Tom’s Birding Page

Quarter-Month Status
Birds of Plum Island, Essex County, Massachusetts

Compiled by Tom Wetmore


This table shows the quarter-month status of the birds of Plum Island. It is based on my own data and on data collected for inclusion on the Plum Island sigthings web site.


Quarter-Month Status of the Birds of Plum Island — updated May 16, 2026

 Species N  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose 556 
Ross's Goose 27 
Greater White-fronted Goose 26 
Brant 1342 
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose 7421 
Mute Swan 4596 
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck 487 
Blue-winged Teal 1356 
Northern Shoveler 1527 
Gadwall 5957 
Eurasian Wigeon 317 
American Wigeon 2099 
Mallard 7196 
American Black Duck 7187 
Northern Pintail 3578 
Green-winged Teal 5304 
Canvasback 22 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Redhead 153 
Ring-necked Duck 416 
Greater Scaup 1301 
Lesser Scaup 815 
King Eider 122 
Common Eider 4683 
Harlequin Duck 63 
Surf Scoter 2237 
White-winged Scoter 4489 
Black Scoter 3490 
Long-tailed Duck 3576 
Bufflehead 3338 
Common Goldeneye 2578 
Barrow's Goldeneye 35 
Hooded Merganser 2402 
Common Merganser 530 
Red-breasted Merganser 3959 
Ruddy Duck 645 
Wild Turkey 2682 
Ring-necked Pheasant 85 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Pied-billed Grebe 963 
Horned Grebe 2790 
Red-necked Grebe 1679 
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe 71 
Rock Pigeon 4855 
Ringed Turtle-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove 6202 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 302 
Black-billed Cuckoo 391 
Common Nighthawk 96 
Chuck-will's-widow
Eastern Whip-poor-will 388 
Chimney Swift 718 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 814 
King Rail 188 
Clapper Rail 164 
Virginia Rail 822 
Sora 530 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Common Gallinule 181 
American Coot 623 
Purple Gallinule
Black Rail 18 
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt 21 
American Avocet 252 
American Oystercatcher 104 
Northern Lapwing
Black-bellied Plover 3760 
American Golden-Plover 730 
Pacific Golden-Plover
Killdeer 3976 
Common Ringed Plover
Semipalmated Plover 3260 
Piping Plover 2446 
Wilson's Plover
Upland Sandpiper 22 
Whimbrel 792 
Black-tailed Godwit 11 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Hudsonian Godwit 405 
Marbled Godwit 100 
Ruddy Turnstone 1012 
Red Knot 849 
Ruff 28 
Stilt Sandpiper 1117 
Curlew Sandpiper 26 
Red-necked Stint
Sanderling 3467 
Dunlin 3360 
Purple Sandpiper 520 
Baird's Sandpiper 391 
Least Sandpiper 2600 
White-rumped Sandpiper 2285 
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 217 
Pectoral Sandpiper 1073 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3247 
Western Sandpiper 368 
Short-billed Dowitcher 2417 
Long-billed Dowitcher 1036 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
American Woodcock 928 
Wilson's Snipe 496 
Spotted Sandpiper 1736 
Solitary Sandpiper 280 
Lesser Yellowlegs 2986 
Willet 2543 
Greater Yellowlegs 4875 
Wilson's Phalarope 266 
Red-necked Phalarope 45 
Red Phalarope 30 
Pomarine Jaeger 12 
Parasitic Jaeger 62 
Long-tailed Jaeger
Dovekie 55 
Common Murre 19 
Thick-billed Murre 50 
Razorbill 1152 
Black Guillemot 245 
Atlantic Puffin
Black-legged Kittiwake 407 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Sabine's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull 1744 
Black-headed Gull 40 
Little Gull 125 
Laughing Gull 998 
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull 5625 
Herring Gull 7479 
Iceland Gull 166 
Lesser Black-backed Gull 287 
Glaucous Gull 52 
Great Black-backed Gull 6969 
Least Tern 2356 
Gull-billed Tern 44 
Caspian Tern 195 
Black Tern 155 
Roseate Tern 629 
Common Tern 2664 
Arctic Tern 40 
Forster's Tern 325 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Royal Tern 40 
Sandwich Tern
Elegant Tern
Black Skimmer 85 
Red-throated Loon 2902 
Pacific Loon 17 
Common Loon 5194 
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 172 
Leach's Storm-Petrel 11 
Northern Fulmar
Cory's Shearwater 87 
Sooty Shearwater 25 
Great Shearwater 58 
Manx Shearwater 76 
Northern Gannet 2704 
Great Cormorant 872 
Double-crested Cormorant 5271 
Neotropic Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
American Bittern 810 
Least Bittern 1046 
Great Blue Heron 4635 
Great Egret 4923 
Little Egret
Snowy Egret 3972 
Little Blue Heron 234 
Tricolored Heron 298 
Cattle Egret 27 
Green Heron 419 
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1925 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 438 
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis 1164 
White-faced Ibis 24 
Black Vulture 10 
Turkey Vulture 2627 
Osprey 3835 
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier 5982 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1198 
Cooper's Hawk 2167 
Northern Goshawk 48 
Bald Eagle 2360 
Mississippi Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk 83 
Broad-winged Hawk 79 
Swainson's Hawk 11 
