Date: 5/11/25 1:13 pm From: Jon Woolf <jsw...> Subject: [NHBirds] May 11th: a red-letter day
I started the morning intending to go walking at Massabesic Center, but
on a whim I decided to instead go over to the coast and see what was
stirring there. I started on Pease Tradeport , where I bumped into Toni
Taylor and spent a few minutes birding with her. She had stopped along
Arboretum Drive beyond the traffic circle, in a small patch of woods
that was swarming with birds. At least eight different species of
warblers plus a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a Scarlet Tanager, and
Merlin also claimed to have heard a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.
The field opposite Short Street provided the first real prize of the
day: a singing GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. Certainly a rare one, and I think
it was even a lifer for me. Then it was on to Peverly Pond, where I
found a couple of Double-crested Cormorants and heard a singing Wood
Thrush.
After that I headed over to the coast and made a couple of stops there.
There was a pair of Willets in Fairhill salt marsh, and a Snowy Egret
there too. Some Great Egrets a little further south. Nothing else
really stood out until I got to Ragged Neck, where I found some
lingering Surf and Black scoters, some Common Eiders, and the second big
prize of the day: at least three or four PURPLE MARTINS buzzing around,
along with Barn and Tree swallows, Song Sparrows, and what looked like a
couple of Seaside Sparrows. I've seen Purple Martins in Seabrook, but
never north of there. Is there a new colony of them near Ragged Neck?
Full list:
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
Tufted Titmouse
Black-and-white Warbler
Pine Warbler
Ovenbird
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Northern Parula
Cape May Warbler (Merlin)
Nashville Warbler (Merlin)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Merlin)
Raven
Meadowlark
Wood Duck
American Black Duck
Great Blue Heron
Double-crested Cormorant
Eastern Bluebird
Red-winged Blackbird
Flicker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Killdeer
Starling
Song Sparrow
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW
Seaside Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Red-tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Turkey
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
PURPLE MARTIN
Common Eider
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
Red-eyed Vireo
American Robin
Rock Dove
Wood Thrush
Total for the day: 48 species. Not very impressive compared to some
lists I've seen, but any day that I get a Grasshopper Sparrow and Purple
Martins is a success regardless of what else I might see.
