MA - 'Winter Finches' - they just keep coming!

 

Common Redpolls - two from a large flock of 85, North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 13th, 2020. 

Hopes, perhaps even anticipation, that an influx of Boreal Chickadees might take place in Franklin County fizzled a little after my initial sighting on Nov 3rd, though not for the lack of trying. I actually went back to New Salem Vista three times after the event but didn't have so much as a sniff of any further sightings or calls. But the subsequent days were not completely devoid of hope when Tom Raymo and his wife discovered two Boreal Chickadees very close to entrance of High Ledges Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary on Nov 8th. The following day I was fortunate enough to meet Tom at the site and spoke to him in person about his observation. It turns out that his birds were right along the entrance road to High Ledges close to the main parking lot and feeding low down in Golden Rod offering exceptional views. By Tom's description it sounds like his birds were no more that six feet from him - wow! Much like my Boreal Chickadee sighting from New Salem, they didn't stick around and when Tom returned with his camera they'd already moved on never to be seen again. To date, Tom's report remains the only other record of Boreal Chickadee in Franklin County this fall but I remain optimistic that there might be one or two others out there waiting to be discovered. 

(Appalachian) Red Crossbills - Montague Sand Plains, Franklin Co., MA. November 16th, 2020. 

These birds were carefully sound recorded and identified as Type 1 (Appalachian).

(Western Hemlock) Red Crossbill - Montague Sand Plains, Franklin Co., MA. November 14th, 2020. 

This photo would best be regarded as putative but Tim Spahr confirmed that Type 3 (Western Hemlock) was present from my sound clips, 

and I think was coming from this bird. I was right underneath it at the time and got some nice, clear audio. 

(Sitka Spruce) Red Crossbills - North Cross Road, Gill,  Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2020. 

The vast majority of Red Crossbills since the incursion began in late July, have been of this type. Type 10 (Sitka Spruce).

They've been regularly present along North Cross Road, Gill since early August. 

And to the winter finches.....well each and every day brings a new development with fresh birds showing up all the time. The Red Crossbill show has been particularly outstanding, perhaps of historical proportions, with flocks turning up in stands of White Pine all over Franklin County and the largest numbers coming from the Montague Sand Plains where the birds have been feeding and gathering (mostly) in Pitch Pines. Crossbills have been guaranteed in the sand plains this month with most visits producing 25 - 45 birds but on Nov 13th the place (Old Northfield Road to be specific) was  simply 'heaving' with them. That morning I tallied no less than 120 Red Crossbills on a mere 1/4 mile section of Old Northfield Road and got the distinct impression that a further, fuller exploration of the plains might have turned up 200 birds! It was really something to behold. Tim Spahr has been very generous in offering to analyze and allocate many of my crossbill audio clips to type, the vast majority being Type 10. But clips from the Montague Plains over the last few weeks have also produced firm evidence that Types 1 (Appalachian), 2 (Ponderosa Pine), 3 (Western Hemlock) and possibly 5 (Lodgepole Pine) are present within the Montague flocks too. 

White-winged Crossbills took a little longer to filter into Franklin County I had my first (6 birds) at Gate 22 in the Quabbin watershed on Nov 10th and an impressive, busy flock of 20 in Buckland on Charlemont Road on Nov 17th. So far they've eluded the camera but I feel confident that I'll find a photogenic flock soon. And the same goes for Pine Grosbeaks with calling singles on North Cross Road, Gill on Nov 13th, Lake Pleasant, Montague on the 16th and Shepard Road, Buckland on Nov 17th. Roaming Evening Grosbeaks have literally turned up just about everywhere on my travels in the county with their shrill calls becoming common place in most of the spots that I've raised my binoculars. Like the White-winged Crossbills and Pine Grosbeaks, the Evening Grosbeaks have been extremely mobile only rarely cooperating for photos. Firmly caught up in these irruptive movements have been dozens of Pine Siskins (110 in the Montague Plains on Nov 13th) and some Common Redpolls (85 on North Cross Road, Gill on Nov 13th), though numbers of both species seem to be tapering suggesting that they've already moved through to some extent. Purple Finches, having been so common in October are now only appearing in singles and small groups. Naturally it remains to be seen how the rest of the month will pan out but I do think we can look forward to more White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks and perhaps a second 'wave' of redpolls - fingers firmly crossed!

