MA - white-fronts, waterfowl and more crossbills

 

Greater White-fronted Geese (2) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Over the last couple of days immaculate weather, warm air and southern winds have produced a distinct uptick in waterfowl migrants passing through Franklin County. Small flocks of Canada Geese passed over the Montague Plains all morning on the 9th and by the evening some 800-900 had gathered in a well hidden cornfield in Bernardston. While visible migration was less evident on the 10th, a Greater White-fronted Goose was discovered at Barton Cove/Unity Park by David Sibley and by the time that I got to Unity Park at noon there were two, both of them adults! Having carefully scrutinized the geese at Unity Park the evening before I feel confident that these were brand new arrivals. Ring-necked Ducks too have increased over the last two days with 4 at Unity Park and 17 at the Turner's Falls power canal. The latter site also produced a whopping 26 Hooded Mergansers on the evening of the 10th!

Greater White-fronted Geese (2) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Greater White-fronted Goose - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Ring-necked Ducks - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 9th, 2021.

Gull migration can be a more discrete event but the evening of the 10th saw an impressive surge in Ring-billed Gull numbers to almost 200 birds. A Lesser Black-backed (adult) and two Iceland Gulls (first-winters) continue amid the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls roosting at Unity Park. 

Black Vultures - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Turkey Vultures were already widespread by the 8th but on the 10th, a northward movement of some 12 Black Vultures over the Montague Plains was rather more impressive. 

White-winged Crossbill (male) - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 9th, 2021.

White-winged Crossbill (male) - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Finally, the Montague Plains have been 'heaving' under the weight of some 75 - 100 Red Crossbills with these birds being well north of the more heavily watched site of Old Northfield Road. Small scattered groups of singing/calling birds have been found throughout the plains over the last two days with an especially impressive concentration of about 60 in one spot. As expected, most identified to Type have been Type 10 but, thanks to Tim Spahr's help and guidance, I've also managed to identify and record Type 2 and Type 3. Of course, the prize for scanning through all those crossbills has been the continued presence of White-winged Crossbills, all of them have been males and around 7 or 8 individuals in all, maybe more. They're not especially vocal either and finding them usually involves careful checking of each individual crossbill that just happens to show itself. 

With several more days of warmth in the forecast I think it would be reasonable to expect a few more migrants of interest before the forecast colder snap in the early part of next week. 

MA - closing out 2020

 

Black Vulture - one of two over Greenfield Community College, Franklin Co., MA. December 31st, 2020. 

The final days of the year closed out seasonably mild and relatively quiet. I say "relatively quiet" because the last day saw continued Red Crossbills and Common Redpolls in Gill, and a Pine Grosbeak at Barton Cove boat ramp, all reminders that the last two months of 2020 have been pretty exceptional! Single Golden-crowned Kinglet and Winter Wren were both on North Cross Road, Gill, on December 31st as well. 

The final surprise of the year came in the form of two Black Vultures soaring over Greenfield Community College furnishing my first December record of a species that's became somewhat regular in Franklin County over the last five years but proved to be exceptionally rare before that. January now becomes the only month of the year in which I haven't seen a Black Vulture locally. 

Ring-necked Duck (center) - with Common Goldeneyes, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 28th, 2020. 

Lingering female present through to Dec 31st. 

Bufflehead (female) -  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 28th, 2020. 

Lingering female present for some weeks at the power canal and occasionally joined by a second bird that often joins the goldeneye roost.

A female Ring-necked Duck at Barton Cove proved to be the only slightly unusual duck in the Turner's Falls area despite repeated efforts to relocate the Christmas Day Barrow's Goldeneye. 

MA - March in Franklin County; non-passerines

Tundra Swan - from a flock of 19, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of Josh Layfield. 

A fine drake Canvasback showed up at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 3rd (Scott Surner) and remained until the 7th at least. It turned out to be the harbinger of a steady but varied waterfowl migration through the Turner's Falls area and Franklin County in general, a migration spearheaded by the sudden and dramatic appearance of 19 Tundra Swans at the power canal on the 11th (Alex Haro/Josh Layfield). The swans were courteous enough to remain through the 12th allowing tens of birders to catch up with an impressive state rarity. The middle of the month saw Canada Goose numbers swell considerably with impressive four figure concentrations being variously reported from Sunderland, Deerfield, Gill and Turner's Falls through to the month's end. With them, though often difficult to pick out,  1 - 3 Cackling Geese fairly regularly among the masses and 36 Snow Geese in Sunderland on the 15th (Al Richards). A fine adult Greater White-fronted Goose joined the flocks of geese collecting in Barton Cove on the 23rd (Scott Surner) and remained through to the 25th, and a lone Snow Goose turned up on the 30th (Josh Layfield) with probably the same bird continuing well into April. In addition, Josh Layfield detected an oddly Snow Goose-like hybrid which mysteriously appeared at Barton Cove on the 23rd, became somewhat aloof and then disappeared just as mysteriously only a few days later. Most domestic-type hybrids tend stick around for months in Barton Cove so the sudden departure of this bird came as a bit of a surprise.

