The bird of the week is a purple martin. The largest of North America’s swallows, this glossy blue black martin is a casual visitor to the Vineyard, and then only in very small numbers. The Vineyard has not been able to lure the purple martins into staying and breeding on the Vineyard for the past 24 years. This seems strange to folks further south as practically all you have to do is put up a gourd or two and the martin will nest right next to your house or busy street.
A number of ornithologists feel that the increase in European starlings and house sparrows, both introduced species from Europe, compete for nesting sites and are incredibly aggressive, thus driving the purple martins out. Other bird scientists feel that the New England’s cold springs are the reason purple martins don’t fare well. It is the cold June rain storms that cause the nesting failures for the martins as they do for Vineyard ospreys.
The breeding population of purple martins in Massachusetts is primarily in the eastern part of the state. Perhaps we should make an effort to put up purple martin houses around the Vineyard in hopes that we will attract a population of these lovely, insect-eating swallows. It worked for the ospreys!
Bird Sightings
Allan Keith saw one female purple martin and two rough-winged swallows at Turtle Brook Farm in Chilmark on April 11. Lanny McDowell counted five of these large swallows next to the Mill Pond in West Tisbury on April 12.
Rob Bierregaard announced that Penelope is coming home to the Vineyard from French Guiana and is providing some interesting insights into how these birds find their way around the world on the first attempt. She is about to, or may already have begun the crossing of the Caribbean. The osprey’s migration maps can be found online at bioweb.uncc.edu/Bierregaard/migration10.htm.
And while we are on the subject, in 2009 we had 67 active breeding pairs of ospreys on the Vineyard. We had 19 failures, two to raccoon predation, three of unknown causes, and 14 to the northeaster we had last spring. Amazingly the remaining pairs still fledged 87 young ospreys. Our thanks to Dick Jennings and Rob Bierregaard for keeping us posted on Vineyard ospreys.
Allan Keith noted that on April 4 there were still 13 harlequin ducks and two purple sandpipers at Squibnocket. On a ferry ride to the mainland on April 6 Allan counted 30 northern gannets and four red-throated loons. On April 8 Allan went over to Chappaquiddick and found probably the same golden plover that Lanny McDowell and Warren Woessner found, one long-tailed duck, two female common goldeneyes and four buffleheads. On the beach Allan found an adult lesser black-backed gull and in a pond near Tom’s Neck he spotted a great egret.
Later in the day with Gus Daniels and Dave Thompson, Allan found a first year glaucous gull at Katama and an unusual, for this time of year, pectoral sandpiper in the marsh by Sengekontacket Pond.
Gus Ben David called to say a pine warbler arrived at the World of Reptiles and Birds on April 4 and a chipping sparrow arrived on April 7. Gus noted that he usually has had chipping sparrows during the winter, but not this year! Judy Hathaway called to say on April 8 and 10 she spotted a female yellow-bellied sapsucker on her suet feeder in her Edgartown yard. A pine warbler and yellow-rumped warbler arrived at the same suet feeder on April 10. Judy mentioned that the cattle egret was still at Sweetened Water Farm in Edgartown on April 7.
Larry Hepler and Alice Early had an indigo bunting at their Quansoo feeder on April 9 and 10.
Paul Goldstein watched two pairs of northern harriers at either end of Zack’s Cliff Beach on April 10 and one pair of piping plovers.
Sarah Saltonstall announced the arrival of the eastern towhees in her Aquinnah yard on April 12. Lanny McDowell photographed an eastern towhee at Great Rock Bight the same day. When I was a youngster on the Vineyard the towhees were called chewinks and other birders called them rufous-sided towhees. It is the same bird, that says, “Drink your tea” no matter what you call it.
Tara Whiting noted that the tree swallows had arrived in the West Tisbury fields near Whiting Farm on April 13.
Eleanor Waldron has been observing a pair of northern harriers conducting incredible aerial displays prior to breeding and nesting on the south shore in Chilmark. On April 13 she spotted a green heron, two tree swallows, a pair of green-winged teal, two buffleheads and a pair of blue-winged teal at Wades Cove in Chilmark.
Bert Fischer photographed a flock of bufflehead settling onto Squibnocket Pond last week. If you have Facebook, check it out.
Susan B. Whiting is the co-author of Vineyard Birds II, visit her Web site vineyardbirds2.com.
Please report your bird sightings to the Martha’s Vineyard Bird Hotline at 508-627-4922 or e-mail to birds@mvgazette.com.
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