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 23, 2026 — day 296

 Species N  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Snow Goose 4 
Brant 65 
Canada Goose 270 
Mute Swan 217 
Wood Duck 25 
Blue-winged Teal 75 
Northern Shoveler 34 
Gadwall 222 
Eurasian Wigeon 2 
American Wigeon 33 
Mallard 267 
American Black Duck 256 
Northern Pintail 84 
Green-winged Teal 204 
Ring-necked Duck 29 
Greater Scaup 59 
Lesser Scaup 21 
Common Eider 219 
Surf Scoter 113 
White-winged Scoter 181 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black Scoter 158 
Long-tailed Duck 128 
Bufflehead 111 
Common Goldeneye 96 
Hooded Merganser 44 
Common Merganser 34 
Red-breasted Merganser 238 
Wild Turkey 158 
Pied-billed Grebe 51 
Horned Grebe 88 
Red-necked Grebe 30 
Rock Pigeon 197 
Mourning Dove 273 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 22 
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 64 
Virginia Rail 16 
Sora 10 
Common Gallinule 18 
American Coot 3 
American Oystercatcher 30 
Black-bellied Plover 139 
American Golden-Plover 36 
Killdeer 200 
Semipalmated Plover 156 
Piping Plover 177 
Whimbrel 34 
Hudsonian Godwit 6 
Marbled Godwit 4 
Ruddy Turnstone 69 
Red Knot 55 
Ruff 4 
Stilt Sandpiper 59 
Sanderling 151 
Dunlin 150 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Purple Sandpiper 23 
Baird's Sandpiper 17 
Least Sandpiper 148 
White-rumped Sandpiper 109 
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 21 
Pectoral Sandpiper 42 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 157 
Western Sandpiper 20 
Short-billed Dowitcher 131 
Long-billed Dowitcher 42 
American Woodcock 56 
Wilson's Snipe 39 
Spotted Sandpiper 96 
Solitary Sandpiper 18 
Lesser Yellowlegs 139 
Willet 135 
Greater Yellowlegs 189 
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 19 
Black Guillemot 26 
Black-legged Kittiwake 2 
Bonaparte's Gull 41 
Little Gull 1 
Laughing Gull 87 
Ring-billed Gull 235 
Herring Gull 283 
Iceland Gull 2 
Lesser Black-backed Gull 18 
Glaucous Gull 1 
Great Black-backed Gull 264 
Least Tern 124 
Caspian Tern 7 
Black Tern 10 
Roseate Tern 79 
Common Tern 146 
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 98 
Common Loon 219 
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 73 
Great Cormorant 17 
Double-crested Cormorant 213 
American Bittern 21 
Least Bittern 76 
Great Blue Heron 183 
Great Egret 211 
Snowy Egret 189 
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 105 
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 92 
Glossy Ibis 106 
White-faced Ibis 3 
Black Vulture 4 
Turkey Vulture 143 
Osprey 202 
Northern Harrier 279 
Sharp-shinned Hawk 41 
Cooper's Hawk 134 
Northern Goshawk 4 
Bald Eagle 140 
Red-shouldered Hawk 16 
Broad-winged Hawk 1 
Red-tailed Hawk 90 
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 24 
Northern Saw-whet Owl 1 
Belted Kingfisher 67 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 48 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 20 
Downy Woodpecker 225 
Hairy Woodpecker 95 
Northern Flicker 145 
Pileated Woodpecker 1 
Crested Caracara 1 
American Kestrel 45 
Merlin 112 
Peregrine Falcon 96 
Great Crested Flycatcher 104 
Eastern Kingbird 131 
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 52 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 14 
Alder Flycatcher 20 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Willow Flycatcher 86 
Least Flycatcher 29 
Eastern Phoebe 127 
White-eyed Vireo 11 
Yellow-throated Vireo 11 
Blue-headed Vireo 45 
Philadelphia Vireo 19 
Warbling Vireo 33 
Red-eyed Vireo 135 
Blue Jay 248 
American Crow 237 
Fish Crow 32 
Common Raven 142 
Black-capped Chickadee 278 
Tufted Titmouse 100 
Horned Lark 52 
Bank Swallow 62 
Tree Swallow 193 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10 
Purple Martin 140 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Barn Swallow 156 
Cliff Swallow 5 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 63 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 61 
Bohemian Waxwing 11 
Cedar Waxwing 211 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 157 
White-breasted Nuthatch 103 
Brown Creeper 42 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 29 
House Wren 92 
Winter Wren 6 
Marsh Wren 150 
Carolina Wren 88 
Gray Catbird 199 
Brown Thrasher 138 
Northern Mockingbird 265 
European Starling 253 
Eastern Bluebird 2 
Veery 20 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Swainson's Thrush 17 
Hermit Thrush 81 
Wood Thrush 31 
American Robin 282 
House Sparrow 241 
American Pipit 30 
House Finch 265 
Purple Finch 194 
Pine Siskin 12 
American Goldfinch 253 
Lapland Longspur 17 
Snow Bunting 24 
Lark Sparrow 7 
Chipping Sparrow 119 
Clay-colored Sparrow 3 
Field Sparrow 86 
Fox Sparrow 22 
American Tree Sparrow 87 
Dark-eyed Junco 108 
White-crowned Sparrow 20 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
White-throated Sparrow 160 
Vesper Sparrow 2 
Seaside Sparrow 23 
Nelson's Sparrow 14 
Saltmarsh Sparrow 134 
Savannah Sparrow 131 
Song Sparrow 271 
Lincoln's Sparrow 18 
Swamp Sparrow 141 
Eastern Towhee 232 
Yellow-breasted Chat 4 
Bobolink 107 
Eastern Meadowlark 5 
Orchard Oriole 78 
Baltimore Oriole 116 
Red-winged Blackbird 208 
Brown-headed Cowbird 140 
Rusty Blackbird 9 
Common Grackle 183 
Ovenbird 72 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Worm-eating Warbler 1 
Louisiana Waterthrush 1 
Northern Waterthrush 44 
Blue-winged Warbler 6 
Black-and-white Warbler 65 
Tennessee Warbler 17 
Orange-crowned Warbler 6 
Nashville Warbler 25 
Connecticut Warbler 1 
Mourning Warbler 7 
Common Yellowthroat 154 
Hooded Warbler 1 
American Redstart 137 
Cape May Warbler 11 
Cerulean Warbler 1 
Northern Parula 52 
Magnolia Warbler 43 
Bay-breasted Warbler 28 
Blackburnian Warbler 29 
Yellow Warbler 141 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Chestnut-sided Warbler 38 
Blackpoll Warbler 53 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 34 
Palm Warbler 49 
Pine Warbler 35 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 157 
Prairie Warbler 28 
Black-throated Green Warbler 51 
Canada Warbler 15 
Wilson's Warbler 31 
Scarlet Tanager 17 
Northern Cardinal 281 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 59 
Blue Grosbeak 6 
Indigo Bunting 14 
Dickcissel 22 

Total species 276. Total reports 81,783. Total sightings 22,045.

October 23, 2026, Tom Wetmore