On Saturday, February 26, 2022, fourteen NHBC members spent a day in Rhode Island, visiting
numerous birding locations. We saw lots of interesting and beautiful birds. Our first stop was at
Beavertail State Park in Jamestown. There were hundreds of birds there off shore, especially off
the point to the south and on the eastern side of the peninsula. The rarities that were there that
delighted us were a cooperative BLACK GUILLEMOT that was not far off the point and a drake
KING EIDER that was in a mixed flock of scoter and other species. We also saw Harlequin
Duck, Great Cormorant, and lots of Common Eider there. Our second stop was at Easton and
Green End Ponds in Newport. There was an immature Bald Eagle there, along with a nice
variety of waterfowl. A brief stop at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Third
Beach yielded some additional sightings, notably White-winged Scoter, Brant and Northern
Harrier. From there, we took the long drive to Scarborough State Beach Park in Narragansett. It
took some searching but we succeeded in locating the BLACK-HEADED GULL that has been
wintering there. It was out on the water with dozens of other gulls, feeding on plankton just
below the surface of the water. After that, we went to a new location this trip: Deep Hole Beach
in Matunuck. We got great looks at a GLAUCOUS GULL and three(!) ICELAND GULLS
there. At one point, one of the Iceland Gulls was a few feet from the Glaucous Gull, giving us a
great opportunity to appreciate the differences between the two species. Brief stops at
Moonstone Beach, the Trustum Pond entrance area and Perry’s Mill Pond didn’t turn up any
unusual sightings but we did add several species to our overall trip list. We then went to
Ninigret Park and saw the LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL there. Although we don’t know
for sure, it seems highly likely that this is the same individual bird that has been wintering there
for the past 17 years. What a long-lived and sight-faithful bird! Our last stop was at the
Weekapaug Breachway where we saw Common Loons up close as they swam in the canal and
flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles as they flew towards what must be a
communal night roost. When the day was done, we had tallied 64 species for our trip list. We
also collected shared memories of scenic locations and amazing birds and forged some new
friendships. I fine day, indeed!
Chris Loscalzo
