Lewis Lake, Winthrop, water levels
Soheil Zendeh
Folks,
Many of you have discovered that late summer and fall shorebirding can be rewarding in Winthrop. In particular, at high tide, the Lewis Lake mudflats just north of the little footbridge and south of the golf course can host many dozens of shorebirds: both yellowlegs, both dowitchers, as well as smaller calidris sandpipers. One day a couple of years ago I saw a Baird's Sandpiper there briefly. Last summer Paul Peterson reported a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper there.
Unfortunately, the water level in Lewis Lake has been erratic for many years. If the level is too high, the shorebird roost mudflat is covered over with water and the shorebirds roost further away or behind the Phragmites. The Sharp-tailed Sand that Paul saw there could never be relocated (several of us tried), possibly because the roost was nearly non-existent so the birds were scattered or simply elsewhere when we went to look.
Another issue with Lewis Lake is that a tidal gate that was installed there connecting it to the Harbor has been rusted shut for many years. Salt water has not been getting into the wetlands, which explains the luxuriant growth of Phragmites. Recently, the Town of Winthrop, the EPA, NOAA and Army Corps came to an agreement that the tide gate would be repaired or renewed and tidal water allowed back into the Lewis Lake system in order to kill off the Phrags and allow a more productive ecosystem to be reestablished. I am all for this naturally.
However, a higher water level may, at least temporarily, completely cover over whatever mudflat there is now, thus obliterating the high tide roost. Some of you may remember that some decades back a similar situation existed at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The water level in the impoundments at Plum Island was generally too high and did not allow shorebirds to roost. It took much effort and negotiation by birders, particular Rick Heil, to get the message across to Fish and Wildlife personnel that water levels could be better managed at Plum Island, making it attractive to shorebirds and shorebird-watchers. I think we're on a better track now and shorebirds at Plum Island are generally easier to see than ever before.
[An aside: Making sure that wildlife is visible to people is an important aspect of conservation. Once people know a creature exists and what it looks like and when it can be expected, they are much more likely to care for it and agitate for its conservation. One of the problems for shorebirds -- which as a family are in deep trouble -- is that they are highly migratory and barely seen by most people before they are gone out of the area. Birds like Short-billed Dowitchers are basically here only a few weeks of the year, so many people never become familiar with them -- they have beautiful courtship songs, by the way! Making shorebird viewing areas accessible is good for birders but also good for the birds, since more people become familiar with them and lobby for their conservation.]
Anyway, here is what I did: I wrote Steven Calla, head of Winthrop DPW (see email below), explaining about migratory shorebirds and their needs. I then asked him to consider the needs of shorebirds and shorebird watchers when adjusting the water levels in Lewis Lake. I figure this is important maybe three to four months of year, during the heaviest phase of fall shorebird migration. I also mentioned that birders enjoying shorebirding in Winthrop spend money at local establishments [hint! hint!].
I also copied this email to Ed Reiner of EPA and a couple of people at NOAA and Army Corps. Their addresses are below. If this issue matters to you, please consider writing Steven Calla and these other folks and supporting the proposition that Lewis Lake water levels should be adjusted seasonally to accommodate shorebirds.
Steven Calla, sca...@town.winthrop.ma.us
Ed Reiner, rein...@epa.gov
Alison Verkade, alison....@noaa.gov
Christine Renzoni, Christine...@usace.army.mil
Thank you very much for putting up with yet another of my rants!
Soheil Zendeh
42 Baker Ave
Lexington, MA 02421
From: Soheil Zendeh
[mailto:sohz...@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 3:11 PM
To: 'Steven Calla'
Subject: Lewis Lake water levels
Dear Mr Calla
I am writing you on behalf of the Greater Boston birding community about the water levels at Lewis Lake. One of the easiest places for observing migratory shorebirds in the region is the little bridge over the culvert that separates Lewis Lake from the pond on the north bordering the Winthrop golf course.
Migratory shorebirds nest in the Canadian arctic and winter in Central or South America. As they pass through, they make stops in the same places (if possible) year after year. Winthrop is such a stopping place. These shorebirds make very long non-stop flights - 60 to 70 hours and thousands of miles, so they need to fatten up, sometimes nearly doubling their weight during these 5-10 day stopovers.
The beaches at Nahant, Revere and Winthrop and the mudflats in Boston Harbor are significant low-tide feeding spots for such migrants. At times in late summer and fall hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Semipalmated Sandpipers, Sanderlings, Short-billed Dowitchers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, White-rumped Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and Black-bellied Plovers, mixed in with a handful of less numerous species, are on beaches at low tide, feeding. When high tide arrives, these birds need to find safe roosts, such as on the Five Sisters. Some have discovered Lewis Lake.
At high tide in August through October, if you stand on that bridge and if the water is low enough so there are open mudflats just north of the bridge, many dozens of shorebirds can be seen roosting, sleeping or preening right below you. As a result of this phenomenon, Lewis Lake in Winthrop has gained quite a reputation in the local birding community. Many folks from the wider region make the annual, monthly, weekly or even daily trek over there to check out the shifting shorebird flocks. Lewis Lake, among several other sites in town (Winthrop Five Sisters and Winthrop Beach are others) are considered birding hotspots. Needless to say, birders come not only to bird but often stop in local establishments and restaurants.
At times, however, over the past few years, the level of the water at the upper pond has been too high and there are no mudflats visible from the bridge. In that case, the shorebirds still roost in some local patch but often inside the reeds and therefore are not very visible. This was the case last summer and fall. We could still see and tally up many of the shorebirds but a majority were out of sight or simply went elsewhere.
I understand that there is a current plan to revive the tidal gate at Lewis Lake and allow salt water to flood the pond in order to kill back the encroaching Phragmites. This is excellent, of course. But I wonder if can we ask that, especially in late summer and fall, the water level be kept reasonably low in order to provide roosting shorebirds usable mudflats to the north of the bridge?
I appreciate your attention to this matter. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need additional information. My email and cell phone are below.
Soheil Zendeh
42 Baker Ave
Lexington, MA 02421