MA - bear, Boblinks and more in early September

Bobolinks - from a flock of 41 at Old Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Hot, humid and near windless conditions persisted throughout the first week of the month, hardly ideal conditions for spending time in the time field! Fluctuating water levels at Barton Cove in Gill brought especially large numbers of Mallards (up to 300) when the water was fully drawn down exposing wide mud bars. An early American Wigeon, an eclipse male, appeared on the 4th and was still present on the 5th when no less than five Great Egrets graced the cove increasing to six the following day. Three Green Herons were also to be seen foraging on the mudflats and a Merlin caught a swallow sp. in flight above the river. Despite the extensive mudflats, the only shorebird of note that I could find was a Solitary Sandpiper, that's aside from four Killdeer which may have been local breeders.

American Wigeon (right) - eclipse male, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. September 4th, 2018. 

Great Egrets - four of six, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Great Egret - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. September 4th, 2018. 

The evening of the 4th also saw two or three Common Nighthawks hawking low over the Cherry Rum Plaza in Greenfield at 17:20 hours. Nighthawks should still be possible on warm evenings deep into September but the bulk will have migrated through our area in late August.

Bobolinks - Old Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Passerines of note included near daily encounters with Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Boblinks around Gill and Turner's Falls, but it was especially nice to come across a flock of over 40 Bobolinks foraging with House Sparrows in Old Deerfield's north meadows on the 6th.


However, the highlight of the week, hands down actually, was seeing a good sized Black Bear, perhaps a young adult, amble across the road in front of me and my bicycle in Montague on the 5th. Alas, by the time I'd pulled over and wrestled with my cell phone the beast had wandered into the woods but the views were excellent and it looked totally at ease as it made its way across a traffic free road.