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 September 12, 2025

 Species N  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Snow Goose 551 
Ross's Goose 14 
Greater White-fronted Goose 26 
Brant 1262 
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose 7189 
Mute Swan 4478 
Tundra Swan
Wood Duck 467 
Blue-winged Teal 1339 
Northern Shoveler 1467 
Gadwall 5794 
Eurasian Wigeon 296 
American Wigeon 2029 
Mallard 6979 
American Black Duck 6955 
Northern Pintail 3430 
Green-winged Teal 5153 
Canvasback 21 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Redhead 153 
Ring-necked Duck 385 
Greater Scaup 1218 
Lesser Scaup 776 
King Eider 122 
Common Eider 4503 
Harlequin Duck 59 
Surf Scoter 2085 
White-winged Scoter 4296 
Black Scoter 3314 
Long-tailed Duck 3401 
Bufflehead 3171 
Common Goldeneye 2448 
Barrow's Goldeneye 35 
Hooded Merganser 2313 
Common Merganser 484 
Red-breasted Merganser 3779 
Ruddy Duck 645 
Wild Turkey 2573 
Ring-necked Pheasant 85 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Pied-billed Grebe 935 
Horned Grebe 2654 
Red-necked Grebe 1615 
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe 71 
Rock Pigeon 4655 
Ringed Turtle-Dove
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove 5984 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 302 
Black-billed Cuckoo 389 
Common Nighthawk 96 
Chuck-will's-widow
Eastern Whip-poor-will 382 
Chimney Swift 710 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 800 
King Rail 188 
Clapper Rail 150 
Virginia Rail 816 
Sora 526 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Common Gallinule 181 
American Coot 599 
Purple Gallinule
Black Rail 18 
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt 21 
American Avocet 234 
American Oystercatcher 91 
Northern Lapwing
Black-bellied Plover 3667 
American Golden-Plover 704 
Pacific Golden-Plover
Killdeer 3889 
Common Ringed Plover
Semipalmated Plover 3181 
Piping Plover 2386 
Wilson's Plover
Upland Sandpiper 22 
Whimbrel 780 
Black-tailed Godwit 11 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Hudsonian Godwit 399 
Marbled Godwit 100 
Ruddy Turnstone 1005 
Red Knot 840 
Ruff 26 
Stilt Sandpiper 1097 
Curlew Sandpiper 26 
Red-necked Stint
Sanderling 3335 
Dunlin 3198 
Purple Sandpiper 491 
Baird's Sandpiper 389 
Least Sandpiper 2551 
White-rumped Sandpiper 2218 
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 217 
Pectoral Sandpiper 1043 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 3177 
Western Sandpiper 367 
Short-billed Dowitcher 2393 
Long-billed Dowitcher 1012 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
American Woodcock 877 
Wilson's Snipe 451 
Spotted Sandpiper 1726 
Solitary Sandpiper 275 
Lesser Yellowlegs 2928 
Willet 2515 
Greater Yellowlegs 4763 
Wilson's Phalarope 257 
Red-necked Phalarope 44 
Red Phalarope 30 
Pomarine Jaeger 12 
Parasitic Jaeger 62 
Long-tailed Jaeger
Dovekie 54 
Common Murre 19 
Thick-billed Murre 45 
Razorbill 1114 
Black Guillemot 244 
Atlantic Puffin
Black-legged Kittiwake 405 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Sabine's Gull
Bonaparte's Gull 1726 
Black-headed Gull 40 
Little Gull 125 
Laughing Gull 985 
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull 5434 
Herring Gull 7244 
Iceland Gull 158 
Lesser Black-backed Gull 277 
Glaucous Gull 52 
Great Black-backed Gull 6754 
Least Tern 2350 
Gull-billed Tern 44 
Caspian Tern 191 
Black Tern 155 
Roseate Tern 625 
Common Tern 2647 
Arctic Tern 40 
Forster's Tern 322 
 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 2768 
Pacific Loon 17 
Common Loon 4998 
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 172 
Leach's Storm-Petrel 11 
Northern Fulmar
Cory's Shearwater 86 
Sooty Shearwater 25 
Great Shearwater 58 
Manx Shearwater 76 
Northern Gannet 2611 
Great Cormorant 851 
Double-crested Cormorant 5130 
Neotropic Cormorant
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
American Bittern 787 
Least Bittern 1039 
Great Blue Heron 4519 
Great Egret 4788 
Little Egret
Snowy Egret 3894 
Little Blue Heron 224 
Tricolored Heron 291 
Cattle Egret 27 
Green Heron 418 
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1913 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 417 
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis 1137 
White-faced Ibis 23 
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture 2545 
Osprey 3764 
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier 5746 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1144 
Cooper's Hawk 2043 
Northern Goshawk 44 
Bald Eagle 2239 
Mississippi Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk 80 
Broad-winged Hawk 78 
Swainson's Hawk 11 
Red-tailed Hawk 2922 
Rough-legged Hawk 1511 
Eastern Screech-Owl 12 
Great Horned Owl 386 
Snowy Owl 1524 
Barred Owl 286 
Long-eared Owl 33 
