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By Ilene Hoffman
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Did you know the hottest hangout spot in Needham this February was the Recycling and Transfer Station (RTS) on Central Avenue?
There is still a flurry of activity at the place Needhamites used to call “the Dump.” Birders are flocking in to see what most of us think is just a large number of seagulls flying around the RTS.
But it appears there’s no such thing as a seagull - the birds Needhamites often see at the RTS are actually herring gulls.
As a number of people with birding scopes started showing up, it became clear that more was going on in Needham’s air space.
It turns out that six varieties of gulls visit the RTS. Josh, a birder from Medfield, noticed the wide variety of gulls a few months ago. He often walks in to the RTS to record visits from the more rare species. In addition to the herring gulls, the RTS is also a stomping ground for great black-backed gulls, glaucous gulls, ring-billed gulls, and the slightly rarer lesser black-backed gulls and Iceland gulls.
The gulls come to feed on the town’s constantly evolving compost heap in the back of the RTS. When not feeding, they hang out on the top of the salt shed. As reports have trickled in about the variety of gulls in Needham, people from all over the area have come to view them and record their findings online.
The gulls are not the only story at the RTS, though.
eBird, a site run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on which birders report bird sightings by place, date, and number, lists 40 species of birds seen at Needham’s hotspot - among them a bald eagle that was added on March 15. Even those robust numbers aren’t quite correct, because other people have seen killdeer, savannah sparrows and least sandpipers, too, which have yet to appear on the list. Red-tailed hawks, European starlings and crows are other frequent visitors. To see a full list of the RTS’ feathered guests, visit http://tiny.cc/needhamrtsbirds.
The Needham Recycling Transfer Station (RTS) is free for residents who have a sticker. A free sticker can be acquired at the Needham Town Hall.
It seems that the birds need no stickers, though.
Really, where would they put them?
