MA - hybrid Great Black-backed x Herring Gull

 

(presumed) Great Black-backed x Herring Gull (center) - adult, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 11th, 2021. 

Yesterday evening, a routine check of the Turner's Falls power canal found a small group of Herring and Ring-billed Gulls resting on the recently formed ice. All the adult gulls present looked uniformly light/mid gray with no Great Black-backed Gulls present at that point. As a result it wasn't too difficult to pick out the lone, darker mantled bird roosting right in the middle of the group. Eric Huston was already at the scene and had seen the same gull independently and we then combined forces to work through the features shown by the darker mantled gull. For the most part it wasn't too cooperative and had its head tucked into its mantle feathers but when it eventually became alert the overall appearance was striking. The head was gleaming white and completely unstreaked, exceptional for any large gull locally in mid-January aside from Great Black-backed Gull which it clearly wasn't. While the upperparts might have been described as being close to that of graellsii Lesser Black-backed Gull in tone, the head and bill structure along with the clean, white-headed appearance showed an uncanny resemblance to a small Great Black-backed Gull. In addition, the legs were an insipid, light pinkish-flesh color. After watching it for a while directly alongside Herring and Ring-billed Gulls we became pretty well convinced that the unidentified bird was almost certainly a hybrid Great Black-backed x Herring Gull. Soon afterwards, the first Great Black-backed Gulls of the evening arrived providing further comparisons and yet more compelling evidence that the subject bird was indeed a hybrid. 

As the proverbial penny continued to drop, I had a strong collection of David Sibley seeing and photographing a very similar bird at the Turner's Falls power canal some time last winter. As luck would have it, the hybrid gull was present again this evening being seen at both Barton Cove and the Turner's Falls power canal, and David Sibley managed to catch up with it at the latter site. We both agreed that it was almost certainly the same returning hybrid and back for another winter spell in the Tuner's Falls area. Let's hope it sticks around for a little while longer as last year David recorded the hybrid on just two dates in 2020 - February 20th and 23rd. It's certainly an attractive, distinctive gull to watch especially in a winter that's produced so few other large gulls of interest to date. 

(presumed) Great Black-backed x Herring Gull (center) - adult, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. February 20th, 2020. 

Found and photographed by David Sibley. Image appears by kind permission. 

(presumed) Great Black-backed x Herring Gull (center) - adult, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 11th, 2021. 

(presumed) Great Black-backed x Herring Gull (center) - adult, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 12th, 2021. 

MA - Harle on the move plus Barrow's Goldeneye and a wintering phoebe

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - with Ring-necked Duck, off Riverview Drive, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

A mid-morning walk around Cabot Camp along the Millers River failed to produce the Harlequin Duck that apparently showed well to the many visiting birders the previous day (Jan 3rd). As it happens I did hear a second hand report that a Cooper's Hawk had been seen pursuing the Harlequin and forced it out of the Millers River and into the larger, wider Connecticut River! Either way, the Harlequin proved to be a no show but the walk along the Millers River was extremely pleasant not only revealing an Evening Grosbeak but also an Eastern Phoebe, presumably the same bird that I first heard calling there on Jan 2nd but neglected to follow up. The phoebe showed well this morning and, although I've late phoebes in November and December in past years, I'm pretty sure this particular bird furnishes my first January record for Franklin County. 

Eastern Phoebe - Cabot Camp, Millers Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Common Redpoll - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

One from a flock of about 85 birds. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - off Riverview Drive, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

After keeping an eye on Barton Cove on and off for over 15 years I could never have visualized watching a Harlequin in flight over the open water! 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - at dusk from Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Looking at little lost and out of place.

In late morning I spent time with a close, cooperative flock of Common Redpolls in Turner's Falls and then made a point to swing by Barton Cove on my way home where I was greeted by the sight of multiple birders avidly scoping the open water from Riverview Drive in Gill. They'd relocated the Harlequin which had evidently moved downstream to share the relatively calm waters with Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers and the continuing female Ring-necked Duck. As if that wasn't enough, at least ten Red Crossbills fed and called from a tall White Pine right along Riverview Drive!

Red Crossbills - Riverview Drive, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Late afternoon found the Harlequin still present though distant and actually best viewed from Unity Park plus a nice aggregation of gulls viewed from the same spot that included my first local Iceland Gull (a first-winter) in about three weeks. The last two evenings have also seen up to 85 Common Goldeneyes dropping in to roost at the Turner's Falls power canal and with them the continuing first-winter male Barrow's Goldeneye, and the female Bufflehead. 

Barrow's Goldeneye (center) - first-winter male with Common Goldeneyes, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Hooded Merganser (male) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

 

MA - waterfowl on the move

Long-tailed Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.

Breeding plumage male leading the way. 

There was a small but notable fall-out of northbound migrating waterfowl today with several species of diving ducks dropping into the Barton Cove/Turner's Falls area. Rain and mist throughout the day brought a Pied-billed Grebe, 4 Long-tailed Ducks, 6 Lesser Scaup, and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers to join the hordes of Common Mergansers (c.170) and Ring-necked Ducks (c.120) already present for some time. In addition,  Bufflehead numbers (14) appeared to increase compared to recent visits and Common Goldeneyes (8) and American Wigeons (2) continue to linger around the rafts of Ring-necked Ducks.

Surf Scoter - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.

A fine adult male.

Red-breasted Mergansers (2) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.

Female resting (left) and male (right) with Common Mergansers behind.

Lesser Scaup (6) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.

Pied-billed Grebe - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.

It wasn't a bad day for passerines either, with Field, Fox and American Tree Sparrows all heard singing along North Cross Road, Gill in the morning plus a Chipping Sparrow foraging by the roadside. The most rewarding songbird of the day, however, was a migrant Ruby-crowned Kinglet foraging silently in riverside thickets at Turner's Falls - that one made my day!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 8th, 2019.