Hybrid Goose - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

Found and photographed by Josh Layfield. 

Tundra Swan - from a flock of 19, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of Josh Layfield. 

Canvasback (male) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 7th, 2019.

Cackling Goose (left) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

Cackling Goose (center) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 25th, 2019.

Greater White-fronted Goose (adult) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

The annual spring build-up of Ring-necked Ducks peaked (c.140) towards the end of the month rolling into early April. The flock followed the ever receding ice at Barton Cove and could often be found very close into Riverview Drive in Gill. Lesser Scaup were often present with 3 males together at times and a nice male Greater Scaup offering 'great' comparisons on the 26th. Impressive concentrations of Common Mergansers could also be seen on Barton Cove in the last days of the month along with Common Goldeneyes, and a handful of Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads.

Iceland (Kumlien's) Gull (center) - probably 3rd-cycle, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 25th, 2019.

The second half of March saw a fabulous migration of large gulls through Turner's Falls and Barton Cove though numbers did taper sharply towards the month's end. Without doubt the find of the month was an adult/near adult California Gull carefully studied by David Sibley at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 17th. It was found on a quiet Sunday morning with very few other gulls present and departed NW with a couple Herring Gulls never to be relocated. As with any state level rarity, the record will have to be ratified by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee but does look set to become the 6th state record and the first ever in interior Massachusetts - what a find!

California Gull  - adult/near adult, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 17th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of David Sibley.

 California Gull  (center) - adult/near adult at rest with Ring-billed and Herring Gulls,  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 17th, 2019. 
Image appears courtesy of David Sibley.

The last ten days of the month also saw a good nice 'wave' of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with birds frequently found amid the masses on the ice at Barton Cove. At least four birds were involved with two adults, one 3rd-cycle and one 2nd-cycle.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (adults) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 24th, 2019.

Iceland Gulls were few and far between but David Sibley did find a compelling example of a  2nd-cycle bird quite closely resembling L.g. thayeri rather than the expected L.g. kumlieni. The image set is still being studied but at this stage it's looking quite difficult to rule out an intergrade though perhaps pointing more towards Thayer's rather than Kumlien's.  Either way, it was a really super bird to watch closely and a good one to learn from. 

Thayer's Gull or Thayer's/Kumlien's intergrade (center) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 24th, 2019.

Found by David Sibley. All five flight images above show the same individual. 

MA - Redhead and more in Gill

Redhead - female, Barton cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 1st, 2018.

The first day of March brought a further increase to the flock of Ring-necked Ducks already gathered off Riverview Drive in Gill with around 60 birds present. A female Redhead had likely arrived with them and gave excellent views as it fed unobtrusively among the Ring-necked Ducks. Also of note, an obvious increase among American Black Ducks with around 25 present. Good numbers of gulls continued at Barton Cove thought I could only detect two Iceland Gulls at the evening roost.

March 2nd brought an early spring nor'easter with a typical mix of snow, sleet and rain. New arrivals among the diving ducks off Riverview Drive included 4 Greater Scaup and 2 Bufflehead with the female Redhead still present. A new Glaucous Gull arrived too, initially being seen at the power canal before transferring to Barton Cove to join a number of other large gulls including a relatively high proportion  of Great Black-backed Gulls. By late afternoon. some 600+ gulls had settled on the ice and included 4 Iceland Gulls (3 first-cycle and 1 second-cycle) and the Glaucous Gull seen earlier in the morning. Waterfowl numbers remained about the same late in the day and offered nice views despite the squally rain showers.

Redhead - female, with Ring-necked Ducks, Barton cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 1st, 2018.

Redhead (left) - female, with Ring-necked Ducks and Greater Scaup, Barton cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 2nd, 

2018.

Glaucous Gull - first-cycle, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 2nd. 

Glaucous Gull - first-cycle, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 2nd. 

MA - Black Vultures in downtown Greenfield!

 Black and Turkey Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018.

The last day of the month brought warm sunshine and a notable increase to the flock of Ring-necked Ducks at Barton Cove with an absolute minimum of 35 present, most of which were males, plus three male Bufflehead and a continuing drake Northern Pintail. Common and Hooded Mergansers, and Common Goldeneye were also plentiful in the same area. But the highlight of the morning came by virtue of a visit to the Docs in downtown Greenfield. I happened to be on Federal Street just as a major roost of Turkey and Black Vultures dispersed to  head out for foraging. A tight flock of five Black Vultures slipped away to the south-west low above the roof tops and, feeling a little miffed that I'd missed a nice photo opp, I was more than happy to find more vultures at roost in a tall spruce close by.  As they dispersed three more Black Vultures showed in that group! Although I've recorded Black Vulture in every month in Franklin county with the exception of December and January, eight birds is by far the largest concentration that I've found locally.

