CO-ORDINATED
NIGHTHAWK WATCH NARRATIVES:
1. from CHRIS
ELLISON/BARRE FALLS DAM. A copy of his submitted X-cel sheet. Chris began
testing locations WEST of The Corridor for next year’s count.
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BLACKSTONE
NATIONAL CORRIDOR NIGHTHAWK SURVEY 2006 |
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DATE: (circle
one) SAT AUG 26 SUN AUG 27 |
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LOCATION: |
Barre
Falls Dam parking lot, 5:00-7:45 PM |
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PARTICIPANTS: |
Chris
Ellison |
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SPECIES: |
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TIME: |
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5-5:30 |
5:30-6 |
6-6:30 |
6:30-7 |
7-7:30 |
7:30-end |
TOTALS: |
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14 |
32 |
18 |
42 |
21 |
10 |
137 |
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COMMON
NIGHTHAWK |
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CHIMNEY
SWIFT |
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1 |
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TREE
SWALLOW |
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3 |
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BARN
SWALLOW |
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100% |
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AMERICAN
ROBIN |
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183 |
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CEDAR
WAXWING |
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43 |
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BOBOLINK |
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RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD |
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COMMON
GRACKLE |
2 |
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OTHER
SPECIES: |
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American
Goldfinch |
4 |
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Baltimore
Oriole |
1 |
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Blue Jay |
1 |
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Common
Flicker |
4 |
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Common
Raven |
1 |
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Eastern
Towhee |
1 |
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Gray
Catbird |
1 |
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Great
Horned Owl |
1 |
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Hairy
Woodpecker |
3 |
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Mourning
Dove |
1 |
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Ruby-throated
Hummingbird |
1 |
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Sharp-shinned
Hawk |
2 |
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Wood Duck |
1 |
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WEATHER: |
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CLOUD
COVER: |
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Substantial
towering cumulus and cirrus cloud formations. Partial clearing from 6:15 to
6:53 PM. |
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TEMPERATURE: |
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64F |
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WIND
(SPEED AND DIRECTION): |
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10MPH,
Northeast |
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OTHER: |
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MAIN
DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT: |
Primarily
southwest, with some birds shifting south and a meager handful flying northwest(!) |
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BEHAVIOR:
(ex: directly flying/feeding/drifting back and forth): |
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Flying
was direct, with occasional "doubling back" for extensive feeding. |
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PRESENCE/ABSENCE
OF FLYING ANY SWARMS: YES NO |
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YES. One
modest swarm of Black Carpenter Ants appeared at approximately 6:55 PM. |
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OTHER
INFORMATION: |
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////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
2.
from
MARK LYNCH/RT. 56 OVERLOOK, LEICESTER: message sent down Massbird.
Tonite was Day#1 of the Blackstone
Corridor and western Worcester County co-ordinated Nighthawk watch. Teams were
in many locations all counting during the same time period: We were joined by
Bart Kamp; Oona Aldrich and Jean McLarty:
Double-crested Cormorant (27
migrating SW)
Great Blue Heron (4)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (2)
Cooper's Hawk (1)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (1)
Wild Turkey (7ad+9yg)
Killdeer (4)
COMMON NIGHTHAWK (563 a
conservative, careful count: This was a really interesting night to watch, with
lots of first flying one way, then another and you really had to try to keep
close watch of where birds went so as not to double count. This is why having
multiple obervers at a site like this really helps. We got to watch three (at least) substantial kettles. These
soared very high and then would quickly dissolve as birds suddenly peeled off
and soared much lower, often out of sight. We watched birds fly in from the
south to join these kettles and a best guess is that they form around swarms of
flying insects.
Chimney Swift (37)
Pileated Woodpecker (1)
Tree Swallow (5)
Barn Swallow (79)
American Robin (245)
Bobolink (88)
Common Grackle (427)
Baltimore Oriole (1)
Plus: White-tailed Deer (3)
Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll
moa.lynch@verizon.net
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
3. from JOHN
LILLER/GRAFTON HS. , GRAFTON MA
LOCATION: Grafton High
School
DATE: 8/26/06
TIME: 5:00-7:50
OBSERVERS: John Liller, Kim Kastler, Colin Bacchiocchi, Sharon Williams,
Bob Williams
WEATHER: Mostly Cloudy (sun made appearance at end), 70 to 64, light ENE
winds
COMMON NIGHTHAWK - 60
5:00-5:30 1
(moving WSW from Grafton Center to Quinsigamond River)
5:35-6:00 9
(heading south along Quinsigamond River)
6:00-6:30 0
6:30-7:00 28
(27 were heading SE over Grafton Center, 1 heading SW over Quinsigamond River)
7:00-7:30 10
(3 heading south along Quinsigamond River, 7 heading NE over Lake Ripple)
7:30-7:50 12
(3 heading south along Quinsigamond River, 9 feeding over Lake Ripple at end)
Note: Many of the birds
were feeding on route, so their movements were not always direct.
