103rd Ipswich River Bird Survey
May 23, 2009
The Essex County Ornithological Club’s 103rd Annual Ipswich River Canoe Trip took place on Saturday, May 23. It’s a longstanding event since it was conducted first in May of 1907.
This year’s trip group put in at the launch on Route 97 in Topsfield and took out east of Asbury Street in Topsfield. The flotilla paddled the entire riverine length of Mass Audubon’s Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a 7 mile adventure.
Participants included complier, Jim Berry; trip coordinator, Phil Brown; Tim Brown, Robert Buchsbaum, Mark Burns, Laura de la Flor, Diana Fruguglietti, Paul Ippolito and Jim MacDougall. A huge thanks goes to Phil Brown for organizing the event again!
The biggest surprise this year was the record number of Warbling Vireos, a huge count reflecting the prevalence of this species along watercourses. There were plenty of Baltimore Orioles and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers in this habitat as well.
Number of species: 80
In addition to the birds listed below, ECOC President Sue McGrath and Susan Sellers, who were unable to participate on the water, concurrently birded several other places along or near the Ipswich River and reported the following species:
Little Neck, Ipswich:
Dunlin, Osprey, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Brant, Least Sandpiper, Piping Plover, House Finch, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Common Tern, Willet, Least Tern, House Sparrow, Tree Swallow
Ipswich River Watershed Association property in Ipswich:
Cooper’s Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Wild Turkey, Brown Creeper,
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ipswich River at Choate Bridge Area, Ipswich:
Chimney Swift, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Great Blue Heron
Great Neck, Ipswich:
House Wren, Black-capped Chickadee, Mute Swan, Killdeer,
Immature Black-Crowned Night-Heron, American Goldfinch
Miles River Sand & Gravel Company, Ipswich:
Turkey Vultures, two burrows in sand pile at pond ~ possible Belted Kingfisher nesting burrows, Killdeer, Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Phoebe, Willet, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Tree Swallow, Gray Catbird, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Orchard Oriole, House Wren, American Robin, Common Yellowthroat, Mockingbird, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ovenbird, Baltimore Oriole, Eastern Phoebe, Common Grackle, Least Flycatcher, American Crow, Blackburnian Warbler
| 75 | Canada Goose | 3 | Glossy Ibis |
| 7 | Wood Duck | 1 | Turkey Vulture |
| X | Mallard | 5 | Red-tailed Hawk |
| 1 | Blue-winged Teal | 2 | Killdeer |
| 2 | Green-winged Teal | 3 | Spotted Sandpiper |
| 1 | Wild Turkey | 2 | Solitary Sandpiper |
| 5 | Double-crested Cormorant | X | Mourning Dove |
| 11 | Great Blue Heron | 1 | Eastern Screech-Owl |
| 4 | Great Egret | 9 | Chimney Swift |
| 1 | Black-crowned Night Heron | 3 | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| 9 | Red-bellied Woodpecker | 10 | Blue Jay |
| 9 | Downy Woodpecker | X | American Crow |
| 5 | Hairy Woodpecker | X | Tree Swallow |
| 1 | Northern Flicker | X | Northern Rough-winged Swallow |
| 3 | Pileated Woodpecker | X | Barn Swallow |
| 6 | Eastern Wood-Pewee | X | Black-capped Chickadee |
| 4 | Eastern Phoebe | X | Tufted Titmouse |
| 15 | Great Crested Flycatcher | 1 | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| 30 | Eastern Kingbird | 8 | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| 4 | Yellow-throated Vireo | 2 | House Wren |
| 47 | Warbling Vireo | 5 | Marsh Wren |
| 4 | Red-eyed Vireo | 40 | Blue-gray Gnatcatcher |
| 7 | Eastern Bluebird | 5 | Magnolia Warbler |
| 3 | Veery | 3 | Black-throated Green Warbler |
| 1 | Swainson’s Thrush | 2 | Pine Warbler |
| 1 | Wood Thrush | 1 | Bay-breasted Warbler |
| X | American Robin | 2 | Blackpoll Warbler |
| X | Gray Catbird | 3 | American Redstart |
| X | European Starling | 1 | Prothonotary Warbler |
| 88 | Cedar Waxwing | 1 | Ovenbird |
| 1 | Blue-winged Warbler | 3 | Northern Waterthrush |
| 4 | Northern Parula | 40 | Common Yellowthroat |
| 28 | Yellow Warbler | 2 | Scarlet Tanager |
| 1 | Chestnut-sided Warbler | 2 | Eastern Towhee |
| 1 | Chipping Sparrow | X | Red-winged Blackbird |
| 10 | Song Sparrow | X | Common Grackle |
| 2 | Swamp Sparrow | 1 | Orchard Oriole |
| 8 | Northern Cardinal | 81 | Baltimore Oriole |
| 17 | Rose-breasted Grosbeak | X | American Goldfinch |
| 2 | Bobolink | 2 | House Sparrow |
See you on the river in 2010!