Spent an hour along the Merrimack River on the Bedford Heritage Trail, off
the packed snow trail the snow depth was average 2 feet, no eagles and not
many species but observed in large numbers, eBird checklist
https://ebird.org/checklist/S304083575 with photos...
Mallard 48
Common Goldeneye 12
Rock Pigeon 7
--
Bruce Conti
*B.A.Conti Photography* www.baconti.com/birding.htm
*¡BAMLog!* www.bamlog.com
Observed at the birdfeeder setup in Nashua, Thursday Feb 25, a busy place
after the morning snowfall, eBird checklist
https://ebird.org/checklist/S303837733 with photos...
Red-Bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Black-Capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-Breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 1
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 1
Eastern Bluebird 6
House Sparrow 3
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 2
Dark-Eyed Junco 8
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
--
Bruce Conti
*B.A.Conti Photography* www.baconti.com/birding.htm
*¡BAMLog!* www.bamlog.com
Date: 2/24/26 4:23 am From: 'Evelyn Nathan' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] backyard bird count
There was nothing to do during the blizzard yesterday but watch birds out of our windows, so I decided to do my own extra-numerary backyard bird count. The highlights were 30 juncos, 24 bluebirds, the oriole, (Shirley is still here) 25 goldfinches including a semi-leucistic one. I thought it was some new species and ran to get the camera but of course he was gone. He was a little smaller than the others, very noticeable black cap, and areas of white feathers.
This is the most bluebirds I’ve ever had at once. 13 is my usual count. I’m going broke on mealworms!
Evy Nathan
Kingston
Date: 2/23/26 11:32 am From: Mark Suomala <suomalamark...> Subject: [NHBirds] Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, February 23, 2026
This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, February 23rd,
2026.
A DOVEKIE was seen at Pulpit Rocks in Rye on February 22nd.
A THICK-BILLED MURRE and a RED-THROATED LOON were seen at Hilton Park in
Dover on February 21st and 22nd.
A male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continued to be seen at the Lochmere Dam on
Silver Lake in Tilton and another male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continued to be
seen at the Granite Street Bridge on the Merrimack River in Manchester,
during the past week.
1-2 GADWALLS were seen at North Hampton State Beach and coastal Rye on
several days during the past week. A LESSER SCAUP was seen at Mine Falls
Park in Nashua on February 12th and 14th.
5 BUFFLEHEADS, a RING-NECKED DUCK, and a LESSER SCAUP were seen at Bridge
Street Park in Lebanon on several days during the past week.
2 BLACK VULTURES were seen at Bullard Drive in Lyndeborough on February 20th
.
A MERLIN was seen in Bethlehem on February 20th.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen in Rochester, 1 was seen in Dover, and 1 was
seen in Madbury, all during the past week.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen in Grafton on February 20th.
A flock of 120 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen at the Centerra parking lot in
Lebanon on February 21st.
82 EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from Jefferson on February 18th, 32 were
reported from Berlin on the 21st, 23 were reported from Deerfield on the 17
th, and 14 were reported from Farmington on the 21st.
A PINE GROSBEAK was seen in New London on February 20th.
3 RED CROSSBILLS were reported from Wilmot on February 18th.
A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was seen at Hampton Beach State Park on February 19th.
A FOX SPARROW was seen in Raymond on February 20th.
A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen on Mechanic Street in Gorham on February 20
th.,
An “IPSWICH” SAVANNAH SPARROW was seen at Hampton Beach State Park on
February 21st.
A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen in Andover on February 18th, and 1 was
seen in Sunapee on the 16th.
A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was seen in Wilton on February 19th,
6 FISH CROWS were seen along Goffstown Road in Manchester, 2 were seen in
Epping, 2 were seen in Merrimack, 2 were seen in Durham, and several
singletons were seen in scattered locations, mainly in southeast NH.
A GRAY CATBIRD was seen at a private residence in Derry on February 18th,
A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was seen at Mechanic Street in Gorham on February
20th.
A HERMIT THRUSH continues to be seen in Gilford, 1 was seen in Concord, and
1 was seen in Durham - all during the past week.
This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and
press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred.
If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at
the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail to:
<birdsetc...> Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird
Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and
phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire
Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org
Thanks very much and good birding!
Explore the birds of New Hampshire with *the Joy of Birding
<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>*, the new online home of *New
Hampshire Bird Records*. Produced by NH Audubon and supported by
volunteers, this free digital publication showcases birding stories, expert
insights, and seasonal highlights while supporting bird conservation and
community science across the state. Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org to
learn more.
Available NOW!
Birding Northern New Hampshire By Robert A. Quinn. Boreal birds and
dramatic vistas await you most any time of the year in New Hampshire’s
North Country. Follow birder and naturalist Robert A. Quinn’s detailed new
guide, *Birding in Northern New Hampshire* to the best birding in northern
Coos County. All proceeds go to NH Audubon. For more info and to order a
copy, check out this link:
Date: 2/20/26 11:22 am From: Bruce Conti <contiba...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mine Falls Park
Late morning hike in Mine Falls Park, Nashua, a noisy place between the
traffic on Route 3 and construction of a housing development across the
Nashua River, probably better to visit at dawn when it's quiet, eBird
checklist https://ebird.org/checklist/S302482993 with photos.
Mallard 6
Common Merganser 1
Rock Pigeon 9
Mourning Dove 3
Black-Capped Chickadee 3
American Robin 5
Northern Cardinal 1
--
Bruce Conti
*B.A.Conti Photography* www.baconti.com/birding.htm
*¡BAMLog!* www.bamlog.com
Date: 2/19/26 5:16 pm From: Bruce Conti <contiba...> Subject: [NHBirds] Thursday Afternoon on the Seacoast
Took advantage of the nice weather for a trip to the seacoast; a quick
half-hour stop at Rye Harbor followed by Odiorne. The snow cover is 1 to 2
feet deep, making the hike through Odiorne a challenge. Definitely
could've used spikes for the hard-pack trails or snowshoes to walk atop the
undisturbed snow. Spotted a flock of Robins at Odiorne, a sure sign of
spring.
Rye Harbor eBird checklist https://ebird.org/checklist/S302311254 with
photos
Common Eider 2
Surf Scoter 3
Bufflehead 2
Ring-Billed Gull 5
Common Loon 7
Odiorne State Park eBird checklist https://ebird.org/checklist/S302306581 with photos
American Wigeon 2
American Black Duck 8
Common Eider 5
Bufflehead 8
Common Goldeneye 2
Red-Breasted Merganser 4
Ring-Billed Gull 8
American Herring Gull 5
Double-Crested Cormorant 19
American Crow 4
Black-Capped Chickadee 5
Tufted Titmouse 3
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 5
Snow Bunting 1
Song Sparrow 3
--
Bruce Conti
*B.A.Conti Photography* www.baconti.com/birding.htm
*¡BAMLog!* www.bamlog.com
Date: 2/19/26 7:28 am From: David Govatski <david.govatski...> Subject: [NHBirds] Jefferson Evening Grosbeaks
On Wednesday I counted 82 evening grosbeaks at our feeders. This number is down from previous weeks. The warmer weather is likely reducing their caloric needs. I also counted 9 pine siskins, 7 purple finches, and about 35 goldfinches. No pine grosbeaks seen at the feeders in the past week but I still see some along the roads and out in northern hardwood forests. We had 16 species for the weekend backyard bird count and that was a high number for the winter when we usually have 13 species. But I was around watching for four hours and picked up some species we don’t get everyday like brown creeper, raven, and Cooper’s hawk.
A friend told me he saw an evening grosbeak on one of his tray feeders just before sunrise and the bird was not moving and had its eyes closed. He thought the grosbeak was dead. He walked out and the bird took flight. It apparently was sleeping on the bird feeder.
Captured some nice images of a Northern Flicker perched at my birdfeeder
setup in Nashua, ebird checklist https://ebird.org/checklist/S302042801 It
was feeding on the suet, given not much opportunity to forage on the ground
with still over a foot of snow cover.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 1
Blue Jay 1
Black-Capped Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-Breasted Nuthatch 2
Carolina Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 4
House Sparrow 2
House Finch 6
American Goldfinch 2
Dark-Eyed Junco 6
Northern Cardinal 2
--
Bruce Conti
*B.A.Conti Photography* www.baconti.com/birding.htm
*¡BAMLog!* www.bamlog.com
There was a Gray Catbird drinking from my heated deck bird bath this morning. First time I've seen one here in the winter. They usually arrive in late April to early May.
Date: 2/16/26 12:20 pm From: Mark Suomala <suomalamark...> Subject: [NHBirds] Rare Bird Alert. New Hampshire, February 16. 2026
This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, February 16th,
2026.
A DOVEKIE and a THICK-BILLED MURRE were seen at Odiorne Point State Park
and Pulpit Rocks in Rye on February 15th & 16th.
A KING EIDER was seen along the coast at Odiorne Point State Park and
Pulpit Rocks in Rye on February 10th-15th.
A male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continues to be seen at the Lochmere Dam on
Silver Lake in Tilton and was last reported on February 14th, and 1 was
seen near the Granite Street Bridge on the Merrimack River in Manchester on
February 15th.
A GADWALL was seen at North Hampton State Beach and coastal Rye on several
days during the past week. A LESSER SCAUP was seen at Mine Falls Park in
Nashua on February 12th and 14th.
7 BUFFLEHEADS and a RING-NECKED DUCK were seen at Bridge Street Park in
Lebanon on February 15th.
A GREAT CORMORANT was seen on the Merrimack River near Stark Landing in
Manchester on February 14th.
A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was seen at South Mill Pond in Portsmouth on
February 9th-14th.
2 BLACK VULTURES were seen at Gilman Park in Exeter on February 12th.
3 TURKEY VULTURES were seen in Rindge on February 14th, and 1 was seen in
Mason on the 15th.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen soaring over Exeter on February 13th.
A NORTHERN HARRIER was seen along the Androcoggin River near Mechanic
Street in Gorham on February 11th.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen in Rochester and 1 was seen in Madbury, both
during the past week.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen on Old Dublin Road in Hancock on February 12th.
150 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen at the Dahl Wildlife Sanctuary in Conway on
February15th.
EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from scattered locations during the past
week, including a flock of over 120+ in Jefferson.
3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen at Hampton Beach State Park on February 12th.
A flock of 26 SNOW BUNTINGS was seen at Evans Flats Trail in Peterborough
on February 15th.
A DICKCISSEL was seen at 26 Elm Street in Wolfeboro on February 14th.
An EASTERN TOWHEE was seen at the UNH Cow Barns in Durham on February 9th.
2 FOX SPARROWS were seen in Londonderry, 1 was seen in Raymond, and 1 was
seen in Epping, all during the last week.
A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen on Mechanic Street in Gorham on February 10
th, 12th. and 15th.
A CHIPPING SPARROW was seen in Weare, and a SWAMP SPARROW was seen in
Surry, both on February 14th.
A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen in Harrisville on February 14th, and 1 was
seen in Sunapee on the 16th.
A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER was seen in Rochester on February 12th, and 1
was seen in Durham on the 15th.
A RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET was seen in Durham on February 15th.
A FISH CROW was seen at the HillTop Mall parking lot in Derry on February 14
th.
A CAROLINA WREN was seen in Groveton on February 15th.
A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was seen at Mechanic Street in Gorham on February
14th, and 1 was seen on Second Street in Colebrook on the 15th.
A NORTHERN FLICKER was seen in Jaffrey on February 7th.
A HERMIT THRUSH continues to be seen in Gilford, 1 was seen in Lebanon, and
1 was seen in Durham - all during the past week.
2 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen along the coast on February 11th.
A BALTIMORE ORIOLE was seen in Kingston on February 14th and 15th.
This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and
press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred.
If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at
the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail to:
<birdsetc...> Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird
Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and
phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire
Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org
Thanks very much and good birding!
Explore the birds of New Hampshire with *the Joy of Birding
<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>*, the new online home of *New
Hampshire Bird Records*. Produced by NH Audubon and supported by
volunteers, this free digital publication showcases birding stories, expert
insights, and seasonal highlights while supporting bird conservation and
community science across the state. Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org to
learn more.
Available NOW!
Birding Northern New Hampshire By Robert A. Quinn. Boreal birds and
dramatic vistas await you most any time of the year in New Hampshire’s
North Country. Follow birder and naturalist Robert A. Quinn’s detailed new
guide, *Birding in Northern New Hampshire* to the best birding in northern
Coos County. All proceeds go to NH Audubon. For more info and to order a
copy, check out this link:
Date: 2/14/26 6:09 pm From: F Keenan <fkeenanhome...> Subject: [NHBirds] FOY Fish crow, Derry
I heard, then saw a fish crow on lightpost in Derry Meadows Shops mall parking lot at 35 Manchester Rd. Have seen them there in previous years. No mistaking that call!