Short-eared Owl 702 
Northern Saw-whet Owl 43 
Belted Kingfisher 1065 
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker 513 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 620 
Downy Woodpecker 4478 
Hairy Woodpecker 682 
Northern Flicker 2806 
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel 1097 
Merlin 2369 
Gyrfalcon
Peregrine Falcon 2928 
Prairie Falcon
Monk Parakeet
Ash-throated Flycatcher 13 
Great Crested Flycatcher 1347 
Western Kingbird 43 
Eastern Kingbird 2798 
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 26 
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Olive-sided Flycatcher 96 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 630 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 211 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Acadian Flycatcher 16 
Alder Flycatcher 446 
Willow Flycatcher 1738 
Least Flycatcher 429 
Eastern Phoebe 2204 
Say's Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo 126 
Yellow-throated Vireo 110 
Blue-headed Vireo 850 
Philadelphia Vireo 271 
Warbling Vireo 381 
Red-eyed Vireo 1908 
Yellow-green Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Northern Shrike 778 
Blue Jay 6062 
American Crow 6718 
Fish Crow 303 
Common Raven 1171 
Black-capped Chickadee 6825 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Tufted Titmouse 690 
Horned Lark 1728 
Bank Swallow 1433 
Tree Swallow 3913 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 258 
Purple Martin 2440 
Barn Swallow 2913 
Cliff Swallow 166 
Cave Swallow 11 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1447 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1639 
Bohemian Waxwing 18 
Cedar Waxwing 3661 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2435 
White-breasted Nuthatch 954 
Brown Creeper 741 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 424 
House Wren 829 
Winter Wren 245 
Sedge Wren
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Marsh Wren 3169 
Carolina Wren 1590 
Gray Catbird 4579 
Brown Thrasher 3346 
Sage Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird 6545 
European Starling 6090 
Eastern Bluebird 67 
Townsend's Solitaire
Veery 414 
Gray-cheeked Thrush 52 
Bicknell's Thrush
Swainson's Thrush 471 
Hermit Thrush 1858 
Wood Thrush 207 
American Robin 7115 
Northern Wheatear
House Sparrow 5073 
American Pipit 724 
Evening Grosbeak 16 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Pine Grosbeak 17 
House Finch 4261 
Purple Finch 3128 
Common Redpoll 353 
Hoary Redpoll 16 
Red Crossbill 218 
White-winged Crossbill 148 
Pine Siskin 386 
American Goldfinch 5533 
Lapland Longspur 380 
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Snow Bunting 1313 
Grasshopper Sparrow 25 
Lark Sparrow 76 
Lark Bunting
Chipping Sparrow 1358 
Clay-colored Sparrow 239 
Field Sparrow 2365 
Fox Sparrow 312 
American Tree Sparrow 2820 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Dark-eyed Junco 2307 
White-crowned Sparrow 676 
White-throated Sparrow 3447 
Vesper Sparrow 57 
Seaside Sparrow 1039 
Nelson's Sparrow 162 
Saltmarsh Sparrow 2258 
Savannah Sparrow 3242 
Song Sparrow 6727 
Lincoln's Sparrow 279 
Swamp Sparrow 2491 
Green-tailed Towhee 12 
Eastern Towhee 4166 
Yellow-breasted Chat 108 
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Bobolink 2490 
Eastern Meadowlark 634 
Western Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole 1051 
Baltimore Oriole 2300 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Red-winged Blackbird 4386 
Brown-headed Cowbird 2421 
Rusty Blackbird 115 
Common Grackle 3842 
Ovenbird 626 
Worm-eating Warbler 32 
Louisiana Waterthrush 10 
Northern Waterthrush 709 
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler 120 
Black-and-white Warbler 1156 
Prothonotary Warbler 17 
Swainson's Warbler
Tennessee Warbler 197 
Orange-crowned Warbler 131 
Nashville Warbler 594 
Connecticut Warbler 69 
Mourning Warbler 180 
Kentucky Warbler 21 
Common Yellowthroat 3068 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Hooded Warbler 62 
American Redstart 2191 
Cape May Warbler 296 
Cerulean Warbler
Northern Parula 974 
Magnolia Warbler 875 
Bay-breasted Warbler 368 
Blackburnian Warbler 470 
Yellow Warbler 2720 
Chestnut-sided Warbler 532 
Blackpoll Warbler 1007 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 788 
Palm Warbler 947 
Pine Warbler 772 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2908 
Yellow-throated Warbler 11 
Prairie Warbler 363 
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler 949 
Canada Warbler 431 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Wilson's Warbler 607 
Summer Tanager 46 
Scarlet Tanager 411 
Western Tanager
Northern Cardinal 6227 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 698 
Blue Grosbeak 16 
Indigo Bunting 170 
Dickcissel 159 

September 12, 2025, Tom Wetmore