Pleasure Bay, South Boston shorebirds

[sohz...@gmail.com]

Folks,

 

John Edmondson and I led a hardy group of birders around Castle Island and Pleasure Bay, South Boston, yesterday. Temperatures were in the teens but the wind was relatively mild so overall conditions were decent. There was great light and excellent birding to be had. The highlight was, of course, the Snowy Owl on top of the Castle. But encountering three species of shorebirds, particularly 25 Purple Sandpipers – a relatively high count for this location – with the snow and ice and cold temperatures was a blast too.

 

If you’re curious about where the shorebirds are (usually), here are some hints:

 

Purples are usually near the beginning of the causeway around Pleasure Bay (starting near the Castle). Yesterday they kept coming back to a pebbly beach on the left (open bay) side of the causeway. Sometimes they perched on the rocks near the first sluiceway.

 

The Sanderling was on the same pebbly patch.

 

Dunlins typically, nearly always, roost on the rocks on the outer side of the causeway near the Sugarbowl – that is the structure halfway out on the causeway. They were not easy to see due to the ice and snow.

 

Thanks to John for maintaining the list. If you were on the trip, use this link to share yesterday’s list:

https://ebird.org/checklist/email?subID=S297357234#share-checklist-form

 

 

Castle Island and Pleasure Bay, Suffolk, Massachusetts, US

Jan 31, 2026 9:04 AM - 11:04 AM

Protocol: Traveling

1.059 mile(s)

Checklist Comments:     BBC trip. Forgot to count. about 10 plus two leaders. Very cold. Wind was moderate but created biting wind chill becasue it was about 10F and  less at the start. Sunny.

26 bird species + one seal – undetermined species

 

Brant  58

Canada Goose  17

American Black Duck  23

Common Eider  53

Surf Scoter  6

White-winged Scoter  1

Black Scoter  1

Long-tailed Duck  2

Bufflehead  4

Common Goldeneye  10

Red-breasted Merganser  18

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  15

Sanderling  1

Dunlin  27

Purple Sandpiper  25     Careful count, multiple observers.

Ring-billed Gull  3

American Herring Gull  25

Great Black-backed Gull  3

Red-throated Loon  1

Common Loon  2

Cooper's Hawk  1

Snowy Owl  1

Horned Lark  7     definite ID, one small flock.

Snow Bunting  9

Song Sparrow  1

Pine Warbler  1     Pic may be coming. ID'd carefully. That certain citrus yellow that only Pine Warnlers have. Strong contrast between darker cheeks and yellow throat.

 

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S297357234

 

 

Soheil Zendeh

Littleton, MA

 

 

 

[Cliff Cook]

I ran into a problem with Soheil's ebird link.

This one worked for me:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S297357234

Cliff Cook

Watertown

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Cliff >> cco...@gmail.com

[Barbara J. Goodchild]

Wow! What an excellent list. And you are right at "hearty." I am waiting until it warms up a bit.

Barbara

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