Date: 2/14/26 12:40 pm From: Tom Momeyer <tom...> Subject: [NHBirds] Re: Snow buntings in Peterborough
Fyi, a friend reported 24 snow buntings today at the same location. Best
view is to drive on Evans Road, Peterborough, to the end and continue into
the circular drive leading to Evans Flats trailhead. When halfway around
the circle look to the large plowed grassy area with lage pushed up snow at
the right side of the cleared area. The snow buntings have been foraging in
the exposed grass and soil areas for the past two days - may be hit or miss
as to when they're present. They sometimes fly up as a group, circle the
clearing, landscapes on utility wires, and go back to the ground to forage.
Someone emailed me and said that the reason they don't show up in an eBird
Species maps search is due to Hillsborough County having an eBird filter
set to allow 20 or fewer numbers 'go through' for this time of year and for
higher than 20 (I had 21 yesterday, someone else had 24 today) it triggers
an eBird reviewer requirement. They noted backlogs in review work lasting
quite long in some cases. So, apparently any number count higher than the
filter setting sits quietly, hidden, and unknown to the general eBird user
and may be accessible to people with higher levels of access to eBird data.
Tom Momeyer
Peterborough, NH
On Friday, February 13, 2026 at 10:07:50 PM UTC-5 Tom Momeyer wrote:
> Fyi... 21 snow buntings today at/adjacent to Evans Flats trailhead, Evans
> Road, Peterborough today, in a large grassed area where the town plows the
> snow (some exposed soil). Reported to eBird right away, on site. Using
> eBird species maps this evening, they don't show, but other species
> reported do. I counted carefully by binoculars on the ground and on a
> nearby utility wire scanning carefully and there were no horned larks or
> lapland longspurs.
>
> Someone told me there is a filter on eBird for anything over 20 that a
> reviewer has to approve. That sounds 'fishy' to me, as there was no alert
> of high count using the mobile app. Sibley shows our area as normal winter
> range. I've counted over 100 in a previous year a Rt Hampton Beach SP and a
> lot higher than 20 at Pinnacle Equipment near the CT River.
>
> Why would the snow buntings report of snow buntings not show on eBird
> species maps?
>
> Tom Momeyer
> PPeterborough, NH
>
>
Date: 2/13/26 7:07 pm From: Tom Momeyer <tom...> Subject: [NHBirds] Snow buntings in Peterborough
Fyi... 21 snow buntings today at/adjacent to Evans Flats trailhead, Evans Road, Peterborough today, in a large grassed area where the town plows the snow (some exposed soil). Reported to eBird right away, on site. Using eBird species maps this evening, they don't show, but other species reported do. I counted carefully by binoculars on the ground and on a nearby utility wire scanning carefully and there were no horned larks or lapland longspurs. Someone told me there is a filter on eBird for anything over 20 that a reviewer has to approve. That sounds 'fishy' to me, as there was no alert of high count using the mobile app. Sibley shows our area as normal winter range. I've counted over 100 in a previous year a Rt Hampton Beach SP and a lot higher than 20 at Pinnacle Equipment near the CT River. Why would the snow buntings report of snow buntings not show on eBird species maps? Tom Momeyer PPeterborough, NH
Date: 2/13/26 11:12 am From: <pkursewicz...> Subject: [NHBirds] Northern Harrier
Yesterday's timing was good in order to see a Northern Harrier eating its prey (we believe it was a rabbit) close to the parking lot. We watched for about 3 minutes. It then took its prey and flew towards the dunes.
Date: 2/11/26 6:45 am From: birdrecords <birdrecords...> Subject: [NHBirds] THIS WEEKEND: Backyard Winter Bird Survey
This weekend is a special one for NH Audubon and the perfect time to share your love of birds.
On February 14-15, we invite you to be part of the excitement by joining the 39th annual Backyard Winter Bird Survey, a beloved NH Audubon tradition and one of the state's longest-running participatory science projects.
The idea is simple: spend a little time counting the birds (and yes, squirrels!) you see in your backyard over Valentine's Weekend and submit your data online or by mail. Count for 15 minutes or an entire afternoon. Watch from your window or head outside (coffee or hot chocolate encouraged). Every observation helps paint a clearer picture of how New Hampshire's winter birds are faring.
This year, participating comes with something new to explore. We've launched a brand-new Backyard Winter Bird Survey website<https://backyardwinterbirds.nhaudubon.org/>, where decades of observations come to life. Visitors can browse annual reports, explore photo galleries, and dig into 38 years of data, including population trends for 20 common winter species. Each species page offers identification tips, look-alike species, and simple ways to help birds through the winter. We are grateful to the Davis and Butler Foundations for making this new resource possible.
"The Backyard Winter Bird Survey is for everyone, whether this is your first year or your tenth," said Grace McCulloch, Community Science Project Leader at NH Audubon. "There is always something new to discover, and every count adds to our understanding of how New Hampshire's winter birds are responding to changes in climate and habitat."
Everyone is invited to also share photos of what they see through our new photo page<https://bwbsphotos.nhaudubon.org/> on our website. Images may be featured in the 2026 Backyard Winter Bird Survey photo gallery.
Every year brings surprises. In 2025, eight participants reported Baltimore Orioles, a species rarely seen in New Hampshire during winter. You can check out last year's full report here.<https://backyardwinterbirds.nhaudubon.org/recent-results/> Last year, 1,953 people took part. With your help, we hope to surpass that milestone again and learn which species will top the list in 2026. If you'd like a refresher before the count watch our recorded webinar<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE_438jMnw0>, which will provide all the details. You can also read instructions on our website.
Date: 2/10/26 3:46 pm From: '<bikenbird...>' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] REMINDER*** NH Audubon Seacoast Chapter Wednesday February 11, 2026 7 PM ZOOM Program - North American Bird Declines are Greatest Where Species are Most Abundant***
New Hampshire Audubon Seacoast Chapter
Wednesday February 11, 2026 7 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada) Zoom Program - North American Bird Declines are Greatest WhereSpecies are Most Abundant
(originally scheduled for December 2025)
This February Program is afollow-up to our February 2021 30 Billion Birds Lost program by Ken Rosenbergof Cornell. A new expansive study of North American bird population trends waspublished in ScienceMay 2025 which will be the subject of this program.
Effective bird conservation has been limited by a lack offine-scale population data. This talk presents new analyses using data fromeBird to estimate changes in abundance for 495 North American bird species from2007 to 2021 at a 27-kilometer resolution. Results reveal widespread butspatially complex declines; while 75% of species are declining overall, 97%show both increasing and decreasing trends in different areas. Strikingly,declines are often steepest where species are most abundant. These findingsoffer a new lens on population dynamics and provide sharper tools to guideurgent, targeted conservation efforts.
Bio: Dr. Courtney Davisis an Assistant Professor of Global Biodiversity and Ecoinformatics at CornellUniversity. Her research integrates large-scale data science, ecology, andconservation biology to understand the status and trends of biodiversity. Sheleads interdisciplinary projects that harness participatory science data,remote sensing, AI, and statistical modeling to inform conservation decisionmaking and practice. Her work has been featured in leading scientific journalsand widely used by agencies, NGOs, and the private sector working to conserveglobal biodiversity.
All are welcome to attend our Wednesday February 11, 2026 program via Zoom. The Zoom program Meeting begins promptly at 7 PM. You may need to download Zoom (https://zoom.us/download) to attend the program.
Please register in advance for this meeting. You can register right up through the start time by clicking on this next word: REGISTER
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For more information see our web site at http://www.seacoastchapter.org/programs Cancellations will be announced on http://www.seacoastchapter.org/programs and this Google group.
Al Stewart, Jr.
Date: 2/10/26 1:51 pm From: 'DEBRA M POWERS' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Cedar Waxwing's Somersworth
A flock of 25+ continue to be seen in the Target parking lot, Somersworth NH. They have been there for a few days. I did not see any Bohemian, but that would mean I know what I am doing! LOL. ~Deb Powers-South Berwick Maine
Date: 2/10/26 8:30 am From: Milton Trimitsis <trimitsis...> Subject: [NHBirds] Hermit thrush in Sullivan
I just saw a hermit thrush foraging in a brushy area near a stream and
along a rock wall. This is very unusual timing for me — I’ve never seen
one on my hill (about 1250’ elevation) after November and before late
March. I’m curious if folks think this is a late lingering bird or an
early migrant. I'd love to think that this is a vote that winter might
end...
Cheers,
Milton Trimitsis
Sullivan, NH
Date: 2/9/26 12:00 pm From: Mark Suomala <suomalamark...> Subject: [NHBirds] Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, February 9, 2026
This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, February 9th,
2026.
A COMMON MURRE was seen at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye on February 6th.
A male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continues to be seen at the Silver Lake outlet in
Tilton and was last reported on February 5th, and 1 was seen in Hampton
Harbor on the 6th.
2 RED-THROATED LOONS, a BLACK SCOTER and a LONG-TAILED DUCK were seen at
Adams Point Wildlife Management Area in Durham on February 4th.
A GADWALL was seen at North Hampton State Beach on February 8th, and a WOOD
DUCK was seen at Jackson’s Landing in Durham on the 6th.
A BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was seen at South Mill Pond in Portsmouth on
February 6th-8th.
2 BLACK VULTURES were seen at Hurd Farm in Hampton on February 2nd.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen in Rochester, and one was seen in Dover,
both during the past week.
150 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen at 2025 White Mountain Highway in North
Conway on February 6th.
34 COMMON REDPOLLS were seen on the Kancamagus Highway in Albany on
February 6th.
EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from scattered locations during the past
week, including a flock of over 60+ in Jefferson.
2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS and 24 SNOW BUNTINGS were seen at Hampton Beach State
Park on February 6th.
An EASTERN TOWHEE was seen at Spinney Lane and Durham Reservoir in Durham
on February 8th.
2 FOX SPARROWS were seen in Londonderry, 1 was seen in Raymond, and 1 was
seen in Lincoln, all during the last week.
2 “IPSWICH” SAVANNAH SPARROWS were seen at Bicentennial Park in Hampton on
February 6th.
A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen in Harrisville on February 6th.
There were multiple reports of at least 4 YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS during
the past week.
2 PINE GROSBEAKS and 2 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were seen in downtown Gorham
on February 6th.
A NORTHERN FLICKER was seen in Jaffrey on February 7th.
An AMERICAN KESTREL was seen at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye on February
3rd, and a MERLIN was seen in New London on the 9th.
A HERMIT THRUSH continues to be seen in Gilford and was last reported on
February 7th.
A RUSTY BLACKBIRD was seen on Kimball Road in Kensington on February 4th-6th
.
This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and
press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred.
If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at
the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail to:
<birdsetc...> Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird
Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and
phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire
Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org
Thanks very much and good birding!
Explore the birds of New Hampshire with *the Joy of Birding
<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>*, the new online home of *New
Hampshire Bird Records*. Produced by NH Audubon and supported by
volunteers, this free digital publication showcases birding stories, expert
insights, and seasonal highlights while supporting bird conservation and
community science across the state. Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org to
learn more.
Available NOW!
Birding Northern New Hampshire By Robert A. Quinn. Boreal birds and
dramatic vistas await you most any time of the year in New Hampshire’s
North Country. Follow birder and naturalist Robert A. Quinn’s detailed new
guide, *Birding in Northern New Hampshire* to the best birding in northern
Coos County. All proceeds go to NH Audubon. For more info and to order a
copy, check out this link:
> I was surprised to see a northern saw-whet owl perched almost in front of me as I was walking my pups last night. I guess it really is Superb Owl weekend...
> Crappy cell phone photo in the eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S29858023.
>
> Milton Trimitsis
> Sullivan NH
Date: 2/7/26 10:33 am From: Milton Trimitsis <trimitsis...> Subject: [NHBirds] Saw-whet in Sullivan
I was surprised to see a northern saw-whet owl perched almost in front of me as I was walking my pups last night. I guess it really is Superb Owl weekend...
Crappy cell phone photo in the eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S29858023.
Date: 2/5/26 10:26 pm From: '<bikenbird...>' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] *** NH Audubon Seacoast Chapter Wednesday February 11, 2026 7 PM ZOOM Program - North American Bird Declines are Greatest Where Species are Most Abundant***
New Hampshire Audubon Seacoast Chapter
Wednesday February 11, 2026 7 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada) Zoom Program - North American Bird Declines are Greatest WhereSpecies are Most Abundant
(originally scheduled for December 2025)
This February Program is afollow-up to our February 2021 30 Billion Birds Lost program by Ken Rosenbergof Cornell. A new expansive study of North American bird population trends waspublished in ScienceMay 2025 which will be the subject of this program.
