[MASSBIRD] Rarities and Plum Island

[Barbara Volkle]

Thanks to Doug Chickering (via Tom Graham) for the post.  Sorry for not
getttin this out sooner.

Barbara Volkle
Northborough, MA
bar...@theworld.com

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From: <dov...@comcast.net <mailto:dov...@comcast.net>>
Date: Wed, Feb 3, 2021, 12:14 PM
Subject: Rarities and Plum Island



Recently, as the storm was approaching I had an interesting conversation
with Tom Graham about Plum island and the rarities we had seen there. At
his urging I decided to glean through my records to see what rarities I
had seen there, and to have the effrontery to rate them. I started out
by wanting to list the 25 rarest birds that I have seen in my thirty-
nine years of birding Plum Island. I don’t claim to be a crack birder,
but I have birded Plum island more than most. Below is my list of 30. My
original intention was to list 25, but I found that I was just leaving
pout too many good birds so I increased it to 30. Even then I had to
leave out birds that could have qualified. I also deliberately kept a
sighting off my list that would generate too much controversy and might
drag me into a disagreement that I don’t want to address here. Also when
I tried to rate them I generally tried to bring the birds I have only
seen once to the top of the list.

                                I am sure that there are others who
have a Plum Island list and would be interested in any comments on my list.

Doug Chickering
dov...@comcast.net <mailto:dov...@comcast.net>
Newburyport, MA

[Barbara Volkle]

Thanks to Doug Chickering (via Tom Graham) for the post.  Sorry for not

gettting this out sooner.  I've revised for legibility.

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25 Rarest Birds Seen on Plum Island.

Seen by me and ranked according to my opinion.

= Seen more than once on Plum Island. Latest date shown

Vermillion FlycatcherOctober 14, 1995

Fork-tailed FlycatcherAugust 8, 1998

Swainson’s WarblerMay 25, 2007

Black-tailed GodwitJuly 18, 2006

Couch’s KingbirdSeptember 7, 2001

Common Ringed PloverMay 21, 2013

Red-necked StintJuly 18, 2019 *

Sissor-tailed FlycatcherJuly 28, 2010 *

Pacific Golden PloverApril 21, 2002

Green-tailed TowheeNovember 11, 2006

Harris’s SparrowNovember 11, 1998

GarganeyAugust 4, 2000 *

Sage ThrasherNovember 6, 2005

Little EgretApril 25, 2019 *

Arctic TernMay 12, 2006

Black RailJune 4, 2010 {heard}

Ash-throated FlycatcherOctober 8, 2011 *

Yellow-headed BlackbirdMay 8, 2019 *

Sandhill Crane April 18, 1982 *

Lark Bunting October 27, 1990

Bohemian WaxwingNovember 11, 1995

White PelicanNovember 2, 2012*

Eared GrebeFebruary 6, 1998

Northern WheatearSeptember 21, 2020*

Western GrebeJanuary 9, 2013 *

Say’s PhoebeOctober 4, 2012 *

Black-necked StiltJune 7, 2013

Sandwich TernJuly 11, 2014

Ross’s GooseDecember 28, 2016 *

Wilson’s PloverSeptember 21, 2019