MA - Harlequin plus White-fronted and Cackling Geese

 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) and Ring-necked Duck (adult male) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

This Harlequin was first discovered by Anne Jemas on the Millers River, January 1st, 2021.

Yesterday's Greater White-fronted Geese offered a clear indication that waterfowl diversity is picking up locally. With that in mind I checked Barton Cove fairly early this morning hoping for the white-fronts and anything else that might have dropped in with the Canada Geese. On arrival at cove I was greeted with an obvious increase in waterfowl numbers, especially diving ducks with 27 Ring-necked Ducks, 8 Hooded and 5 Common Mergansers, a dozen Common Goldeneye and a male Harlequin Duck....What?!! After rubbing my eyes a couple of times, sure enough, there indeed was a Harlequin, undoubtedly the same immature male that had been wintering a few miles upstream on the Millers River. Despite multiple birders checking, myself included, the Harlequin hadn't been seen on the Millers River since February 5th with that particular sighting coming from Jeremiah Trimble. A cool five weeks later, and there it was off Riverview Drive, Gill consorting with a couple of Common Goldeneyes. It was flighty this morning and rarely settled for long, and I last saw it around noon. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male, left) - with Common Goldeneyes, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Greater White-fronted Goose - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Greater White-fronted Goose - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Just right of center, taken from Unity Park, Turner's Falls.

Cackling Goose - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Bathing just in front of the American Black Duck. Taken from Unity Park.

Canada Geese - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2021. 

Numbers increased again today with over 1000 feeding in Bernardston in the evening. 

Aside from the Harlequin, two Greater-fronted Geese did eventually show up at the cove in mid-morning. Oddly though, they were not associating with each other and things even got a little testy between them when they got too close. A quick check from Unity Park in mid-afternoon found only one Greater White-fronted Goose but with a wide scatter of reports from around the region in the last few days, I'm slightly hesitant to regard these and yesterday's birds as definitely relating to the same individuals. The two white-fronts yesterday did appear to be moving around together, quite different from the behavior of the two observed today. The afternoon search also turned up a Cackling Goose off Riverview Drive, my first of the season. 

Back at the Montague Plains, a thirty minute stop along Old Northfield Road rustled up a further 70 Red Crossbills and my first Fox Sparrow of the year giving bursts of song among the stands of young Pitch Pines.  

MA - white-fronts, waterfowl and more crossbills

 

Greater White-fronted Geese (2) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Over the last couple of days immaculate weather, warm air and southern winds have produced a distinct uptick in waterfowl migrants passing through Franklin County. Small flocks of Canada Geese passed over the Montague Plains all morning on the 9th and by the evening some 800-900 had gathered in a well hidden cornfield in Bernardston. While visible migration was less evident on the 10th, a Greater White-fronted Goose was discovered at Barton Cove/Unity Park by David Sibley and by the time that I got to Unity Park at noon there were two, both of them adults! Having carefully scrutinized the geese at Unity Park the evening before I feel confident that these were brand new arrivals. Ring-necked Ducks too have increased over the last two days with 4 at Unity Park and 17 at the Turner's Falls power canal. The latter site also produced a whopping 26 Hooded Mergansers on the evening of the 10th!

Greater White-fronted Geese (2) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Greater White-fronted Goose - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Ring-necked Ducks - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. March 9th, 2021.

Gull migration can be a more discrete event but the evening of the 10th saw an impressive surge in Ring-billed Gull numbers to almost 200 birds. A Lesser Black-backed (adult) and two Iceland Gulls (first-winters) continue amid the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls roosting at Unity Park. 

Black Vultures - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Turkey Vultures were already widespread by the 8th but on the 10th, a northward movement of some 12 Black Vultures over the Montague Plains was rather more impressive. 

White-winged Crossbill (male) - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 9th, 2021.

White-winged Crossbill (male) - Montague Plains WMA, Franklin Co., MA. March 10th, 2021.

Finally, the Montague Plains have been 'heaving' under the weight of some 75 - 100 Red Crossbills with these birds being well north of the more heavily watched site of Old Northfield Road. Small scattered groups of singing/calling birds have been found throughout the plains over the last two days with an especially impressive concentration of about 60 in one spot. As expected, most identified to Type have been Type 10 but, thanks to Tim Spahr's help and guidance, I've also managed to identify and record Type 2 and Type 3. Of course, the prize for scanning through all those crossbills has been the continued presence of White-winged Crossbills, all of them have been males and around 7 or 8 individuals in all, maybe more. They're not especially vocal either and finding them usually involves careful checking of each individual crossbill that just happens to show itself. 

With several more days of warmth in the forecast I think it would be reasonable to expect a few more migrants of interest before the forecast colder snap in the early part of next week. 

VT - Thanksgiving Say's Phoebe!

Say's Phoebe - Allen Brothers Marsh, Westminster, Windham Co., VT. November 28th, 2019.

A super find for Coleen Lawlor on November 24th, lingering through to November 30th. 

It's not especially typical to speak of rare flycatchers lingering in the Connecticut River Valley into late November but this year has been different, very different in fact. Not only did the long staying Pacific-slope Flycatcher remain off Huntington Road in Hadley, Massachusetts through to the month's end but further north, on November 24th, Coleen Lawlor unexpectedly came across a Say's Phoebe at Allen Brothers Marsh in Westminster, Vermont. Simultaneously, we had two ultra-rare flycatchers in the valley within an hour of each other and a few lucky birders even managed to connect with both on the same day - no easy task since both birds could disappear for hours at a time.

Pacific-slope Flycatcher - Huntington Road, Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. November 2019. 

