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If you are ever traveling up the East Coast and want a
beautiful and quaint place to bird - I would recommend Block Island, 12
miles off the coast of Rhode Island. I just returned from a family
vacation there (yes, we were book-ended by both Hurricane Bill and Tropical
Storm Danny – but neither caused a problem), and was able to work in a
little birding. The island is further off the coast, but in between
Long Island and Nantucket. Only has 900 year around residents (population
swells during tourist season); has no chain hotels or restaurants (but a
Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s), several historic hotels and many
B&Bs and summer rental homes provide lodging. During settlement
times, almost all trees were cleared for farming and short rock walls were
hand-built to define the acreage. Today the rock walls are protected and
really add character to the island – since 1980 a huge conservation
effort has resulted in 43% of the land now owned and protected by
conservation groups. Most vegetation is thick, compressed,
berry-producing bushes and vines – catbirds, waxwings, and robins
galore! In fact, we picked enough blackberries in our “yard”
to make a cobbler for ten!
I had been monitoring the Rhode Island list-serve and communicating
with Tom Margarian, staff with Cape May but stationed on Block Island for a
radar research project. He agreed to take me out one morning in exchange
for a donation to the conservancy effort --- a fair trade indeed. I had
hoped for two lifers but he got me an unexpected four - Roseate Tern,
Great Cormorant, Common Eider and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (did they drop
that “sharp tailed” designation also?). There were several
hundred Common Terns with a few Roseate’s interspersed.
Mudflats at low tide in the Great Salt Pond also contained Ruddy Turnstones,
Willets, Oystercatchers, and Red Knot. He also gave me a good tour
of where seabird watches take place, and the best spots for warblers during
migration. Great birder and gentleman.
Most trails throughout the conservation areas are open to
the public.
I missed the shearwater migration by about 3 weeks; but
still saw some Wilson Storm-petrels and a Gannet in the ferry crossing. And
the warbler migration is yet to come, but I had a very enjoyable birding
experience. Chris from the Nature Conservancy is a year-round resident and
really intrigued me about a winter visit – he said their Christmas Bird
Count regularly reports 80+ species, with lots of common eiders, and an
occasional murre, Dovekie, and Razorbill.
Great beaches, sailing, surfing and boogie boarding; lots of
clamming, many people biking or renting mopeds to get around – cars
come over on the ferry, no car rental available on island.
Just a delightful place to visit; thought I would share in
case anyone is going that direction.
Jean
Leonatti
Boone County, Columbia, MO
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