Not quite 'winter finches' but certainly winter buntings, single Snow Buntings appeared at a wide scatter of sites in northern Franklin County early in the month though the first notable flocks turned up at the Quabbin Reservoir (New Salem) with 24 on Nov 10th and 27 at Turner's Falls Airfield on Nov 14th. Both of the larger flocks contained single Lapland Longspurs. 

Lapland Longspur with Snow Buntings - Turner's Falls Airfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 14th, 2020.

The most sobering sight early in the month was a Swainson's Thrush found freshly killed by road traffic on North Cross Road, Gill on Nov 1st. Though not especially rare on migration this was by far the latest I've come across in Franklin County and a sad end for a long distance migrant that should have been on its way to South America for the winter. 

Swainson's Thrush - North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2020.

VT - Putney morning

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking WNW.

Sensing the need for change, I headed north toward Putney Mountain Hawk-watch in southern Vermont, my third such visit this fall. It was a glorious morning, but from a birding perspective, not quite as cool and blustery as I'd hoped, nor as cool as the weather forecast might have suggested. Even so, it was a thoroughly enjoyable visit and I was more than happy to share the morning with regulars JoAnne Russo, Laura Gaudette and Don Clark.

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking East. 

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking North-east. 

Raptors were few, very few in fact but a steady trickle of Sharp-shinned Hawks passed through in ones and twos, actually the only common raptor species for the morning. Otherwise, there was a smattering of Turkey Vultures and singles of Cooper's Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Bald Eagle and my personal favorite, a Northern Goshawk (distant adult soaring with a Sharp-shinned Hawk).

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

By comparison, passerine action was quite lively as small groups of American Robins and Purple Finches passed south through much of the morning, and there was even a small flock of Horned Larks that tried to settle on the mountain before moving on. Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also present, as well as several Yellow-rumped Warblers and a good looking yellow (eastern) Palm Warbler.

Purple Finch (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

 Purple Finch (female-types) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

Palm Warbler - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

MA - mid-week round up

The last few days have remained incredibly mild for the time of year, though the recent spell of warm air gave way to cooler northerlies today (12/16). Locally, it's been a bit of mixed bag of bird species with nothing in particular jumping out though the owl theme continues. Last night (12/15), just as I  stopped at a pull-out on Bascom Road, Gill a Northern Saw-whet Owl flew through the beam of the headlights and alighted in a roadside oak! By the time I'd sorted out the camera it was gone but I was pretty happy with the observation and it was my first in Gill this winter.

Purple Finch - male, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 16th, 2015. Photographed before sunrise.

This morning (12/16) I had a cracking male Purple Finch on North Cross Road in Gill, in fact the quiet roads in Gill seems to be only area where I'm seeing this species with any sort of consistency at the moment - pretty much every day.

Common Goldeneyes - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 15th, 2015.

A small portion of the considerable roost that gathers on the power canal most evenings.

At Turner's Falls, the Goldeneye roost has been typically unpredictable but some evenings have produced up to 75 birds and included a female Barrow's Goldeneye on the 13th. The Lesser Scaup also continues at the power canal but two Greater Scaup above the dam at Unity Park were new on the 15th.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult, Turner's Falls power canal Franklin Co., MA. December 15th, 2015.

The left-most bird in both images above.

Last week's single Kumlien's Iceland Gull remained just that, a single! I was hopeful of more this week but so far it hasn't happened though the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull continues with almost daily appearances at the gull roost, although some evenings it can arrive very late.

 Northern Harrier - juvenile, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 10th, 2015.

 Swamp Sparrow - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 10th, 2015.

Notable December birds for Gill last week included a juvenile Northern Harrier and a Swamp Sparrow on Ben Hale Road, both on the 10th. The latter is usually very difficult to find in the winter months in our area. 

