Sandpipers.
The Killdeer and perhaps even the Willet are nesting birds at the marsh.
Terns:
Terns continue to feed at Belle Isle Creek and in the salt pans. Least Terns
are almost continuously in view. There were a minimum of 6 today. I still
have not figured out where they nest--nearby, I'm sure.
Passerines:
A number of passerines have fledged young. We saw American Tree Swallow
young and American Robin young. Most of the starlings, already beginning to
flock in large drifting masses, are also young of the year.
Other critter notes:
I usually turn boards over when I schlep trough the Marsh, in the hope of
finding amphipods, voles or anything else that hides under boards. Today,
under one board there were 3 or 4 large spiders carrying egg sacs. These
sacs were at least 1/3 the total length of the critter. Most skittered
away, but one was slow and I got photos of it, one of which I attach. It
looks like a wolf spider to me, but does anyone know why it's called a wolf
spider, or what the function of the egg sac is?
Butterflies
On the way out of the Park we saw an eastern tiger swallowtail, a monarch, 4
or 5 cabbage, and a smallish butterfly that I did not recognize (and still
haven't found in my butterfly book): Medium sized brown (about 1.5 inches
wingspan), rounded wings (in other words, not jagged edges) with a fine
border of bluish and orangy-pink dots along the outer edges of both wings.
Subtle but elegant design. Any ideas, let me know!
Terns:
We checked the following tern nesting sites and tallied adult Common Terns
and young:
General Edwards Bridge (Revere-Lynn): 33 adults, 2 young
Donald McKay Docks
(off Liberty Plaza, East Boston): 20 adults, 1 young
Snake Island, Winthrop:
6 flying adults, no young visible. Also, 1 Willet and 2 oystercatchers.
One final note:
I looked into the Oasis before going to Belle Isle. As I arrived, I saw a
small bird fly in and perch in a small tree just ahead. It flew like a
Spotted Sandpiper. And it stood on a branch and called like a Spotted
Sandpiper. It was a Spotted Sandpiper.
It turned out it was quite agitated by my presence and kept flying about and
bobbing in ront of me. I never found the young it must have been trying to
protect. I had never seen a Spotted land in a tree before.
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