Date: 11/8/26 10:39 pm From: Barbara Volkle <barb620...> Subject: [MASSBIRD] Mission Possible trip results
Thanks to Strickland Wheelock for this report.
Barbara Volkle Northborough,MA <barb620...>
* Date: Sun, 8 Nov 2026 17:16:41 +0000 (UTC) From: Strickland Wheelock <skwheelock...> Subject: Mission Possible trip results
Sat. 11/7 for our Mission Possible trip from Drumlin Farm was a challenge from the beginning - off & on light showers most of the day is never ideal even though we did not have to deal with solar glare, little wind which is good, but the biggest frustration was that the rarest target species [Gray Heron in Wells & the Concord Barnacle Goose] disappeared 2 to 3 days before the trip [ideally we were going to target both on Sat.]. Given there were no other major rarities within 2 hours of Drumlin Farm in NE, we revised our target species like the Lapland Longspurs in Hampton Beach SP and the Prairie Willet at PI along with a few other species to show the participants. After a quick stop at Crystal Lake in Wakefield where we enjoyed a Pied-billed Grebe & a flyby Merlin, we headed to Hampton Beach SP for the 2 Longspurs seen a day before, but no Longspurs this morning mixed among the Snow Buntings & many N Horned Larks - the Snow Buntings are always a treat and having the flock of N Horned Larks putting on a show picking up and flyi around our heads several times with all their flight notes & then re-landing was fun.Along the breakwater, we had close looks at winter plumage Blk-bellied Plovers and Sanderlings, enjoying flocks of Long-tailed Ducks, Black & Wht-winged Scoters constantly passing by, several Red-throated & Common Loons in the channel & also flying by - constant movement.From there, we made the quick trip to Salisbury Beach SP hoping for some winter finches, Snow Buntings or the missing 2 Longspurs. What we did find were our 1st flock of Brant, many C Eider, flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds in the pines, more of both loons and the scoters in the channel, some excellent looks of the Bonaparte's Gulls feeding in the channel also, and for all, a super close look at the "Ipswich" subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow feeding in the short, mowed grass yards from us.To complete the day, we headed to Plum Island with the hopes of showing the folks the Prairie Willet - newly separated from the Marsh Willet - that had been seen their recently. Like the other unusual species we hoped for today, the marshes were flooded basically eliminating the shorebirds with the exception of some Greater Yellowlegs and Great Egrets. What we did enjoy were several ducks [N Pintails, Green-w Teal, Gadwalls, many Black Ducks & Mallards] in the marshes, the Red-breasted Nuthatches in the pines, several N Harriers and a close look at a Sharp-shinned Hawk in a tree plus a Peregrine Falcon. Once scanning the ocean from Lot 7 to end our day, we again enjoyed all the loons, sea ducks, 1 Horned Grebe, various gulls - however the misty fog lifted revealing dozens of N Gannets plunge diving right in front of us which was a very cool ending to a challenging day - final species count =3D 51Thanks to Lindsay Neubeck and Leslie Bostrom for all the driving and work with the participants on ID and locating various species.Note - my next Drumlin Farm day trip in 2026 is on Dec 12th -"Birding the Wilds of Cape Ann" as we explore several top birding locations along the coastline with the goal of locating alcids, many sea duck species, winter gulls, loons & grebes, Purple Sandpipers. Strickland Wheelock Uxbridge MA
