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 11, 2026 — day 284

 Species N  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Snow Goose 4 
Brant 65 
Canada Goose 261 
Mute Swan 211 
Wood Duck 24 
Blue-winged Teal 75 
Northern Shoveler 34 
Gadwall 217 
Eurasian Wigeon 2 
American Wigeon 27 
Mallard 258 
American Black Duck 247 
Northern Pintail 75 
Green-winged Teal 195 
Ring-necked Duck 29 
Greater Scaup 54 
Lesser Scaup 20 
Common Eider 210 
Surf Scoter 104 
White-winged Scoter 172 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Black Scoter 149 
Long-tailed Duck 125 
Bufflehead 110 
Common Goldeneye 96 
Hooded Merganser 44 
Common Merganser 34 
Red-breasted Merganser 229 
Wild Turkey 156 
Pied-billed Grebe 43 
Horned Grebe 82 
Red-necked Grebe 30 
Rock Pigeon 188 
Mourning Dove 265 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 15 
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 61 
Virginia Rail 16 
Sora 10 
Common Gallinule 11 
American Coot 3 
American Oystercatcher 30 
Black-bellied Plover 130 
American Golden-Plover 30 
Killdeer 197 
Semipalmated Plover 147 
Piping Plover 177 
Whimbrel 34 
Hudsonian Godwit 6 
Marbled Godwit 4 
Ruddy Turnstone 68 
Red Knot 53 
Ruff 4 
Stilt Sandpiper 59 
Sanderling 142 
Dunlin 141 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Purple Sandpiper 23 
Baird's Sandpiper 17 
Least Sandpiper 146 
White-rumped Sandpiper 102 
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 21 
Pectoral Sandpiper 38 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 148 
Western Sandpiper 20 
Short-billed Dowitcher 128 
Long-billed Dowitcher 39 
American Woodcock 56 
Wilson's Snipe 38 
Spotted Sandpiper 96 
Solitary Sandpiper 18 
Lesser Yellowlegs 135 
Willet 135 
Greater Yellowlegs 180 
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 37 
Little Gull 1 
Laughing Gull 85 
Ring-billed Gull 226 
Herring Gull 274 
Iceland Gull 2 
Lesser Black-backed Gull 18 
Glaucous Gull 1 
Great Black-backed Gull 255 
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 90 
Common Loon 210 
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 64 
Great Cormorant 17 
Double-crested Cormorant 204 
American Bittern 20 
Least Bittern 76 
Great Blue Heron 174 
Great Egret 202 
Snowy Egret 180 
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 139 
Osprey 200 
Northern Harrier 270 
Sharp-shinned Hawk 41 
Cooper's Hawk 126 
Northern Goshawk 4 
Bald Eagle 136 
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 23 
Belted Kingfisher 59 
Red-bellied Woodpecker 40 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 13 
Downy Woodpecker 215 
Hairy Woodpecker 90 
Northern Flicker 136 
Pileated Woodpecker 1 
Crested Caracara 1 
American Kestrel 45 
Merlin 104 
Peregrine Falcon 88 
Great Crested Flycatcher 104 
Eastern Kingbird 131 
Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 
Eastern Wood-Pewee 52 
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 14 
Alder Flycatcher 20 
Willow Flycatcher 86 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Least Flycatcher 29 
Eastern Phoebe 119 
White-eyed Vireo 11 
Yellow-throated Vireo 11 
Blue-headed Vireo 42 
Philadelphia Vireo 19 
Warbling Vireo 32 
Red-eyed Vireo 130 
Blue Jay 239 
American Crow 228 
Fish Crow 32 
Common Raven 133 
Black-capped Chickadee 268 
Tufted Titmouse 90 
Horned Lark 52 
Bank Swallow 62 
Tree Swallow 187 
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 10 
Purple Martin 140 
Barn Swallow 156 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Cliff Swallow 5 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 54 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 52 
Bohemian Waxwing 11 
Cedar Waxwing 204 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 148 
White-breasted Nuthatch 95 
Brown Creeper 37 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 29 
House Wren 92 
Winter Wren 6 
Marsh Wren 148 
Carolina Wren 84 
Gray Catbird 190 
Brown Thrasher 135 
Northern Mockingbird 256 
European Starling 246 
Eastern Bluebird 2 
Veery 20 
Swainson's Thrush 17 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Hermit Thrush 77 
Wood Thrush 31 
American Robin 273 
House Sparrow 237 
American Pipit 22 
House Finch 255 
Purple Finch 188 
Pine Siskin 7 
American Goldfinch 246 
Lapland Longspur 16 
Snow Bunting 24 
Lark Sparrow 7 
Chipping Sparrow 111 
Clay-colored Sparrow 3 
Field Sparrow 80 
Fox Sparrow 22 
American Tree Sparrow 87 
Dark-eyed Junco 99 
White-crowned Sparrow 16 
White-throated Sparrow 151 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Vesper Sparrow 2 
Seaside Sparrow 23 
Nelson's Sparrow 10 
Saltmarsh Sparrow 128 
Savannah Sparrow 122 
Song Sparrow 262 
Lincoln's Sparrow 17 
Swamp Sparrow 134 
Eastern Towhee 223 
Yellow-breasted Chat 4 
Bobolink 107 
Eastern Meadowlark 5 
Orchard Oriole 78 
Baltimore Oriole 115 
Red-winged Blackbird 204 
Brown-headed Cowbird 140 
Rusty Blackbird 7 
Common Grackle 181 
Ovenbird 72 
Worm-eating Warbler 1 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Louisiana Waterthrush 1 
Northern Waterthrush 44 
Blue-winged Warbler 6 
Black-and-white Warbler 61 
Tennessee Warbler 17 
Orange-crowned Warbler 4 
Nashville Warbler 23 
Connecticut Warbler 1 
Mourning Warbler 7 
Common Yellowthroat 151 
Hooded Warbler 1 
American Redstart 136 
Cape May Warbler 11 
Cerulean Warbler 1 
Northern Parula 52 
Magnolia Warbler 42 
Bay-breasted Warbler 28 
Blackburnian Warbler 29 
Yellow Warbler 141 
Chestnut-sided Warbler 38 
 Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct  Nov  Dec
Blackpoll Warbler 46 
Black-throated Blue Warbler 29 
Palm Warbler 43 
Pine Warbler 33 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 148 
Prairie Warbler 28 
Black-throated Green Warbler 48 
Canada Warbler 15 
Wilson's Warbler 31 
Scarlet Tanager 16 
Northern Cardinal 271 
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 59 
Blue Grosbeak 6 
Indigo Bunting 13 
Dickcissel 20 

Total species 275. Total reports 79,040. Total sightings 21,243.

October 11, 2026, Tom Wetmore