May 8th - 9th - 10th : another Sora!

Sora - Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. May 10th, 2020.

A nice find by Josh Layfield.

The ongoing theme of cold air continued culminating in frigid conditions on the 9th with snow showers throughout the day driven by harsh, blustery north-westerly winds. All in all, it was fairly unpleasant to be out and generally unfavorable for migration. 

The 8th saw few changes with the exception of Common Yellowthroats which were suddenly much more widespread and vocal than they had been at any point during the spring. In Gill, a pair of Virginia Rails called spontaneously from a cattail marsh where I'd discovered them earlier in the month. Also of note, a Least Flycatcher sang from our yard in Northfield around noon. In late afternoon, Josh Layfield discovered a small but diverse gathering of shorebirds at Hell's Kitchen, Northfield; Solitary Sandpiper (1), Greater Yellowlegs (1) and Lesser Yellowlegs (2). Further up the road he also noted a Nashville Warbler at Satan's Kingdom.

Black-throated Green Warbler (male) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 9th, 2020.

The 9th was simply brutal, beginning with snow showers that left a light dusting and some accumulation in the higher areas of Franklin and Hampshire Counties. Barton Cove, surprisingly, was devoid of migrant waterfowl but hundreds of swallows could be seen hawking low over the water with large numbers either side of the campground peninsula probably totaling over 1000 birds. Four species were involved; Northern Rough-winged, Barn, Tree and Bank Swallows.  Migrant passerines were few and far between though I did stumble across a small feeding flock at Barton Cove campground containing Northern Parula (1), Nashville Warbler (1), Blackburnian Warbler (2) and a fairly late Ruby-crowned Kinglet. In late afternoon, Josh Layfield noted an arrival of 17 Double-crested Cormorants at Barton Cove along with a Bufflehead, most likely a continuing female/immature from the previous weekend.

Brown Thrasher - Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. May 10th, 2020.

Sora - Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. May 10th, 2020.

A good find by Josh Layfield in an unlikely setting. 

The 10th was similarly raw and blustery, though not quite as brutal as the previous day. Waterbirds, again, were next to non-existent at Barton Cove but a decent sized feeding flock of around 45 warblers fed around leafing oaks at Barton Cove campground. Most proved to be Yellow-rumped Warblers seemingly part of the second major push of the spring but good numbers of Northern Parula, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian and Black-and-White Warblers were also present along with a couple of Nashville Warblers, as well as another Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  At home in Northfield, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird visited the feeders for the second day in succession. And in Gill on North Cross Road, a Veery was calling though I still haven't heard any Veery song so far this spring.  Late afternoon brought more unexpected news from Josh Layfield in the form of a Sora calling from a little-watched wetland in Greenfield. With yet another Sora reported (via ebird) from Ashfield yesterday, this seems to be an unusually good spring for the species in Franklin County. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I found myself chasing a second County Sora in a matter of days!

May 7th - a Sora in Franklin County!

Sora - Franklin Co., MA. May 7th, 2020. 

The day began chilly as it had done for the three previous mornings. It took a while to warm up but by mid-afternoon it was a pleasantly warm 63 deg F. Indications of detectable new bird arrivals were few, very few in fact with some evidence that a number of yesterday's migrants still lingering. For example, a single White-crowned Sparrow and 15 - 20 White-throated Sparrows remained at Barton Cove, Gill and only slightly fewer Yellow-rumped Warblers were active and singing all along the banks of the Connecticut River. I did hear a Great Crested Flycatcher calling in Sunderland, my first this year.

Sora - Franklin Co., MA. May 7th, 2020. 

Two days ago Josh Layfield reported hearing a probable Sora calling from a virtually un-watched wetland in Deerfield and since that time the species has cropped up several times as a topic of conversation between friends, primarily because it appears to be incredibly scarce in the Pioneer Valley and especially Franklin County. Having thought more deeply about my personal experiences with Sora in 'the valley' I could only recall two records, both from Hampshire County in the mid 2000s, and one of those was a roadkill! So when a friend advanced a report of one seen and photographed today only 20 minutes from my house I became more than interested and duly abandoned an afternoon bike ride in favor of a little twitching! The place wasn't difficult to find as good Sora habitat appears to be pretty limited in Franklin County and after no more than 15 minutes of waiting I was treated to remarkably good views of a remarkably bold Sora! In fact, it showed so well I found it hard to imagine that the species had somehow managed to elude me for the last 10 years of residing in Franklin County! In reality, I'm usually away leading birding tours in spring, but a traditionally busy time for travel was closed off in mid-March as it was for everyone in the travel industry. Still, being grounded and isolated clearly has a tiny handful of perks and this Sora turned out to be one of them. In respect of social distancing protocol and in respect of the bird, I'll avoid posting a specific location but needless to say, as always in these situations, I'm particularly grateful to the finders - thank you!

Sora - Franklin Co., MA. May 7th, 2020.