THE 2003 FALL CENUSUS OF WATERBIRDS IN THE

BLACKSTONE NATIONAL CORRIDOR NOVEMBER 22-23

Amazingly we had great weather on both days of the count and I got away with being

dressed only in a sweater for most of the count. Ah! If only the CBCs were like this!

There was no substantial ice on any ponds and temps climbed into the low 50s with

calm winds and only partly cloudy skies. Participants in this year's count were:

FRAN McMENEMY, JOAN ZUMPFE (Worcester) Just this one count takes ALL day.

BILL RASKU, KATHY MILLS (Douglas, Millville, Blackstone, Uxbridge)

MARK LYNCH, SHEILA CARROLL (Leicester, Cumberland, Pawtucket, Providence (in

part), and East Providence (in part).

JOHN LILLER, KIM KASTLER, HOWARD SHAINHEIT (North Smithfield, Burrillville,

Glocester)

DAN BERARD, DEB BERARD (Lincoln, Smithfield, Woonsocket)

BARBARA WALKER, RICK WALKER, MIKE WALKER, PAUL MELESKI, VAL

MILLER, PRISCILLA MOOR (Northbridge, Mendon, Hopedale, Upton)

JIM HOGAN, KATHIE HOGAN, SIMON HENNIN, LAURA LANE (Sutton, Millbury,

Grafton): nota bene: this was a new team for this section as Phil Guerin was out of town

this fall. They did a great job covering an awful lot of ground.

SOME POINTS OF INTEREST:

1. It is obvious that some species are widely distributed in migration throughout the

Corridor. This would include expected common species like Mallard and Canada

Goose, but also Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser (to a degree) and

Black Duck (though in much lower numbers than historically occurred in the area.

Counts of thousands use to occur along the Seekonk). These species most likely

"pond jump" south as northern ponds begin to freeze.

2. Some species are regular yearly migrants, but occur in small numbers and

typically only in certain locations: This would include species such as: WOOD

DUCK, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, GADWALL (especially the Lonsdale Marshes),

AMERICAN WIDGEON (Worcester and Providence), RING-NECKED DUCK,

RUDDY DUCK (Turner Reservoir), BUFFLEHEAD (especially the Seekonk

River), and COMMON GOLDENEYE.

3. Then there are species that are very uncommon in fall in the Corridor, but appear

almost yearly. This would include NORTHERN SHOVELER and NORTHERN

PINTAIL.

4. Because of the mild weather, a record number of GREAT BLUE HERONS were

noted this fall, with more in Massachusetts than Rhode Island. These represent

birds that have not migrated south yet.

5. We recorded an unusual high number of COMMON LOONS in the

Massachusetts section of the Corridor. This bird has always been uncommon to

rare "on the water" in the Corridor, and is instead most often seen in spring as a

migrant flying north. Typically, they prefer the large bodies of water of

Massachusetts in migration, like Wachuset and Quabbin Reservoirs. This

number of loons is inexplicable as of yet.

6. We also had a record number of OSPREYS, again likely associated with the

open water.

7. Some species movements in the Corridor are less obvious. We recorded no

Canvasbacks this year, but they do regularly occur in the southern end of the

Corridor, sometimes in very large numbers. The same strategy seems to be true

for both species of scaup and perhaps BUFFLEHEAD. Large numbers

(hundreds) of the latter winter along the Seekonk and I have even seen

individuals in mid-summer (sick?), but they are uncommon to very uncommon

throughout most of the rest of the Corridor in migration. Immense flocks of scaup

(thousands) winter just south of the Corridor and good counts can be found on

the Turner Reservoir and along the Seekonk River. Yet, like the Bufflehead, they

are only occasionally recorded in migration on other ponds of the Corridor.

8. GREAT CORMORANTS were in very small numbers on this fall's count, but

DOUBLE-CRESTEDS were still in good numbers for this late in the year. By

December, GREAT CORMORANTS are regular in modest numbers at the

southern end of the Corridor.

9. PIED-BILLED GREBES were recorded in smaller numbers than I expected with

all the open water.

10. We found no BONAPARTE'S GULLS this year along the Seekonk. This fall

season (July-October) along the Seekonk has also been very poor for terns,

Laughing Gulls, (which previously have been found in the hundreds) and even

Snowy Egrets (rarely recorded this year which is unusual) and Black-crowned

Night Herons (only a few on our bi-weekly censuses). Part of the explanation for

this may be the extensive dredging operations that are occurring at the mouth of

the Seekonk, which may have affected anadramous fish movements.

11. Unusual species seen on this year's count included SNOW GOOSE, BLACK

SCOTER, SURF SCOTER, and what was described as a "giant Mallard, almost

the size of a Canada Goose" in Elm Park, Worcester. I am eagerly awaiting the

opportunity to check that mutant out.

12. As has been true since we started to monitor the Corridor, the greatest variety

and number of waterfowl are seen at the two extremely urban opposite ends of

the Corridor: Worcester and the small area of Providence/East Providence that is

IN the Corridor. The Turner Reservoir in East Providence has long been known

as a great area for migrant waterfowl and numbers of ducks are returning to the

broad and tidal Seekonk. But check out Fran and Joan's list for Worcester. And

this is not an unusual count. In the years we monitored waterfowl on Worcester

Ponds, we were often amazed at the variety of species that could be found in the

city.

