MA - Thanksgiving Pink-footed Goose - 11/25/15

Status Update: So it's looking very much like this Pink-footed Goose was a one-day-wonder, a surprise to me and the many who searched for it in the following days. My comment on a "dozen or so birds" occurring in the state seems to have raised a few eyebrows and some believe that as few as six individuals have been recorded in Massachusetts. However, by trawling the web and communicating with some of the finders, I've found that my initial thoughts on occurrence in the state were not too far from being accurate, as follows:

Dates span Oct 20th through to March 31st;

1) One, Dennis, Barnstable Co.  Jan/Feb 1999. (D.Crockett et al). MARC website.

2) One, Falmouth, Barnstable Co. Jan 2009. (G. Hirth et al). MARC website.

3) One, Sudbury and Concord, Middlesex Co. Nov/Dec 2010. (MARC report 16).

4) One, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co. Oct 2011. (MARC report 16). 

5) One, Lynn, Essex Co. Dec 2011. (MARC report 17).

6) One, Rutland, Worcester Co. Dec 2011. (MARC report 17).

7) One, West Newbury, Essex Co. Oct 2012. (MARC report 17). 

8) One, Hatfield/Whateley, Franklin Co. and same Hadley, Hampshire Co. March 2014 (L. Therrien et al).

9) One, Longmeadow, Hampden Co. March 2014. (S. Moytl et al). Different to Hadley individual above. 

10) One, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co. Nov 2015. (J.P.Smith, B & N. Kane). 

All of these have been well documented with photos and some stayed long enough to be seen by many admirers. We still await a multiple occurrence in the state and on a personal level, I've already seen two Pink-footed Geese together in both Connecticut and Rhode Island. In addition to sourcing the MARC website and ebird, I'm also grateful to Kevin Bourinot and Larry Therrien for personal comments and the information that they kindly supplied. 
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Conditions really felt good for an unusual goose at Turner's Falls today. A brief visit this morning saw flock after flock of Canada Geese dropping into the power canal, numbers easily approaching a thousand birds before I left to do errands around 10:00 hrs. Fortunately, I had another shot in late afternoon when I found even more Canada Geese present, perhaps 1200-1300 in all. Starting with the southern most group, I could hardly believe my luck when the very first bird that I checked in my spotting scope was a Pink-footed Goose! As it happens, our good friends Brian and Noel were also planning to visit the area in the afternoon and a quick text to let them know saw them scoping the bird not too long after it was first found.

Perhaps not the great rarity that it once was, it's still very rare in Massachusetts. Maybe a dozen or so birds have been found in the state including one at this exact location back in October 2011. I've also seen others in Concord (Dec 2010) and Hadley (March 2014) and I'm aware of at least four others scattered about the state though the Connecticut River Valley seems to be as good a place as any to look for this Old World goose.

Pink-footed Goose - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 25th, 2015. 
My second at this location following a well photographed bird in late October 2011.

MA - Northfield Black Vulture

Being the weekend, opportunities for field time were few but a couple of species brightened up my day. First, two Snow Buntings calling and trilling lower over North Cross Road at about 08:30hrs. They headed south but could well have come up from the corn stubble fields there.

Then, during a family hike in the Brush Mountain Conservation in Northfield, Susannah spotted a raptor passing low over the power lines. The short tailed shape immediately suggested Black Vulture and luckily I managed to get a record few shots to confirm it before it disappeared over the tree line to the north-west. The bird was in a constant glide and did not display the typical flight manner that often makes Black Vulture so readily identifiable in the field .

Black Vulture - passing WNW over Brush Mountain Conservation Area, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 7th, 2015. Quite scarce in Franklin County but my second observation in 2015 following three at Turner's Falls in late May. 

MA - another new Cackling Goose

Cackling Goose - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2015.

Newly arrived bird and the family group of four still present from the previous day.