Effective bird conservation has been limited by a lack offine-scale population data. This talk presents new analyses using data fromeBird to estimate changes in abundance for 495 North American bird species from2007 to 2021 at a 27-kilometer resolution. Results reveal widespread butspatially complex declines; while 75% of species are declining overall, 97%show both increasing and decreasing trends in different areas. Strikingly,declines are often steepest where species are most abundant. These findingsoffer a new lens on population dynamics and provide sharper tools to guideurgent, targeted conservation efforts.
Bio: Dr. Courtney Davisis an Assistant Professor of Global Biodiversity and Ecoinformatics at CornellUniversity. Her research integrates large-scale data science, ecology, andconservation biology to understand the status and trends of biodiversity. Sheleads interdisciplinary projects that harness participatory science data,remote sensing, AI, and statistical modeling to inform conservation decisionmaking and practice. Her work has been featured in leading scientific journalsand widely used by agencies, NGOs, and the private sector working to conserveglobal biodiversity.
All are welcome to attend our Wednesday February 11, 2026 program via Zoom. The Zoom program Meeting begins promptly at 7 PM. You may need to download Zoom (https://zoom.us/download) to attend the program.
Please register in advance for this meeting. You can register right up through the start time by clicking on this next word: REGISTER
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For more information see our web site at http://www.seacoastchapter.org/programs Cancellations will be announced on http://www.seacoastchapter.org/programs and this Google group.
Al Stewart, Jr.
Date: 2/5/26 12:37 pm From: 'Bruce Boyer' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Wren in House
I finally cornered the wren and caught it in my hand, probably because it was fatigued by being chased all over by the dog. I put it outside, but it just lay in the snow, so I brought it inside and kept it in a box, hoping it would warm up, and called a rehabber. They recommended putting the box outiside, which I did, and it flew off.
Date: 2/5/26 11:56 am From: 'Bruce Boyer' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Wren in House
A Carolina Wren has gotten into my house. My dog is chasing it around. When this happened before, I was able to chase the bird toward an open door, but that is not working now.
Does anyone have a suggestion? Is there a rescue specialist who could trap the bird?
Date: 2/5/26 11:35 am From: Randy Langer <randylanger52...> Subject: [NHBirds] Coopers Hawk
Doing that cooper hawk thing, took a mourning dove mid-flight, they bounced off the screen door killing the dove and then flew off with it in its talons. Randy Meredith
Date: 2/5/26 5:45 am From: jennifer Frost <jennfrost67...> Subject: Re: [NHBirds] Winter Wrens at the Feeder
I have my first pair of Carolina Wrens loving the mealworms at my feeder
here in Dunbarton. Jennifer
On Wed, Feb 4, 2026 at 8:31 PM Alfred Maley <alfredmaley...> wrote:
> Neighbor Bob Preble in Hampstead reports that he has had first one, then
> ttwo Winter Wrens at his mealworm block feeder. They've been present
> since late Fall, early Winter, roosting under an overturned canoe and in
> other places. First one showed up near the feeder and figured out what the
> deal was. Then he had two wrens, one on either side of the mealworm block.
> Finally he had one Winter Wren on one side of the block and a Carolina Wren
> on the other side, but no camera to record this startling result.
>
> Al Maley
> Los Barrios/Hampstead
>
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>
Date: 2/4/26 5:31 pm From: Alfred Maley <alfredmaley...> Subject: [NHBirds] Winter Wrens at the Feeder
Neighbor Bob Preble in Hampstead reports that he has had first one, then ttwo Winter Wrens at his mealworm block feeder. They've been present since late Fall, early Winter, roosting under an overturned canoe and in other places. First one showed up near the feeder and figured out what the deal was. Then he had two wrens, one on either side of the mealworm block. Finally he had one Winter Wren on one side of the block and a Carolina Wren on the other side, but no camera to record this startling result.
Date: 2/4/26 2:35 pm From: 'Steve Lauermann' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Common Goldeneye
https://ebird.org/checklist/S298132230 Nice flock of a dozen adults, unfortunately, as with most of mystops at this site, they stayed quire distant...no Mergansers today. Happy Birding, Steve Lauermann
Jane and I got to drive up and down the coast over the last couple of
days. Tough time of year as we enter the February doldrums. The snow
has been cleared in a few spots and some of the pullouts are now
accessible. A few random sightings of interest:
First, 5 species we missed on the Superbowl......aaaargh!!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lapland Longspur - 4 at Hampton Beach SP with Horned Larks today
Iceland Gull - 1 juvenile over Rt. 101 causeway in Hampton today
American Wigeon - 1 male continues on ocean side (yesterday) and marsh
side (today) at North Hampton State Beach.
Northern Harrier - 2 yesterday and 2 today in Hampton area
Red-shouldered Hawk - One 1st-winter bird off Landing Road in Hampton
yesterday and one adult yesterday off Rt. 1A in North Hampton
Other random birds
-------------------------
Bald Eagle - 5 or 6 yesterday and about 4 or 5 today. Bald Eagles are
now the most common species of raptor along the coast! At least 3 pair
breed on the coast now.
Red-tailed Hawk - 3 yesterday and 3 today.
Cooper's Hawk - 1 yesterday and 1 today.
Peregrine Falcon - 1 immature overlooking the Piscatacqua River in New
Castle.
Barrow's Goldeneye - 1 adult male continues as of yesterday from Yankee
Fisherman's Coop in Seabrook. Didn't see it today. Scope required.
and
Rough-legged Hawk - 0. We were hoping to find the one that was seen
along the coast last Saturday. No luck. It's now been over 7 years
since my last sighting IN ROCKINGHAM COUNTY despite the fact that I am
now retired and birding more than ever!!!! While this species
population is known to be cyclic and its occurrence in New England
varies from year to year, I'm not sure what's going on. Why haven't I
seen any since 2018? Population decline? Competition with eagles and
Red-tails? Consider that I have seen this species in Rockingham County
in the following years: 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018. Now when
will I see another one?
Also, still no luck with Razorbills offshore or Snow Buntings. Two
species that were common a month ago.....where did they go!!??
Date: 2/4/26 7:44 am From: birdrecords <birdrecords...> Subject: [NHBirds] Twitchers in the 2026 Superbowl of Birding
This year's Superbowl of Birding was one for the record books, and not just because of the birds. With temperatures dipping as low as -7 degrees Fahrenheit, the Twitchers endured one of their coldest Superbowls yet. The extreme cold and deep snow made it difficult to find some species that are more reliable in other seasons, but there were plenty of happy surprises, including three five-point birds.
The team recorded its first-ever Black Vulture and Painted Bunting for the Twitchers, along with the first Rusty Blackbird since 2009, the team's inaugural year. It was a great day, and we were truly heartened by the support and friendly faces we encountered along the way. You can read the full summary of our day here.<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/superbowl-of-biring-twitchers-2026/> Despite the brutal conditions, all toes and fingers escaped frostbite, and we finished with a very respectable 58 species and 98 points!
The Twitchers were birding in support of New Hampshire Bird Records, now online as the Joy of Birding<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>, and thanks to your generosity we've raised $5,000 so far. A special thank you to those who have already donated; your support is making this important resource possible.
If you'd like to support this work donations are still welcome.<https://nhaudubon.org/make-a-donation-to-twitchers/> If you made a pledge, I'll be reaching out this week.
Thank you for being part of such a great event and an even greater community.
Warmly,
Grace
Grace McCulloch
Community Science Project Leader
NH Audubon
<gmcculloch...><mailto:<gmcculloch...> Twitchers Donation Link: https://nhaudubon.org/make-a-donation-to-twitchers/ Full 2026 Twitchers Report: https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/superbowl-of-biring-twitchers-2026/ [cid:<image002.jpg...>]
Participate and learn more: backyardwinterbirds.nhaudubon.org<https://backyardwinterbirds.nhaudubon.org/>
Date: 2/2/26 5:54 pm From: Mark Suomala <suomalamark...> Subject: [NHBirds] Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, February 2, 2026.
This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, February 2nd,
2026.
2 male BARROW’S GOLDENEYES continue to be seen at the Silver Lake outlet in
Tilton and were last reported on February 2nd. Another male was seen in
Hampton Harbor on January 31st.
There was an unconfirmed report of a GREATER SCAUP on the Connecticut River
in Haverhill on February 1st. and a LESSER SCAUP was seen at Silver Lake in
Tilton on February 2nd.
An ICELAND GULL was seen at Bicentennial Park in Hampton on January 31st,
and a LESSER BLACKED GULL was seen in Madbury on the 27th.
3 BLACK VULTURES were seen at Hurd Farm in Hampton on February 1st.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen at Landing Road in Hampton on January 31st.
A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen in Rochester, and 1 was seen in Dover, both
during the past week.
A SNOWY OWL was seen in Enfield, and 1 was seen along the coast. If you see
one, please keep your distance and don’t cause them to fly.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen on Old Dublin Road in Hancock on January 29th.
A few PINE GROSBEAKS were seen in Jefferson during the past week.
EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from scattered locations during the past
week, including a flock of over 60+ in Jefferson.
4 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen in coastal Rye on January 29th.
2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen at Hampton Beach State Park on January 21st.
An EASTERN TOWHEE was seen in Hampton Falls on January 31st.
A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was seen at Putnam Farm in Charlestown on January 29
th.
2 FOX SPARROWS were seen in Londonderry, 1 was seen in Hampton Falls, and 1
was seen in Amherst, all on January 31st
An “IPSWICH” SAVANNAH SPARROW was seen at Hampton Beach State Park on
January 31st.
A SWAMP SPARROW was seen in Lee on February 1st.
A CHIPPING SPARROW was seen on Maple Street in Newmarket on January 31st.
A BALTIMORE ORIOLE was seen on Scotland Road in Kingston on January 31st.
A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen in Harrisville on January 29th.
There were multiple reports of YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS during the past
week.
A NORTHERN FLICKER was seen in Jaffrey on January 29th.
A WINTER WREN was seen in Charlestown on January 29th.
A CAROLINA WREN was seen on Mechanic Street in Gorham on February 1st.
A HERMIT THRUSH was seen in Dover, 1 was seen in Pittsfield, and 1 was seen
in North Woodstock, all during the past week.
A FISH CROW was seen in Hampton Falls on January 31st, and 1 was seen in
Seabrook on the 27th.
A PAINTED BUNTING and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD were seen visiting a birdfeeder at
a private residence in Hampton on January 31st. The homeowner asked that
their privacy be respected and they will not be granting access to their
property.
This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and
press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred.
If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at
the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail to:
<birdsetc...> Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird
Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and
phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire
Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org
Thanks very much and good birding!
Explore the birds of New Hampshire with *the Joy of Birding
<https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>*, the new online home of *New
Hampshire Bird Records*. Produced by NH Audubon and supported by
volunteers, this free digital publication showcases birding stories, expert
insights, and seasonal highlights while supporting bird conservation and
community science across the state. Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org to
learn more.
Available NOW!
Birding Northern New Hampshire By Robert A. Quinn. Boreal birds and
dramatic vistas await you most any time of the year in New Hampshire’s
North Country. Follow birder and naturalist Robert A. Quinn’s detailed new
guide, *Birding in Northern New Hampshire* to the best birding in northern
Coos County. All proceeds go to NH Audubon. For more info and to order a
copy, check out this link:
|
The ‘Birding University - Harris Center Kestrels’ (Katrina Fenton, Steven Lamonde, Nate Marchessault, Will Stollsteimer, and myself) participated in the Superbowl of Birding on Saturday, with sponsorship from Birding University and The Harris Center for Conservation Education. Chad Witko was unable to join us in the field this year, but he provided key support leading up to the event. Each teammate contributed to what amounted to an excellent day of birding. We were particularly pleased with our total, as none of us had been able to scout this year. The Kestrels tallied 77 species and 159 points this year (down from our record high 88 species and 198 points in 2024, when we did scout and access was a bit easier). Amazingly, we bested the 4th and Longspurs species total by one, but fell a single point short of their tally. Still, our species total led us to claim the David Larson Award for the entire event, as the team with the most species.
