MA - possible Taverner's Cackling Geese? - 10/14

Taverner's Cackling Goose? - center bird between two Canada Geese (probably B.c. canadensis).Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Note tiny size and medium gray breast compared to surrounding Canada Geese. Could this be a Taverner's Cackling Goose?

It's that time of year again! Scanning through hordes of Canada Geese, hoping to find something rare or perhaps more realistically, a bird of interest. After dropping off Matan at Nursery School I decided to scour the fields around Gill looking for feeding flocks of geese. I didn't have to go far at all. Two hundred yards down the hill, a nice concentration of about 800 Canada Geese were feeding in a corn stubble field directly across the road from Upinngil Farm. The birds were close to the road, and the opportunity perfect for sifting and sorting through the flock. The first two scans yielded nothing eye-catchingly different, but I then realized I'd been looking too far into the crowd. The most interesting birds, likely a family group, were the closest birds to me. The birds were small, appropriate in size for Cackling Geese but they lacked the frosty-gray appearance and boxy head shape that I'd look for in the expected form of Cackling Goose hutchinsii (Richardson's Cackling Goose). One bird was very slightly larger than the other two and may have been a male but they were all readily identifiable by a combination of features;

1) Overall small size, smaller than any of the accompanying Canada Geese.

2) Overall gray breasted, medium gray and certainly not white, becoming darker on the belly and flanks.

3) Relatively weakly patterned upperparts, lacking any real contrast. (hutchinsii often has quite marked pale fringes to the wing coverts creating more contrast.)

4) Head and bill profile distinctive with rather triangular bill blending neatly into the forehead with no obvious break or step, and blending into a rather rounded crown.

5) Birds appeared to be moving around as a family group, with two of the three possessing an obvious gular stripe.

The birds were feeding with heads down most of the time, so it was a struggle producing images. However, the shots below offer a fair representation of the features observed in the field. I'm certainly open to opinions and suggestions on the identification, though at this stage I feel somewhat committed to an identification of taverneri. I'm sure I'll be adding further thoughts to this post over the forthcoming days.

1) Taverner's Cackling Goose? - one of a group of three, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Aside from the small size, note the triangular bill shape with the forehead sloping neatly into the upper mandible and a rather rounded crown. This bird has a gular stripe and a medium gray breast which, combined with the head and bill shape, would effectively rule out B. c. parvipes (Lesser Canada Goose).

2) Taverner's Cackling Geese? - two of a group of three, both birds at the front of the image. Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Again, note the smaller body bulk of the bird on the right compared to the Canada Geese at the rear, and the triangular bill shape with the forehead sloping neatly into the upper mandible, and a rather rounded crown. The bird on the right also displays a slight bulge at the base of the lower mandible.

3) Taverner's Cackling Goose? - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Interesting profile shot, again reflecting the features described above.

4) Taverner's Cackling Geese? - two of a group of three, with both birds at the front of the image. Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. The bird in the foreground was the largest of the three and also lacked the well marked gular stripe present on the other two. Again, a neat view of the triangular bill shape so obvious on all three birds.

5) Taverner's Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii taverneri - Umass Amherst Campus, Hampshire Co., MA. October 17th, 2007. First found on the Umass Campus on October 13th and present for at least a week thereafter. Identification confirmed by S. G. Mlodinow, B. Deuel and L.S. Semo representing one of only a handful of documented records from eastern North America.

6) Taverner's Cackling Goose? - right with Canada Goose (probably B.c. canadensis).Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Alert posture, at times looking quite long necked but a nice comparison of head and bill shapes between this and the Canada Goose to the left.

7) Taverner's Cackling Goose? - center bird in foreground .Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Another size comparison between the subject birds and the Canada Geese at the rear.

8) Taverner's Cackling Goose? - center bird in comparison with Canada Geese (probably B.c. canadensis).Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 14th, 2011. Not much of a shot with its head down and feeding, but note tiny size and medium gray breast compared to surrounding Canada Geese. Rather weakly patterned upperparts compared to hutchinsii, the 'expected' form of Cackling Goose in the North-east.



JPS

MA - yard Swamp Sparrows - 10/13

Swamp Sparrow - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 13th, 2011.