This afternoon, the Turner's Falls power canal was 'heavy' with Canada Geese and numbers seemed to be up from recent visits with at least 720 present. Yesterday's family group of four Cackling Geese were still present, plus a new Cackler arrived this one hanging out much closer to the guard rail than the other birds. Greater and Lesser Scaups remained, seemingly very much at home on the power canal.

Cedar Waxwings - Barton Cove boat ramp, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2015.

Quite a lot of Cedar Waxwings in Gill and Turner's Falls at the moment. These birds were part 

of a group of about 40 or so. 

A brief visit to Barton Cove in the morning found it completely shrouded in fog but the public boat ramp area provided a few nice species and included 40 or so Cedar Waxwings, 100 Dark-eyed Juncos (with a few White-throated Sparrows) and a smart Carolina Wren which, unlike most local Carolina Wrens, actually gave some nice views for once!

Carolina Wren - Barton Cove boat ramp, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2015.

 

MA - four Cacklers arrive

Cackling Geese - four together in late afternoon light, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 4th, 2015. 
Apparent family group constantly moving around together among 600 or so Canada Geese. 

The largest bird in the group (second from left) was probably a male and constantly on sentinel duty throughout the observation. 

Barton Cove was so quiet this morning that I decided to keep my visit short and go home to deal with trip preparations for a forthcoming tour. In the afternoon, I again tried Turner's Falls power canal finding all three scaup (2 Greater, 1 Lesser) continuing along with a drake Common Goldeneye. Scanning through the geese offered little reward in the beginning but a white-cheeked goose with a Cackling 'feel' caught my eye. Since it was surrounded by two or three others, I initially dismissed it but kept coming back to it and the other geese with it. Even at distance, I started to entertain the idea that I was looking at a family group of Cackling Geese and driving up closer to the birds proved it to be the case!

Lesser Scaup - probably first-winter male, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 4th, 2015. 

Present daily since October 26th. 

Cackling Geese - four together Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 4th, 2015. 

All four birds appear in both shots. 

The birds remained within the middle of a fairly large flock of Canada Geese and looked shy and wary. One bird in the group was larger and seemed to be on sentinel duty throughout with neck extended, seemingly constantly alert. At a guess, I'd say this was the male of the group. The other three were clearly smaller and spent most of the time in relaxed mode.

This was easily the largest group of Cackling Geese that I've recorded at the power canal, recalling a flock of six found a few years ago by Hector Galbraith at the same location, a flock that I happened to miss because I was out of state.

MA - another Snow Bunting

Didn't have a lot of time to bird today but I did have 30 minutes of a beautiful calm morning at Barton Cove. Another flyover Snow Bunting was probably the highlight, along with several flyover Horned Larks and Purple Finches. Calling from the woodland fringe at the edge of the cove, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Winter Wren.

As expected, such a fine mild day produced little in the way of waterfowl but 7 Green-winged Teal and a Ring-necked Duck were new and a single Gadwall remained, and as many as four Double-crested Cormorants were present - getting quite late for those.

 Gadwall - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 3rd, 2015.

Common Grackles - with a few Red-winged Blackbirds, North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 3rd, 2015.  Part of a flock of around 600 birds, almost all Common Grackles. 

Closer to home, the day got off to a raucous start with a huge flock of at least 600 Common Grackles on North Cross Road, Gill. The same flock also contained a handful of Red-winged Blackbirds.

MA - Red-necked Grebe, Snow Bunting both season firsts

 Red-necked Grebe - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2015.

First local migrant of the season. 

Nothing too dramatic over the weekend but a Red-necked Grebe showed up at Barton Cove on Sunday morning (11/01) with two Gadwall, three Hooded Mergansers and three Double-crested Cormorants remaining there. 

Gadwall - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2015.

Probably remnants from the flock of eleven on Oct 30th.

Two Greater Scaup and a single Lesser Scaup remained at Turner's Falls power canal where a calling Snow Bunting flew over on Monday morning (11/02).

