Tom’s Birding Page

2026 Quarter-Month Status
Birds of Plum Island, Essex County, Massachusetts

Compiled by Tom Wetmore

This table shows the 2026 quarter-month status of the birds of Plum Island. It is based on data collected for inclusion on the Plum Island sigthings web site. The column labeled N shows the number days the species has been reported in 2026.

Status of the Birds of Plum Island — updated October 3, 2026 — day 276

 Species N  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Snow Goose 4 
Brant 62 
Canada Goose 253 
Mute Swan 204 
Wood Duck 20 
Blue-winged Teal 74 
Northern Shoveler 33 
Gadwall 209 
Eurasian Wigeon 1 
American Wigeon 22 
Mallard 250 
American Black Duck 239 
Northern Pintail 67 
Green-winged Teal 187 
Ring-necked Duck 29 
Greater Scaup 54 
Lesser Scaup 19 
Common Eider 202 
Surf Scoter 96 
White-winged Scoter 164 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black Scoter 142 
Long-tailed Duck 124 
Bufflehead 110 
Common Goldeneye 96 
Hooded Merganser 44 
Common Merganser 34 
Red-breasted Merganser 222 
Wild Turkey 153 
Pied-billed Grebe 37 
Horned Grebe 77 
Red-necked Grebe 30 
Rock Pigeon 182 
Mourning Dove 258 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 13 
Black-billed Cuckoo 15 
Common Nighthawk 12 
Eastern Whip-poor-will 15 
Chimney Swift 40 
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 58 
King Rail 61 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Clapper Rail 57 
Virginia Rail 16 
Sora 10 
Common Gallinule 3 
American Coot 3 
American Oystercatcher 30 
Black-bellied Plover 122 
American Golden-Plover 24 
Killdeer 192 
Semipalmated Plover 139 
Piping Plover 176 
Whimbrel 30 
Hudsonian Godwit 6 
Marbled Godwit 4 
Ruddy Turnstone 68 
Red Knot 49 
Ruff 4 
Stilt Sandpiper 55 
Sanderling 136 
Dunlin 133 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Purple Sandpiper 23 
Baird's Sandpiper 17 
Least Sandpiper 141 
White-rumped Sandpiper 98 
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 21 
Pectoral Sandpiper 35 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 140 
Western Sandpiper 20 
Short-billed Dowitcher 124 
Long-billed Dowitcher 38 
American Woodcock 56 
Wilson's Snipe 38 
Spotted Sandpiper 96 
Solitary Sandpiper 18 
Lesser Yellowlegs 129 
Willet 135 
Greater Yellowlegs 172 
Wilson's Phalarope 16 
Red-necked Phalarope 1 
Dovekie 1 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Thick-billed Murre 4 
Razorbill 17 
Black Guillemot 26 
Black-legged Kittiwake 2 
Bonaparte's Gull 33 
Little Gull 1 
Laughing Gull 79 
Ring-billed Gull 218 
Herring Gull 266 
Iceland Gull 2 
Lesser Black-backed Gull 17 
Glaucous Gull 1 
Great Black-backed Gull 247 
Least Tern 124 
Caspian Tern 7 
Black Tern 10 
Roseate Tern 79 
Common Tern 145 
Arctic Tern 2 
Forster's Tern 31 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Royal Tern 1 
Black Skimmer 2 
Red-throated Loon 87 
Common Loon 203 
Wilson's Storm-Petrel 54 
Leach's Storm-Petrel 2 
Cory's Shearwater 3 
Sooty Shearwater 4 
Great Shearwater 1 
Manx Shearwater 5 
Northern Gannet 58 
Great Cormorant 17 
Double-crested Cormorant 196 
American Bittern 19 
Least Bittern 76 
Great Blue Heron 167 
Great Egret 194 
Snowy Egret 173 
Little Blue Heron 10 
Tricolored Heron 8 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Green Heron 14 
Black-crowned Night-Heron 103 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 92 
Glossy Ibis 106 
White-faced Ibis 3 
Black Vulture 3 
Turkey Vulture 132 
Osprey 192 
Northern Harrier 262 
Sharp-shinned Hawk 41 
Cooper's Hawk 119 
Northern Goshawk 4 
Bald Eagle 133 
Red-shouldered Hawk 15 
Broad-winged Hawk 1 