Red-tailed Hawk 3007 
Rough-legged Hawk 1534 
Eastern Screech-Owl 12 
Great Horned Owl 393 
Snowy Owl 1567 
Barred Owl 287 
Long-eared Owl 34 
Short-eared Owl 745 
Northern Saw-whet Owl 43 
Belted Kingfisher 1116 
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker 555 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 647 
Downy Woodpecker 4690 
Hairy Woodpecker 797 
Northern Flicker 2940 
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel 1139 
Merlin 2457 
Gyrfalcon
Peregrine Falcon 2998 
Prairie Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Ash-throated Flycatcher 13 
Great Crested Flycatcher 1362 
Western Kingbird 43 
Eastern Kingbird 2810 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 28 
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher 96 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 634 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 211 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Acadian Flycatcher 16 
Alder Flycatcher 446 
Willow Flycatcher 1739 
Least Flycatcher 443 
Eastern Phoebe 2278 
Say's Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo 136 
Yellow-throated Vireo 117 
Blue-headed Vireo 895 
Philadelphia Vireo 285 
Warbling Vireo 393 
Red-eyed Vireo 1938 
Yellow-green Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Northern Shrike 778 
Blue Jay 6280 
American Crow 6936 
Fish Crow 330 
Common Raven 1335 
Black-capped Chickadee 7054 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Tufted Titmouse 765 
Horned Lark 1826 
Bank Swallow 1438 
Tree Swallow 3989 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 264 
Purple Martin 2474 
Barn Swallow 2955 
Cliff Swallow 170 
Cave Swallow 11 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1505 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1722 
Bohemian Waxwing 29 
Cedar Waxwing 3792 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2633 
White-breasted Nuthatch 1004 
Brown Creeper 807 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 447 
House Wren 851 
Winter Wren 257 
Sedge Wren
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Marsh Wren 3222 
Carolina Wren 1687 
Gray Catbird 4687 
Brown Thrasher 3406 
Sage Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird 6757 
European Starling 6291 
Eastern Bluebird 72 
Townsend's Solitaire
Veery 423 
Gray-cheeked Thrush 52 
Bicknell's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush 481 
Hermit Thrush 1959 
Wood Thrush 214 
American Robin 7343 
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow 5250 
American Pipit 772 
Evening Grosbeak 16 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Pine Grosbeak 17 
House Finch 4471 
Purple Finch 3268 
Common Redpoll 354 
Hoary Redpoll 16 
Red Crossbill 218 
White-winged Crossbill 148 
Pine Siskin 409 
American Goldfinch 5726 
Lapland Longspur 400 
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Snow Bunting 1374 
Grasshopper Sparrow 25 
Lark Sparrow 77 
Lark Bunting
Chipping Sparrow 1426 
Clay-colored Sparrow 253 
Field Sparrow 2433 
Fox Sparrow 335 
American Tree Sparrow 2959 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Dark-eyed Junco 2483 
White-crowned Sparrow 699 
White-throated Sparrow 3653 
Vesper Sparrow 60 
Seaside Sparrow 1042 
Nelson's Sparrow 169 
Saltmarsh Sparrow 2287 
Savannah Sparrow 3357 
Song Sparrow 6943 
Lincoln's Sparrow 297 
Swamp Sparrow 2583 
Green-tailed Towhee 12 
Eastern Towhee 4293 
Yellow-breasted Chat 112 
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Bobolink 2511 
Eastern Meadowlark 641 
Western Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole 1063 
Baltimore Oriole 2326 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Red-winged Blackbird 4501 
Brown-headed Cowbird 2482 
Rusty Blackbird 121 
Common Grackle 3929 
Ovenbird 640 
Worm-eating Warbler 32 
Louisiana Waterthrush 11 
Northern Waterthrush 723 
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler 121 
Black-and-white Warbler 1190 
Prothonotary Warbler 21 
Swainson's Warbler
Tennessee Warbler 205 
Orange-crowned Warbler 140 
Nashville Warbler 621 
Connecticut Warbler 73 
Mourning Warbler 182 
Kentucky Warbler 21 
Common Yellowthroat 3110 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Hooded Warbler 62 
American Redstart 2219 
Cape May Warbler 311 
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula 1008 
Magnolia Warbler 906 
Bay-breasted Warbler 382 
Blackburnian Warbler 483 
Yellow Warbler 2751 
Chestnut-sided Warbler 544 
Blackpoll Warbler 1028 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 818 
Palm Warbler 999 
Pine Warbler 796 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 3121 
Yellow-throated Warbler 11 
Prairie Warbler 380 
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler 980 
Canada Warbler 435 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Wilson's Warbler 625 
Summer Tanager 48 
Scarlet Tanager 417 
Western Tanager
Northern Cardinal 6453 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 710 
Blue Grosbeak 21 
Indigo Bunting 180 
Dickcissel 170 

May 16, 2026, Tom Wetmore