Are There Any Encores at the Mystic Lakes?

[PAUL ROBERTS]

How quickly things change. Last Friday was spectacular at the lakes, with one of the best Black-crowned Night Heron shows I've ever seen there. I never did a full count but there were in excess of 50 adult Black-crowned and several second-year birds. Over the past several weeks, roughly 300 Herring Gulls (with a few Ring-billeds thrown in)  and 300 Double-crested Cormorants, which included many second-year birds, have been there regularly. Notably NO Belted Kingfishers.

     Smart Black-crowneds and Great Blues were still able to catch herring, but the past several days very few herring have gone over the dam heading back to the ocean. With the wind out of the south this morning and the almost total lack of rain for weeks, any herring hoping to go the Atlantic for the summer need to bring an electric scooter to get down the spillway. With the wind shift very little water is going over the dam and few if any herring could make it to the lower lake. Their best chance would be to be picked up by a gull, who would be chased and harassed by roughly 50 other Herring Gulls until the gull dropped the herring into the lower lake and it could escape before one of the hasslers could pick it up. I'm glad I am not a river herring.

     Last week three Bald Eagle chicks, the offspring of FAE and KZ, were banded by state wildlife personnel. They are wearing burnt orange Mass bands 79/C, 90/C, and 91/C, in order of age/size at that time. No genders were determined. The kids are relatively late hatches, with the oldest now roughly seven weeks old. They are best viewed from the dam area with a spotting scope, but currently are rarely well seen. FAE, the female, continues to generally dislike the presence or attention of people and avoids the dam area. KZ occasionally fishes closer to the dam, providing relatively rare photo opps. Some herring, especially the Blue-backeds, should still be going over the dam, but probably in far lower numbers. I've seen Spotted Sandpiper only once in the past six weeks. The non-breeding Canada Geese regained their flight feathers several weeks ago and are now socializing much more. For several days a Great-crested Flycatcher was calling from the woods at the dam. Summer is on our doorstep. It's hope a nice, gentle, but soaking rain occurs today as forecast. 

     

Best,

Paul

 

Paul M. Roberts
Medford, MA 
phaw...@comcast.net