MA - Dickcissel, Clay-colored Sparrow and more...

Dickcissel - Deerfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 4th, 2019.

October opened with a welcome change in the weather. Muggy, showery southerlies gave way to breezy, cooler conditions and a cold front on the 4th. By the 5th we'd had our first frost of the fall and the 6th, while pleasant enough, was distinctly dank with the hanging threat of rain throughout the day. All of a sudden, it really felt like autumn had arrived. If late September had been more subdued than average in northern Franklin County, October had gotten off to a cracking start! Deerfield Meadows proved to be something of a 'sweet' spot with a Marsh Wren on the 1st (David Sibley), a Clay-colored Sparrow on the 2nd and a Dickcissel on the 4th.

Clay-colored Sparrow - Deerfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 2nd, 2019.

Noteworthy arrivals of passerines to 'greater' Franklin County included Ruby-crowned Kinglets (fairly widespread from the 1st), White-crowned and Song Sparrows from the 2nd, Yellow-rumped Warblers from the 3rd (including 150 at Northfield Meadows on the 5th - Josh Layfield) and White-throated Sparrows from the 4th, Dark-eyed Juncos from the 5th and an early Snow Bunting (over South Ferry Road, Montague) on the 6th.  Less expected was a Winter Wren at Caldwell Road fields, Northfield on the 3rd and an Eastern Meadowlark in Montague on the 6th, a species I almost never encounter locally on fall migration. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 1st, 2019.

Winter Wren - Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 3rd, 2019.

White-throated Sparrow - Deerfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 4th, 2019.

Eastern Meadowlark - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. October 6th, 2019.

Common Yellowthroat - Pine Meadow Road,  Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 1st, 2019.

Good numbers of Common Yellowthroats in early October, certain spots harboring 8 -10 individuals.

Great Blue Heron (juvenile) - Deerfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 4th, 2019.

Solitary Sandpipers (2) - Deerfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 4th, 2019.

Not an easy species to find in Franklin County but birds have been lingering here, and at Hell's Kitchen in Northfield.

Raptor migration hasn't been particularly strong or obvious in the first week although a smattering of American Kestrels passed through, and a Peregrine migrated over Montague on the 6th. The 4th was probably the best day with 45 Turkey Vultures, 2 Black Vultures, Osprey, Northern Harrier and Sharp-shinned Hawk all passing over Deerfield Meadows within the space of 25 minutes. 

Odds n' ends included 6 Fish Crows still lingering outside the 'Big Y' at Greenfield shopping plaza off the Mohawk Trail on the 5th. (Josh Layfield), a Greater Yellowlegs over Turner's Falls on the 1st, and up to 18 Ring-necked Ducks and 3 Pied-billed Grebes in the Turner's Falls area.

Greater Yellowlegs - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 1st, 2019.