For the fourth straight year, the Harris Center has used the Superbowl to fundraise for our raptor conservation projects, raising several thousand dollars to grow our American Kestrel Conservation Project (we now have 50 nest boxes installed across 20 Monadnock Region towns) and track the movements of migratory Broad-winged Hawks between their breeding range in NH and wintering grounds as far as Bolivia. This year, we’re raising funds to expand research on rodenticide levels in our American Kestrel population, tracking their movements through the use of transmitters, and investing in new monitoring technologies to bring our work closer to people. We’re more than halfway to our goal, and you can help us reach it! Support Kestrel Conservation | Harris Center for Conservation Education
Our team of five assembled the evening prior to the event to devise a plan, utilizing eBird reports (including many sightings contributed by Steve and Jane Mirick, our friends and perennial ‘competitors’) and a sophisticated planning template with detailed spreadsheets and maps. This strategy, combined with our game day decisions, knowledge of the area, and highly attuned eyed and ears, led us to success – and a really fun day in the field!
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Below is our species list as well as a list of the misses:
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Canada Goose
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American Wigeon – 1 male at North Hampton State Beach
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Mallard
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American Black Duck
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Northern Pintail – 2 females at Gilman Park
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Greater Scaup
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Common Eider
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Surf Scoter
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White-winged Scoter
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Black Scoter
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Long-tailed Duck
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Bufflehead
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Common Goldeneye
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Hooded Merganser – Route 1 tidal creek
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Red-breasted Merganser
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Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
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Mourning Dove
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Sanderling
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Purple Sandpiper
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Black Guillemot – 4 from two different locations on the north coast
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Ring-billed Gull
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American Herring Gull
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Great Black-backed Gull
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Iceland Gull – 1 at Bicentennial Park
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Horned Grebe
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Red-necked Grebe
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Red-throated Loon
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Common Loon
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Great Cormorant
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Black Vulture – 3 at the roost in Hampton
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Turkey Vulture
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Cooper's Hawk
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Northern Harrier
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Bald Eagle
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Red-shouldered Hawk – 1 stunning adult terrorizing Horned Larks in Rye Harbor
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Red-tailed Hawk
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Rough-legged Hawk – 1 dark morph bird spotted perching off Landing Road in Hampton late in the day
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Eastern Screech-Owl – 1 calling at Chapman’s Landing at dawn
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Barred Owl – 1 calling at Osprey Cove
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Red-bellied Woodpecker
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Downy Woodpecker
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Hairy Woodpecker
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Pileated Woodpecker
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Northern Flicker
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Merlin – Hampton Marsh
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Peregrine Falcon – 1 late day find by Will at Hampton Harbor
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Blue Jay
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American Crow
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Common Raven
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Black-capped Chickadee
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Tufted Titmouse
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Horned Lark
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
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White-breasted Nuthatch
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Brown Creeper – Hampton Falls
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Carolina Wren
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European Starling
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Northern Mockingbird
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Eastern Bluebird
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American Robin
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Cedar Waxwing
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House Sparrow
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Evening Grosbeak – 2 along Autumn Lane, previously reported (and our first of two early 5-point birds)
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House Finch
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American Goldfinch
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American Tree Sparrow
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Fox Sparrow – Hampton Falls feeder
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Dark-eyed Junco
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White-throated Sparrow
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Savannah Sparrow
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Song Sparrow
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Eastern Towhee – Hampton Falls; previously reported bird
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Rusty Blackbird – Kimball Road; previously reported bird
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Pine Warbler – Exeter feeder (thanks, Karen!)
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Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1 picked out by Nate at Jenness/Sawyers Beach
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Northern Cardinal
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Painted Bunting – the one and only green bird in Rockingham County!
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Misses:
Common Merganser – didn’t bird Great Bay area during daylight
Wild Turkey
Dunlin – shorebirds flying across Hampton Harbor at lowtide at dusk were almost surely these! But conditions were just too poor to besure
Great Blue Heron
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – missed at least two reportedbirds
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren – wren chittered briefly from marsh at Blake’sLane, but couldn’t rule out Carolina
Hermit Thrush – we didn’t scout any or chase known birds
American Pipit – scanned a lot of tidal wrack, but came up empty
Purple Finch – only a couple of us heard one calling
Snow Bunting
Chipping Sparrow – one picked out at a feeder by Will, butit disappeared and aggravatingly never resurfaced!
Baltimore Oriole – we won’t even talk about how many ofthese we missed
Phil Brown
Captain, Birding University - Harris Center Kestrels
Date: 2/2/26 3:51 am From: 'evyn' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: Re: [NHBirds] 4th & Longspurs Superbowl Results - 76 Species and 160 points!
sounds like quite a day! Glad you saw Shirley. Maybe missed our siskin?
On Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 12:33:37 PM UTC-5 Anthony Tzortzakis wrote:
> Thank you for sharing. I live for this! This is truly my superbowl!
>
> On Sun, Feb 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <
> <nhb......> wrote:
>
>> Jane and I joined up with Paul Lacourse yesterday for the "Superbowl of
>> Birding" sponsored by the Joppa Flats Education Center of Massachusetts
>> Audubon. Unlike recent years, our "running back" Kurk Dorsey was placed on
>> "personal leave" and we picked up Stuart Varney on waivers who performed
>> more than just admirably filling in for Kurk. His hearing reminds me of a
>> hound dogs sense of smell. Stuart was hearing birds that were beyond the
>> frequencies and range of most human beings! Even better than Jane's
>> hearing and far beyond the abilities of Paul and I. :-( He also makes
>> great breakfast sandwiches!!!!
>>
>> This is the 23nd anniversary for this competitive event. The event is a
>> fun way of beating the winter cold and getting out and finding birds in
>> Essex County, MA and Rockingham County, NH. Our team name is the "4th and
>> Longspurs". We've now competed in NH for 20 years of this event having
>> missed 3 due to a broken elbow and covid. As we've done in the past years,
>> we participated in the category of "Rockingham County, NH only". A weighted
>> valuation system determines the winner, where the rarity of the species
>> determines the number of points awarded.
>>
>> Similar to last winter, this winter has been very cold....more like the
>> older days. But in contrast to last year, we had LOTS OF SNOW after last
>> week's 20" storm. This made things very difficult for roadside birding and
>> even worse on the coast, where snow banks and drifting snow caused lots of
>> troubles. Ragged Neck was plowed out, but most coastal pullouts were NOT
>> and that limited our offshore scans. Our car thermometer bottomed out at
>> -3 and I heard others report down to -7. A very light wind in the morning
>> made it just that much worse. There was plenty of sun, however, and the
>> morning breeze died down quickly. The temperature, however, barely got up
>> to 20F for the day. The seas were flat and visibility offshore was great,
>> but we covered it at low tide which, combined with limited access, made
>> finding alcids difficult.
>>
>> After receiving our breakfast sandwiches at Stuart's at 4:45 AM, we
>> started out with our Owling in Portsmouth and Rye. We struck out (as
>> usual) with owls off Little Harbor Road, but we got Screech Owl and Great
>> Horned Owl off Brackett Road. Unfortunately we arrived just a bit too late
>> to get the Saw-whet Owl that others had on Love Lane and we had no luck
>> with the Barred Owl that wouldn't call back at the Rye Recreation
>> area.....others SAW this bird later in the day! My dawn strategy worked
>> very well as we were able to find the roosting Vultures in Hampton Falls
>> and easily pick out 2 Black Vultures in the Pine Trees as an 8-pointer.
>> The morning rhythm worked reasonably well as we picked up Wild Turkey,
>> Northern Pintail, Rusty Blackbird, and Fox Sparrow. We then headed out to
>> Evy Nathan's feeders and got another easy 8-pointer as her Baltimore Oriole
>> was sitting in the tree as we pulled in!! Back to Exeter, we had terrible
>> luck with the ducks at Gilman Park (frozen!) and Sapsucker....we went 0 for
>> 3 on scouted locations. So......north to Stratham and Newmarket where Jane
>> picked out a "stop-light" Cedar Waxwing and we easily got Savannah
>> Sparrows, Common Mergansers, and OUR THIRD 8-pointer of the day with a
>> scouted Chipping Sparrow in the same thickets of Newmarket where we had one
>> last year!
>>
>> We kept things going with a nice pace in Greenland; missing ducks on
>> Great Bay, but picking up a scouted Yellow-rumped Warbler and finally
>> getting a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Now down to Hampton where we got (on
>> our 2nd attempt) the INCREDIBLE PAINTED BUNTING seen by so many this day.
>> THANK YOU to Grace McCullough and Alicia McLaughlin for setting up this
>> ONE DAY ONLY visitation. Things continued on a roll.....Paul whistled in a
>> scouted Eastern Towhee while Stuart picked out a surprise flyover Fish Crow
>> in Hampton Falls and Hooded Mergansers continued in the creek. A side trip
>> to the Hampton WTP failed to produce any new birds, but it did provide us
>> with perhaps the rarest sighting of the day. A falconer was
>> flying/training an adult EURASIAN GOSHAWK! While I'm not in favor of
>> falconry, I respect this man's love and respect for birds of prey. And
>> these birds are incredible to see up close.
>>
>>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/55071218336/in/photostream/lightbox/ >>
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/55072436059/in/photostream/lightbox/ >>
>> Off to Hampton Harbor in Seabrook where things continued to go well. Jane
>> picked out a nice adult Peregrine Falcon sitting in the saltmarsh and when
>> I put up my scope for a (rare for location) Greater Scaup, I was shocked to
>> see a nice adult male Barrow's Goldeneye. While the Lakes Region and
>> downtown Manchester have enjoyed these annual winter visitors, they are
>> (for some reason) rare on the seacoast.
>>
>> The whole day then went downhill fast when we hit Hampton Beach State
>> Park!!!!! I'm not sure what happened, but the day was never the same!
>> First there were the snow drifts, I struggled to walk through them to get
>> to the beach to scan offshore, but when I turned around, only Stuart
>> followed me! 5 minutes later, Jane showed up, panting and exhausted. But
>> Paul never appeared! We almost sent out a rescue dog to search for him,
>> but it turns out he just said "screw this"! After post-holing down to his
>> thighs for the 3rd time in the snow drifts he just went back to the car!
>> But that wasn't the worst of it! We filled in a few gaps with common
>> offshore birds....nothing we didn't see later. But as we were leaving, we
>> noticed a poor, confused, elderly, French-speaking man who had gotten his
>> car stuck in the snow! What were we to do?!?!? I spent 10 minutes trying
>> to push him out and then, because he spoke very poor English, and was very
>> old and confused, I spent another 20 minutes using his cell phone to try to
>> call AAA to come and pull him out......by the way, I don't know what the
>> heck has gone wrong with AAA, but now you can't get directly connected to a
>> human voice any more!!!! They send you a text message so you can click a
>> link that leads you to a confusing on-line questionnaire!!!! What the heck
>> is going wrong with society! :-(
>>
>> We probably wasted a solid hour at Hampton Beach State Park with no
>> significant birds. Stuart suggest that this act of goodwill would give me
>> good Karma. HE WAS WRONG! We traveled up the coast, filling holes, and
>> ticking off some common coastal birds, but we missed Pipit, Snow Bunting
>> and Razorbill. We even missed "Mr. and Mrs. Piney" the Pine Warblers that
>> have been hand-fed meal worms at a feeder in Rye. Despite the fact that
>> "Mrs. Bud" came out with fresh meal worms! And the final shoe to drop was
>> missing Swamp Sparrow at the Portsmouth Hospital marsh at 5 PM......where
>> we had 7 on January 11th before the storm.
>>
>> We ended the day with a total of 76 species. This is well below our
>> record high of 87, and below our average for recent years, but I think an
>> excellent total considering the horrendously cold and snowy winter. Phil
>> Brown's team beat us with 77 species, BUT we beat them by a single point!
>> (160 to 159). We'll have to wait and see whether either of us wins any
>> awards as the final results will be announced tonight.
>>
>> Total species - 76
>> ------------------------
>> Canada Goose
>> Mallard
>> American Black Duck
>> Northern Pintail - Female at duck pond in Hampton Falls
>> Greater Scaup - Great Bay frozen as far as you could see. But a few
>> around Great Boar's Head and in Hampton harbor.
>> Common Eider
>> Surf Scoter
>> White-winged Scoter
>> Black Scoter
>> Long-tailed Duck
>> Bufflehead
>> Common Goldeneye
>> BARROW'S GOLDENEYE - One of the surprises for the day. This may be my
>> first Coastal record of an adult male since March 2014!
>> Hooded Merganser - Taylor River along Rt. 1
>> Common Merganser - Newfields Landing on Squamscott River
>> Red-breasted Merganser
>> Wild Turkey - Groups in Hampton and Greenland.
>> Horned Grebe
>> Red-necked Grebe
>> Mourning Dove
>> Rock Pigeon
>> Sanderling - A couple of spots on seacoast.
