NH.Birds for Thursday, December 10, 2009

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   Re: Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, December 9, 2009   s42yth(AT)comcast.net   7:48am   Ruffed Grouse   B Colbath   2:23pm   From Lyme   Blake Allison    3:27pm

To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'. This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.

[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Re: Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, December 9, 2009
From: s42yth(AT)comcast.net
Date: 10 Dec 2009 7:48am

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Suomala" <mrsuomala(AT)marksbirdtours.com> 
To: "New Hampshire Birds" <NH.Birds(AT)lists.unh.edu> 
Sent: Wednesday, December 9, 2009 9:15:13 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, December 9, 2009 

This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, December 9th, 
2009. 

A GOLDEN EAGLE was reported from Green Mountain in Claremont on December 
4th. 

A EURASIAN WIGEON continues to be seen on Great Bay and was last reported on 
December 5th. Also present on the bay during the past week were 16 AMERICAN 
WIGEON, and over 900 GREATER SCAUP. 

There was an unconfirmed report of 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in North 
Mill Pond in Portsmouth on December 8th. 

A DOVEKIE was seen along the coast on December 9th, and 3 RAZORBILLS, and 3 
BLACK GUILLEMOTS were seen along the coast on the 8th. 

A probable THAYER'S GULL was discovered at the Rochester Wastewater 
Treatment Plant on November 30th, and was last reported on December 2nd. 
Birders on weekdays are regularly seeing at least one LESSER BLACK-BACKED 
GULL, at least one GLAUCOUS GULL, and several ICELAND GULLS here. The 
treatment plant is gated and the hours of operation are 7:30-3:00 on 
weekdays. If you visit, please check in at the office and be out of the 
plant by 2:45 so that plant personnel do not have to ask birders to leave. 
Do not drive on the dikes and do not block the road. Birders should not 
enter the gates on Saturday or Sunday, even if they are open. The Trails at 
Pickering Ponds, located east of the plant, are not gated, and are always 
open during daylight hours. 

A GLAUCOUS GULL was seen on Seabrook Beach on December 3rd, and one was seen 
in the Hampton Harbor public parking area located in Seabrook on December 
5th. 

A LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen at Hampton Beach State Park on December 
8th, and one was seen at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye on December 5th. 

4 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES and 24 NORTHERN GANNETS were seen from Little Boar's 
Head in Hampton on December 3rd. 

A NORTHERN SHRIKE was reported from Sutton on December 6th, and one was seen 
along Bowlder Road in Sullivan on December 7th. 

An ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET were seen in Hampton on 
December 5th, and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET was seen in New Castle on December 
8th. 

An adult male AMERICAN REDSTART was seen on Chenell Drive in Concord on 
December 7th. 

2 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were reported from New Hampshire Audubon's Willard 
Pond Sanctuary in Antrim on December 4th. 

4 EVENING GROSBEAKS were seen in Lincoln on December 7th. 

38 PURPLE SANDPIPERS were seen off of Wallis Sands in Rye on December 8th, 
and 25 were seen on Rye Ledge in Rye on December 3rd. 

17 AMERICAN COOTS were seen on Powwow Pond in Kingston on December 4th. 

42 LESSER SCAUP were reported from the Exeter Wastewater Treatment Plant on 
December 8th. 

20 HORNED LARKS were seen at Hampton Beach State Park on December 3rd. 

A FOX SPARROW and 4 FIELD SPARROWS were seen in Nashua on December 2nd. 

A hiker on Mount Pierce in Crawford Notch saw 5 BOREAL CHICKADEES and 2 GRAY 
JAYS on December 2nd, and a GRAY JAY was seen on the A-Z Trail in Crawford 
Notch on the 8th. 

There was an unconfirmed report of a TUNDRA SWAN during the past week so 
birders should keep an eye out for migrating swans.. 

This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and 
press 2 as directed or ask to be transferred. If you have seen any 
interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at the end of the 
recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail at: 
birdsetc(AT)nhaudubon.org. Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird 
Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and 
phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire Audubon 
web site, www.nhaudubon.org 

Thanks very much and good birding


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: Ruffed Grouse
From: "B Colbath" <neversmoon(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 10 Dec 2009 2:23pm

Spotted the first ruffed grouse of the season this morning from my kitchen
window.  I expect to have 3-4 visiting the yard all winter, then they will
disappear deeper into the woods around the time of spring drumming.  A
photograph of one of the grouse from last winter can be found on my facebook
page in a public album (at least I think it's public) called "bird shots."

Barbara Colbath
Somersworth, NH
neversmoon(AT)comcast.net


[ << | >> | ^^ ]

Subject: From Lyme
From: Blake Allison <blake_allison(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 10 Dec 2009 3:27pm

A few notes-

Feeder activity has spiked for some species over the last week. The following
numbers represent a record of "seen at one time" ala Feeder Watch.

On this past Monday, 22 blue jays were counted and goldfinch numbers went from 8
 last week to 28 on Tuesday. In addition, as many as 18 mourning doves have been
 counted at the feeder in one viewing. The blue jay and mourning dove numbers
are consistent with previous seasons. Goldfinch numbers should continue to trend
 upwards as the season progresses.

Other birds visiting this week include:

downy woodpecker - 1
hairy woodpecker - 2
black-capped chickadee - 5
tufted titmouse - 2
white-breasted nuthatch - 2
dark-eyed junco - 5

Conspicuous in their absence are red-breasted nuthatches (usual visitors). No
pine siskins recorded yet either.

Yesterday and today on the Connecticut River just north of Hanover's Ledyard
Bridge, a flock of 50 +/- mallards was counted. Mixed in were a couple of hooded
 mergansers and what appear to be six ring-necked ducks (viewing conditions not
optimal due to stormy conditions and lack of a convenient place to park the
car). These are best viewed from US 5 on the VT side.

Also seen in the Whipple Hill neighborhood during the last ten days, two common
ravens, three American crows, a ruffed grouse and a red-tailed hawk. Seen in a
neighbors field on Monday were 15 wild turkeys.

Blake

Lyme, NH 03768-3322