Another day of interest after heavy overnight rain. It brightened up a little in the afternoon, and I ventured out finding three Swamp Sparrows lurking around our compost pile, the first that we've had in the yard this fall. Interestingly, numbers of Swamp Sparrows at the edge of the pumpkin field on River Road in Gill had swollen from five to over thirty birds since my last visit there on October 7th. There was also White-crowned Sparrow there and at least 50 White-throated Sparrows.

Late afternoon proved to be the most productive time of the day, with a mass of 1300 Canada Geese moving SW over the yard just before 3pm along with a juvenile Bald Eagle.

Canada Geese - part of a movement of 1300 birds over Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 13th, 2011.

There was also a fast moving feeding flock of about 15 Yellow-rumped Warblers with 1 (Eastern) Palm Warbler, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a couple of Blue-headed Vireos.

White-throated Sparrow - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 13th, 2011.

White-crowned Sparrow - immature in song, River Road, Gill, October 13th, 2011.

Earlier, in mid-morning, a brief visit to Barton Cove again produced a nice feeding flock along Riverview Drive. No warblers this time, other than Yellow-rumped, but half a dozen each of Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, two Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and about 20 Chipping Sparrows.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Barton Cove, Gill, MA. October 13th, 2011.

JPS

MA - yard harrier - 10/12

A nice mild dawn this morning and the first one without fog in almost a week. Lots of White-throated and Song Sparrows singing and calling from the yard at first light, along with a couple of fly-over Savannah Sparrows. An American Woodcock flew over the yard giving 'chitter' calls, my first here since the spring.

An immature Northern Harrier flopped steadily SW over the yard at 07:35hrs being pursued by about 65 mobbing Red-winged Blackbirds. The blackbirds eventually gave up leaving the harrier to continue migrating unmolested heading for Turner's Falls. This would be about the fifth migrant harrier that we've had over the yard since moving in September 2010.

JPS.

NJ - Cape Mays in Cape May

Cape May Warblers - Cape May Point, Cape May, NJ. September 29th, and October 1st, 2011.

Images from the recent Birdfinders tour of Cape May (Sep 25th - October 2nd, 2011) - a selection from the best display of Cape May Warblers that we've seen on this particular tour. Up to ten Cape Mays graced the picturesque gardens of Cape May Point and the birds seemed oblivious to their ever growing audience.

JPS

MA - lingering warblers - 10/11

Black-throated Green Warbler - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 11th, 2011.

Another early morning shrouded in fog but clearing by 9am, and developing into another glorious fall day. I swung by Barton Cove on the way to an appointment and found little in the way of waterfowl except a Green-winged Teal with the Canada Geese. However, a nice feeding flock of passerines in a yard just off Riverview Drive immediately grabbed my attention and I regretted having restrictions on my time. In just ten minutes I had excellent views of Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Blue-headed Vireo, and Blackpoll, Tennessee and Black-throated Green Warblers. The Tennessee Warbler in particular was a nice find being my first locally since a singing bird in our yard in late May.

Blue-headed Vireo - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 11th, 2011.

JPS

MA - yard Winter Wren - 10/10

Eastern Phoebe - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2011. One of at least three lingering in the yard until at least October 10th.


First bird of the morning was an Eastern Winter Wren giving hard chip notes from the undergrowth below our kitchen window. Certainly a 'yard bird', though there's at least one breeding pair less than a half mile up-river along Darby Brook. Post breeding dispersal perhaps?

Another very foggy dawn was breaking when I was surprised but pleased to hear a Swainson's Thrush actually singing (rather than just calling) from a neighbors yard. Yesterday I was similarly impressed to hear a couple of White-crowned Sparrows in song just across the street from our yard. Perhaps the prolonged warm spell, with daytime temperatures often reaching the eighties, is encouraging otherwise furtive migrants to periodically burst into song. The local pair of Great Horned Owls have been in good voice too, both birds of the pair calling close to house on the evening of the 9th.

Along Main Road in Gill, both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets have been common migrants in the woods and gardens, often with Yellow-rumped, Palm and Blackpoll Warblers, and a few Blue-headed Vireos in tow.

Dark-eyed Juncos first appeared in the yard on October 5th and will likely feature throughout the fall and winter.

Dark-eyed Junco - Gill yard, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2011.

JPS

MA - Dickcissel - 10/07

Dickcissel - nice bright individual. River Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2011.

