Black skimmers.
— Lanny McDowell
How time flies! It is difficult to consider that Friday is Sept. 1. Labor Day weekend has arrived.
This column will present an update concerning the nesting season for our beach-nesting shorebirds: piping plovers, American oystercatchers, least terns, frequent terns and black skimmers. It is just not a straightforward process to summarize the nesting season. While all of them nest on the seashore, their sizes vary from small to massive, they nest on a a number of seashores they usually nest on completely different components of the seashore. Each of those variations present their very own challenges for the birds.
Productivity of those species varies significantly from seashore to seashore, so right here we concentrate on a few of the productiveness variations between species on a person seashore. One species might do nicely whereas the opposite species on the identical seashore don’t. The organizations concerned in defending the nests embody Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Biodiversity Works, Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and The Trustees of Reservations.
Fledgling black skimmer.
— Lanny McDowell
Felix Neck wins the prize for taking up probably the most tough problem: Norton Point. This seashore is 2 miles lengthy with good tidal flats on the western finish and the breach at its jap terminus. Oystercatchers did nicely, with 10 pairs fledging greater than 25 chicks. Fledging 2.5 chicks from 10 pairs was about nearly as good because it will get — considerably larger productiveness than earlier years.
Piping plovers didn’t do nicely at Norton Point, the place 16 pairs nested however solely 4 chicks fledged, all from one nest. Why did that one nest succeed whereas the opposite 15 nests failed? Why did the oystercatchers achieve this a lot better than the plovers? Both plovers and oystercatchers nest on related sparse to unvegetated components of the seashore, however does the plovers’ smaller dimension make them extra vulnerable to predation by the ever ample crows and skunks?
Fledgling least tern.
— Lanny McDowell
There was excellent news for piping plovers. Luanne Johnson and Kayla Kasacek of BiodiversityWorks report that websites they monitor throughout the Island hosted 42 nesting pairs of plovers and 52 chicks fledged from these nests. This was the second-best plover productiveness (1.24 chicks fledged per pair) they’ve ever skilled! The seashore at Edgartown Lighthouse led the best way, with 10 chicks fledging from three pairs.
Oystercatchers additionally did nicely on their seashores, with 19 chicks fledging from 17 nesting pairs. The productiveness of 1.12 chicks fledged per pair is their third-best oystercatcher productiveness.
To say that terns didn’t fare very nicely this yr is an understatement. While there have been possibly 300 pairs of least terns and 300 pairs of frequent terns (my estimates) trying to nest on Little Beach, productiveness was negligible due to intensive predation by black-crowned evening herons. The bigger black skimmers additionally nested on Little Beach, which is their northernmost colony and the one one in Massachusetts. They did very nicely, fledging 32 chicks from 21 nesting pairs, even though their colony was throughout the severely-depredated least tern and customary tern colonies.
Marbled godwit.
— Lanny McDowell
The Trustees of Reservations report variation in hatching success on their seashores. Shea Fee reviews that of the 15 nests on Trustees property, the 4 nests on Leland Beach all hatched. The different 11 nests had been on both Cape Pogue or Long Point and all these nests failed as a result of the eggs had been depredated by skunks.
It is essential to keep in mind that all these species are usually long-lived. Fledglings must survive to 2 or three years previous earlier than they nest, however as soon as they attain that age they are often anticipated to nest for the following 10 to fifteen years. Because of this longevity, a nesting pair must have two of its offspring survive into their breeding years. So, there may be years with low productiveness or the popular excessive productiveness.
On to fowl sightings. A marbled godwit — a big sandpiper with a protracted upturned invoice — was discovered by Lanny McDowell and Pete Gilmour at Little Beach on August 22. It has subsequently been noticed by Walt Looney and John Wasson and myself on August 24, Stuart and Susan Santos on August 27 and Lisa Maxfield and Jeff Bernier that very same day. I additionally noticed two immature stilt sandpipers in a flock of 5 larger yellowlegs as I walked the now largely open to the general public seashore. Luanne Johnson noticed a pectoral sandpiper there on August 28.
Nelson’s sparrow.
— Lanny McDowell
Lanny McDowell and Pete Gilmour discovered somewhat brown job (LBJ in birder lingo) on Little Beach on August 22. Lanny took eight high-quality images of this fowl. After consulting with specialists on and off-Island, its identification continues to be unsure. Lanny suggests it’s an immature Nelson’s sparrow, an off-Island knowledgeable calls it an immature saltmarsh sparrow and Gus Ben David is leaning towards an immature grasshopper sparrow. LBJ certainly!
A solitary solitary sandpiper was seen by Thaw Malin close to his West Tisbury pond on August 27. I noticed one alongside the sting of Cedar Tree Neck Pond on August 26, the identical day that Susan Miles discovered one at a pond at Capawock in West Tisbury. Matt Born noticed one on August 24 beside the pond on his Aquinnah property, and Susan Miles discovered two alongside the sting of Duarte’s Pond within the Blackwater Pond Reservation on August 23.
Solitary sandpiper.
— Lanny McDowell
Last however not least: parasitic jaegers are within the information for the second week in a row. Adam Markham noticed two off Moshup Trail, south of Philbin Beach, on August 23. Pete Gilmore noticed one from Moshup Beach on August 27, together with 23 Cory’s and 7 nice shearwaters. The seabird present continues!
More Bird Photos
Please e-mail your sightings to [email protected].
Robert Culbert is an ecological guide with Nature Watch LLC residing in Vineyard Haven.