Red-tailed Hawk 86 
Rough-legged Hawk 15 
Eastern Screech-Owl 1 
Great Horned Owl 5 
Snowy Owl 34 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Long-eared Owl 1 
Short-eared Owl 23 
Belted Kingfisher 56 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 37 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 6 
Downy Woodpecker 209 
Hairy Woodpecker 87 
Northern Flicker 128 
Pileated Woodpecker 1 
American Kestrel 45 
Merlin 98 
Peregrine Falcon 81 
Great Crested Flycatcher 104 
Eastern Kingbird 131 
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 51 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 14 
Alder Flycatcher 20 
Willow Flycatcher 86 
Least Flycatcher 29 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Eastern Phoebe 111 
White-eyed Vireo 11 
Yellow-throated Vireo 11 
Blue-headed Vireo 37 
Philadelphia Vireo 17 
Warbling Vireo 31 
Red-eyed Vireo 125 
Blue Jay 231 
American Crow 220 
Fish Crow 32 
Common Raven 125 
Black-capped Chickadee 260 
Tufted Titmouse 87 
Horned Lark 52 
Bank Swallow 62 
Tree Swallow 181 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 9 
Purple Martin 140 
Barn Swallow 155 
Cliff Swallow 5 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 46 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 45 
Bohemian Waxwing 11 
Cedar Waxwing 199 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 141 
White-breasted Nuthatch 87 
Brown Creeper 33 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 29 
House Wren 92 
Winter Wren 5 
Marsh Wren 142 
Carolina Wren 83 
Gray Catbird 182 
Brown Thrasher 133 
Northern Mockingbird 248 
European Starling 240 
Eastern Bluebird 2 
Veery 20 
Swainson's Thrush 17 
Hermit Thrush 75 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Wood Thrush 31 
American Robin 265 
House Sparrow 231 
American Pipit 17 
House Finch 248 
Purple Finch 182 
Pine Siskin 3 
American Goldfinch 238 
Lapland Longspur 16 
Snow Bunting 24 
Lark Sparrow 7 
Chipping Sparrow 106 
Clay-colored Sparrow 3 
Field Sparrow 73 
Fox Sparrow 22 
American Tree Sparrow 87 
Dark-eyed Junco 95 
White-crowned Sparrow 9 
White-throated Sparrow 144 
Vesper Sparrow 2 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Seaside Sparrow 23 
Nelson's Sparrow 6 
Saltmarsh Sparrow 120 
Savannah Sparrow 115 
Song Sparrow 254 
Lincoln's Sparrow 12 
Swamp Sparrow 127 
Eastern Towhee 215 
Yellow-breasted Chat 4 
Bobolink 105 
Eastern Meadowlark 5 
Orchard Oriole 78 
Baltimore Oriole 114 
Red-winged Blackbird 197 
Brown-headed Cowbird 140 
Rusty Blackbird 5 
Common Grackle 180 
Ovenbird 72 
Worm-eating Warbler 1 
Louisiana Waterthrush 1 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Northern Waterthrush 44 
Blue-winged Warbler 6 
Black-and-white Warbler 60 
Tennessee Warbler 16 
Orange-crowned Warbler 4 
Nashville Warbler 21 
Connecticut Warbler 1 
Mourning Warbler 7 
Common Yellowthroat 144 
Hooded Warbler 1 
American Redstart 133 
Cape May Warbler 10 
Cerulean Warbler 1 
Northern Parula 50 
Magnolia Warbler 41 
Bay-breasted Warbler 26 
Blackburnian Warbler 29 
Yellow Warbler 139 
Chestnut-sided Warbler 38 
Blackpoll Warbler 42 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black-throated Blue Warbler 28 
Palm Warbler 37 
Pine Warbler 31 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 140 
Prairie Warbler 26 
Black-throated Green Warbler 46 
Canada Warbler 15 
Wilson's Warbler 31 
Scarlet Tanager 15 
Northern Cardinal 263 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 58 
Blue Grosbeak 4 
Indigo Bunting 11 
Dickcissel 14 

Total species 274. Total reports 76,285. Total sightings 20,492.

October 3, 2026, Tom Wetmore