Essex to Salisbury 11/5

From Ida Giriunas:

Greetings:

Highlights of the 11/5/11 trip from Island Rd in Essex through Ipswich , then to Salisbury, Scotland Rd in Newbury,  Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury and finally to Plum Island consisted of several enthusiastic birders, of hot sider and sider doughnuts at Russell’s Winery, looking out over Pavilion Beach in Ipswich and trying to I.D. all the ocean ducks  (lots of Eider, 3 species of Scoter, grebes, etc.)  over 2 dozen drake Hooded Mergansers in breeding plumage in Clark’s Pond in Ipswich, many ducks in all the ponds, tripping over 2 or3 AMERICAN WOODCOCK in the Salisbury pine grove, seeing our first SNOW BUNTINGS of the winter , getting a report of the CATTLE EGRET on Scotland Road and seeing it (Thanks, Linda F. and Doug), seeing our first TREE SPARROWS of the winter on Plum Island and the wonderful treat of all the shore birds at Emerson Rocks including the Godwits and Red Knots.    Total species seen were 68.