MA - LITTLE GULL in Gill

Little Gull - adult with Ring-billed Gulls, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 11th, 2018.

A quick stop at Barton Cove this morning produced a lovely adult Little Gull, my third for this particular site but still exceptional in the Pioneer Valley overall. The day had dawned cold and frosty but soon warmed up into a lovely early spring morning - so nice in fact that the day seemed to offer little in terms of the potential for new arrivals. But I like surprises, and Barton Cove is always worth a check in spring migration. The bird was distant for the most part, associating with a handful on Ring-billed Gulls but still present when I left at 11:00 hours despite being flushed a couple of times by Bald Eagles.

Little Gull - adult with Ring-billed Gulls, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 11th, 2018.

Update: At 15:00 hours I returned to the boat ramp hopeful of improving my views and photos, but the bird appeared to have moved on. As far as I know, Eric Huston was the last to report it around 14:10 hours. But the return visit did produce a couple of migrant Ospreys, my first of the year in Franklin County, one of which was calling overhead.

Ospreys - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 11th, 2018.

The Little Gull at Barton Cove was my first there in spring, the previous two records being in late fall/early winter on November 20th, 2016 (first-winter) and December 21st, 2008 (adult).