CHIMNEY SWIFT - 116 (feeding mainly to west and north of High School)
Wood Duck - 1 (flying NE to Lake Ripple)
DC Cormorant - 13 (heading north towards Lake Quinsigamond)
Great Blue Heron - 1 (heading south)
Killdeer - 36 (feeding in athletic fields)
Belted Kingfisher - 1
Barn Swallow - 29 (most heading north)
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 3 (heading south)
Cedar Waxwing - 9 (feeding in trees)
BOBOLINK - 12 (one flock heading south)
RW Blackbird - 50 (all heading north, as they always do)
Common Grackle - 44 (ditto)
Baltimore Oriole - 1
Also: Mallard, Ring-billed Gull, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, European
Starling, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow
==================
John Liller
Worcester Academy
Worcester MA 01604
==================
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
4. from PAUL AND BETH MILKE/WEST HILL DAM, UXBRIDGE MA, with notes on Sunday too.
DATE: Sat. August 26, 2006
SITE: West Hill Dam, Uxbridge (S. Worc. Co.)
OBSERVERS: Paul and Beth Milke
WEATHER: Overcast, cool, light wind
TIME: 7-8PM (could not arrive until then)
COMMON NIGHTHAWKS: ~40 (conservative)
MOVEMENT: Appearing from the north
in small groups (4-7), feeding as they
circled the marsh , crossed the dam,
circled low over the West River near
Hartford Ave., then moved
southward. Numbers fairly evenly spaced
between
7 and 8PM. Some flew low enough over the dam that the white wing bars and
throat patches could be seen without
binoculars.
A vantage point at the middle of the
Dam afforded the best view of the
overall movement of nighthawks. Several swarms of mosquitoes were seen at
this location.
OTHER SPECIES: Chimney swifts (~35) feeding, cedar waxwings
(6), wood
ducks (2), great blue herons (2
together flying).
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Sunday, 8/27/06
Rain became heavy as we were about
to leave the house--conditions not
suitable for watching the marsh from
the road.
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5. from EUGENIA MARKS OF THE AUDUBON SOCIETY OF RHODE ISLAND, for Saturday and Sunday. E-mail sent to me.
Foster/Lincoln/Smithfield, RI
Nighthawk Weekend Report
8/25, 7 - 7:45 p.m. Central
Pike at Barden Reservoir, Foster, RI
Wind E 5mph Temp. ~ 60 F.
Mist; clouds/fog 500 ft.
No nighthawks observed. 1 Mute Swan on water. Heard catbird; heard
black-billed cuckoo.
8/26/06, 7 - 8 p.m. Central Pike at Barden Reservoir, Foster,
RI
Wind SSE 7 Temp. 58 F.
Broken clouds at ~ 1500 ft.
8 Nighthawks flying in groups of 2s
and one group of 4; flying across north
end of reservoir and trending south
along western shore at tree-top level
between 7:30 - 8 p.m.
1 Mute Swan in water. 2 Mourning Doves; 8 Chimney Swifts; 12
Canada Geese;
heard Chickadee; 1 Great Blue Heron
8/27/06 7 - 8 p.m. Chase Farm,
Lincoln; Davies Tech, Lincoln; North
Central Airport, Lincoln; Cross
Mfg., Lincoln; Woonasquatucket/ Stillwater
Reservoir, Smithfield.
Moderate rain. Temp. 56 F.
Scanned for several minutes at each
site. Saw nothing. Looked at lighted
areas but saw no feeding.
Ken Weber's weekly nature article in
ProJo on Saturday focuses on Nighthawks
and remarks that he can count on
seeing a trickle of the birds in evening
from his house near the Deerfield
River (stream in Smithfield) that connects
Waterman Reservoir to
Woonasquatucket/Stillwater. "We
consider a dozen or
two a good night. Last August, we counted 40 nighthawks in one
evening.
That was our largest count in
several years."
