Date: 10/28/24 4:11 pm From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Orchard Oriole and Cory's Shearwaters on coast
Jane and I poked around the coast this morning. Thanks to a text from
Holly Bauer, we chased down a female ORCHARD ORIOLE at Goss Farm that
she and Matt Tarr found. This bird was very cooperative for us as it
foraged very low in the Goldenrod seeds at the north edge of Goss Farm
near the salt marsh. Photos showed that it was somehow managing to
glean small caterpillars from the seed bundles. Amazing!
This is an incredibly late date for this species which is known to
migrate south very early with most birds gone by mid-August. There are
a total of 4 records for September in NH (eBird) with the prior record
late date of September 22 (2004) over a month earlier than today. For
comparison, my (personal) late date for NH had previously been only
August 11 (2002) from White Island at the Isles of Shoals!
Curiously, there are THREE other October records for Maine this fall
(out of 4 October records in the history of Maine!) plus an additional
very rare northerly record near Quebec City for this October, so this
may be part of an abnormal event this fall.
There are four historic records of Orchard Oriole for November for all
of New England with 3 from Massachusetts and 1 from Rhode Island. It'll
be interesting to see if this bird sticks around or departs.
Also, Jane and I had 2 CORY'S SHEARWATERS from shore from Little Boar's
Head in North Hampton. This ties for my personal late date and may tie
the record late date for NH. This has been an unusual fall for this
species with a large number lingering around inshore waters near the
Isles of Shoals well into October and Eric Masterson reported as many as
100 5 days ago from Star Island.
ROCKINGHAM COUNTY IS PREPARED FOR THE NOVEMBER CHALLENGE! BRING IT ON!!!!!
