What’s Been Seen: Two Hull residents were at Fort Revere, on Feb. 5, and witnessed what they described as a “a very exciting sighting … a Bald Eagle flew right by us, up close.”
The bird flew from one tree to another and perched, giving them the views of a lifetime. Was it the same Bald Eagle sighted a few days later off Summit Avenue, at the base of the peninsula? Or the one I saw a few days later off the Glades in Scituate? It’s all possible. Whatever the case, coastal birders are usually treated to Bald Eagle sightings when ponds and rivers freeze. February 2022 provided perfect conditions for such sightings to occur.
Throughout the month, residents and visitors counted 21 species at Pemberton, including a Common Raven that seems to be making Hull its home, a Peregrine Falcon, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Cooper’s Hawk that seemed to be preying on the Snow Bunting flock vainly searching for places to find food on the snow-covered shore. My favorite sighting was the 43 Horned Larks I counted on the HRA land, but others probably counted the Purple Sandpipers and Harlequin Ducks on the rocks off Summit Avenue as the best sightings of the month. The King Eider seems to have moved on, last recorded on Feb. 9, but an Iceland Gull, a nomadic visitor from the north, appeared there two days later. Straits Pond and the Weir River area struggled to remain free of ice for most of the month, but still yielded several ducks, geese and Mute Swans in February.
What to Expect: Red-winged Blackbirds reached the South Shore during the first week in February, migrating north despite the unusually cold winter. Turkey Vultures soon followed suit. Great Blue Herons started popping up again after a brief hiatus.
Believe it or not, there were signs of spring in February. Within the next few weeks, we may hear the eponymous call of the Killdeer overhead. Piping Plovers may return to the beach. Greater Yellowlegs will join them in heralding the return of many more species of shorebirds. Tree Swallows may fly over Straits Pond, where they had a nesting colony for years. And at the end of the month, check those Osprey platforms on the Weir River.
Whether we care to believe it or not, the birds are telling us that spring is nearly here.
Text and photo by John J. Galluzzo
