Sunday, December 9, 2018

MA - two, maybe three Common Yellowthroats in Northfield!

Common Yellowthroat (first-winter male) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 12th, 2018.
Still present in the favored patch of cattails this morning for the sixth straight day and distinctly feisty, 
this male being outwardly aggressive towards Savannah and American Tree Sparrows. Is this an attempt at over-wintering?



Common Yellowthroat (first-winter male) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 9th, 2018.

This morning I returned to the scene of the previous day's Common Yellowthroat sighting in Northfield Meadows. My expectations of a repeat performance were not high after another very cold night - it was 11 deg F in Northfield at dawn. It was very nearly birdless for a good twenty minutes or so until a small olive toned warbler caught my eye and I knew I had the Common Yellowthroat once more. As I settled down to try and get some record shots another Common Yellowthroat started calling about 12 feet away and it wasn't long before I was watching two Common Yellowthroats flitting through the cattails together. That just seemed crazy for a bitterly cold morning in December! I tracked them as best I could before eventually losing sight of them towards the back of the cattails. As I watched, a third bird started calling that might also have been a yellowthroat, but for now I'm erring on the side of caution and going with two birds - one (first-winter) male and one female. Update: at least one (first-winter male) still present on Dec 12th, with 2 on Dec 11th and 4 seen and heard on Dec 10th - remarkable!

Common Yellowthroat (female) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 9th, 2018.

Common Yellowthroat (first-winter male) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 9th, 2018.

Common Yellowthroat (first-winter male) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 8th, 2018.


Common Yellowthroat (first-winter male) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. December 8th, 2018.

Earlier, the day had gotten off to a terrific start with 5 Evening Grosbeaks and my first Common Redpoll  of the season flying over North Cross Road, Gill.

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