Date: 4/15/25 4:16 pm From: 'Steve Mirick' via NHBirds <nhbirds...> Subject: [NHBirds] Big fallout on coast!
Jane and I hit the coast today. The mild, calm weather overnight
combined with a line of pre-dawn showers over southern NH set the stage
for an excellent mid-April fallout of birds along the coast. The biggest
numbers of species included Song Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Hermit
Thrushes, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and both Ruby-crowned and
Golden-crowned Kinglets. My count of 35 Hermit Thrushes at Odiorne is
my personal highest count ever for NH!
We ended up with 9 species of Sparrows from 3 locations (Cross Beach
Road in Seabrook, Church Street Parking Lot in Hampton, and Odiorne
Point SP in Rye)
Chipping Sparrow - 3
Field Sparrow - 1 at Church Street Parking lot in Hampton
American Tree Sparrow - 1 late bird at Church Street parking lot in Hampton
Fox Sparrow - 8 at Odiorne
Dark-eyed Junco - 138 with 116 at Odiorne.
White-throated Sparrow - 6 (only 6 for the day....all at Odiorne)
Savannah Sparrow - 27 (15 on Cross Beach Road)
Song Sparrow - 77 (66 at Odiorne)
Swamp Sparrow 4 (all at Odiorne)
We also got a flyby American Oystercatcher at Odiorne!
Below is a full list from a 3.5 hour walk around Odiorne Point State Park.
Steve and Jane Mirick
Bradford, MA
Odiorne Point SP, Rye, Rockingham, New Hampshire, US
Apr 15, 2025 12:49 PM - 4:22 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.98 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Long complete walk around park covering east and
west sides of road. Mild, calm weather overnight with a line of
pre-dawn rain over the southern part of the State set the stage for an
excellent fall-out of early spring migrants. Some of these counts are
among my highest for a few species.
58 species
Canada Goose 17
Wood Duck 1 Male in Shelduck pools.
American Black Duck 24
Green-winged Teal 1 Male in Shelduck pools.
Common Eider 35
White-winged Scoter 2
Long-tailed Duck 1
Bufflehead 7
Common Goldeneye 4 Late females
Red-breasted Merganser 26
Wild Turkey 12
American Oystercatcher 1 Flew by south point heading south.
Calling. Only my 2nd for Odiorne.
Killdeer 2
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ring-billed Gull 9
American Herring Gull 16
Red-necked Grebe 7
Common Loon 5
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Snowy Egret 2
Great Egret 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 10 New high count for me at Odiorne. (8 on
9/25/22 & 7 on 4/7/22)
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 9 Not particularly a high count, but a new
personal high count for Odiorne. (7 on 4/19/15 and 7 on 9/17/22)
American Kestrel 1 Male.
Eastern Phoebe 16 Ties for my 2nd highest spring count for
Odiorne. (23 on 4/2/21)
Blue Jay 9
American Crow 1
Fish Crow 9 Single flock calling. My 4th highest count for Odiorne.
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12
Golden-crowned Kinglet 14 My 2nd highest count for Odiorne. (17 on
4/14/18)
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Brown Creeper 5 Ties my high count for Odiorne. (5 on 12/12/22).
Interestingly I have NEVER HAD MORE THAN A SINGLE Creeper in Spring
migration at Odiorne. No idea why. Perhaps due to my infrequent visits
in March and April.
Winter Wren 1
European Starling 1
Northern Mockingbird 2
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 35 Shatters my personal high count ever. Previous
high of 18 on 10/19/14 at Odiorne also. My highest spring count at
Odiorne was previously only 12 birds on 4/16/22.
American Robin 12
American Goldfinch 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Fox Sparrow 8 Doubles my previous high count for Odiorne. (4 on
4/9/24).
Dark-eyed Junco 116 Not particularly noteworthy, but this is my
personal highest count ever for a single location. My previous high
count for Odiorne was 75 in late October. For whatever reason, I have
hardly any high counts in the spring anywhere. Today, they were
scattered in small numbers, but we also had 3 big flocks of close to 30
each including 30 near north parking lot, 30 along Settler's Road, and
30 across street toward saltmarsh platform.
White-throated Sparrow 6
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 66 High count, but much fewer than last year when we
had 112 on 4/9/24.
Swamp Sparrow 4
Eastern Towhee 1
Red-winged Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Common Grackle 4
Palm Warbler 1
Northern Cardinal 4
