107th Ipswich River Bird Survey
May 11, 2013
The annual ECOC Ipswich River trip went off without canoes today because of the dire forecast. Instead, we birded three areas hard by the river in Topsfield. The first was IRWS.
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield
May 11, 2013 6:10 AM – 10:20 AM
61 species
Canada Goose 16 including 5 little goslings with one pair
Wood Duck 14
Mallard 17
Common Loon 1 early flyover
Least Bittern 1 Called continuously from a patch of cattails near canoe landing. Not seen. Heard by all 12 in the party.
Great Blue Heron 4 one carried a stick, but we don’t know of any nesting colonies in the immediate area
Great Egret 1
Broad-winged Hawk 1
Sora 1 heard by only one or two people
Common Gallinule 1 heard only, by about 3 people
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Herring Gull 6
Mourning Dove 8
Chimney Swift 5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 4 none seen that i know of
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 8
Eastern Kingbird 2
Warbling Vireo 9
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 22 16 migrating in one flock
American Crow 0
Tree Swallow 80 rough estimate
Barn Swallow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 24
Tufted Titmouse 14
White-breasted Nuthatch 7
Brown Creeper 1
House Wren 2
Marsh Wren 6
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 7
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 8
European Starling 1 amazing
Ovenbird 1
Northern Waterthrush 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 25
American Redstart 1
Northern Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 18
Blackpoll Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 3
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 22
White-throated Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 6
Red-winged Blackbird 130 rough estimate
Common Grackle 110 rough estimate
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Baltimore Oriole 9
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 8
Topsfield Fairgrounds
May 11, 2013 10:40 AM – 11:10 AM
Comments: The second place we birded was the Topsfield Fairgrounds. The ground was dry enough to walk on, so we walked a circular loop to the river and back. Only a few puddles remain.
17 species
Canada Goose 28
Killdeer 1
Solitary Sandpiper 1
Least Sandpiper 8
Mourning Dove 2
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
American Crow 1
Barn Swallow 6
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 40 The fairgrounds made up for the lack of starlings at IRWS.
Ovenbird 2
Song Sparrow 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
House Sparrow 10
Bradley Palmer State Park
May 11, 2013 11:25 AM – 12:25 PM
Comments: The third place we birded was the Topsfield end of BPSP, where we walked a short loop from the park HQ.
31 species
Northern Flicker 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
House Wren 1
Carolina Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Eastern Bluebird 1
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 9
Ovenbird 9
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
American Redstart 2
Northern Parula 2
Magnolia Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 3
Pine Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 15
Common Grackle 0
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Baltimore Oriole 3
American Goldfinch 7
Jim Berry
Ipswich, Mass.