>> Purple Sandpiper - Scarce this winter. Small flock from Little Boar's
>> Head picked out by Stuart.
>> Black Guillemot - FOUR at Odiorne.....but no Razorbills.
>> Ring-billed Gull
>> American Herring Gull
>> Great Black-backed Gull
>> Red-throated Loon - One at Hampton Beach SP and 3 more at Odiorne.
>> Common Loon
>> Great Cormorant - Rye Ledge
>> BLACK VULTURE - Two perched up in roost trees at dawn in Hampton Falls.
>> Turkey Vulture - Didn't count. Perhaps 20+ at roost.
>> Cooper's Hawk
>> Bald Eagle - 7 total for the day
>> Red-tailed Hawk
>> Eastern Screech-Owl - One off Brackett Road
>> Great Horned Owl - At least 3
>> Red-bellied Woodpecker
>> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - FINALLY got one in Greenland. After dipping
>> at 3 spots in Exeter.
>> Downy Woodpecker
>> Hairy Woodpecker
>> Northern Flicker - One at Autumn Lane in East Kingston only.
>> Peregrine Falcon - One adult in Seabrook marshes.
>> Blue Jay
>> American Crow
>> FISH CROW - Only our 2nd ever for Superbowl. Nice bird calling very
>> vociferously as it flew over our heads in Hampton Falls.
>> Common Raven - Two for the day
>> Black-capped Chickadee
>> Tufted Titmouse
>> Horned Lark - Ragged Neck
>> Golden-crowned Kinglet - Nicely picked out by Stuart Varney by call note
>> from 1/2 mile away!
>> Cedar Waxwing - Incredible single bird in fruit trees in Stratham.
>> Spotted by Jane at stop light! Rare on seacoast this winter.
>> Red-breasted Nuthatch - At Bud's feeders. Rare on seacoast this winter.
>> White-breasted Nuthatch
>> Carolina Wren
>> Northern Mockingbird
>> European Starling
>> Eastern Bluebird
>> American Robin
>> House Sparrow
>> House Finch
>> American Goldfinch
>> CHIPPING SPARROW - 8 pointer at feeder in Newmarket. Took a little
>> effort and a lot of pisshing, but finally came in!
>> FOX SPARROW - Cooperative bird at Dave Kellam's house in Exeter.
>> American Tree Sparrow
>> Dark-eyed Junco
>> White-throated Sparrow
>> Savannah Sparrow - Very easy at Stuart Farm in Stratham.
>> Song Sparrow
>> EASTERN TOWHEE - Cooperative female staked out in Hampton Falls.
>> BALTIMORE ORIOLE - Female nicknamed "Shirley" at Evy Nathan's feeder in
>> Kingston. Wish they were all as easy as this drive-up bird!!
>> Red-winged Blackbird
>> RUSTY BLACKBIRD - Cooperative bird at Painted Bunting feeder.
>> Yellow-rumped Warbler - Surprise that this bird has made it through the
>> storm. Scouted by Stuart in Greenland.
>> Northern Cardinal
>> PAINTED BUNTING - Female in Hampton reported at feeders for the first
>> time only 2 days earlier!!!! Where was it before then???? OUR FIRST EVER
>> for a Superbowl and our 162nd (!!!) species recorded for this event over
>> the years by our team! Thank you Grace McCullough and Alicia McLaughlin!
>>
>> The infamous list of birds MISSED included:
>> ---------------------------------------------------------
>> Snow Bunting - They've been widely scattered and common lately along coast
>> Lapland Longspur - Four today at Hampton Beach SP. None yesterday.
>> Pine Warbler - Mr. & Mrs. Piney
>> Merlin - Two recently in Hampton area. None.
>> Northern Harrier - Not sure why we've had such bad luck with this
>> Red-shouldered Hawk - Apparently there was one in Rye. No luck
>> Brown Creeper - Stuart heard one at dawn, but we failed to work for it
>> and never had another one.
>> American Pipit - Recent rarity could not be found
>> Razorbill - Disappointing miss. I scanned for several minutes at
>> Odiorne, but no luck.
>> Green-winged Teal - I don't know of any recent reports of the male that
>> had been seen in Gilman Park.
>> Iceland Gull - No luck
>> Great Blue Heron - We generally get these about 50% of the time. It is
>> actually no surprise that we missed one this winter!
>> Pileated Woodpecker
>> Winter Wren - No luck with scouted bird at Blakes Lane.
>>
>>
>> Steve Mirick for "4th & Longspurs"
>> Bradford, MA
>>
>> --
>> To Change your e-mail delivery settings (digest, daily, no mail) visit:
>> https://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/subscribe?hl=en >> ---
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "NHBirds" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to nhbirds+<u......>
>> To view this discussion visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/<24c117f6-0587-4c30-a47b-86fa1e37671b...> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/<24c117f6-0587-4c30-a47b-86fa1e37671b...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> .
>>
>
Date: 2/1/26 10:53 am From: Jim Sparrell <jimsparrell...> Subject: [NHBirds] WILD CARDinals Super Bowl 2026
Here is an account of our birding adventures:
WILD CARDinals 2026 Super Bowl of Birding
The alarm went off at 3:30 and the cats, who like their sleep too, looked
puzzled. Katie and I stumbled silently around the kitchen making sandwiches
and glancing at the clock to make sure we could meet our team at the Rye
Recreation area for our 5 AM kickoff. We were competing for the Townie
Award, which meant that we had to complete all our birding in one town and
we had chosen Rye, as we have done every year with its combination of
coastal and woodland habitat. Given the snowdrifts and subzero
temperatures, there was a large part of my brain saying, “Wait, we’re gonna
do what?” We rushed out to the car in the dark, thankful for heated seats.
Arriving at Rye Rec a minute late, we met up with Ashton Almeida, who’s
been with the team every year, and Scott Heron, who agreed to join us this
year. As we stepped out of the car, we immediately heard a Great-horned
with its deep, resonant call you can feel in your chest. Then another owl
answered it from another direction. The temperature was -4 degrees
Fahrenheit (-20 Celsius). We walked into the woods a bit, and Ashton, our
Saw-whet whistling specialist, started making the distinctive toot. No
response. We waited. No response but the persistent call of the
Great-horneds. This part of the day always seems to go in slow motion. I
did my impression of a Barred Owl call, and again got no response. We
waited in the cold, and then piled in one car and drove to Massacre Marsh.
There were two other teams already at the marsh, and a Great-horned
calling. No response to Ashton’s Saw-whet calls. Then the Fourth and
Longspurs showed up, and we exchanged hugs in the darkness. Thanks to Steve
Mirick, who did his screech owl call, we eventually heard one answer from
across the marsh. Our team decided to try Love Lane for Saw-whet owls.
Scott and Ashton heard one give a toot when they got out of the car, but I
was busy getting a sip of tea, and Katie hadn’t heard it. Ashton did some
more tooting, and finally we all were able to hear an identifiable
response. Three owls for the day! That tied our best year. We tried another
spot for Barred Owl, but got no response. As we drove toward the coast, we
speculated about what our first non-owl bird of the day would be. Some dark
outlines of ducks went unidentified. At our last owl spot, our first birds
were Northern Cardinals calling from multiple directions.
As daylight comes, the pace of the day speeds up dramatically, although the
temperatures remained bitterly cold. At least there was not much wind. We
went to Sawyer’s Beach, which was our best chance for American Pipits that
had been around when we scouted. A scan of the beach and the wrack,
with a tidal
line covered in ice, didn’t show anything. I decided to walk the lengthy
beach to see if any birds would pop up. Sure enough, one Pipit took off
pipping loudly and flew low past the whole team. This was a good bird for
these weather conditions. At Ragged Neck we had a nice flock of Horned
Larks that were in the wrack and Snow Buntings flying around. No sign of
Purple Sandpipers after what felt like a death march through the snowdrifts
and bone-chilling cold out to the point. And no sign of Sanderlings.
It was time for a break, as it was just after 7, so we popped into Common
Roots for tea and a few snacks. It was nice and warm, and there was a very
sweet dog named Sadie who came over to say hello. We managed to launch
ourselves back into the cold after this break, which did not seem to be
budging despite the appearance of the sun.
It was 8 A.M. and time to do some feeder watching, more tolerable from the
warmth of the car. We happened on some active feeders with a flock of
Eastern Bluebirds and a Cooper’s Hawk nearby. Gradually, we were seeing
most of the feeder birds we could expect to find. Some Robins and
Starlings were coming to fruit trees near Webster at Rye. We ended up on
West Road at Bud’s, who is possibly one of the nicest people on the planet.
He has many feeders at the front and back of his house. We had a flock of
bluebirds sitting in the sun that looked like they were frozen in the
treetops. After waiting a while, we saw a flash of yellow and then another,
and the two Pine Warblers that Bud had been reporting came in. We walked
the road, and Ashton picked up the call of a Brown Creeper that we were all
able to see. From there we headed to a thickety spot that has sheltered
catbirds, hermit thrush, and other half-hardy species in the past. No luck
with those birds, but there were Golden-crowned Kinglets, hyperactive as
ever. We walked up a hill that is home to many bluebird boxes and beehives
and had our first White-throated Sparrows of the day. Always nice to see
them in the winter. As we got back in the car, Ashton, who was keeping our
lists, commented, “I think we’re doing pretty well,” but it was hard to
judge whether we would pass last year’s count of 56 birds, or not,
particularly given the tough conditions.
Back in the car we checked a spot where some Red-winged Blackbirds had been
seen on scouting trips that week. No luck. Then as we turned around Ashton
spotted two black blobs high in a tree that could have been Starlings.
After a bit of scrutiny, we could see distinct red and yellow wing-bars –
success! We realized that we had done almost nothing yet to find sea ducks
and gulls, so we cruised along the coast. There was one open water channel
that had been frozen solid in the morning. Now it had opened up a bit, and
Scott spotted a nice pair of Common Mergansers and on the other side, a
little group of Hoodies. At a couple of stops we gradually saw most of the
expected sea birds, but we never did find a Red-throated Loon. At Seal
Rocks, Scott picked out one Purple Sandpiper in close on the rocks that we
were all able to enjoy.
We stopped at Odiorne at noon where it warmed up to a balmy 18 degrees
Fahrenheit, which actually did feel almost warm. We were hoping to see
Razorbills as we scanned, but had no luck, although there were four Black
Guillemots scattered around the harbor. I was eating my sandwich as the
team decided to head to Chat Cove through the snowdrifts to look for a
Northern Mockingbird. I trailed along behind this brief mutiny but then
lost footing and flopped over in the snow. I managed to get up, although I
think I looked like some kind of frantic squirrel flailing about. I
retreated to the safety of the parking lot. The team returned without a
mockingbird, and we pressed on.
As we passed Wallis Sands Beach, Scott called out a bird on the wire that
might have been a Mockingbird. We circled back, and there it was, a
cheerful mockingbird perched up in the sun. We checked for Sanderlings or
any interesting gulls at Sawyer’s and Jenness Beaches without success.
Given that the day seemed to be going okay, we agreed to temporarily
abandon our quest for birds in Rye and take a detour to North Hampton to
see the female Painted Bunting that had just been reported the day before.
The homeowner graciously allowed birders to visit on Saturday only. We were
amazed by the homeowner’s devotion to landscaping and bird feeding evident
in this beautiful yard chirping with bird activity. There was a nice Rusty
Blackbird at one feeder, and after a long wait, the bunting came in to a
feeder, giving us all a nice look.
We climbed back into the car and debated strategy for the remaining birds
we might still find in the waning afternoon. We headed back to Bud’s
feeders and met up with the 4th and Longspurs, who were hoping for the Pine
Warblers to return. We were able to find both nuthatches and an American
Tree Sparrow under the feeder. From there it was back to the coast
(again!). Cruising around the Rye Harbor parking lot I noticed a hawk
perched up and said, “Oh, there’s the Red-tailed we had this morning.”
Ashton and Scott immediately said, “No, wait, that looks like an adult
Red-shouldered.” Indeed it was! We finally found a few Sanderlings at Rye
Harbor and south of Sawyer’s Beach, after searching for this species
repeatedly throughout the day. It was a little after 4 PM, and we headed
back to Rye Recreation area to finish where we had started. We walked into
the woods on one of the packed trails. I hooted for a Barred Owl but still
no response. By now, it was almost 5 pm, and we headed back to the car. We
all stopped when Ashton thought he heard something that turned out not to
be a bird, but fortunately he looked up to find a Barred Owl perched above
our heads silently watching us, just a few feet away. A fitting end to a
wonderful day of birding. I commented to Ashton at the pizza party, “I
can’t think of a day of the year that I dread more and end up enjoying so
much.”
