MA - Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Franklin County!

 

Buff-breasted Sandpiper (juvenile) - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. September 11th, 2020. 

Sensational find by Ted Gilliland in the late afternoon downpours of September 10th and, surprisingly, still present during the morning hours of September 11th. 

On Friday morning (Sep 11th) I'd planned to check some sites around Deerfield hoping for my first Connecticut Warbler of the fall. It was cool, overcast and blustery and quite the contrast to the previous day's warmth that had been coupled with muggy, thundery showers. Indeed the day before, I'd spent quite a bit of time looking for grounded shorebirds, in particular I had Buff-breasted Sandpiper in mind which I'd found under similar conditions at Turner's Falls back in September 2017. My prize for all that work was a single, calling, flyover American Golden-Plover at Turner's Falls and, despite checking all my local Killdeer flocks, there wasn't a hint of anything with them, least of all a Buff-breasted Sandpiper!

Just before heading out to Deerfield, I quickly checked ebird noticing that Ted Gilliland had come across a Buff-breasted Sandpiper the previous evening. It was a spot that I knew well having had several encounters with Buff-breasts along the same road only a little further south on the Hatfield/Whately town line. Those observations included one of seven together during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005! Since I was heading south I really didn't have too much to lose by quickly checking the fields where Ted had his sighting the evening before. It was tough, distant and the conditions blustery but after 15 minutes of scanning through Killdeers I eventually found the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, ultimately moving around to a more sheltered spot for better views. Close-up, it looked to be a nice crisply marked juvenile. Though September is most certainly 'the' month to look for this species in Franklin County it's rare enough to justify a local chase and I'm pretty sure this bird was only my second away from the former favored spot on the Hampshire/Franklin county line, and well worth the effort!

 

MA - first Northern Shrike of the fall and plenty of irruptive finches

Northern Shrike - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2018. 

Distant dig-scoped shot - bird was quite mobile and difficult to get close to. 

A cold, clammy morning with complete cloud cover and light winds from the northern quarter. As pretty as crisp, sunny autumnal days can be I usually find the birding is better when it's completely overcast. Early morning was busy with Snow Bunting (1), Pine Siskin (15), Evening Grosbeak (10) and Belted Kingfisher (1) all on North Cross Road, Gill - the latter being unusual in rural Gill at this time of year away from the Connecticut River.


Barton Cove, Gill looked pretty quiet from what I could tell but the Turner's Fall Rod and Gun club was more productive with Common and Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye (1), Ring-necked Duck (1) and Lesser Scaup (1) all present though the highlight had to be a close encounter with an American Pipit on the grass by the parking area.

American Pipit - Turner's Falls, Franklin County, MA. November 5th, 2018. 

American Pipit - Turner's Falls, Franklin County, MA. November 5th, 2018. 

Northern Shrike - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2018. 

Snow Bunting - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2018. 

Snow Bunting - Montague, Franklin Co., MA. November 5th, 2018. 

From Turner's Falls I headed south for what I thought would be a short visit to Wills Ferry and South Ferry Roads in Montague. Though initially quiet, this relatively peaceful spot captivated my interest for a good 75 minutes highlighted by a very showy and vocal Northern Shrike closely followed by a ridiculously tame Snow Bunting at my feet - quite literally! Moreover, a Red Crossbill flew over heading east toward Montague Plains and giving the classic, repeated 'gyp-gyp' flight calls.  Small numbers of Purple Finches and Pine Siskins also flew over mostly heading west, with three Snow Buntings eventually lifting up from the fields and ultimately heading west rounding off a terrific morning. 

MA - Northfield shorebirds, kestrels and Cape May Warblers

Greater Yellowlegs, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 26th, 2018.

Another volatile weather system brought heavy rain for the whole of the 25th followed by warm, muggy, south-westerlies the next day. Storm related birds appeared to be very few on the 25th but I did find a 'pocket' of shorebirds at Caldwell Road fields in Northfield late in the day. A modest haul of 2 Pectoral, 2 Semi-palmated and 2 Least Sandpipers plus Greater Yellowlegs and Killdeer wasn't bad compared to most other sites that I checked which seemed to be bereft of birds. American Pipits though, appeared in numbers for the first time this fall with 11 visible on the sod fields.

American Pipits - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 26th, 2018.

The following day, the 26th, was a very different story. A return to the Caldwell Road fields had me captivated for three hours! The place was hopping and it was clear that a major songbird fall-out had taken place. The very first warbler that I saw and identified was a first-winter Cape May setting the theme for the morning as Cape May Warblers (12 in total) lifted out of the corn fields to filter through the trees and bushes along the roadside. Again, I was struck by the relative abundance of this species in northern Franklin County compared to previous years. Other warbler species included Yellow-rumped (10), Tennessee (5), Magnolia (2), American Redstart (3), Common Yellowthroat (9), Northern Parula (5) and plenty of unidentified birds that were just too quick or high for me to be sure of. Red-eyed (5) and Blue-headed Vireos were both included in the mix and I'm pretty sure I had a Philadelphia Vireo leaf gleaning but just couldn't clinch it.

Cape May Warbler (first-winter) - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 26th, 2018.

American Redstart (first-winter) - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 26th, 2018.

Red-eyed Vireo - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 26th, 2018.

Down on the sod fields, some shorebirds remained and had even increased from the previous evening, surprising given the clearing weather conditions - 5 Least, 2 Pectoral, and 3 Solitary Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs and Killdeer, and an increase to 35 American Pipits.

Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 26th, 2018.

In terms of spectacles, well 14 American Kestrels on wires along a stretch of dirt road no more than 300 meters would take some beating and certainly the closest I've come to a fall-out of that species in our area.

American Kestrel (5 of the 14 birds in view here) - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 26th, 2018.

Northern Harrier (juvenile) - Caldwell Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 26th, 2018.

Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs - Pine Meadow Road fields, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. 

September 27th, 2018.

MA - more Brants and some really nice pipits

Classic late fall weekend with cold blustery conditions, snow flurries and the first genuine frost of the fall. Didn't get to any dedicated birding this weekend but had some nice incidental observations, namely a flock 7 Brant heading WNW over North Cross Road, Gill moving ahead of some 350 Canada Geese, presumably flying out to the local fields to feed.

An early morning visit to Upinngil Farm, Gill produced a nice flock of about 35 American Pipits feeding close to the road in a corn stubble field. Although pipits are fairly regular on passage through the fields of Northfield, Gill and Montague they're often difficult to observe closely so this was a real treat!

American (Buff-bellied) Pipit- Anthus rubescens rubescens. About 35 present in the fields across from Upinngil Farm, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2015.