With warm southerlies forecast for much of the week, it looks like we could be in for a quiet time regarding waterfowl arrivals and raptors. Perhaps time spent in the woods and field edges might yield more in the way of late or unusual passerines.

MA - an interesting Raven

So I was driving south on Main Road, Gill on a mission to get eggs for breakfast. It was a quiet Sunday morning and daylight savings had just come into effect, so Gill seemed even sleepier than usual. Above the Lily's Farm, just up the road from the Gill Tavern, a soaring bird caught my eye and struck me as unusual in several respects. Although I recognized it as a 'corvid', the bird didn't register as either of the two most likely options - American Crow and Common Raven. The former is the most expected, but the latter can be found in Gill with a bit of effort and vigilance. This corvid looked liked it had the jizz of something that might fall between the two, especially while soaring. While soaring the tail was fanned and the wings seemed quite broad at the body producing an odd silhouette for either of the expected species. By the time I'd pulled over and got the camera ready, the bird was already in a glide over the road and heading west. I fired as many shots as I could before it disappeared west over the tree line.

The bird threw me off balance for several reasons as it looked Raven-like but the tail shape was far from wedge-shaped, and overall it looked small and puny for that species. Although pretty lousy, and taken against complete cloud cover in dull early morning light, the photos also emphasized what I'd seen overhead. Overall, the bird recalled a Chihuahuan Raven a species that I've seen hundreds of times on trips to Texas and Arizona but as far as I'm aware there's no precedent for vagrancy in that species, especially to the north-east.

Naturally, the easy option would be to pass it off as an odd looking Common Raven. On the other hand, the remnants of Hurricane Patricia passed through New England late last week, so how about a disorientated Chihuahuan Raven showing up and trying to work its way back to the south-west? Of course, it's stretch to think about such things, and "remarkable claims require remarkable evidence", but then again, who looks at Ravens?

unidentified raven - Main Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 2nd, 2015.

MA - Gadwalls spearhead interesting morning

Although I had to deal with some car issues throughout the morning I managed to squeeze in some birding between appointments. It was cold and blustery with winds in the NW quarter and there appeared to be plenty of birds moving. The morning got off to a great start with a tight flock of 11 Gadwall among the Canada Geese at Barton Cove though little else was present and last night's Bonaparte's Gull had already moved on.

Gadwall - 11 birds, Barton Cove, Gill Franklin Co., MA. October 30th, 2015.

The largest single flock of Gadwall that I've encountered in Franklin County. 

While my car was being worked on, I picked a spot off Route 2A in Greenfield overlooking an old sandpit. Although my view to the east and south was blocked, I had a decent amount of horizon to the west and north, and soon noticed large flocks of American Robins moving SW, along with some Cedar Waxwings (55), Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. Scarcer species included a party of 3 Rusty Blackbirds and 2 calling Evening Grosbeaks.

Rusty Blackbird - one of three moving SW over Route 2A in Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 30th, 2015. 

Token record shot. The other two birds appear in the same frame but couldn't be squeezed into this heavy crop. 

Greater (left two birds) and Lesser Scaups - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. October 30th, 2015. 

Meanwhile, at Turner's Falls, a flock of 18 Pine Siskins flew straight over Avenue A in downtown Turners in mid-morning, and the 2 Greater Scaup continued at the power canal, this time joined by the long staying Lesser Scaup.

MA - PIWO and Greater Scaup (FOS)

Pileated Woodpecker - two different individuals, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. October 28th, 2015.

With a few minutes to kill before an appointment at nine, I pulled up at the Turner's Falls power canal at one of my usual spots. Slap-bang on the utility pole in front of me was a super Pileated Woodpecker! Hardly believing my luck I slowly opened the car door and snapped a pic before it shuffled around the pole and became more difficult to see. Then I heard a second Pileated and looked up to find another perched on the utility pole behind me.....not too shabby I thought! The first Pileated continued to work the original utility pole and then something additional caught my eye......atop the exact same pole was super Merlin, seemingly totally unconcerned by my presence. Within seconds the Merlin took off to pursue a small group of Cedar Waxings that flew in to feed on wild grapes - a pretty 'sweet' cameo of species at close range!