I think a likely migratory pattern
for Nighthawks along the reservoirs in
northwestern RI from Woonsocket
Reservoir to Woonaquasquatucket/Stillwater
to Waterman Lake (Smithfield) to
Smith & Sayles, Ponaganset, and Killingly
Pond (Glocester) or a more southerly
route along Barden, Scituate,
Westconnaug towards
Quinnebaug/Thames in Conecticut. Is
there a record of
concentrated fall flocks in
Connecticut? Are New England Birds
headed
toward inland middle U.S. or coastal
route to South America over Florida?
I will look during this week at
Woonasquatucket/ Stillwater which is near
office. Eugenia Marks
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6.
from PHIL GUERIN/TOWN FARM ROAD, SUTTON SUNDAY.
Mark,
I did get out to Town Farm Road in
Sutton yesterday (Aug 27) and, as expected, came up with nothing (other than 12
starlings). I was having Birdathon 2006
flashbacks! I hung out from 5:00-6:30
then gave up as conditions were not getting better and visibility was
decreasing.
Phil
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7.
from JOHN LILLER/GRAFTON on Sunday. The only team that ventured out that night
that saw nighthawks!
LOCATION: Grafton High School
DATE: 8/27/06
TIME: 5:00-7:30
OBSERVERS: John Liller, Kim Kastler, Colin Bacchiocchi, Mike Makynen,
Ellen Makynen
WEATHER: Cloudy, Light Rain (heavier at end), 57 to 55, light ESE winds
COMMON NIGHTHAWK - 4
5:00-5:30 0
5:35-6:00 0
6:00-6:30 0
6:30-7:00 0
7:00-7:30 4
(3 feeding over Lake Ripple, 1 heading south directly overhead)
CHIMNEY SWIFT - 28 (though several continued to feed around us, most were
heading south)
DC Cormorant - 16 (heading north towards Lake Quinsigamond)
Great Blue Heron - 2
Green Heron - 2
PEREGRINE FALCON - 1 (It had something in its talons as it flew west across the
playing fields.
Needless to say, it spooked and
scattered all of the gulls and Killdeer as it flew by.)
Killdeer - 45 (feeding in athletic fields)
Ring-billed Gull - 37 (we decided to count the birds in the fields because
there was not much else to count for a long while)
Eastern Kingbird - 1
Barn Swallow - 2 (heading north)
American Robin - 16 (heading south)
Cedar Waxwing - 2
RW Blackbird - 49 (all heading north, as they always do)
Common Grackle - 98 (ditto)
Also: Canada Goose (flock of 45 came in to Lake Ripple from SSE right at
7:30), Mallard, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, European Starling,
American Goldfinch, House Sparrow
==================
John Liller
Worcester Academy
Worcester MA 01604
==================
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
8. from MARK LYNCH/various spots in northern RI, Sunday:
We did go out tonite to northern RI
sections of the Corridor and got (no surprise) NO NIGHTHAWKS. Could the weather
have been more counter productive? We decided to focus our attentions around
large areas of water in the vague hopes of seeing birds feeding low over the
water. These are also locations where we have seen nighthawks before.
Time: 4:45PM-7PM
Temp: 55 throughout the count
Weather: rain-heavy rain
RESURRECTION CEMETERY, CUMBERLAND
RI:
Canada Goose (22)
Nota bene: there are typically
numbers of Killdeer here, but tonite, we found zip.
ARNOLD'S MILLS/DIAMOND HILL
RESERVOIRS, CUMBERLAND:
A bonanza of shorebirds on Arnold's
Mils, where the water has been dramatically lowered. Standing out in the rain
and cold in rain gear with dripping scope brought back shivering memories of
Birdathon. This is an unusal concentration of shorebirds, undoubtably related
to the rain.
Double-crested Cormorant (39)
Great Egret (16: VERY unusual high
count for an inland location in N RI)
Great Blue Heron (13)
Snowy Egret (1)
Mute SWan (2)
Canada Goose (38)
Green-winged Teal (8)
Blue-winged Teal (1)
Mallard (22)
A Black Duck (2)
Osprey (1)
Semipalmated Plover (10)
Killdeer (22)
Spotted Sandpiper (6)
Solitary Sandpiper (4)
Lesser Yelowlegs (11)
Greater Yellowlegs (20)
Least Sandpiper (118)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (11)
Baird's Sandpiper (1)
White-rumped Sandpiepr (2)
Short-billed Dowitcher (1)
Barn Swallow (70+)
SNEETCH POND, CUMBERLAND:
Wood Duck (1)
Osprey (1)
Nota bene: a large nest on one of
the power stanchions looks like it could have been an Osprey or Red-tailed
nest.