Totals: 64 species/106 points all in the Town of Rye.
Date: 2/1/26 9:33 am From: Anthony Tzortzakis <anthuny7723...> Subject: Re: [NHBirds] 4th & Longspurs Superbowl Results - 76 Species and 160 points!
Thank you for sharing. I live for this! This is truly my superbowl!
On Sun, Feb 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <
<nhbirds...> wrote:
> Jane and I joined up with Paul Lacourse yesterday for the "Superbowl of
> Birding" sponsored by the Joppa Flats Education Center of Massachusetts
> Audubon. Unlike recent years, our "running back" Kurk Dorsey was placed on
> "personal leave" and we picked up Stuart Varney on waivers who performed
> more than just admirably filling in for Kurk. His hearing reminds me of a
> hound dogs sense of smell. Stuart was hearing birds that were beyond the
> frequencies and range of most human beings! Even better than Jane's
> hearing and far beyond the abilities of Paul and I. :-( He also makes
> great breakfast sandwiches!!!!
>
> This is the 23nd anniversary for this competitive event. The event is a
> fun way of beating the winter cold and getting out and finding birds in
> Essex County, MA and Rockingham County, NH. Our team name is the "4th and
> Longspurs". We've now competed in NH for 20 years of this event having
> missed 3 due to a broken elbow and covid. As we've done in the past years,
> we participated in the category of "Rockingham County, NH only". A weighted
> valuation system determines the winner, where the rarity of the species
> determines the number of points awarded.
>
> Similar to last winter, this winter has been very cold....more like the
> older days. But in contrast to last year, we had LOTS OF SNOW after last
> week's 20" storm. This made things very difficult for roadside birding and
> even worse on the coast, where snow banks and drifting snow caused lots of
> troubles. Ragged Neck was plowed out, but most coastal pullouts were NOT
> and that limited our offshore scans. Our car thermometer bottomed out at
> -3 and I heard others report down to -7. A very light wind in the morning
> made it just that much worse. There was plenty of sun, however, and the
> morning breeze died down quickly. The temperature, however, barely got up
> to 20F for the day. The seas were flat and visibility offshore was great,
> but we covered it at low tide which, combined with limited access, made
> finding alcids difficult.
>
> After receiving our breakfast sandwiches at Stuart's at 4:45 AM, we
> started out with our Owling in Portsmouth and Rye. We struck out (as
> usual) with owls off Little Harbor Road, but we got Screech Owl and Great
> Horned Owl off Brackett Road. Unfortunately we arrived just a bit too late
> to get the Saw-whet Owl that others had on Love Lane and we had no luck
> with the Barred Owl that wouldn't call back at the Rye Recreation
> area.....others SAW this bird later in the day! My dawn strategy worked
> very well as we were able to find the roosting Vultures in Hampton Falls
> and easily pick out 2 Black Vultures in the Pine Trees as an 8-pointer.
> The morning rhythm worked reasonably well as we picked up Wild Turkey,
> Northern Pintail, Rusty Blackbird, and Fox Sparrow. We then headed out to
> Evy Nathan's feeders and got another easy 8-pointer as her Baltimore Oriole
> was sitting in the tree as we pulled in!! Back to Exeter, we had terrible
> luck with the ducks at Gilman Park (frozen!) and Sapsucker....we went 0 for
> 3 on scouted locations. So......north to Stratham and Newmarket where Jane
> picked out a "stop-light" Cedar Waxwing and we easily got Savannah
> Sparrows, Common Mergansers, and OUR THIRD 8-pointer of the day with a
> scouted Chipping Sparrow in the same thickets of Newmarket where we had one
> last year!
>
> We kept things going with a nice pace in Greenland; missing ducks on Great
> Bay, but picking up a scouted Yellow-rumped Warbler and finally getting a
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Now down to Hampton where we got (on our 2nd
> attempt) the INCREDIBLE PAINTED BUNTING seen by so many this day. THANK
> YOU to Grace McCullough and Alicia McLaughlin for setting up this ONE DAY
> ONLY visitation. Things continued on a roll.....Paul whistled in a scouted
> Eastern Towhee while Stuart picked out a surprise flyover Fish Crow in
> Hampton Falls and Hooded Mergansers continued in the creek. A side trip to
> the Hampton WTP failed to produce any new birds, but it did provide us with
> perhaps the rarest sighting of the day. A falconer was flying/training an
> adult EURASIAN GOSHAWK! While I'm not in favor of falconry, I respect this
> man's love and respect for birds of prey. And these birds are incredible
> to see up close.
>
>
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/55071218336/in/photostream/lightbox/ >
> https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevemirick/55072436059/in/photostream/lightbox/ >
> Off to Hampton Harbor in Seabrook where things continued to go well. Jane
> picked out a nice adult Peregrine Falcon sitting in the saltmarsh and when
> I put up my scope for a (rare for location) Greater Scaup, I was shocked to
> see a nice adult male Barrow's Goldeneye. While the Lakes Region and
> downtown Manchester have enjoyed these annual winter visitors, they are
> (for some reason) rare on the seacoast.
>
> The whole day then went downhill fast when we hit Hampton Beach State
> Park!!!!! I'm not sure what happened, but the day was never the same!
> First there were the snow drifts, I struggled to walk through them to get
> to the beach to scan offshore, but when I turned around, only Stuart
> followed me! 5 minutes later, Jane showed up, panting and exhausted. But
> Paul never appeared! We almost sent out a rescue dog to search for him,
> but it turns out he just said "screw this"! After post-holing down to his
> thighs for the 3rd time in the snow drifts he just went back to the car!
> But that wasn't the worst of it! We filled in a few gaps with common
> offshore birds....nothing we didn't see later. But as we were leaving, we
> noticed a poor, confused, elderly, French-speaking man who had gotten his
> car stuck in the snow! What were we to do?!?!? I spent 10 minutes trying
> to push him out and then, because he spoke very poor English, and was very
> old and confused, I spent another 20 minutes using his cell phone to try to
> call AAA to come and pull him out......by the way, I don't know what the
> heck has gone wrong with AAA, but now you can't get directly connected to a
> human voice any more!!!! They send you a text message so you can click a
> link that leads you to a confusing on-line questionnaire!!!! What the heck
> is going wrong with society! :-(
>
> We probably wasted a solid hour at Hampton Beach State Park with no
> significant birds. Stuart suggest that this act of goodwill would give me
> good Karma. HE WAS WRONG! We traveled up the coast, filling holes, and
> ticking off some common coastal birds, but we missed Pipit, Snow Bunting
> and Razorbill. We even missed "Mr. and Mrs. Piney" the Pine Warblers that
> have been hand-fed meal worms at a feeder in Rye. Despite the fact that
> "Mrs. Bud" came out with fresh meal worms! And the final shoe to drop was
> missing Swamp Sparrow at the Portsmouth Hospital marsh at 5 PM......where
> we had 7 on January 11th before the storm.
>
> We ended the day with a total of 76 species. This is well below our
> record high of 87, and below our average for recent years, but I think an
> excellent total considering the horrendously cold and snowy winter. Phil
> Brown's team beat us with 77 species, BUT we beat them by a single point!
> (160 to 159). We'll have to wait and see whether either of us wins any
> awards as the final results will be announced tonight.
>
> Total species - 76
> ------------------------
> Canada Goose
> Mallard
> American Black Duck
> Northern Pintail - Female at duck pond in Hampton Falls
> Greater Scaup - Great Bay frozen as far as you could see. But a few
> around Great Boar's Head and in Hampton harbor.
> Common Eider
> Surf Scoter
> White-winged Scoter
> Black Scoter
> Long-tailed Duck
> Bufflehead
> Common Goldeneye
> BARROW'S GOLDENEYE - One of the surprises for the day. This may be my
> first Coastal record of an adult male since March 2014!
> Hooded Merganser - Taylor River along Rt. 1
> Common Merganser - Newfields Landing on Squamscott River
> Red-breasted Merganser
> Wild Turkey - Groups in Hampton and Greenland.
> Horned Grebe
> Red-necked Grebe
> Mourning Dove
> Rock Pigeon
> Sanderling - A couple of spots on seacoast.
> Purple Sandpiper - Scarce this winter. Small flock from Little Boar's
> Head picked out by Stuart.
> Black Guillemot - FOUR at Odiorne.....but no Razorbills.
> Ring-billed Gull
> American Herring Gull
> Great Black-backed Gull
> Red-throated Loon - One at Hampton Beach SP and 3 more at Odiorne.
> Common Loon
> Great Cormorant - Rye Ledge
> BLACK VULTURE - Two perched up in roost trees at dawn in Hampton Falls.
> Turkey Vulture - Didn't count. Perhaps 20+ at roost.
> Cooper's Hawk
> Bald Eagle - 7 total for the day
> Red-tailed Hawk
> Eastern Screech-Owl - One off Brackett Road
> Great Horned Owl - At least 3
> Red-bellied Woodpecker
> Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - FINALLY got one in Greenland. After dipping at
> 3 spots in Exeter.
> Downy Woodpecker
> Hairy Woodpecker
> Northern Flicker - One at Autumn Lane in East Kingston only.
> Peregrine Falcon - One adult in Seabrook marshes.
> Blue Jay
> American Crow
> FISH CROW - Only our 2nd ever for Superbowl. Nice bird calling very
> vociferously as it flew over our heads in Hampton Falls.
> Common Raven - Two for the day
> Black-capped Chickadee
> Tufted Titmouse
> Horned Lark - Ragged Neck
> Golden-crowned Kinglet - Nicely picked out by Stuart Varney by call note
> from 1/2 mile away!
> Cedar Waxwing - Incredible single bird in fruit trees in Stratham.
> Spotted by Jane at stop light! Rare on seacoast this winter.
> Red-breasted Nuthatch - At Bud's feeders. Rare on seacoast this winter.
> White-breasted Nuthatch
> Carolina Wren
> Northern Mockingbird
> European Starling
> Eastern Bluebird
> American Robin
> House Sparrow
> House Finch
> American Goldfinch
> CHIPPING SPARROW - 8 pointer at feeder in Newmarket. Took a little effort
> and a lot of pisshing, but finally came in!
> FOX SPARROW - Cooperative bird at Dave Kellam's house in Exeter.
> American Tree Sparrow
> Dark-eyed Junco
> White-throated Sparrow
> Savannah Sparrow - Very easy at Stuart Farm in Stratham.
> Song Sparrow
> EASTERN TOWHEE - Cooperative female staked out in Hampton Falls.
> BALTIMORE ORIOLE - Female nicknamed "Shirley" at Evy Nathan's feeder in
> Kingston. Wish they were all as easy as this drive-up bird!!
> Red-winged Blackbird
> RUSTY BLACKBIRD - Cooperative bird at Painted Bunting feeder.
> Yellow-rumped Warbler - Surprise that this bird has made it through the
> storm. Scouted by Stuart in Greenland.
> Northern Cardinal
> PAINTED BUNTING - Female in Hampton reported at feeders for the first time
> only 2 days earlier!!!! Where was it before then???? OUR FIRST EVER for a
> Superbowl and our 162nd (!!!) species recorded for this event over the
> years by our team! Thank you Grace McCullough and Alicia McLaughlin!
>
> The infamous list of birds MISSED included:
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> Snow Bunting - They've been widely scattered and common lately along coast
> Lapland Longspur - Four today at Hampton Beach SP. None yesterday.
> Pine Warbler - Mr. & Mrs. Piney
> Merlin - Two recently in Hampton area. None.
> Northern Harrier - Not sure why we've had such bad luck with this
> Red-shouldered Hawk - Apparently there was one in Rye. No luck
> Brown Creeper - Stuart heard one at dawn, but we failed to work for it and
> never had another one.
> American Pipit - Recent rarity could not be found
> Razorbill - Disappointing miss. I scanned for several minutes at Odiorne,
> but no luck.
> Green-winged Teal - I don't know of any recent reports of the male that
> had been seen in Gilman Park.
> Iceland Gull - No luck
> Great Blue Heron - We generally get these about 50% of the time. It is
> actually no surprise that we missed one this winter!
> Pileated Woodpecker
> Winter Wren - No luck with scouted bird at Blakes Lane.
>
>
> Steve Mirick for "4th & Longspurs"
> Bradford, MA
>
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> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/<24c117f6-0587-4c30-a47b-86fa1e37671b...> > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nhbirds/<24c117f6-0587-4c30-a47b-86fa1e37671b...>?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > .
>
Date: 2/1/26 8:43 am From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] 4th & Longspurs Superbowl Results - 76 Species and 160 points!
