MA - first White-crowned Sparrows of the fall

October 5th dawned cold and breezy with winds in the northern quarter. Many birds appeared to be moving over North Cross Road, Gill just after first light including a strong push of Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll Warblers, and the first Golden-crowned Kinglets of the fall certainly indicated some brand new arrivals. Further north, I found pockets of migrants at Caldwell Road fields in Northfield but it became clear that the excellent diversity of warblers present in the first three days of the month had moved on and most of the migrant flocks were now composed of White-throated, Song and Swamp Sparrows. The first White-crowned Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos of the fall appeared, and there were more Golden-crowned (and Ruby-crowned) Kinglets in the area plus quite a number of Purple Finches. A quick stop on Pine Meadow Road produced much of the same including another (first-winter) White-crowned Sparrow. A handful of southbound raptors included a juvenile Bald Eagle and an Osprey. And there were small flocks of Canada Geese and Blue Jays filtering south throughout the morning.

White-crowned Sparrow (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.

Purple Finch (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (first-winter) Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2018.

Undoubtedly the highlight of the morning was a Bobcat hunting for sparrows deep in the thickets and being mobbed by an entourage of around 35 Song Sparrows!! We had eye to eye contact for the briefest of moments and then he/she was gone.

MA - Canvasback and other good waterfowl

Canvasback (right) - with Ring-necked Duck and Hooded Merganser (left) all males, Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 11th, 2016. 

With the grip of winter taking hold this weekend we awoke to a chilly 8 deg F on Sunday morning, enough to start the freezing of Barton Cove and some sheltered sections of the Connecticut River. The freeze may have concentrated the flocks of waterfowl at Turner's Falls Rod and Gun Club which produced a fine drake Canvasback, four Gadwall, a Ring-necked Duck, 45+ American Black Ducks and 25+ Hooded Mergansers.

Canvasback (left)  - Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 11th, 2016. 

Indeed waterfowl were very much the theme of the weekend at Turner's Falls with a fine female-type Northern Pintail with Mallards at Unity Park on the 10th, the continued presence of a Cackling Goose at the power canal, and a surprise Snow Goose migrating south with Canada Geese on the 9th.

Northern Pintail - female, Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 10th, 2016. 

Cackling Goose - (front left) Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 10th, 2016. 

Long staying bird first noted on Nov 5th. 

Snow Goose (upper-left) - Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 9th, 2016. 

The winter gull show continues to build rather slowly but one or two first-cycle Iceland Gulls were present at Unity Park on the 9th, and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull remained throughout, most easily found in late afternoon.

Kumlien's Iceland Gull - first-cycle,  Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 9th, 2016. 

Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult with Great Black-backed Gull,  Turner Falls, Franklin Co., MA. December 12th, 2016. 

Passerines have been a little slow recently but a Northern Shrike (brown immature) showed up briefly in the fog on River Road, Gill on the 8th. No pics of that one, unfortunately.

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. December 11th, 2016.