13. In contrast to the big cities, the towns of Hopedale, Mendon and Upton

consistently have few waterbirds, even Mallards. Woonsocket has few waterbirds

too, but has relatively few ponds and is also very urban. Why the towns of

Mendon, Hopedale and Upton should be so waterbird poor is significant and

needs investigation. I also found few waterbirds in the rapidly developing town of

Leicester. This is a town with a good number of ponds, but far fewer waterbirds

than would be expected. It is very sobering to realize that when we monitored

Leicester on Saturday, one of the best spots in the town for numbers and variety

of waterbirds was not a pond at all, but the Rt. 56 overlook of Worcester Airport,

where we had good numbers of gulls and geese and a flock of Common and

Hooded Mergansers FLY by in the late afternoon.

14. One reason for the paucity of waterbirds in these suburban towns has to be

some aspect of the physical nature and geographic situation of the ponds. Most

have very little emergent vegetation, some are very built up along the edges and

are smack in the middle of what I like to refer to as "unrelenting, featureless

suburbs". One of the most frequently heard comments about the Corridor is how

much developing is going on and at such a rapid pace. The rate and nature of

the development of the Corridor is every bit as critical an environmental issue as

water quality. In contrast, there are a number of urban ponds in both Worcester

and Providence that are adjacent to or in the middle of historically preserved

green spaces and offer at least some vegetative screening from people. Even

tiny Salisbury Pond, which hosts numbers of migrants, has a nice back area of

cattails that offers the birds some cover. Though it should be noted that this area

itself is in danger of being destroyed as plans to dredge the pond are proceeding.

In Cumberland, there is a tiny very shallow puddle of a pond in a neighborhood

and on a major road. This pond is about the size of the parking area of Broad

Meadow Brook, yet this year we found many Mallards, Black Ducks, Green-

winged Teal, Pintail and Hooded Mergansers there. One reason that such a

variety is found on this meager pond is that the pond is completely screened from

the roads surrounding it with trees and shrubs and had minimal human presence.

One long term project that I had planned with Gail, was to do more in-depth

profiles of ponds that were both attractive to waterfowl as well as the others that

seemed to attract no birds and look at a number of factors including invertebrate

populations, plant populations, water quality et. Hopefully, we can interest

someone else at the sanctuary in this project.

15. It has been suggested by some, that the increase of boats and the general

increased presence of people on some of the waterways of the Corridor has

decreased those waterways' use by migrant water birds. This has been brought

up in regards specifically to ponds like Rice City Pond, in Uxbridge. This area

used to team with a wide variety of ducks in fall and has hosted such regional

rarities as Eurasian Widgeon (a pair) and Fulvous Duck (three together,

Worcester County's only record) in recent decades. But recently, waterfowl

numbers have been paltry and some have suggested this has to do with an

increase in human presence. On this fall's count we had a kayaker flushing

ducks off of Turner Reservoir. This is a first, and I had never seen kayakers in fall

on this body of water. This is part of a larger thorny problem, which does need

looking into. As we promote increased human use of the Corridor waterways, are

we having an adverse affect on wildlife in the area? This is NOT a popular

question to ask, and it is interesting how quickly it gets dismissed. Some

activities that appear to have minimal impact on the "environment" by themselves

may in fact have serious repercussions when repeated often enough. This

includes hikers, canoeists et. Put enough kayakers on Turner Reservoir (and

other areas) often enough and the ducks will be gone. If we want the Blackstone

National Corridor to continue to be an important place for migration and breeding

of birds and other animals, some kind of regional management plan for the

benefit of the other living residents of the Corridor needs to be discussed.

IMPORTANT: NOTE THE BELOW INFORMATION

THE NEXT SPRING CORRIDOR-WIDE WATERFOWL COUNT WILL BE ON THE

WEEKEND OF MARCH 27-28. I am now going to hold the count over an entire

weekend to give folks more flexibility. You can do your count all on one day, or do part

one day and the rest the next. The only thing I ask is that you complete an entire town

per day, in other words do not do part of a town one day and part of that same town the

next. This will allow folks to do a more complete job scouring their towns. This may also

make it easier to get people to help out on the count. The count will be held rain or

shine BUT if there is a major snow or ice storm predicted on either day, the count will be

held the next weekend APRIL 3-4. We all do one weekend or the other. Some people

cannot do one weekend and others the other.

ATTACHED are three forms: (1) the town-by-town MA totals, (2) the town-by-town RI

totals, and (3) the state and Corridor totals. Included on the last x-cel spreadsheet are

Corridor wide fall totals from 2002 and 2001. Please note that the 2001 fall survey was

done solely by Sheila and I over almost two weeks, though we completed several towns

every day. This meant that we had a great variety of migrants because the time span

was so great.

Thanks to all who helped in this effort. See you in the spring, on a CBC or in the field.

Mark