9/28/14 Plum Island (6 months late)

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating you guys for a while. I've been busy with birding and stuff. Yearbirds will be bolded and lifers will be **bolded and have quotes around them**.

On September 28, 2014 Neil Hayward, North American Big Year record holder was leading a walk at Parker River National Wild Refuge in Plum Island, Massachusetts. Somehow we got lost on the Island, but allowed 30 minutes just in case we did get lost (which we did) and arrived at 8:00 sharp just as the walk was starting. As we were going through the pay toll to go to PRNWR a male Northern Harrier flew by (Gray Ghost) we would end up seeing a lot of Harriers, but that was our only gray ghost for the day. Once we got there we started carpooling to the different stops at Parker River.

Our first stop at a pond where we saw Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, and American Black Ducks.

Pintails, Black Duck, and Wigeon 

Our next stop was a field with a couple of pine trees and we saw a Brown Thrasher, Yellow-rumped Warblers, American Robin, a giant flock of Double-crested Cormorants flying over, and finally 3 **Pine Siskins**. 

Brown Thrasher

Me Birding with Neil Hayward

Our next stop, which was another little pond had American Black Ducks, Gadwall, and

Green-winged Teal

Next we stopped at Hellcat trail system and birded along the trail. We found Peregrine Falcon, Marsh Wren, Eastern Towhee, Cedar Waxwing, Gray Catbird, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Woodcock, and other common birds.

American Woodcock

Northern Harrier

Next we went over to Pine Loop trail and overlook and found Northern Harrier, Great Egret, Greater Yellowlegs, Scarlet Tanagers, Black-and-White Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, **Golden-crowned Kinglet**.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Finally we stopped at the lookout where we could see shorebirds and we saw Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Dunlins, Greater Yellowlegs, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets.

Stats

2 lifers

4 additional yearbirds

Here is the ebird checklist for that day

http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19969476