In September, October, and November, birds move south at a leisurely pace. Breeding is over, and they are flying to areas where food is abundant. Some birds will pass through Rhode Island on the way to points south, and some will arrive here to spend the winter.
Many thrushes, warblers, flycatchers, and tanagers are travelling to areas where their preferred food, insects and fruit, will sustain them during the winter. For some birds, that means a journey of a few hundred miles, or even less, to slightly warmer climes down south. For others, such as the five-ounce blackpoll warbler, it means a 1,600 mile over- ocean flight to northern South America. Other warblers, such as eastern palm warblers, don’t go quite as far, spending the winter in Florida and the Caribbean. Migrating sparrows, finches, and buntings stay mainly in the continental United States. Our familiar slate colored junco moves from the White, Green, and Adirondack Mountains to our winter gardens.
At the same time as many birds are moving out, others are moving in. Besides the junco, many birds spend the winter in Rhode Island and the waters around it, including as many as 25 species of ducks.
The Seekonk River is an important estuary for both migrating and winter birds. Part of the pleasure of birding along the river in the Blackstone Park Conservation District is watching the change from summer to winter residents. In the vegetation along the river, there are passerines feeding to store fat for their flights south, and on the river, ducks and loons are arriving. Double-crested cormorants move south, and Great cormorants take their place. The river and its surroundings are also home to a number of permanent residents, including 4 species of woodpeckers, white breasted nuthatches, cardinals, song sparrow, Carolina wren, jays, crows and chickadees, kingfisher, 3 species of gulls, Canada geese, mute swans, and great blue herons. Lately, as our winters warm, robins, hermit thrushes, and bluebirds have stayed in larger numbers.
To access the Park, take Irving Street east to where it ends at Gulf Street, which parallels the Seekonk River. It is easy to park on the street and explore both north and south. To the north, the street (now Gulf Avenue) travels about one block before curving away from the river. The wooded slope on your left can be productive for sparrows, warblers, and resident birds such as woodpeckers. At the curve, peer into Bailey’s Lower Cove to look for marsh birds such as wrens, and if you are there at low tide, search the muddy banks for spotted sandpiper. Look up the river for ducks, swans, geese and gulls. Make sure to scan the East Providence trees for bald eagles, which can be present all year around.
Moving south, back at Irving Street, check York Pond, which is at the corner of Irving and Gulf. There is fairly good viewing access from behind the bench by the large oak tree. As Fall continues, and the leaves drop, viewing becomes easier. Wood ducks and mallards can be wintering here, as well as a black crowned night heron who can often be found on the island in the middle of the river. The bushes and trees around the pond often hold feeding warblers, vireos and sparrows. The pond also home to painted turtles and a colony of awesomely large snapping turtles that swim slowly around like prehistoric monsters.
Just south of the pond is a path that extends a few hundred feet west to a place where a stream comes into the pond. The bushes, trees, and weeds here can be good birding.
Return to Gulf Street and take a look at the various structures in the river; old platforms and peers that host numerous birds. In the winter, a bald eagle will often be perched on one of these structures, waiting for an opportunity to steal something from a gull (yes, our national symbol is a thief). Double crested cormorants nest on these structures, and hundreds of gulls and terns roost on them. Forster’s terns are here all fall, staying into December. As fall progresses, the 3 winter gulls, ring-billed, herring and great black backed, can be joined by Bonaparte’s (a very small, graceful, gull), Iceland, and lesser black backed gulls. Along the East Providence side may be great blue herons and great and snowy egrets. Ducks arrive, including gadwall, American wigeon, ring necked ducks, bufflehead, common golden eye, scaup, ruddy ducks, and many others. Common loons are often seen in the river. In the winter, rarities such as tufted duck, tundra swan, or Barrow’s golden eye are possible.
Continuing south, near the Narragansett Boathouse is Hockey Pond, on the right, which is always worth checking. Finally, check the structures under the bridge for a perching raptor or kingfisher.
The Blackstone Park Conservation District also contains paths through the woods which, besides being a fun hike, can yield some migrating songbirds. Listen for the chick-a-dee-dee of the black capped chickadee. Where they are, other birds often are, too.
Even if the birding is slow, this park can be an enjoyable and peaceful place to spend a few hours. There is almost no traffic, the river scenery is beautiful, there are numerous places to explore, and the park has many benches for resting. Bring a snack and enjoy the quiet.
Editor’s Note: see also The PVD Eye’s Providence Counts re Migrating Birds
Leslie Bostrom received her BA from the University of Maine, Orono, and her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design. Between undergraduate and graduate school, she worked as a master printer in San Francisco, specializing in intaglio. She has taught drawing, painting, and printmaking at Brown University for 33 years.
Bostrom is interested in the interaction of words and images in painting and for most of her career she has been making works that engage political topics such as environmental degradation, human migration, feminism, and LGBQT issues. Her most recent paintings feature birds that she has seen while pursuing one of her other passions- birding.
