MA - excellent local birding continues through mid-January

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - Millers River, Erving, Franklin Co., MA. January 12th, 2021.

Remaining faithful to the Millers River and first found by Anne Jemas on January 1st, 2021.

The general excellence of birding has continued unabated along the Connecticut River Valley. While it might be true to say that new arrivals have been relatively few, the ongoing presence of species such as Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, Sage Thrasher, Red Crossbill and Pine Grosbeak have been enough to keep spirits high and the motivation strong. In addition, the weather has been calm, relatively mild and almost spring-like inducing an increase in bird song, and especially woodpecker activity. Here's a relatively small selection of pictorial highlights from recent days. 

Winter Wren - Pauchaug Brook WMA, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. January 13th, 2021.

One of two birds present in what seems to be a good winter for them with others at the Turner's Falls power canal, and North Cross Road, Gill. 

Sage Thrasher - Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. January 13th, 2021.

Seemingly getting bolder by the day. First found by Cory Ross on Dec 19th, 2020.

Black Vultures - three of the four in flight over Montague Sandplains, Franklin Co., MA. January 9th, 2021.

Actually my first January record of the species in Franklin County.

Red Crossbills - Montague Sandplains, Franklin Co., MA. January 9th, 2021.

Still very much in evidence in northern Franklin County with singles and small numbers in Gill,

and up to 25 together in the Montague Sandplains. 

Barrow's Goldeneye (center) - first-winter male, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 13th, 2021.

A regular late evening visitor to the power canal and present in the area since Christmas Day 2020. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - Millers River, Erving, Franklin Co., MA. January 12th, 2021.

On the Millers River, first found by Anne Jemas on January 1st, 2021.

Barred Owl - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 13th, 2021.

This species has been a little more visible of late. 

I took this shot directly through the car windscreen as it perched right above North Cross Road, in Gill. 

Boreal Chickadee - North Hoosac Road, Wlliamstown, Berkshire Co., MA. January 14th, 2020.

Working the spruces in a residential neighborhood. Found and first reported by Lori Van Handel on Jan 11th, 2020.

(Kumlien's) Iceland Gull (center) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 14th, 2021.

Nice dark winged bird, and the first adult of the winter season. 

 

MA - closing out 2020

 

Black Vulture - one of two over Greenfield Community College, Franklin Co., MA. December 31st, 2020. 

The final days of the year closed out seasonably mild and relatively quiet. I say "relatively quiet" because the last day saw continued Red Crossbills and Common Redpolls in Gill, and a Pine Grosbeak at Barton Cove boat ramp, all reminders that the last two months of 2020 have been pretty exceptional! Single Golden-crowned Kinglet and Winter Wren were both on North Cross Road, Gill, on December 31st as well. 

The final surprise of the year came in the form of two Black Vultures soaring over Greenfield Community College furnishing my first December record of a species that's became somewhat regular in Franklin County over the last five years but proved to be exceptionally rare before that. January now becomes the only month of the year in which I haven't seen a Black Vulture locally. 

Ring-necked Duck (center) - with Common Goldeneyes, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 28th, 2020. 

Lingering female present through to Dec 31st. 

Bufflehead (female) -  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 28th, 2020. 

Lingering female present for some weeks at the power canal and occasionally joined by a second bird that often joins the goldeneye roost.

A female Ring-necked Duck at Barton Cove proved to be the only slightly unusual duck in the Turner's Falls area despite repeated efforts to relocate the Christmas Day Barrow's Goldeneye. 

MA - Marsh Wren in Gill!

Marsh Wren - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

September 16th and yet another morning shrouded in fog. I considered having an hour's birding before heading out for a mid-morning bike ride. Since it was a peaceful Sunday morning I decided to take my chances at Gill Elementary School and work the field edges adjacent to the school property. Despite the damp foggy start things looked promising and within minutes I was looking at Indigo Buntings and my first White-throated Sparrow of the fall. That was rapidly followed by a smart adult Cape May Warbler which put on a nice show feeding openly in the fields surrounded by Song Sparrows and Indigo Buntings! The morning was starting to 'feel' special when I came across a nice spot overlooking a scrub filled dell that was loaded with bird activity. A wren giving a quiet sub-song caught my attention and turned out to be a Marsh Wren which went on to sing and call for the next two hours - not only my first in Gill but a surprise Franklin County tick.

Marsh Wren - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

White-throated Sparrow - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Cape May Warbler - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Cape May Warbler - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Pine Warbler - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Lincoln's Sparrow (above) with Song Sparrow - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

After the Marsh Wren came Black-throated Green, Palm (yellow) and Pine Warblers, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and many other nice species including my first Lincoln's Sparrows (3) of the fall.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female/juv) - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Eastern Wood-Pewee - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. September 16th, 2018. 