WOONSOCKET RESERVOIR, SMITHFIELD:
The water here was nowehere near as
lowered as the Cumberlabd reservoirs:
Double-crested Cormorant (11)
Belted Kingfisher (1)
We also checked Lincoln Mall where
we have had flocks of nighthawks before, but no such luck. I have heard also
from Beth Milke and Bill Cormier who also tried tonite and also came up with
nothing. As they say, negative results are still results.
Stay tuned for compilation of Saturday's
results.
Mark
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
9.
from BILL CORMIER/BRIMFIELD. He checked on birds at Lake Siog Friday, Saturday
and Sunday.
e-mail #1:
Every Thursday night we go to the
Southbridge airport to meet friends and
have a burger. So we counted night hawks while eating on the deck 104
was
the count.
On an interesting note on the way
home from Brimfild tonight (Friday) at
7:30 PM I drove by Lake Siog. What I
thought was a big flock of tree swallow
were in fact nighthawks feeding in a
flock low over the water like swallows.
The flock was too wide spread and
big to count. But I tried to make an
educated guess of about 70 to 80
birds. I watched them until I almost
couldn't see about 8:00 and they appeared to all still be there.
Bill
e-mail#2:
I went out last night and got 62
birds feeding the same as the night before
but tonight I watched from 6:30 till
7:00 lots of tree swallows and Eastern
king birds but no night hawks.
Bill
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
10. from
CHRIS ELLISON/HARDWICK: QUABBIN AQUEDUCT. Again, checking spots to the west of
the Corridor.
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BLACKSTONE
NATIONAL CORRIDOR NIGHTHAWK SURVEY 2006 |
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DATE:
(circle one) SAT AUG 26 SUN AUG 27 |
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LOCATION: |
Quabbin
Aqueduct Airshaft immediately north of the intersection of Taylor Hill and
Brook Roads in Hardwick, 8-27-06. |
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PARTICIPANTS: |
Chris
Ellison |
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SPECIES: |
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TIME: |
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5-5:30 |
5:30-6 |
6-6:30 |
6:30-7 |
7-7:30 |
7:30-end |
TOTALS |
Absolutely
NO Caprimulgiformes, !#%%$#@ it… |
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COMMON
NIGHTHAWK |
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CHIMNEY
SWIFT |
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TREE
SWALLOW |
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BARN
SWALLOW |
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9 |
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9 |
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AMERICAN
ROBIN |
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15 |
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15 |
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CEDAR
WAXWING |
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5 |
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5 |
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BOBOLINK |
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RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRD |
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COMMON
GRACKLE |
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OTHER
SPECIES: |
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Barn
Swallow |
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8 |
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8 |
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Belted
Kingfisher |
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2 |
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2 |
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Black-capped
Chickadee |
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5 |
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5 |
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Common
Flicker |
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1 |
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1 |
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Downy
Woodpecker |
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1 |
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1 |
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Eastern
Kingbird |
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2 |
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2 |
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Gray Catbird |
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1 |
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1 |
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Great
Blue Heron |
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1 |
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1 |
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Hairy
Woodpecker |
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1 |
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House
Wren |
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1 |
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1 |
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Mallard |
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3 |
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3 |
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Mourning
Dove |
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1 |
1 |
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Rough-winged
Swallow |
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11 |
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11 |
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Tufted
Titmouse |
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3 |
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3 |
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WEATHER: |
Heavy to
extremely heavy rain. |
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CLOUD
COVER: |
95%
precipitation through the observation period. |
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TEMPERATURE: |
57F |
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WIND
(SPEED AND DIRECTION): |
Southwest,14
MPH |
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OTHER: |
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MAIN
DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT: |
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BEHAVIOR:
(ex: directly flying/feeding/drifting back and forth): |
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PRESENCE/ABSENCE
OF FLYING ANY SWARMS: YES NO |
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OTHER
INFORMATION: |
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No
swarming insects detected. |
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Mark--I've
included proper breakouts for EACH species, not just Nighthawks. My apologies for not adhering to this
format in my attachment of 8-26-06.
CE |
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12. MIKE WALKER (with Rick Walker and Fran McMenemy): WORCESTER: NOTRE DAME CEMETERY 0n Saturday:
Rick
and I were over at the cemetery with Fran on Saturday night.
It was really quiet there and Fran
actually left around 7:15. At that
point
we hadn't seen any. Rick and I stayed around a little later and
starting at
7:30 or so we started to get a few
small groups. We counted 18 in total.
They were all heading south though
one or two might have been circling.
-Mike Walker