MA - bear, Boblinks and more in early September

Bobolinks - from a flock of 41 at Old Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Hot, humid and near windless conditions persisted throughout the first week of the month, hardly ideal conditions for spending time in the time field! Fluctuating water levels at Barton Cove in Gill brought especially large numbers of Mallards (up to 300) when the water was fully drawn down exposing wide mud bars. An early American Wigeon, an eclipse male, appeared on the 4th and was still present on the 5th when no less than five Great Egrets graced the cove increasing to six the following day. Three Green Herons were also to be seen foraging on the mudflats and a Merlin caught a swallow sp. in flight above the river. Despite the extensive mudflats, the only shorebird of note that I could find was a Solitary Sandpiper, that's aside from four Killdeer which may have been local breeders.

American Wigeon (right) - eclipse male, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. September 4th, 2018. 

Great Egrets - four of six, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Great Egret - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. September 4th, 2018. 

The evening of the 4th also saw two or three Common Nighthawks hawking low over the Cherry Rum Plaza in Greenfield at 17:20 hours. Nighthawks should still be possible on warm evenings deep into September but the bulk will have migrated through our area in late August.

Bobolinks - Old Deerfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 6th, 2018. 

Passerines of note included near daily encounters with Purple Finches, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Boblinks around Gill and Turner's Falls, but it was especially nice to come across a flock of over 40 Bobolinks foraging with House Sparrows in Old Deerfield's north meadows on the 6th.


However, the highlight of the week, hands down actually, was seeing a good sized Black Bear, perhaps a young adult, amble across the road in front of me and my bicycle in Montague on the 5th. Alas, by the time I'd pulled over and wrestled with my cell phone the beast had wandered into the woods but the views were excellent and it looked totally at ease as it made its way across a traffic free road.

MA - White-eyed Vireo lingers into Nov

White-eyed Vireo - adult, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2017.

The month started with a nice sharp frost, very welcome after an incredibly warm October. The day continued to be cool, windless and cloudy creating a pretty interesting atmosphere much more in keeping with the conditions we expect in late fall. In between errands I checked a number of spots around Turner's Falls notching up close to 50 species before noon. Oddly enough I failed to connect with any of the waterfowl movements well reported on the local social media outlets today though I did have a 'token' Brant fly past me at Unity Park. 

Brant - adult, Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2017.

But the day held other surprises, namely in the form of lingering 'scarcities' that I felt sure had moved on, but then popped up and presented themselves. The White-eyed Vireo in Turner's Falls was one of these, and the Cattle Egret showed up again at Upinngil after seemingly being absent all day yesterday. A calling Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on North Cross Road, Gill was another surprise this morning.

Cattle Egret - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2017.

Notables in Turner's Falls included Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren and a large flock of 85 Cedar Waxwings.

Hermit Thrush - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2017.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2017.

MA - White-eyed Vireo tops an interesting week in Franklin County

White-eyed Vireo - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 27th, 2017.

Last weekend's Cattle Egrets in Gill perhaps indicated that more species with a southern distribution could be lurking out there waiting to be discovered. Remarkably, we would later find out via Facebook and ebird, that Rick Hart had discovered a juvenile White Ibis at the Oxbow in Northampton (Hampshire County) on the same day that the Cattle Egrets had arrived in Gill - October 22nd. White Ibis is a review species and an exceptionally rare bird in interior Massachusetts with perhaps less that 25 records for the entire state. Fortunately it was well photographed.

Balmy, soggy southerlies and high temperatures persisted until the 26th when a cold front brought heavy rain, northern winds and a light smattering of waterbirds to the Turner's Falls area including six White-winged Scoters, a Bonaparte's Gull and a nice raft of six Red-necked Grebes. The following day saw two Surf Scoters and the first Buffleheads of the fall, while the 28th brought two Black Scoters to Barton Cove.

 White-winged Scoter - male, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 26th, 2017.

 Bonaparte's Gull - first-winter, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 26th, 2017.

Red-necked Grebes - non-breeding, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 26th, 2017.

As thrilling as these waterbirds are in Turner's Falls, it's fair to say that they should be expected in late October under the right conditions. Far less expected was an immaculate White-eyed Vireo found in a riverside thicket. My time constraints and the bird's ultra-skulking behavior meant that it would have to be recorded as a 'heard only' on the day of its discovery. It was frustrating in the extreme to have a singing White-eyed vireo just feet away and not be able to see it! It was still present the following day but far less vocal in the cold and rain, but finally on the 27th it gave itself up and offered reasonable views in bright sunshine. I would have to admit that from a personal perspective this was the single most elusive and skulking species that I've encountered in our area for years.