 Merlin -  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. October 28th, 2015.

 Cedar Waxwings - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. October 28th, 2015.

Good numbers of these in small groups scattered along the fringes of the power canal, about 40 in total.

By mid-morning, rain and showers set in for the day and continued heavily through the night with some thunderstorms in the mix, apparently the remnants of Hurricane Patricia. As so often with these weather events, expectations were raised for some wind-blown waifs but it wasn't to be. In fact, a quick spin around Turner's Falls in the morning found it to be incredibly quiet though pleasantly warm and windy. The afternoon was better with the power canal producing two Greater Scaup while the Lesser Scaup continued, and three drake Common Goldeneyes were also present.

  Greater Scaup - first-winter male and female, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. October 29th, 2015.

Fresh arrivals and my first of the season. Lesser Scaup also present but not associating with these guys.

 Bonaparte's Gull - adult in winter plumage, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 29th, 2015.

Image taken from Unity Park, Turner's Falls, thus distant and very grainy. Gull diversity is picking up with up 43 Ring-billed and 7 Herring Gulls seen this week. Bonapartes are far less usual here.

At Barton Cove, an adult Bonaparte's Gull was a nice end to the day and had likely dropped in sometime during the afternoon because I certainly didn't see it on the morning rounds.

MA - Winter Wrens and Hermit Thrushes brighten up quiet days

Calm sunny days prevail though often starting with a chilly, frosty start. Considering how good late October can be we seem to be having a lull in migration and the last few days seem to have been very quiet indeed. Small flocks of Pine Siskins continue to migrate through having started last week, along with a handful of Purple Finches in Gill and Turner's Falls. Hermit Thrushes are passing through in small numbers with concentrations of 3-4 birds at North Cross Road in Gill, Turners Falls airfield and Turner's Falls power canal, and I continue to find Winter Wrens, mostly roadside birds in Gill but also in odd locations such as behind my local bike store off Route 2A in Greenfield.

Hermit Thrush - first-winter, Turner's Falls airfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 27th, 2015.

One of at least three at this location.

Winter Wren - off Route 2A, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. October 25th, 2015.

Waterbirds seem to have been extremely thin but the long staying Greater White-fronted Goose was still present at the power canal on Oct 25th, a single a American Coot at Barton Cove to the 25th, and then my first scaup of the season on the 26th, and the first Common Goldeneyes of the fall on the 27th, both at the Turner's Falls power canal. Slightly more surprising was a lone Greater Yellowlegs at Barton Cove on the 27th, a bird which I may have heard briefly last week in a fall that's been rather poor for shorebirds in the Turner's Falls area. And in a sudden arrival this evening (October 27th), Ring-billed Gulls are back in numbers (43) after no more than seven birds together all autumn.

Greater White-fronted Goose - adult, Turner's Falls power canal Franklin Co., MA. October 25th, 2015.

Lesser Scaup - non-breeding male, Turner's Falls power canal Franklin Co., MA. October 26th-27th, 2015.

 Common Goldeneye - males, Turner's Falls power canal Franklin Co., MA. October  27th, 2015.

First of the season here.

Greater Yellowlegs - Barton Cove from Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 27th, 2015.

Possibly in the area since October 22nd when I heard one 'burst'; of Greater Yellowlegs call at Unity Park.

 Ring-billed Gulls - from Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 27th, 2015.

Back in numbers after a sudden mass arrival this evening. 

 Savannah Sparrow - Turner's Falls power canal Franklin Co., MA. October 25th, 2015.

Very common migrant at this time of year. Almost anywhere with grassy or weedy fringes can support them. 

This was one of about a dozen along the roadside at the power canal.