Mason's Island's Other Winter Residents
 
Many of the qualities that attract people to Mason's Island during the summer months....good swimming, fresh seafood, and seasonal dwellings...appeal to a diverse population of visitors that come to MI for the winter.
 
After the summer crowd leaves and the water temps cool to the 40's and below, seals, ducks and other birds from Northern New England arrive to frolic and feed in the icy waters and winter woodlands around the Island.  Five species of seal can be spotted on the rocks and in the waters of Fisher's Island Sound from September through June. Harbor and Gray seals are the most numerous, and dozens can be spotted hauled out on Cormorant Reef or bobbing in the waves off Ender's Island like Labrador Retrievers with their heads out of water, a resting position known as "bottling". Their scientific name means "sea dog." Hundreds of Harbor Seals spend the winter at Hungry Point off Fisher's Island. Perhaps it was the name that attracted them, since seals eat a tremendous variety of fish and invertebrates. In recent years, Harp, Hooded and Ringed seals (arctic seals) also show up during the winter with increasing frequency. Sometimes young seals (pups born in late summer, two or three months old) will haul out on ice far up the Mystic River, or on salt marshes or beaches. Often they do not know to be afraid of people, and will just look up with watery eyes. If the seal notices you, you are too close.
 
When lakes, ponds and bays in Canada and Down East start to freeze, waterfowl also head south. Some species fly to Florida, Mexico or South America, but many go no further than Mason's Island. Look for diving ducks, like Common Goldeneye, Hooded, and Red-breasted Mergansers around Allyn's Ally dock. Last year, a rare Barrow's Goldeneye visited for several days, to the delight of dozens of birdwatchers from around the region  that spotted it swimming and diving under the Riding Way Bridge and around the docks at Schaffer's. All of these birds feed on fish and nest in northern forests in natural tree cavities or holes excavated by woodpeckers.  
 
Common and Red-throated Loon and Horned Grebe are also fish-eating visitors that one can watch from docks and jetties all winter long. Further off shore, small flocks of scoters and Common Eider feed on the rocky bottom around submerged ledges and reefs. Eider can dive up to 60 feet deep and stay under water for 3 minutes or more to feed on blue mussels (their favorite food) along with clams, starfish and crabs, all of which they swallow whole. Long-tailed Duck (aka: Oldsquaw) also like mussels. This beautiful white sea duck has a long pointed tail, and can be seen diving off Mason Point or twisting and turning as it flies low over the water around the mouth of the Mystic River. Oldsquaw don't quack- a flock of vocal oldsquaw sounds like baying hounds.
 
Not all waterfowl are carnivores. Brant, a small relative of the Canada Goose, feed on eelgrass and algae. These birds will gather in huge flocks in Little Narragansett Bay in late March, just before they leave for their breeding grounds in Greenland and the Canadian arctic. In shallow bays and quiet waters, such as Poggy Bay, dabbling ducks, including Gadwall, Black Duck and Blue-winged Teal, tip and dip looking for bits of algae and vegetation among resident Mallards.
 
Other avian winter visitors include Horned Lark, Snow Bunting and American Pipit, found in open areas, such as gravel parking lots, windswept lawns and beaches that resemble their tundra breeding grounds.
 
Birdfeeders attract a variety of seed-eating winter birds, like White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Pine Siskin. In woodlands, listen for the high-pitched trill of Golden-crowned Kinglets. These diminutive songbirds subsist on tiny freeze-dried caterpillars and insects that they find in tree bark and crevices.
 
Mice, shrews, chipmunks, flying squirrels and other small mammals also forage on seeds and invertebrates. Their activities attract the notice of birds of prey: hawks by day and owls by night. With their keen eye-sight and hearing, raptors can detect the sound and movements of little creatures scurrying under the leaf litter or snow. During the day, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks keep an eye on feeders, diving in for a feathered or furry fast meal. At night, Great-horned, Barred and Screech owls hunt in woodlands, yards and gardens. They roost quietly in trees during daylight hours, relying on cryptically colored feathers for camouflage while they sleep.  Some of these raptors stay here year round, while others move in for the winter because food is plentiful.
 
For two-legged winter residents, quiet, cold, clear days offer plenty of wildlife viewing in and around Mason's Island once you know what to look for!