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Checklist S119917126

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Main Details

Location Lynnfield Marsh--Audubon Rd. and Edgewater
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Additional Details

People

Owner Bill Lee

Effort

Protocol:  Traveling
  • Observers:  1
  • Distance:  1.25 mi

Checklist Comments

Mostly sunny, light winds, and temperature 64 F. Ideal shorebird attracting conditions continue upon the expansive and diverse mudflats, resulting in impressive shorebird numbers today along with an excellent amount of waterfowl stacked in two relatively small pools of water. There weren't many ducks or shorebirds using the channel that cuts through the flats. Note that one of the waterfowl pools is formed at the back end of the channel a good ways out. With all of the emergent vegetation and distance, slow and meticulous scoping yielded outstanding results. Trying to document some of the unusual inland shorebirds was torture. Going from the scope and then trying to refind the birds in the tiny viewfinder of the camera a hundred times over amongst all of the vegetation and at a great distance was very challenging. For every hundred photos taken perhaps 10 were of potential documentation use. I took about 850 photos, thank goodness for digital photography! This was day 4 of 6 consecutive days of scoping these mudflats.

Totals

45
Species Observed
451 individuals

Observations

  1. Canada Goose

    Number observed:  38

  2. Mute Swan

    Number observed:  3

  3. Wood Duck

    Number observed:  18

  4. Blue-winged Teal

    Number observed:  28

    Details

    Exact count.

  5. Mallard

    Number observed:  53

  6. American Black Duck

    Number observed:  14

  7. Green-winged Teal

    Number observed:  18

  8. Mourning Dove

    Number observed:  3

  9. Black-bellied Plover

    Number observed:  4

    Details

    All in basic plumage. One individual would work some of the flats and then wander back towards the taller, denser, distant back edge. The other 3 foraging birds poked out from a distant far edge and were seen and unseen for about 15 minutes. Photos and video obtained of all birds. Over several hours the solo BBPL came into close contact with the juvenile AGPL twice and shoed off the AGPL both times. The solo BBPL revealed its dark axillarys several times.

  10. American Golden-Plover

    Number observed:  1

    Details

    A juvenile bird that would just disappear into the vegetation. Seen 2 times very close to the solo BBPL, allowing for great comparison with the aid of a spotting scope. Noticeably slightly smaller than the BBPL, with a smaller bill, and bold supercilliums. The bird presented pale axillarys when showed off by the BBPL. Photos and video obtained.

  11. Killdeer

    Number observed:  19

  12. Semipalmated Plover

    Number observed:  138

    Details

    Incredible numbers, they were thickly scattered all about the mudflats. Carefully counted.

  13. Short-billed Dowitcher

    Number observed:  3

    Details

    One seen foraging at times close to a LBDO, offering good comparison. The other 2 were together on the other side of the channel. The SBDOs were slimmer, slightly smaller birds, not extra heavy chested, and no large back bulge when foraging. These birds were flushed several times by the Cooper's Hawk and on one flight passI heard a distinct repeated "tu-tu-tu" that was less piercing and emphatic than that of the Lesser Yellow-legs. Some lower quality photos and video obtained.

  14. Long-billed Dowitcher

    Number observed:  1

    Details

    Clearly bulkier than the close by single SBDO, showing a heavy chest and baseball in the back hump. The LBDO also was slightly taller. I had the good fortune of a Cooper's Hawk putting up more than 100 shorebirds multiple times and on 2 ocaisions I heard the LBDO give its repeated "keek" call when making passes a couple hundred feet away. There is a huge amount of bill length overlap between the two dowitcher species, so bill length is not a reliable field mark. Females tend to be longer billed than males. Some lower quality photos and video obtained.

  15. Wilson's Snipe

    Number observed:  2

  16. Spotted Sandpiper

    Number observed:  2

  17. Solitary Sandpiper

    Number observed:  1

  18. Lesser Yellowlegs

    Number observed:  5

  19. Greater Yellowlegs

    Number observed:  1

  20. White-rumped Sandpiper

    Number observed:  2

    Details

    Photos. Both foraging together, not too far out.

  21. Least Sandpiper

    Number observed:  4

  22. Pectoral Sandpiper

    Number observed:  5

    Details

    Photos of 4.

  23. Semipalmated Sandpiper

    Number observed:  33

    Details

    Carefully counted.

  24. American Herring Gull

    Number observed:  4

  25. Double-crested Cormorant

    Number observed:  2

  26. Great Egret

    Number observed:  1

  27. Great Blue Heron

    Number observed:  3

  28. Cooper's Hawk

    Number observed:  1

  29. Belted Kingfisher

    Number observed:  1

  30. Red-bellied Woodpecker

    Number observed:  1

  31. Downy Woodpecker

    Number observed:  3

  32. Northern Flicker

    Number observed:  1

  33. Eastern Phoebe

    Number observed:  1

  34. Blue Jay

    Number observed:  6

  35. American Crow

    Number observed:  5

  36. Black-capped Chickadee

    Number observed:  3

  37. Tufted Titmouse

    Number observed:  1

  38. Carolina Wren

    Number observed:  2

  39. Gray Catbird

    Number observed:  7

  40. Northern Mockingbird

    Number observed:  1

  41. American Robin

    Number observed:  2

  42. House Finch

    Number observed:  4

  43. American Goldfinch

    Number observed:  2

  44. Song Sparrow

    Number observed:  3

  45. Swamp Sparrow

    Number observed:  1