Plum Island Birding

Today I went birdwatching on Plum Island. I don't really like birds, but I do love fall foliage and walking outdoors and exploring new places, so I went. Plus, I like Kate, IEc's resident birder who was leading this excursion.

Plum Island is a long, narrow barrier island about an hour outside of Boston, near the New Hampshire border. It is home to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and - apparently - a lot of birds. We left at 8:15 this morning in 40 degree weather. If it weren't so gosh darn sunny and beautiful, I might be tempted to complain about the weather!

Sunny and beautiful it was. I enjoyed the drive up, which was full of just-starting-to-change leaves and winding country roads. As for the rest of the trip, I'll let my photos explain.

Some of the walk was through wetlands filled with grasses that towered over even the tallest person.

Some of the walk was just a stroll through the woods.

Some of the walk was along little ponds.

Some of the walk was over massive dunes overlooking the ocean.

All of the walk was guided by this boardwalk.

The leaves were just starting to change colors and looked gorgeous against the bright blue sky.

I thought these shrubs were just as beautifully colored as the trees.

We ended up seeing 21 species of birds, including this mockingbird.

These greater yellowlegs were a new species for me.

This was intended to be a picture of the scenery, but now I notice that I captured a seagull in it, too. Yay, birds!

I don't remember many details, but these are some of the names of what we saw that I do remember: a ruby crowned kinglet (a tiny thing the size of a hummingbird), a great blue heron, a harrier, other hawks, a vulture, egrets, mallards, some type of warbler, juncoes, yellowlegs, a mockingbird, cormorants, and pintail ducks. Plus standard birds like seagulls, sparrows, Canada geese, bluejays, and crows. Plus something we think was a peregrine falcon diving to try to eat another bird. It shocked us and flew away so quickly that Kate couldn't confirm what it was, but apparently - who knew? - peregrine falcons are the fastest creatures on Earth. When flying horizontally, they can reach speeds of 65 mph (comparable to a cheetah), and when diving, those speeds triple to more than 200 mph!

After a full morning of birding, we stopped at Bob Lobster, the local seafood shack, for lunch. The hot clam chowder was delicious, as was the lobster meat--but I decided one thing. I do not like lobster rolls. Why ruin lobster meat by throwing it on top of nondescript bread smothered with mayonnaise, celery, and lettuce? This was the second lobster roll I've ever had, and it was definitely higher quality than the first, but it was still disappointing. Rumor has it that some places make lobster rolls with only toast and buttered lobster meat, which sounds better. Until I find one of those places, though, I'll stick with chowder.

All in all, a fun excursion and a great excuse to get out of the city and enjoy the fall foliage!