Jane and I joined up with Paul Lacourse yesterday for the "Superbowl of
Birding" sponsored by the Joppa Flats Education Center of Massachusetts
Audubon. Unlike recent years, our "running back" Kurk Dorsey was placed
on "personal leave" and we picked up Stuart Varney on waivers who
performed more than just admirably filling in for Kurk. His hearing
reminds me of a hound dogs sense of smell. Stuart was hearing birds that
were beyond the frequencies and range of most human beings! Even better
than Jane's hearing and far beyond the abilities of Paul and I. :-( He
also makes great breakfast sandwiches!!!!
This is the 23nd anniversary for this competitive event. The event is a
fun way of beating the winter cold and getting out and finding birds in
Essex County, MA and Rockingham County, NH. Our team name is the "4th
and Longspurs". We've now competed in NH for 20 years of this event
having missed 3 due to a broken elbow and covid. As we've done in the
past years, we participated in the category of "Rockingham County, NH
only". A weighted valuation system determines the winner, where the
rarity of the species determines the number of points awarded.
Similar to last winter, this winter has been very cold....more like the
older days. But in contrast to last year, we had LOTS OF SNOW after
last week's 20" storm. This made things very difficult for roadside
birding and even worse on the coast, where snow banks and drifting snow
caused lots of troubles. Ragged Neck was plowed out, but most coastal
pullouts were NOT and that limited our offshore scans. Our car
thermometer bottomed out at -3 and I heard others report down to -7. A
very light wind in the morning made it just that much worse. There was
plenty of sun, however, and the morning breeze died down quickly. The
temperature, however, barely got up to 20F for the day. The seas were
flat and visibility offshore was great, but we covered it at low tide
which, combined with limited access, made finding alcids difficult.
After receiving our breakfast sandwiches at Stuart's at 4:45 AM, we
started out with our Owling in Portsmouth and Rye. We struck out (as
usual) with owls off Little Harbor Road, but we got Screech Owl and
Great Horned Owl off Brackett Road. Unfortunately we arrived just a bit
too late to get the Saw-whet Owl that others had on Love Lane and we had
no luck with the Barred Owl that wouldn't call back at the Rye
Recreation area.....others SAW this bird later in the day! My dawn
strategy worked very well as we were able to find the roosting Vultures
in Hampton Falls and easily pick out 2 Black Vultures in the Pine Trees
as an 8-pointer. The morning rhythm worked reasonably well as we picked
up Wild Turkey, Northern Pintail, Rusty Blackbird, and Fox Sparrow. We
then headed out to Evy Nathan's feeders and got another easy 8-pointer
as her Baltimore Oriole was sitting in the tree as we pulled in!! Back
to Exeter, we had terrible luck with the ducks at Gilman Park (frozen!)
and Sapsucker....we went 0 for 3 on scouted locations. So......north to
Stratham and Newmarket where Jane picked out a "stop-light" Cedar
Waxwing and we easily got Savannah Sparrows, Common Mergansers, and OUR
THIRD 8-pointer of the day with a scouted Chipping Sparrow in the same
thickets of Newmarket where we had one last year!
We kept things going with a nice pace in Greenland; missing ducks on
Great Bay, but picking up a scouted Yellow-rumped Warbler and finally
getting a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Now down to Hampton where we got
(on our 2nd attempt) the INCREDIBLE PAINTED BUNTING seen by so many this
day. THANK YOU to Grace McCullough and Alicia McLaughlin for setting up
this ONE DAY ONLY visitation. Things continued on a roll.....Paul
whistled in a scouted Eastern Towhee while Stuart picked out a surprise
flyover Fish Crow in Hampton Falls and Hooded Mergansers continued in
the creek. A side trip to the Hampton WTP failed to produce any new
birds, but it did provide us with perhaps the rarest sighting of the
day. A falconer was flying/training an adult EURASIAN GOSHAWK! While
I'm not in favor of falconry, I respect this man's love and respect for
birds of prey. And these birds are incredible to see up close.
Off to Hampton Harbor in Seabrook where things continued to go well.
Jane picked out a nice adult Peregrine Falcon sitting in the saltmarsh
and when I put up my scope for a (rare for location) Greater Scaup, I
was shocked to see a nice adult male Barrow's Goldeneye. While the
Lakes Region and downtown Manchester have enjoyed these annual winter
visitors, they are (for some reason) rare on the seacoast.
The whole day then went downhill fast when we hit Hampton Beach State
Park!!!!! I'm not sure what happened, but the day was never the same!
First there were the snow drifts, I struggled to walk through them to
get to the beach to scan offshore, but when I turned around, only Stuart
followed me! 5 minutes later, Jane showed up, panting and exhausted.
But Paul never appeared! We almost sent out a rescue dog to search for
him, but it turns out he just said "screw this"! After post-holing down
to his thighs for the 3rd time in the snow drifts he just went back to
the car! But that wasn't the worst of it! We filled in a few gaps with
common offshore birds....nothing we didn't see later. But as we were
leaving, we noticed a poor, confused, elderly, French-speaking man who
had gotten his car stuck in the snow! What were we to do?!?!? I spent
10 minutes trying to push him out and then, because he spoke very poor
English, and was very old and confused, I spent another 20 minutes using
his cell phone to try to call AAA to come and pull him out......by the
way, I don't know what the heck has gone wrong with AAA, but now you
can't get directly connected to a human voice any more!!!! They send you
a text message so you can click a link that leads you to a confusing
on-line questionnaire!!!! What the heck is going wrong with society! :-(
We probably wasted a solid hour at Hampton Beach State Park with no
significant birds. Stuart suggest that this act of goodwill would give
me good Karma. HE WAS WRONG! We traveled up the coast, filling holes,
and ticking off some common coastal birds, but we missed Pipit, Snow
Bunting and Razorbill. We even missed "Mr. and Mrs. Piney" the Pine
Warblers that have been hand-fed meal worms at a feeder in Rye. Despite
the fact that "Mrs. Bud" came out with fresh meal worms! And the final
shoe to drop was missing Swamp Sparrow at the Portsmouth Hospital marsh
at 5 PM......where we had 7 on January 11th before the storm.
We ended the day with a total of 76 species. This is well below our
record high of 87, and below our average for recent years, but I think
an excellent total considering the horrendously cold and snowy winter.
Phil Brown's team beat us with 77 species, BUT we beat them by a single
point! (160 to 159). We'll have to wait and see whether either of us
wins any awards as the final results will be announced tonight.
Total species - 76
------------------------
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck
Northern Pintail - Female at duck pond in Hampton Falls
Greater Scaup - Great Bay frozen as far as you could see. But a few
around Great Boar's Head and in Hampton harbor.
Common Eider
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
BARROW'S GOLDENEYE - One of the surprises for the day. This may be my
first Coastal record of an adult male since March 2014!
Hooded Merganser - Taylor River along Rt. 1
Common Merganser - Newfields Landing on Squamscott River
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey - Groups in Hampton and Greenland.
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
Sanderling - A couple of spots on seacoast.
Purple Sandpiper - Scarce this winter. Small flock from Little Boar's
Head picked out by Stuart.
Black Guillemot - FOUR at Odiorne.....but no Razorbills.
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Red-throated Loon - One at Hampton Beach SP and 3 more at Odiorne.
Common Loon
Great Cormorant - Rye Ledge
BLACK VULTURE - Two perched up in roost trees at dawn in Hampton Falls.
Turkey Vulture - Didn't count. Perhaps 20+ at roost.
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle - 7 total for the day
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl - One off Brackett Road
Great Horned Owl - At least 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - FINALLY got one in Greenland. After dipping
at 3 spots in Exeter.
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker - One at Autumn Lane in East Kingston only.
Peregrine Falcon - One adult in Seabrook marshes.
Blue Jay
American Crow
FISH CROW - Only our 2nd ever for Superbowl. Nice bird calling very
vociferously as it flew over our heads in Hampton Falls.
Common Raven - Two for the day
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Horned Lark - Ragged Neck
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Nicely picked out by Stuart Varney by call note
from 1/2 mile away!
Cedar Waxwing - Incredible single bird in fruit trees in Stratham.
Spotted by Jane at stop light! Rare on seacoast this winter.
Red-breasted Nuthatch - At Bud's feeders. Rare on seacoast this winter.
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
CHIPPING SPARROW - 8 pointer at feeder in Newmarket. Took a little
effort and a lot of pisshing, but finally came in!
FOX SPARROW - Cooperative bird at Dave Kellam's house in Exeter.
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow - Very easy at Stuart Farm in Stratham.
Song Sparrow
EASTERN TOWHEE - Cooperative female staked out in Hampton Falls.
BALTIMORE ORIOLE - Female nicknamed "Shirley" at Evy Nathan's feeder in
Kingston. Wish they were all as easy as this drive-up bird!!
Red-winged Blackbird
RUSTY BLACKBIRD - Cooperative bird at Painted Bunting feeder.
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Surprise that this bird has made it through the
storm. Scouted by Stuart in Greenland.
Northern Cardinal
PAINTED BUNTING - Female in Hampton reported at feeders for the first
time only 2 days earlier!!!! Where was it before then???? OUR FIRST
EVER for a Superbowl and our 162nd (!!!) species recorded for this event
over the years by our team! Thank you Grace McCullough and Alicia
McLaughlin!
The infamous list of birds MISSED included:
---------------------------------------------------------
Snow Bunting - They've been widely scattered and common lately along coast
Lapland Longspur - Four today at Hampton Beach SP. None yesterday.
Pine Warbler - Mr. & Mrs. Piney
Merlin - Two recently in Hampton area. None.
Northern Harrier - Not sure why we've had such bad luck with this
Red-shouldered Hawk - Apparently there was one in Rye. No luck
Brown Creeper - Stuart heard one at dawn, but we failed to work for it
and never had another one.
American Pipit - Recent rarity could not be found
Razorbill - Disappointing miss. I scanned for several minutes at
Odiorne, but no luck.
Green-winged Teal - I don't know of any recent reports of the male that
had been seen in Gilman Park.
Iceland Gull - No luck
Great Blue Heron - We generally get these about 50% of the time. It is
actually no surprise that we missed one this winter!
Pileated Woodpecker
Winter Wren - No luck with scouted bird at Blakes Lane.
Date: 2/1/26 4:39 am From: 'Len Medlock' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Poking around during Super Bowl of Birding
Lisa and I did our "mini bowl" during Joppa Flat's Super Bowl of Birding. We don't compete, just have fun. We cut our day short, only hitting one spot on the coast, to be with friends during a difficult moment. As usual, Nature delivered her "goods" and shared great birds with us--we had a blast!
Congratulations to all teams who competed in the bowl. We hope you had a safe and fun journey in your efforts. Looking forward to reading all your posts!
Mallard X
American Black Duck X
Northern Pintail 1 hen continues at Exeter's Little River, Gilman Park
Greater Scaup X Great Boars Head, Hampton
Common Eider X
Surf Scoter X
White-winged Scoter X
Long-tailed Duck X
Bufflehead X
Common Goldeneye X
Red-breasted Merganser X
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) X
Mourning Dove X
Ring-billed Gull X
American Herring Gull X
Great Black-backed Gull X
Horned Grebe X
Common Loon X
Black Vulture 2 in Hampton Falls. Circling with TUVU, then one landed to "yawn" -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/lmedlock/55071052927 Turkey Vulture 3
Cooper's Hawk X
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 1 awesome cutie https://www.flickr.com/photos/lmedlock/55072142953 -- https://www.flickr.com/photos/lmedlock/55072199774 Red-tailed Hawk X
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1 male continues in backyard, very early morning feeding
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Hairy Woodpecker X
Northern Flicker 1 Hampton Falls
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Common Raven 3, neighborhood gang making their usual rounds
Black-capped Chickadee X
Tufted Titmouse X
Horned Lark X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
Carolina Wren X
European Starling X
Eastern Bluebird X
American Robin X
House Sparrow X
House Finch X
Purple Finch 1 male with HOFIs at feeder in Hampton Falls
American Goldfinch X
Lapland Longspur 1 with HOLAs at Cross Beach Rd, Seabrook
American Tree Sparrow X
Dark-eyed Junco X
White-throated Sparrow X
Song Sparrow X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Northern Cardinal X
Just a quick update on the Painted Bunting. The bird is in the backyard of a private residence in Hampton and is not visible from the road; it has been visiting a feeder in the backyard.
The homeowner very generously allowed Super Bowl of Birding competitors and others to access the backyard today. However, they have asked that their privacy be respected going forward, and they will no longer be granting access to their property.
Date: 1/31/26 9:41 am From: Scott Santino <ssantino...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mass Audubon, Superbowl of Birding 2026 - Post 4
Calls are beginning to slow down as we approach the "mid-day lull". The following birds were called in over the hour or so.