The 14th and 15th saw good migrations of Broad-winged Hawks at Putney Mountain, Vermont and on the afternoon of the 14th I tried a short migration watch from Apex Orchards in Shelburne Falls  which produced 78 Broad-winged Hawks, 3 Ospreys, a Merlin and my first American Pipit of the fall. Two Black Vultures also appeared over Apex Orchards but headed east, probably to roost in Greenfield with the local Turkey Vultures.

Black Vulture (one of two) - Apex Orchards, Shelburne Falls, Franklin Co., MA. September 14th, 2018.

MA - Black Vultures in downtown Greenfield!

 Black and Turkey Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018.

The last day of the month brought warm sunshine and a notable increase to the flock of Ring-necked Ducks at Barton Cove with an absolute minimum of 35 present, most of which were males, plus three male Bufflehead and a continuing drake Northern Pintail. Common and Hooded Mergansers, and Common Goldeneye were also plentiful in the same area. But the highlight of the morning came by virtue of a visit to the Docs in downtown Greenfield. I happened to be on Federal Street just as a major roost of Turkey and Black Vultures dispersed to  head out for foraging. A tight flock of five Black Vultures slipped away to the south-west low above the roof tops and, feeling a little miffed that I'd missed a nice photo opp, I was more than happy to find more vultures at roost in a tall spruce close by.  As they dispersed three more Black Vultures showed in that group! Although I've recorded Black Vulture in every month in Franklin county with the exception of December and January, eight birds is by far the largest concentration that I've found locally.

 Black and Turkey Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. A rather heavy crop.

Black Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. 

Black Vultures - Federal Street, Greenfield, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2018. 

Turkey Vultures arrived locally last week with three on Federal Street on Feb 21st and another at Gill center on Feb 25th. Among the passerines, further indications of spring included widespread arrivals of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles from Feb 18th and a rather impressive concentration of 1600 American Robins in Bascom Hollow, Gill on the 23rd. Earlier in the month a huge flock of around 275 Cedar Waxwings descended on downtown Turner's Falls to devour the crab apple crop along Avenue A and the surrounding streets affording exceptionally close views.

Cedar Waxwing - Avenue A, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 14th, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing - Avenue A, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 14th, 2018.

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Charlemont. Franklin Co., MA. February 4th, 2018.

MA - Gill shorebirds including Baird's Sandpiper

September opened with a welcome temperature drop and brisk north-westerlies. The Caspian Terns at Barton Cove on August 31st certainly piqued my interest and I was back on September 1st finding a group of distant teal that I felt reasonably sure were Blue-winged. Fortunately this hunch was more or less confirmed in late afternoon with a male Blue-winged Teal seen in flight from Barton Cove campground. Elsewhere, I tried a hilltop west of Greenfield for raptors and had 3 Black Vultures dispersing northwards from roost with a about 15 Turkey Vultures. A handful of Broad-winged Hawks and single Red-shouldered Hawk were also seen but, generally, it felt early for raptor migration.

Blue-winged Teal - eclipse male, Barton Cove (campground side), Gill, Franklin Co., MA. September 1st, 2017. 

The Baird's Sandpiper and other shorebirds were using the exposed mud bar at the rear. 

Later in the day the focus shifted to shorebirds when Eric Huston contacted me with a probable Baird's Sandpiper being seen at distance from Barton Cove campground. Given Eric's conservative birding style I instinctively knew that it was a bird that I should try to see and eventually met up with him at the campground. Sure enough, although distant, we watched a beautiful juvenile Baird's Sandpiper foraging on a mud bar with a few Least and Semi-palmated Sandpipers. Rare shorebirds are not easy to catch up with in Franklin County and this was a county first for both of us - 'chapeau' to Eric for his excellent find.

The following morning (Sep 2nd) was shrouded in fog but Brian Kane tried his chances for the Baird's and located it just as the fog cleared. Just as I joined him, not only did we see the Baird's but Brian rather expertly found a White-rumped Sandpiper sharing the mud bar with several Killdeer, 5 Semi-palmated Plovers, up to a dozen smaller peeps mostly Least Sandpipers, and at least one Lesser Yellowlegs, plus 2 or 3 Greater Yellowlegs - not a bad haul for Gill in early September!

MA - catching up

Common Loon - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 30th, 2016.

Lingering around Barton Cove for about one week through to the end of May.

Red-breasted Merganser (female) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 30th, 2016.

Unseasonal and unexpected at this location and date.

Prairie Warbler - Sudbury Tree Farm, Bernardston, Franklin Co., May 31st, 2016.

Osprey - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 27th, 2016.

Bald Eagle - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 30th, 2016.

Everyday and easy to see at Unity Park especially in late afternoon.

Chimney Swifts - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 30th, 2016. Local breeders.