 

White-eyed Vireo - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 27th, 2017. ebird does not appear to show any records of this species in Franklin County. In fact, I only know of one other report, a credible sight record from Eric Huston in Northfield Meadows on Nov 2nd, 2013. 

The Cattle Egrets continued to be seen in the Gill meadows throughout the week but their numbers dwindled almost daily until only one bird remained on the 28th. The same area (Boyle Road) produced some nice incidental sightings with two Rusty Blackbirds on the 27th, and a calling Great Horned Owl and two American Woodcocks on the 28th.

Cattle Egret - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 28th, 2017.

MA - Gill Cattle Egrets....10/22-28

Cattle Egret (one of five) - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 23rd, 2017.

Update October 28th: a single Cattle Egret present all day on Boyle Road with just two cows.

October 27th: three Cattle Egrets still in Gill, this time off Main Road at Upinngil Farm.

October 26th: three Cattle Egrets remain in the meadow on Boyle Road but have also been seen with the cows behind Upinngil Farm on Main Road, Gill. This evening they departed NW at 17:50 hours, presumably heading off to roost.

Cattle Egrets - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 23rd, 2017.

Update Oct 23rd; It was good to see that all five Cattle Egrets had returned to the favored meadow on Boyle Road, Gill this morning and a quick drive-by found them still present at 11:30 am. The birds certainly look settled and I imagine will stick around for the remainder of this gloomy, drizzly day. A quick stop at Turner's Falls airfield was also productive with two male Northern Harriers, 10 Horned Larks and a Purple Finch. 

Cattle Egrets (three of five) - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 23rd, 2017.

Cattle Egret - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 23rd, 2017.

Northern Harrier - adult male, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 23rd, 2017.

Cattle Egrets - Boyle Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 22nd, 2017.

October 22nd: For the third time within the last three years, Upinngil Farm's dairy cows have attracted Cattle Egrets. This afternoon Thom Bullock reported a flock of five in a meadow off Boyle Road. The birds remained in the same field foraging around a handful cows until dusk when Eric Huston noted them departing to the north at 17:53 hours.

Back in 2014, I saw a Cattle Egret departing south from Upinngil Farm on November 12th and asked the farmers to keep an eye open for any small white 'herons' feeding around the cows.  In late May 2017 I got a third hand report of a small egret with the Upinngil cows, apparently seen for just one day. And now we have five together on a beautiful, balmy October afternoon. Thanks to Thom's prompt reporting quite a few local birders managed to see them before they departed north at dusk.

MA - great day for Red-shouldered Hawks 11/12

Yet another interesting day, and yet again I'm caught off-guard by a really good local bird.

This morning, while driving Matan to school in Gill, I noticed a completely white bird fly across Main Road and away over the corn field at Upinngil. First thoughts concerning a white feral pigeon were quickly dismissed - it was too big with longish rounded wings, deep wing beats and black feet projecting well beyond a shortish, squared tail - CATTLE EGRET! It flew south, seemingly gaining height. I really had the impression it was leaving from Upinngil Farm which does have livestock so it could easily have been foraging there. Hopefully it will return and I'll be looking again tomorrow. Attempts at getting an image proved disastrous as the auto-focus on my lens simply refused to lock on a distant white again a flat, light gray sky - frustrating in the extreme because I could see the bird in the viewfinder!

A little later I tried 'Lover's Leap' over look in New Salem, inspired by Mark Lynch's reports of Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk last week, the same day that he and Sheila found the Gray Jay at Gate 41. On arrival, the site appeared deathly quiet with nothing moving at all. After ten minutes all I had to show for my effort was 4 American Crows moving SW. However, at 10:30hrs, an adult Red-shouldered Hawk lifted out of the forest, hit a warm air thermal, gained height and flew off to the SW. Over the next 45 minutes I was treated to a fabulous display of migrating Red-shouldered Hawk as single after single lifted out of the North Quabbin woods and powered their way SW. By 11:15hrs, I'd tallied eight individuals, including three quite close. I see very few Red-shouldered Hawks locally so to have eight in 45 minutes was a little too good to be true! Oddly enough, that was the most common raptor of the morning. I didn't see a single Red-tail or Bald Eagle from this spot but I did have prolonged views of a distant adult Northern Goshawk, yet another scarce raptor and a species which I only see in the state two or three times per year. At one point a Sharp-shinned Hawk was soaring above the Goshawk offering a really nice size comparison.

Red-shouldered Hawk - adult, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.

Red-shouldered Hawk - adult, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.

Red-shouldered Hawk - adult, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.

Red-shouldered Hawk - juv/first-winter, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.

Red-shouldered Hawk - juv/first-winter, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.

Northern Goshawk - adult, New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2014.
Very heavy crop of bird soaring about one mile distant. Scope views were much better!