The Harris Center Kestrels, It's Owl Good, and The Twitchers all called in Black Vulture near Hurd Farm in Hampton
The Return of the Great Auks & Bohemian See-Hawks, and 1st Eider Downies called in an American Pipit at Loblolly Cove, Rockport
The 4th and Longspurs called in a Chipping Sparrow on Maple St., Newmarket
The Laughing Gals called in Rusty Blackbird & Painted Bunting on Exeter Rd., Hampton
The Gordon College Kingpishers called in Evening Grosbeak on Tewksbury Ln., West Newbury & a Chipping Sparrow on Fazio Farm Rd., Georgetown
*Teams attempting to see the Painted Bunting in Hampton today have been asked by the homeowner to walk to the left of the house along the path made in the snow. The area is marked off and provides a view to the birdfeeders.
Scott Santino Education Program Manager Mass Audubon
Date: 1/31/26 8:07 am From: Scott Santino <ssantino...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mass Audubon, Superbowl of Birding 2026 - Post 3
More Superbowl of Birding 5-point birds coming in.
It's Owl Good & The Twitchers called in a Painted Bunting on Exeter Rd., Hampton
4th and Longspurs called in a Baltimore Oriole at 24 Scotland Rd., Kingston
*Teams attempting to see the Painted Bunting in Hampton today have been asked by the homeowner to walk to the left of the house along the path made in the snow. The area is marked off and provides a view to the birdfeeders.
Scott Santino Education Program Manager Mass Audubon
Date: 1/31/26 6:13 am From: David Govatski <david.govatski...> Subject: [NHBirds] Pine Grosbeaks in Jefferson
We had four Pine Grosbeaks at our feeders in Jefferson on Friday, and this was the first of the winter for us. Friends in the area also report small numbers of pine grosbeaks at their feeders. The pine grosbeaks add some nice color alongside the evening grosbeaks and blue jays. Evening Grosbeak numbers were an estimated 75, including the star of the show, a leucistic individual. Pine siskins numbers increased to 13 and purple finches were 15. We also have a mink showing up daily and picking up tiny pieces of suet below the suet feeders. We had 15 total species yesterday and that is a high count for this winter. I measured an average of 19 inches of snow in our yard on Friday.
Date: 1/31/26 5:48 am From: Scott Santino <ssantino...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mass Audubon, Superbowl of Birding 2026 - Post 1
Good morning,
Today is Mass Audubon's annual Superbowl of Birding. Throughout the day 18 teams will brave the cold and look for birding in Essex and Rockingham Counties. Teams are required to report rare and unusual winter species, and I will post reports throughout the day. So far this morning teams have called in:
The Gordon College Kingpishers called in an American Pipit at Salisbury Beach State Reservation
The Harris Center Kestrels called in an Evening Grosbeak on Autumn Ln., East Kingston
The 4th and Longspurs called in a Black Vulture on Toppan Ln., Hampton Falls (by Hurd Farm)
The Wild Cardinals also called in an American Pipit at Jenness State Beach, Rye
Scott Santino
Education Program Manager
Mass Audubon
Date: 1/31/26 5:48 am From: Scott Santino <ssantino...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mass Audubon, Superbowl of Birding 2026 - Post 2
More exciting bird sightings have been called into Joppa Flats Education Center for today's Superbowl of Birding. Here's the latest.
The Harris Center Kestrels called in a Rusty Blackbird on Kimball Rd., Kensington
The Return of the Great Auks called in a Orange-crowned Warbler on Manson St., Lynn
The Twithchers and 4th and Longspurs called in a Rusty Blackbird at 242 Exeter Rd., Hampton
*Teams attempting to see the Painted Bunting in Hampton today have been asked by the homeowner to walk to the left of the house along the path made in the snow. The area is marked off and provides a view to the birdfeeders.
Scott Santino Education Program Manager Mass Audubon
Date: 1/31/26 5:48 am From: Scott Santino <ssantino...> Subject: [NHBirds] Mass Audubon, Superbowl of Birding 2026 - Post 1
Good morning,
Today is Mass Audubon's annual Superbowl of Birding. Throughout the day 18 teams will brave the cold and look for birding in Essex and Rockingham Counties. Teams are required to report rare and unusual winter species, and I will post reports throughout the day. So far this morning teams have called in:
The Gordon College Kingpishers called in an American Pipit at Salisbury Beach State Reservation
The Harris Center Kestrels called in an Evening Grosbeak on Autumn Ln., East Kingston
The 4th and Longspurs called in a Black Vulture on Toppan Ln., Hampton Falls (by Hurd Farm)
The Wild Cardinals also called in an American Pipit at Jenness State Beach, Rye
Scott Santino
Education Program Manager
Mass Audubon
Date: 1/30/26 3:07 pm From: Ron Robert <ronrobert.nh...> Subject: Re: [NHBirds] Digest for - 2 updates in 2 topics
I was there last week & none there
On Monday, January 26, 2026 at 6:16:17 PM UTC-5 JOHN ROCKWOOD wrote:
> Is there still a homeless encampment at Stark Landing?
>
>
> On 01/26/2026 5:39 PM EST <nhb......> wrote:
>
>
> <nhb......>
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/nhbirds/topics> [image:
> Google Groups Logo]
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview> Google
> Groups
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email/#!overview> > Topic digest
> View all topics
> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/nhbirds/topics> >
> - Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, January 26, 2026
> <#m_-6844362281042912606_group_thread_0> - 1 Update
> - Vultures at Hurd Farm in Hampton
> <#m_-6844362281042912606_group_thread_1> - 1 Update
>
> Rare Bird Alert, New Hampshire, January 26, 2026
> <http://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/t/5a437450e051c9a9?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Mark Suomala <suoma......>: Jan 26 11:34AM -0500
>
> This is New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, January 19th.
> 2026.
>
>
>
> At least 2 THICK-BILLED MURRES and 2 BLACK GUILLEMOTS were seen in coastal
> Rye waters during the past week.
>
>
>
> 7 BRANT continued to be seen in coastal Rye and New Castle during the past
> week.
>
>
>
> 3 BARROW’S GOLDENEYES were seen at Stark Landing on the Merrimack River in
> Manchester on January 15th. 2 BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, a WOOD DUCK, and a LESSER
> SCAUP were seen at the Silver Lake outlet in Tilton on January 19th.
>
>
>
> 7 LONG-TAILED DUCKS were seen from Adams Point in Durham on January 15th.
>
>
>
> A RING-NECKED DUCK was seen at Bridge Street Park in Lebanon on January
> 18th
> .
>
>
>
> An ICELAND GULL was seen at Pickering Ponds in Rochester on January 17th,
> and a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was seen here on the 14th. There was an
> unconfirmed report of a BONAPARTE’S GULL from the Hinsdale Setbacks on the
> 17th.
>
>
>
> An OSPREY was seen in Exeter, and a NORTHERN HARRIER was seen in Hollis,
> both on January 14th. A TURKEY VULTURE was seen at Ponemah Bog Wildlife
> Sanctuary in Amherst on the 15th.
>
>
>
> A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen at Great Meadow, Charlestown, on January 17th.
>
> A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen in Barrington on January 15th, and 1 was
> seen in Rochester on the 14th. An AMERICAN GOSHAWK was seen in Gilsum on
> the 17th.
>
>
>
> A YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen in Harrisville on the 14th, and 1 was seen
> in Sunapee on the 19th.
>
>
>
> A flock of 12 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS was seen at Dodge Road in Plymouth, and 3
> were seen in Gorham, all on January 17th.
>
>
>
> A NORTHERN SHRIKE was seen in Grantham on January 14th.
>
>
>
> A few PINE GROSBEAKS were seen in Jefferson during the past week.
>
>
>
> 2 FOX SPARROWS were seen in Londonderry on January 18th, 1 was seen in
> Raymond on the 17th, and 1 was seen in Lincoln on the 14th. A WHITE-CROWNED
> SPARROW was seen on Mechanic Street in Gorham on January 17th.
>
>
>
> A MARSH WREN was reported from Hinsdale on January 12th.
>
>
>
> There were multiple reports of YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS and WINTER WRENS
> from scattered locations during the past week.
>
>
>
> A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER was seen on Mechanic Street in Gorham, and 1 was
> seen on Summer Street in Lancaster, both during the past week. A NORTHERN
> FLICKER was seen in Sandwich and 1 was seen in Concord, both during the
> past week.
>
>
>
> 10 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen along River Road in Lyme on January 14th.
>
>
>
> EVENING GROSBEAKS were reported from scattered locations during the past
> week, including a flock of 110+ in Jefferson.
>
>
>
> 6 AMERICAN PIPITS were seen at Rye Harbor State Park on January 19th, and 1
> was seen at Bicentennial Park in Hampton on January 16th.
>
>
>
> This message is also available by phone recording: call (603) 224-9909 and
> press 4 as directed or ask to be transferred.
>
>
>
> If you have seen any interesting birds recently, you can leave a message at
> the end of the recording or send your sightings to the RBA via e-mail to:
> <bird......> Please put either "bird sighting" or "Rare Bird
> Alert" in the subject line and be sure to include your mailing address and
> phone number. The RBA is also available on-line at the New Hampshire
> Audubon web site, www.nhaudubon.org
>
>
>
> Thanks very much and good birding!
>
>
>
> Explore the birds of New Hampshire with *the Joy of Birding
> <https://joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org/>*, the new online home of *New
> Hampshire Bird Records*. Produced by NH Audubon and supported by
> volunteers, this free digital publication showcases birding stories, expert
> insights, and seasonal highlights while supporting bird conservation and
> community science across the state. Visit joyofbirding.nhaudubon.org to
> learn more.
>
>
>
> Available NOW!
>
> Birding Northern New Hampshire By Robert A. Quinn. Boreal birds and
> dramatic vistas await you most any time of the year in New Hampshire’s
> North Country. Follow birder and naturalist Robert A. Quinn’s detailed new
> guide, *Birding in Northern New Hampshire* to the best birding in northern
> Coos County. All proceeds go to NH Audubon. For more info and to order a
> copy, check out this link:
>
>
>
> https://nhbirdrecords.org/birding-northern-new-hampshire/ > Back to top <https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/#digest_top> > Vultures at Hurd Farm in Hampton
> <http://groups.google.com/group/nhbirds/t/57a593be3a2e282e?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Steve Smith <kwe......>: Jan 25 06:58PM -0500
>
> Updated: 6:20 PM EST Nov 18, 2025 Editorial Standards ⓘ <
> https://www.wmur.com/article/hearst-television-news-policy-statements/14471973 > >
>
> WMUR - HAMPTON, N.H. —
> A fire in an equipment shed at Hurd Farm in Hampton killed 75 live birds
> overnight Monday night into Tuesday morning.
>
> The building was destroyed, along with the farm's turkey processing
> equipment, owners said.
>
> "That burnt my livestock trailer there, which had about 150 birds on it,"
> owner Steve Hurd said. "I lost half of them."
>
> Back to top <https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/#digest_top> >
> You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this
> group. You can change your settings on the group membership page
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>
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it send an
> email to nhbirds+<u......>
>
>
Date: 1/30/26 9:39 am From: <jim...> <jim...> Subject: [NHBirds] Winter birds in flight -- PHOTOS
The second half of this blog post is filled with photos of birds, almost all flying: red-bellied, hairy and downy woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatch, chickadee, tufted titmouse, purple finch, American goldfinch, and mourning dove. https://jimblockphoto.com/2026/01/early-winter-2025-26/
Date: 1/29/26 2:20 pm From: '<hbaue......>' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] February 24th Field Trip
The Seacoast Chapter of NH Audubon heads north again this year with leader Lori Charron on February 24th to look for winter finches. We will meet at the McDonald's in Gorham, 214 Main Street, at 8:00 am and then follow the birds north, ending at mid-afternoon. Visit our website for more information and to register for the trip: https://www.seacoastchapter.org
Date: 1/29/26 9:46 am From: David Govatski <david.govatski...> Subject: [NHBirds] Pine Siskins in Jefferson
More pine siskins have been showing up at our feeders in Jefferson. We had six Wednesday morning and only two a week ago. We had 73 evening grosbeaks including one leucistic one this morning. That number is down about 40 from a week ago and hopefully many are moving further south to be enjoyed by others. Purple finches are up in numbers and I counted 14 on Wednesday morning.
The below zero temperatures will be helpful in limiting the spread of the hemlock wooly adelgid. I know it won’t be popular but we need another several days of minus 20 temperatures at night to limit the spread of these adelgids.
