MA - March migration and yet more crossbills!

 

Bonaparte's Gulls - three of eight present, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 26th, 2021.

March 26th was one of those bigger migration days when warm conditions coupled with an occluded front brought rain, thunderstorms and a lot of avian action! Widespread arrivals of Eastern Phoebes and, to lesser degree, Tree Swallows occurred that day as well as 30 newly arrived Green-winged Teals at Barton Cove. Just upriver, Ted Gilliland was busy sorting through a smaller flock of 13 Green-winged Teal and ultimately found a nice example of the Eurasian sub-species, certainly the first that I've seen or even heard about in Franklin County! Later that day, eight Bonaparte's Gull graced Barton Cove, along with five (early) Double-crested Cormorants and a Common Loon in full breeding plumage. And....I would have loved to have seen the flock of five migrant Sandhill Cranes reported by Eric Huston migrating high over the cove a little earlier in the afternoon. Overall, that was a pretty decent haul of migrants for the 26th!

Bonaparte's Gulls - five of eight present, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 26th, 2021.

Eurasian (Green-winged) Teal (left) - distant crop, taken from Barton Cove campground, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 26th, 2021.

Nice find by Ted Gilliland. First Franklin County record.

Barton Cove continued to host a fairly large flock of Ring-necked Ducks with over 100 present, often loafing around Barton Island and subsequently difficult to see at times. Up to two Lesser and seven Greater Scaup (on the 28th) were often present with or near the Ring-necked Ducks. 

White-winged Crossbills - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 29th & 30th, 2021.

Red Crossbills - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 29th & 30th, 2021.

Fox Sparrows - three of five in the Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 19th, 2021.

Field Sparrow - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 29th, 2021.

Waterbirds aside, the incursion of winter finch species continued to be a major attraction for me and over the last month or so I've been very drawn to the Montague Plains which continues to host large numbers of Red Crossbills, the numbers of which appear to fluctuate on a day-to-day basis as the birds roam, presumably in search of the most productive feeding spots. Red Crossbills peaked at a whopping 360 birds on March 25th, a day which also saw 55 Pine Siskins and over 200 Dark-eyed Juncos and the first local Pine Grosbeak that I've seen for weeks. The day before saw 22 White-winged Crossbills in the plains with smaller numbers continuing through to the end of the month including 17 on the 31st. The Montague Plains have also proven to be a good spot for migrant Fox Sparrows with up to five present on the 19th, and the first territorial Field Sparrows started to appear for another breeding season from March 28th. 

Red-shouldered Hawk - one of two first-summer birds over the Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 30th, 2021.

These birds flew off to the NW together and behaved like migrants.

Ring-necked Ducks and Double-crested Cormorants - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 31st, 2021.

A fairly typical early spring spring scene. 

The last two days of the month saw increasingly warm temperatures with first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Pine Warblers in the Montague Plains as well as some odd migrants such as two immature Red-shouldered Hawks and 5 Rusty Blackbirds on the 30th, and a Belted Kingfisher heading north on the 31st. The latter date also saw a late afternoon arrival of 17 Double-crested Cormorants at Barton Cove. 

April - the last few days

Common Loon - adult, Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. April 28th, 2020.

Unusual looking bird with pale ivory colored culmen and tip to the bill. 

April ended damp and chilly as it had been for much of the month. Summer breeders continued to arrive slowly, in dribs and drabs actually. We still await the broad sweeping arrivals of many regular summer migrants. Notably absent so far have been species such as Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, Least Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Ovenbird, Blue-winged and Yellow Warblers, Northern Waterthrush and Common Yellowthroat all of which I've noted before the end of the month in years past.

But Josh Layfield did see an American Redstart at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 28th, and we had a Black--and-white Warbler singing in our yard in Northfield on the 29th the same day that Brian Kane noted the first local Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year in Montague. Broader 'waves' of Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglets occurred in many spots in the last three days of the month plus there was surprising concentration of 25 Savannah Sparrows on North Cross Road on the 29th along with a continuing Black-throated Green Warbler.

Common Loon - adult, Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. April 28th, 2020.

Lots of movement among Common Loons with individuals sometimes dropping in for only a 

few minutes before pushing on with migration. 

After the excitement earlier in the week, Barton Cove was fairly quiet as four Horned Grebes continued from the 26th - 28th, and single breeding plumage Common Loons dropped in on the 28th and the 29th. There were also single pairs of Ring-necked Ducks and Blue-winged Teals on the 30th. Continued heavy rain throughout the 30th brought four more Common Loons to Barton Cove along with about 400 swallows hawking over the water including over 70 Barn Swallows and my first local Bank and Cliff Swallows of the year.

Common Loon - adult, Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. April 29th, 2020.

Double-crested Cormorants - Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA. April 29th, 2020.

Present daily at the cove in small, varying numbers. 