 Black and Turkey Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. A rather heavy crop.

Black Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. 

Black Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. 

Turkey Vultures arrived locally last week with three on Federal Street on Feb 21st and another at Gill center on Feb 25th. Among the passerines, further indications of spring included widespread arrivals of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles from Feb 18th and a rather impressive concentration of 1600 American Robins in Bascom Hollow, Gill on the 23rd. Earlier in the month a huge flock of around 275 Cedar Waxwings descended on downtown Turner's Falls to devour the crab apple crop along Avenue A and the surrounding streets affording exceptionally close views.

Cedar Waxwing - Avenue A, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 14th, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing - Avenue A, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 14th, 2018.

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Charlemont. Franklin Co., MA. February 4th, 2018.

MA - a busy afternoon in Gill

What should have been a brief scan of Barton Cove this afternoon ended up being a two hour vigil as birds of interest just kept cropping up every time I thought about leaving. About 600 gulls gathered on the ice off Riverview though, sadly, most of them were quite distant but at least some of the individuals looked like new arrivals with 6 Iceland Gulls (5 first-cycle and an adult) and a Glaucous Gull (first-cycle). The latter, as much as I could tell given the distance, looked like a new bird and not the long-staying individual with the damaged right right leg which I last saw on Feb 24th.

Ring-necked Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. February 27th, 2018.

Ring-necked Duck numbers were up with 10 males together off Riverview Drive though no sign of yesterday's Greater Scaup. Four Northern Pintail (2 male, 2 female) were also present along with a pair of Gadwall. As evening approached, 5 Wood Ducks flew over which I think may be my first locally since the Christmas Bird Count on Dec 31st. And, speaking of Wood Ducks, a good friend of mine photographed this wonderful Bobcat stalking Wood Ducks close to the banks of the Connecticut River today!

Bobcat - site undisclosed, Franklin Co., MA. February 27th, 2018.

Image appears with permission.

MA - November third week

Lesser Black-backed Gull (juvenile, third from right) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 16th, 2017. 

The last week has seen a mixed bag of falling temperatures, light snowfalls and occasionally blustery conditions. The high turnover birds experienced through the greater Turner's Falls area seems to have slowed right down with relatively few new birds arriving this week. However, the numbers and presence of large gulls has improved with up 65 Herring, 25 Great Black-backed, 2 - 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a single Iceland (adult) Gull showing up from the 15th, and up to 120 Ring-billed Gulls from the 19th.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (juvenile preening, third from right) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 16th, 2017. 

Ring-billed Gulls - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 19th, 2017. 

With the exception of Common Mergansers (up to 65 on the power canal) and Hooded Mergansers (up to 65 on Barton Cove) waterfowl numbers have remained consistently low with 14 Ring-necked Ducks on the 19th being the only stand-out moment. Otherwise a Common Loon, 3 Lesser Scaup, 2 Common Goldeneye remained at Barton Cove to the 21st, and a Pied-billed Grebe was present there on the 20th.

Ring-necked Ducks - over Barton Cove from Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA . November 19th, 2017.

Bald Eagles have been present throughout and relatively active with five seen together at the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club on the 19th, and a pair actively chasing the large gulls at Barton Cove also on the 19th. Similarly, Peregrines have been present in Gill, Northfield and Turner's Falls with two together sparring over the power canal on the 21st, and a juvenile hunting Hooded Mergansers also on the 21st. Eastern Screech-Owls surprised me twice with a nice red phase appearing at dusk at Turner's Falls on the 19th, and another calling from a new site (for me) at dawn on North Cross Road, Gill on the 20th. Also on the 20th, whilst on the way to the airport, I made a slight detour to look for a Snowy Owl being reported in Hadley and met with success though the bird looked totally out of place sat atop a heavily manicured evergreen hedgerow.

Eastern Screech-Owl - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 19th, 2017. 

Snowy Owl - Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. November 20th, 2017.

Bald Eagle - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA . November 19th, 2017.

Merlin - Gill Riverside, Franklin Co., MA. November 17th, 2017.

The most interesting passerines of the week concern a smattering of flyover Snow Buntings and Purple Finches at several locations in Gill and Northfield, and gradually increasing numbers of American Tree Sparrows with eight on North Cross Road, Gill on the 21st, just by way of an example. We also had two Fox Sparrows in our yard in Northfield on the 18th and Winter Wrens have been frequent and easy to hear calling at dawn along North Cross Road, Gill with three or four individuals present.

Dark-eyed Junco - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2017. 

American Tree Sparrow - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2017.