'Cackling-like' Geese (3) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 15th, 2015. Three newly arrived birds with the gray cast and broad pale fringes to the upperparts often associated with the expected form of Cackling Goose in our area - B.c. hutchinsii. But I wonder if the bill length of these birds might eliminate Cackling Goose and point towards something else? They were still present on the 16th. 

*Three more confusing white-cheeked geese arrived at Turner's Falls on the 15th. These birds initially looked so distinctive that I was able to pick them out easily with the naked-eye. They showed several pro-hutchinsii features but on closer inspection I was put off by the bill length which just didn't look stubby enough for a typical Cackling Goose. For the time being, I'm just going to leave them as 'Cackling-like' Geese but I can't help but wonder if B.c. parvipes (Lesser Canada Goose) should be seriously considered for this group? I also recalled David Sibley's excellent blog post on "Cackling-ish Geese" from December 2014;
http://www.sibleyguides.com/2014/12/cackling-ish-geese/

MA - Purple Finch bonanza!

I must confess that I'm not a big fan of feeder watching - I'd much rather be out in the field somewhere rather than looking at birds through the kitchen window but periodically I'm just blown away the sudden appearance of certain species at our feeders, especially when there's no indication that anything cool is about to happen. Early this afternoon, our near-empty feeders attracted four Purple Finches which I found especially remarkable because it seems to have been a relatively poor late winter/early spring for them in Gill/Northfield. I can only recall hearing one other Purple Finch this spring and that was on North Cross Road, Gill in late March.

 This female-type was the first to arrive with the males below arriving as a group of three about an hour later.

These birds didn't stay long either but I did manage to get these pics through a rather grimy kitchen window!

Purple Finches - Northfield yard, Franklin Co., MA. April 14th, 2015.

MA - Palm Warblers and Purple Finches

Oct 9th: Amazing morning in Northfield Meadows. Birds popping up everywhere along the weed-fringed tracks and fields. It's fair to say that I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer numbers this morning, and failed to come up with anything unusual. Most abundant were Song, Savannah and White-throated Sparrows with good numbers of Chipping Sparrows and a couple of Lincoln's Sparrows. Indigo Buntings still very much present, along with a decent showing of Common Yellowthroats (10+) and Gray Catbirds (5+). As expected at this time of year, lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers plus a nice show of Palm Warblers with at least four (3 Eastern, 1 Western). Also about a dozen each of Eastern Bluebird and American Pipit (all overhead filtering southwards).

 Palm Warbler (Western) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

 Palm Warbler (Eastern) - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

Lincoln's Sparrow - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

It was a fine morning for Purple Finch with birds first noted over our house in Gill at dawn with several parties moving SW. At Northfield Meadows lots more of them, about 35 in all, with a number of flyovers and nice looks at foraging birds in the shrubbery. Also, quite a few Pine Siskins moving over Gill and Northfield this morning probably totaling close to 20 birds.

 Purple Finch - female/first-winter, Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

 Purple Finch - male, Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

 Purple Finch - male, Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

 Purple Finch - female/first-winter, Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

Raptors included Merlin, American Kestrel and a single Osprey. 

Oct 8th: Had a quick look at the eastern edge of Turner's Falls airfield this morning. Lots of sparrows again, plus quite a few Gray Catbirds and a couple of skulkers - one House Wren (singing!) and one first-winter White-crowned Sparrow. A Merlin sparring with American Crows over the main runway put on quite a show.

 House Wren - Turner's Falls airfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

White-crowned Sparrow - first-winter, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2014. 

VT - first Tree Swallows....but 03/23

This morning, Susannah, Matan and I had a drive up to Vernon, VT to, once again, try for the regularly reported wintering drake Barrow's Goldeneye. When we got there, a visiting birder from New York state told us that he'd be stationed by the CT River for two hours with out seeing the Barrow's despite working through the distant flock of Common Goldeneyes present downstream. In the search, it was a real pleasure to see our first swallows of the year hawking over the river, about five  Tree Swallows in all. As we were about to leave, Dave Hof showed up and again we had another scan of the river, again without success. This particular Barrow's continues to be aloof for us. In the mean time Canada Geese were a lot more obvious all over our area today, and Hector Galbraith reported a huge flock of 2500 above Vernon Dam this morning along with about 90 Snow Geese. Much farther south in the valley, Larry Therrien was fortunate enough to find a Pink-footed Goose in Hatfield/Whately in the afternoon. I'm sure we'll get a full report soon on Larry's own blog, but I think congratulations are in order for one of the most active birders in the Pioneer Valley. Well done Larry - hopefully more on that one to follow.