Covid Spring - III

Common Loon - one of two, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

April 9th: I wasn't expecting to post another blog entry so soon after yesterday's report but it was clear from my early morning run along North Cross Road and through the southern portion of the NMH campus woods in Gill that a lot a birds came arrived last night. Moreover, the cold, gray, overcast conditions were no deterrent to those arrivals and the woods were full of song. My 5K loop tallied 11 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 17 Pine Warblers, 3 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 3 Louisiana Waterthrushes (early) and 4 Hermit Thrushes (all seen, not singing). I came across a few more of the latter two species as a drove through Gill on my way to Barton Cove where I came across my first Barn Swallows of the year. About five of them were mixed with Tree and Northern Rough-winged Swallows hawking low over the water.

Buffleheads - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

Eastern Phoebe - Barton Cove campground, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

Greater Scaup - male , Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

In addition, new waterbird arrivals at the cove included two Common Loons (full breeding plumage), five Double-crested Cormorants, a male Greater Scaup, two Buffleheads (one female, one immature male) and a female Red-breasted Merganser. Heavy rain ensued for most of the rest of the day until about 17:00 hours when there was a clearance from the NW. Surprisingly, most waterbirds had already cleared out by that time leaving just the two Buffleheads and a long staying Pied-billed Grebe that I'd missed in the morning. But, there was plenty of raptor activity and in just 20 minutes I noted 3 Bald Eagles, 3 Black Vultures, 8 Turkey Vultures, a huge female Cooper's Hawk and a male Merlin. At Barton Cove campground over 30 Fish Crows gathered once again, plus Eastern Phoebes and Pine Warblers (4+) continued to sing throughout the evening.

Double-crested Cormorants - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

Departing north after pausing at the cove for 25 minutes or so. 

Connecticut River - looking towards Turner's Falls from Barton Cove campground, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 9th, 2020.

MA - Red-throated Loons (4) in Turner's Falls.

Red-throated Loons - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 20th, 2018. 

Distant records shots in a snowstorm. 

Another winter weather event brought a small but significant arrival of waterbirds to Barton Cove and Turner's Falls this morning, the most thrilling of which was the appearance of four Red-throated Loons. The completely overcast conditions combined with a persistent wintery mix of rain, sleet and snow seemed like just the ticket to force them down and strongly recalled the arrival of four Red-throated Loons on November 14th last year; https://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2017/11/ma-more-red-throated-loons.html

Red-throated Loons - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 20th, 2018. 

Distant records shots in a snowstorm. 

This morning, two of the loons were inside Barton Cove best viewed from the public boat ramp whilst the other two were at the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun where new birds included a Surf Scoter (first-winter male) and Lesser Scaup (first-winter male) and a juvenile Common Loon. A female Surf Scoter, 10 Ring-necked Ducks, 6 Common Goldeneye and around 65 Hooded Mergansers continued inside Barton Cove.

Red-throated Loons - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 20th, 2018. Distant digi-scoped shot.

Red-throated Loons - Turner's Falls Rod and Club, Franklin Co., MA. November 20th, 2018. 

Distant records shots in heavy snow. 

Earlier I checked the Caldwell Road fields in Northfield but found just four Horned Larks and Savannah Sparrow by the roadside and it looks like the flock containing the longspurs has moved on. Noteworthy passerines elsewhere included an American Pipit at Barton Cove boat ramp, plus a Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Riverview Drive, Gill.

MA - Common Loon and odd flycatcher 08/06

This morning, in between errands, I made a quick stop at Barton Cove in Gill. At the back of my mind was a Swallow-tailed Kite reported from Millers Falls on July 31st, a bird which I only became aware of on August 3rd. Despite lots of optimism and a beautiful fall-like morning for soaring birds, I didn't see any kites soaring whilst I was there. But, as usual, there were birds of interest, most notably a Common Loon in full breeding plumage which briefly surfaced in front of me and then disappeared just as quickly.  A few minutes later, the bird was in flight making circuits of the cove gaining height and ultimately heading south. Most certainly a bird on the move and a species which I don't usually see in mid-summer on Barton Cove.

 



Common Loon - adult in breeding plumage departing from Barton Cove, Franklin Co., MA.

August 6th, 2013. Canon Powershot G10. 

A few minutes later, an interesting flycatcher popped up in the large tree right by the boat ramp. The bird had a notable downward flick of the tail, most characteristic of Eastern Phoebe, but on lifting my bins I was surprised to see a flycatcher that more closely resembled a bird from the empidonax group. Unsure of the species I fumbled around trying to get a few digi-scoped images before the bird flicked over the boat ramp and out of sight. My overall sense in the field was that it must be a recently fledged Willow Flycatcher, but I don't recall seeing Willows showing such exaggerated downward tail flicking before. Indeed, Gray Flycatcher is usually the empid most noted for its downward and phoebe-like tail flicking. Moreover, the bird appears to have an odd bill pattern with an almost entirely dark lower mandible which isn't a match for Willow Flycatcher - so what could it be? I'm a little stumped on this one and would welcome some feedback.

 

unidentified flycatcher - Barton Cove boat ramp, Gill, Franklin Co., MA.

August 6th, 2013. Canon Powershot G10 and Swarovski HD telescope.



 

Eastern Kingbirds remain vocal and visible at the boat ramp as they have done all summer.

Eastern Kingbird - Barton Cove boat ramp, Gill, Franklin Co., MA.

August 6th, 2013. Canon Powershot G10 and Swarovski HD telescope.



JPS