The first frosts have really brought home the fact that we're well into October so after dropping off Matan at school, I couldn't resist a local drive to check some sparrow fields on River Road in Gill. I first came across the fields on October 5th, actually pumpkin fields, and found the weedy fringes full of birds. This morning was a similar story, but I also found some obvious new arrivals - a Dickcissel and at least three White-crowned Sparrows.


Here's a list of the more interesting species present on both the 5th and 7th unless stated otherwise;

60 Savannah Sparrows, 45 White-throated Sparrows, 3 White-crowned Sparrows (all on 7th, including one potentially showing characteristics of the gambelli form).

White-crowned Sparrow - individual with plain lores (recalling Field Sparrow) showing some resemblance to gambelli form. River Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2011.


1 Field Sparrow (on 7th only), 12 Chipping Sparrows, 6 Lincoln's Sparrows, 5 Swamp Sparrows, 50 Song Sparrows, 1 Dickcissel (on 7th only). Also, a few warblers around including up to three Eastern Palm Warblers, plus one Western Palm on the 5th, this being one of only a handful of Westerns I've seen in the Pioneer Valley in fall. Also today, 2 Nashville Warblers and a couple of Common Yellowthroats, plus a Blue-headed Vireo calling from the woods.

Several Pine Siskins flew over this site on both the 5th and the 7th.

PS. Five or six each of American Pipit and Indigo Bunting were also present on the dates mentioned above.

Happy Autumn,

JPS

MA - yellowlegs and waterthrush - 09/02

A few casual observations from the day revealing more cool birds in our local area (Gill). Swung by Barton Cove this morning, again finding no sign of the phalarope from August 31st but 4 Lesser and 1 Greater Yellowlegs were really nice. The birds fed briefly in the shallows off Riverview Drive but without enough muddy margins to keep them there, they moved quickly on down river. A Purple Finch was calling from the same spot, and there was another Purple Finch, this time a singing bird, in our yard around noon. Yard bird of the day was a nice Northern Waterthrush this evening, located by call in the Alder patch.

Elsewhere, an unidentified cuckoo in flight over Rt 2 in Greenfield, and an Indigo Bunting still singing at Upinngil Farm this evening. Great stuff!


JPS.

MA - Pec Sand and Common Nighthawk - 09/01

September at last, and thank goodness for increasingly cool nights and foggy, autumnal dawns.

Two nice local sightings today, as if to welcome one of the most exciting birding months on the calender. This morning I saw heard, then saw a Pectoral Sandpiper flying around Upinngil Farm with a small flock of Feral Doves and Starlings! It spent a good seven minutes circling the fields and paddocks in the area before heading off North.

And this evening, between the thundery showers, a Common Nighthawk over Rt 2 in Gill near the intersection with Main Road and the Turner's Falls bridge.

Of note, the calls of Red-eyed Vireos and Eastern Wood Pewees have been common sounds through out Gill over the last two days.

Alas, a brief check of Barton Cove in mid-morning did not produce any sign of yesterday's Re-necked Phalarope though I did see a Great Black-backed Gull, 7 Ring-billed Gulls and 4 or 5 immature Bald Eagles.

JPS

MA - Red-necked Phalarope in Gill - 08/30

Red-necked Phalarope - (juvenile), Connecticut River at Barton Cove, Riverview Drive, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. August 31st, 2011.

Since Hurricane Irene hit our area on Sunday, August 28th, I've made a few casual 'passes' through Barton Cove hoping for the odd stray, or perhaps a bird getting re-orientated after the storm. Sunday's storm did produce some stellar pelagic species either side of the Connecticut River Valley with White-tailed Tropicbirds, Sooty Terns and storm-petrels being reported inland from Winsor Dam in the Quabbin, and from Lake Onota in Pittsfield. The only 'storm birds' I could muster during two hours at Barton Cove on Sunday were five Common Terns and a very brief juvenile Red-necked Phalarope.

Anyhow, it looks like the phalarope may lingered in the cove, recuperating and getting ready for the next stage of its migration. Today, I had great views as it picked morsels from the debris and flotsam in the main river channel just off Riverview Drive in Gill. The bird was constantly drifting downstream on the current and then flying back upriver for two hundred meters or so before floating back down once again, feeding as it drifted.

Also of note today, my first Palm Warblers of the fall, both of them Western types, one off Mountain Road in Gill and one on Riverview Drive, also in Gill.