Locally, June 1st usually marks the end of the spring migration and the start of hot, sticky, summer months. The woods and fields around Gill have been filled with bird song over the last ten days or so with a huge variety of species too numerous to list here but particularly noteworthy have been good numbers of Yellow-throated Vireos, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Blue-winged Warblers and Purple Finches which can be heard over much Gill at the moment. And it seems to be another good spring for Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos both of which can be heard or seen most mornings in especially around North Cross Road and Boyle Road.

Blue-winged Warbler - North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., May 31st, 2016.

Late May brought a small 'wave' of boreal warblers to Gill including Blackpoll, Bay-breasted and a single Cape May between the 26th-28th but, as usual, I found myself listening for less expected species and found a few including an Eastern Meadowlark singing off Main Road just north of Upinngil Farm during the last week of May. This is quite a scarce species in Franklin County, and this particular bird was just my second in Gill after pair summered on the NMH campus in 2013.

Eastern Meadowlark - off Main Road, Gill, Franklin Co., May 24th, 2016. 

This vocal male sang for several days just north of Upinngil Farm through to the end of May. 

Also, slightly unexpected was a singing Prairie Warbler at the tree farm on the Gill/Bernardston townline just off West Gill Road. Although Prairie Warblers are easy to find along the powerline cut at Mountain Road in Gill, the Bernardston bird was the first that I've seen at the tree farm.

On May 31st I saw a Cliff Swallow collecting mud for nest building at the Lily's Farm on Main Road, Gill, again highly unusual and the first that I've seen in Gill away from Barton Cove. Goodness only knows where Cliff Swallows are nesting in our area?

Shorebirds have been few but with very low water levels at Barton Cove on the 25th, some 35 Least Sandipipers and 8 Semi-palmated Plovers appeared despite warm sunny conditions and a southerly breeze, hardly the poor weather that we normally associate with shorebird arrivals in 'the valley'. The birds were extremely difficult to see often remaining hidden within the folds of the distant sand-bars and best seen and counted when disturbed by the local raptors.

Black Vulture - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., May 26th, 2016. 

Seen in the Gill/Turner's Falls/Northfield area with increasing frequency since mid-February this year.

At Turner's Falls I continue to be impressed by the consistency with which Black Vultures and Fish Crows can be seen in and over the town, with two pairs of Fish Crow nesting a Unity Park and a further six pair scattered around the town and residential areas. Black Vultures now appear every week with 1-3 periodically showing up around the local Turkey Vultures. It's hard to imagine that I only saw my first ever Black Vulture in Franklin County just one year ago, in May 2015.

In terms of waterbirds, well Common Loon and Red-breasted Merganser were late spring visitors in the last few days of May but otherwise Unity Park and Barton Cove have been fairly quiet aside from a handful of Double-crested Cormorants and first-summer Ring-billed Gulls. 

MA - Black Vultures in Gill herald the spring

Black Vulture - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2016.

The last week of February has seen widespread arrivals of Turkey Vultures, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles to the greater area of Gill/Turner's Falls/Greenfield, all of them clear indicators that spring is on the way. Subtler indications included a 'gentle push' of northbound Lesser black-backed and Kumlien's Iceland Gulls and ever increasing waterfowl diversity that included a party of eight American Wigeon on the 25th, and a flock of Ring-necked Ducks increasing from three on the 24th to nine on March 1st. Perhaps most impressive was a drake Barrow's Goldeneye initially located by Scott Surner on the 27th and still present at the Rod n' Gun club on March 1st. But in many ways, all of these birds would be more or less expected in our area in late February.

Turkey Vulture - Gill center, Franklin Co., MA. March 1st, 2016.

The presence of Black Vultures in Gill was much less expected however, beginning with a distant bird seen with Brian Kane from Riverview Drive soaring out over Barton Cove campground on the 27th. The following day, two Black Vultures circled over the same area and, somewhat surprisingly, they began displaying (!!) albeit briefly, before departing WNW right over my head! My overall sense is that the status of Black Vulture is in changing in Franklin County and I think we can look forward to more sightings and possible breeding in future. Here's my personal tally of Black Vulture sightings in Franklin County since I began regular observations in the area back in 2005;

1) 2005 - 2014 = 0

2) 2015 = 3 (3 together in late May, 1 in early Nov and 3 together in late Nov).

3) 2016 to date = 2 (1 on 2/27, 2 displaying on 02/28).

Black Vultures - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. February 28th, 2016.

Ring-necked Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 1st, 2016.
Eight in shot, nine present, all males. 

White-throated Sparrow - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 1st, 2016.

 Bald Eagle - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA.  February 29th, 2016.
A lot Bald Eagle activity lately with up to seven present in the air at the same time, including five immatures.

 Barrow's Goldeneye - male (right), Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 27th, 2016.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult, Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 21st, 2016.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult, Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 25th, 2016.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - third-cycle, Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 22nd, 2016.

Lesser Black-backed Gull - second-cycle, Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 22nd, 2016.

 Kumlien's Iceland Gull - first-cycle, Turners Falls, Franklin Co., MA. February 27th, 2016.