[danehower]

Me and the family will most likely be doing a little bit of camping in the area this weekend -weather permitting. I was wondering if any of you folks in the know, could share some thoughts about birding here.

[J. Moore]

Hi Dave,

I have yet to make it there myself, but there was an evening bird club trip to Myles Standish state forest on June 11 specifically targeting Whip-poor-wills and Saw-whet Owl. I think the species diversity is not super-high, but it is an interesting place with some unusual birds. Here is a list of the birds reported from that June 21 trip:

Great Blue Heron 1
Mallard 4
BLACK DUCK 1
Mourning Dove 2
SAW-WHET OWL 1 calling bird at Fearing Pond
WHIP-POOR-WILL 6 One bird was seen well by the lead car as a male flew
over the road three times chasing food
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Tree Swallow 6
House Wren 2
Hermit Thrush 5
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 3
Brown Thrasher 2
Cedar Waxwing 6
Yellow Warbler 1 (heard while at the meeting spot)
Pine Warbler 5
Prairie Warbler 6
Common Yellowthroat 1
Baltimore Oriole 1
Cardinal 1
Purple Finch 1
Eastern Towhee 15
Chipping Sparrow 20

If you are interested in shorebirds and/or long walks on the beach, you might also consider a walk to the end of Plymouth Beach (it is a fairly short drive from Myles Standish), where there is a tern colony. It can be quite productive at this time of year, i.e. shorebird migration. Be sure to break out the sun screen if you try that though.

Hope this helps,
Jim

[danehower]

Alright, Jim ! I was hoping you might be one of the folks to post a response. Great tips - I really appreciate it. I will definitely try to make it over to Plymouth Beach as I am pretty lousy with shore birds and am sure to learn a lot. Would be pretty cool to see a Whip-poor-will also, fingers crossed for good weather and great birds. Thanks again Jim.

Best regards , Dave

[J. Moore]

Dave,

Not sure how much you know about Plymouth Beach, but wanted to give you some background. It is about a 4 mile strip of land jutting out into the ocean. There is a road that the few residents and people with permits can use, but it is closed to the general public to protect Piping Plovers. Birding and walking all the way to the end (and walking back) is about a four to five hour trip. You do not have to go all the way to the end, though that is where the tern colony is. I would bring a bottle of water, a hat, and sunscreen.

For birds, I would concentrate on the protected side of the beach which is to your left as you are walking out. A receding tide (usually about three hours after high tide) is usually the best time for shorebirds, but if I were you I probably would just start early in the morning when there are fewer people. (Though I assume family obligations may mean your schedule is not totally under your control). I believe there is a small fee for parking at the entrance if you are not a Plymouth resident.

Incidentally, the tern colony has mostly Common and Least Terns. But there may also be a few Roseate and Arctic around as well as some of the more unusual possibilities, such as Forster's.

Good birding!
Jim

[danehower]

Fantastic Jim! I have zero knowledge of Plymouth Beech so this kind of specific information is extremely helpful and much appreciated. I am getting pretty excited about this little trip but still a little worried about the weather. Ah, it will be great no matter what! Cheers Jim and thanks again for your response's. Hopefully some photos for ID confirmation on rare Terns will follow next week.

Cheers, Dave