October 5th dawned cold and breezy with winds in the northern quarter. Many birds appeared to be moving over North Cross Road, Gill just after first light including a strong push of
Yellow-rumped and
Blackpoll Warblers, and the first
Golden-crowned Kinglets of the fall certainly indicated some brand new arrivals. Further north, I found pockets of migrants at Caldwell Road fields in Northfield but it became clear that the excellent diversity of warblers present in the first three days of the month had moved on and most of the migrant flocks were now composed of
White-throated,
Song and
Swamp Sparrows. The first
White-crowned Sparrows and
Dark-eyed Juncos of the fall appeared, and there were more
Golden-crowned (and
Ruby-crowned)
Kinglets in the area plus quite a number of
Purple Finches. A quick stop on Pine Meadow Road produced much of the same including another (first-winter)
White-crowned Sparrow. A handful of southbound raptors included a juvenile
Bald Eagle and an
Osprey. And there were small flocks of
Canada Geese and
Blue Jays filtering south throughout the morning.
White-crowned Sparrow (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.
Purple Finch (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the morning was a
Bobcat hunting for sparrows deep in the thickets and being mobbed by an entourage of around 35
Song Sparrows!! We had eye to eye contact for the briefest of moments and then he/she was gone.
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