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 2012 Nantucket Birding Festival

                                            

                                                      

2012 Birding Festival checklist here.

 

2011 Nantucket Birding Festival Highlights

Just before registration started on October 20, a presumed 2 year old male Magnificent Frigatebird started cruising around Nantucket Harbor right over the docks. The bird was well photographed and seen again for two more days. This was the 4th record for this species on Nantucket - an auspicious beginning to the festival.

On October 21, an immature Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was discovered in the mid-island area. This was the 5th occurrence on the island, the last being on May 31, 1999. All participants got to see this handsome bird despite it occasionally vanishing for varying periods of time. The bird was seen again on October 22, 23 and 24 with many photos being taken.

Just when it seemed it could not get any better the next morning, October 22, a Townsend's Solitaire was discovered on a field trip to the west end of the island at Madaket. After being identified on a fly-by, the bird was relocated 20 minutes later and all participants got to see it. It represents a new species for Nantucket. To the delight and satisfaction of island birders, Edith Andrews, the grand dame of Nantucket birding, got to see it, adding a life bird just a week before her 96th birthday. The Solitaire was seen briefly on the morning of October 23.

While many participants left the banding station to view the Solitaire, a Connecticut Warbler hit the nets, was banded, photographed and released. Other remarkable birds were: 2 Common Nighthawks seen on the evening of October 20 while watching the Magnificent Frigatebird at dusk; a Chimney Swift on October21 (exceptionally late in the year); Northern Fulmar, Cory's Shearwater, lots of Peregrine Falcons, 6 Piping Plovers, American Golden Plover, 37 American Oystercatchers, White-rumped Sandpiper, numerous Lesser Black-backed Gulls, multiple Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat,  Lark Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, several  Dickcissels, Rusty Blackbird; and Pine Siskin. The birding was as good as it gets and then some!  Mark your calendar with next year’s dates for the Nantucket birding festival on October 18-21, 2012.  We hope to see you here! 

 

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