Purple Finch - male, Gill yard, Franklin County, MA. March 23rd, 2014.

Beatifully bright male taken through the glass of the living room window!

Brown-headed Cowbird - male, Gill yard, Franklin County, MA. March 23rd, 2014.

Bald Eagle - adult, Vernon, Windham Co., VT. March 23rd, VT.

Tree Swallow - Vernon, Windham Co., VT. March 23rd, VT.

Mega distant crop of one of five Tree Swallows about 1/2 mile downstream from our viewing point.

At home in Gill, Purple Finches continue to be a feature with several singing males along Main Road including a fine, bright male at our feeders this morning. A pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds were present too, cowbirds being fairly infrequent visitors to our feeders.

MA - a little more Purple - 03/18

Another fine morning in Gill for Purple Finch beginning with a singing male near our house on Main Road just after sun rise, and about three singing males on Ben Hale Road in exactly the same spot where I found two pairs last week on March 12th.

 Purple Finch - male, Ben Hale Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 18th, 2014. One of about three singing males present,
and I think a pale-breasted male that I saw (but didn't photograph) in the same area last week. 

MA - Purple Rain 03/12

This morning I took a casual, pre-storm drive around Gill hoping for a few more signs of spring. I wasn't disappointed. Twenty Canada Geese were foraging in the large field north-east of the Main Road/Munn's Ferry intersection. Normally, I wouldn't be excited about this but there haven't been any signs of goose migration in our area thus far, which is pretty remarkable for mid-March. However, the local 'park Canadas' have remained throughout the winter at Unity Park, along with their feral companions and a hybrid. 

Canada Geese - part of 20 foraging birds, Munns Ferry Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA

March 12th, 2014. FOS migrant Canadas, hopefully with many more to follow.

Next stop was Ben Hale Road where I was greeted by the rambling song of a male Purple Finch. A few minutes later, he was joined by two females and a less brightly marked male. A Common Grackle flew overhead, heralding my first local grackle of the year. 

Common Grackle - Ben Hale Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA.

March 12th, 2014. FOY, or at least my first locally. 

Purple Finch - male, Ben Hale Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

One of four at this location with another three males in our yard today. 

Down at Barton Cove there was plenty to see and it was all about diving ducks; 30+ Ring-necked Ducks, 10+ Bufflehead, 10+ Greater Scaup, 3 Lesser Scaup, 30+ Hooded Merganser, 8 Common Merganser and the cream on the cake, two Long-tailed Ducks including an exceptionally smart drake. 

 Ring-necked Ducks and Greater Scaup - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

Ring-necked Ducks and Lesser Scaup (three, upper right) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

 Long-tailed Ducks - pair, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

Distant digiscope of a shy pair way out in Barton Cove. All the other diving ducks were reasonably

 close to Riverview Drive and but these two looked nervous and remained distant.

Buffleheads (rear) with Ring-necked Ducks and Greater Scaup - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

 Purple Finch - male with American Tree Sparrow, Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

One of three males in our yard that appeared all too briefly around mid-morning. 

On returning home, I was more than thrilled to see three male Purple Finches on the ground below the feeders in what seemed like a local incursion of this species today. Blue Jays were also strikingly obvious with groups of 20-30 in at least four different spots around Gill. That's in addition to the 15 or so Blue Jays that regularly visit our yard. 

White-throated and American Tree Sparrows - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. March 12th, 2014. 

In the afternoon the ground below our feeders filled up with sparrows, the Fox Sparrow-like song of

the Tree Sparrows ringing throughout the yard. Perhaps they were fattening up for the next cold snap?