Sunday, November 29, 2015

MA - Bohemian Waxwing and more over the holidays

The Pink-footed Goose was well searched for in the days after the initial sighting on Nov 25th but I haven't come across any reliable reports since so it's look like it may have moved on. However, the search for it did produced a Greater White-fronted Goose (many obs) and perhaps the return of the family group of four Cackling Geese, first noted on Nov 4th. Both species were present at Unity Park on the 27th, and the Turner's Falls power canal on the 26th.

Greater White-fronted Goose - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 27th, 2015.

Less expected, but still very welcome, were three Black Vultures that Susannah and I spotted from Barton Cove as they drifted south-east over Turner's Falls. Luckily, Brian Kane was at Unity Park with his parents and had them go right overhead......also on the 27th. 

Black Vultures (three) - southbound over Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 27th, 2015. 
Also seen over Unity Park by Brian Kane. 

The quiet country roads around Gill have been flush with 'frugivores' with a nice incursion of American Robins (up to 350 together) and Cedar Waxwings (up to 45). A nature walk with Matan on Thanksgiving morning inadvertently discovered a Bohemian Waxwing feeding on multi-flora rose in a private yard . I usually locate Bohemian Waxwings by call, but this bird was silent, nor was associating with Cedar Waxwings making the observation all the more intriguing. This is also the earliest that I've recorded Bohemian Waxing in the Pioneer Valley though a friend of mine had an even earlier bird in Sunderland in late October. Perhaps they'll become more frequent as the winter develops. 

Bohemian Waxwing - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2015.
Subsequent visits to the same location produced no further sightings after this.

Otherwise, the gull show at Turner's Falls has been very slow to develop with an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull being the only large gull of note this month, and no pale-winged gulls at all. This could be the first November since 2005 that I haven't recorded a Kumlien's Iceland Gull at Turner's Falls pretty remarkable since I usually come across the first ones in early November, my earliest date being the 1st!

 American Robins - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 29th, 2015.

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