Block Island 2006

Andrew Griswold, Director of EcoTravel
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Essex 06426
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BIRDING ON BLOCK ISLAND

by Joanna Baymiller

Twelve miles off Point Judith, Rhode Island, Block Island is a piece of paradise with a habitat much like that of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and parts of the Hamptons (minus the fashionistas): fresh and salt water ponds, sand dunes and beaches, freshwater ecosystems, forests and fields. A century-old harbor, a plethora of Victorian cottages and hotels in various states of actual and failed charming cuteness, rustic and renovated private residences, eco- friendly signs such as "birders and hikers welcome" on private property, endless photo ops of beaches bending down toward the Block Island Sound.... all describe the Island...

Because thousands of migratories: shorebirds, waterfowl, falcons, hawks, and songbirds make a fueling pitstop during their journeys north and south along the Atlantic Flyway, it's also birder's heaven. The 47-acre refuge provides rest and protection for songbirds, seabirds, and migratory birds. It’s a visual feast.

I traveled the last weekend in September with a dozen veteran birders and leaders/spotters extraordinaire Luke Tiller and Joe Bear from the Connecticut Audubon Society on an excursion to "the last great place"....( its designation by the Nature Conservancy). It was one of the loveliest and most memorable trips I've ever taken. Scenic highlights (of the non flying variety) included two historic lighthouses, seaside bluffs, freshwater ponds, sand dunes, and barrier beaches, along with 25 miles of walking trails.

The veteran travelers among us, ages 40-something to 85, one novice (moi), and our two hawk-eyed guides piled into a 14-seater van and rumbled, safari style, up and down the paved and unpaved roads of the Island, stopping at birding hot spots where we often encountered not only birds, but members of the Rhode Island Audubon Society (easily spotted by their gawking positions and cooing noises). At times it felt a bit like rival teams when we compared notes as both groups raced to spot 100 species, the ‘magic’ number that tour leaders target as their goal for the weekend. Thunderstorms coming and going dampened the effort somewhat, but Saturday yielded many sightings, including over several dozen new to me. According to our guides, unusual species found on the island include the northern harrier, American Bittern, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Yellow-crowned Night-heron. I saw most of them. And almost 80 others.

Personal highlights:

- an American Kestrel high in a pine tree at the edge of the forest, sitting on one leg and apparently enjoying the feeling of digesting a good meal;- a pair of colorful Baltimore Orioles trying out an already well-inhabited tree before going down the road to find more spacious quarters;- rare sightings of both a Brown Creeper and a Red-headed Woodpecker on a side trail alongside a small yard;- a flock of peafowl - hens and cocks - parading across a lawn. The birders don’t count them on their lists, since they're not native to the island ("introduced" they snort dismissively) but I was thrilled. - Peregrine falcons and Merlins swooping and soaring in several locations-a visit to Elise Lapham's bird banding station, a special banding demonstration as well as the opportunity for each of us to hold and release fragile warblers, a veery, a vireo, and a catbird after they had been banded

- a deer in the dawn light feeding on a lawn, free of predators - no coyotes, raccoons, etc. on the island...

I loved the clear and salt marshes, the winding roads, the airport diner like something out of the TV show "Wings" or the 1950's, the wonderful old and new barn board homes overlooking oceans and ponds, the hidden trails, the views of the Sound, and above all, birders in all sizes of LL Bean khakis, with binoculars large and small, all staring, oohing, and aahing and looking like nothing so much as a New Yorker cartoon waiting for a caption. Looking, as a matter of fact, a lot like me.