Say's Phoebe - Allen Brothers Marsh, Westminster, Windham Co., VT. November 28th, 2019.

Otherwise, the last two weeks of November saw the inevitable tapering of migration with the focus shifting from passerines to waterbirds around mid-month. A Greater White-fronted Goose lingered for several days at the Turner's Falls power canal (multiple observers) during the 15th - 20th and was apparently feeding in the fields around Gill/Northfield . There was also a long staying first-winter Iceland Gull at the Turner's Falls power canal initially found by Josh Layfield on the 17th but lingering long enough to be seen by multiple observers through the month's end. Barton Cove saw the the annual late November build-up of Hooded Mergansers with up to 70 birds present but otherwise the cove harbored very few birds of interest aside from two female-type Lesser Scaups present for almost a month, and two first-winter male Greater Scaups at the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club on the 19th.

Roaming and noteworthy passerines included a White-crowned Sparrow in Deerfield Meadows on Nov 23rd, two Snow Buntings in Montague on Nov 19th and Red Crossbills over Pine Meadow Road, Northfield on the 17th and over the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club on the 18th.

MA - March in Franklin County; non-passerines

Tundra Swan - from a flock of 19, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of Josh Layfield. 

A fine drake Canvasback showed up at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 3rd (Scott Surner) and remained until the 7th at least. It turned out to be the harbinger of a steady but varied waterfowl migration through the Turner's Falls area and Franklin County in general, a migration spearheaded by the sudden and dramatic appearance of 19 Tundra Swans at the power canal on the 11th (Alex Haro/Josh Layfield). The swans were courteous enough to remain through the 12th allowing tens of birders to catch up with an impressive state rarity. The middle of the month saw Canada Goose numbers swell considerably with impressive four figure concentrations being variously reported from Sunderland, Deerfield, Gill and Turner's Falls through to the month's end. With them, though often difficult to pick out,  1 - 3 Cackling Geese fairly regularly among the masses and 36 Snow Geese in Sunderland on the 15th (Al Richards). A fine adult Greater White-fronted Goose joined the flocks of geese collecting in Barton Cove on the 23rd (Scott Surner) and remained through to the 25th, and a lone Snow Goose turned up on the 30th (Josh Layfield) with probably the same bird continuing well into April. In addition, Josh Layfield detected an oddly Snow Goose-like hybrid which mysteriously appeared at Barton Cove on the 23rd, became somewhat aloof and then disappeared just as mysteriously only a few days later. Most domestic-type hybrids tend stick around for months in Barton Cove so the sudden departure of this bird came as a bit of a surprise.

Hybrid Goose - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

Found and photographed by Josh Layfield. 

Tundra Swan - from a flock of 19, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 11th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of Josh Layfield. 

Canvasback (male) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 7th, 2019.

Cackling Goose (left) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

Cackling Goose (center) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 25th, 2019.

Greater White-fronted Goose (adult) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 23rd, 2019.

The annual spring build-up of Ring-necked Ducks peaked (c.140) towards the end of the month rolling into early April. The flock followed the ever receding ice at Barton Cove and could often be found very close into Riverview Drive in Gill. Lesser Scaup were often present with 3 males together at times and a nice male Greater Scaup offering 'great' comparisons on the 26th. Impressive concentrations of Common Mergansers could also be seen on Barton Cove in the last days of the month along with Common Goldeneyes, and a handful of Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads.

Iceland (Kumlien's) Gull (center) - probably 3rd-cycle, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 25th, 2019.

The second half of March saw a fabulous migration of large gulls through Turner's Falls and Barton Cove though numbers did taper sharply towards the month's end. Without doubt the find of the month was an adult/near adult California Gull carefully studied by David Sibley at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 17th. It was found on a quiet Sunday morning with very few other gulls present and departed NW with a couple Herring Gulls never to be relocated. As with any state level rarity, the record will have to be ratified by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee but does look set to become the 6th state record and the first ever in interior Massachusetts - what a find!

California Gull  - adult/near adult, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 17th, 2019.

Image appears courtesy of David Sibley.

 California Gull  (center) - adult/near adult at rest with Ring-billed and Herring Gulls,  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 17th, 2019. 
Image appears courtesy of David Sibley.

The last ten days of the month also saw a good nice 'wave' of Lesser Black-backed Gulls with birds frequently found amid the masses on the ice at Barton Cove. At least four birds were involved with two adults, one 3rd-cycle and one 2nd-cycle.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls (adults) -  Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 24th, 2019.

Iceland Gulls were few and far between but David Sibley did find a compelling example of a  2nd-cycle bird quite closely resembling L.g. thayeri rather than the expected L.g. kumlieni. The image set is still being studied but at this stage it's looking quite difficult to rule out an intergrade though perhaps pointing more towards Thayer's rather than Kumlien's.  Either way, it was a really super bird to watch closely and a good one to learn from. 

Thayer's Gull or Thayer's/Kumlien's intergrade (center) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 24th, 2019.

Found by David Sibley. All five flight images above show the same individual. 

MA - Greater White-fronted Geese

Greater White-fronted Geese (two adults) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016. 

This evening I finally managed to get decent views of the two Greater White-fronted Geese present in the Turner's Falls area since October 10th. The birds were calm resting amid some 1200 Canada Geese on a lovely, warm autumnal evening. These were also the first really large numbers of Canada Geese that I've seen this autumn.

I've been naturally reluctant to attempt assigning the white-fronts to sub-species without having extended views in good conditions. However, since one bird had already been seen to have a bright orange bill and dark, almost 'oily' brown plumage, I'd assumed that both would prove to be the Greenland form 'flavirostris', a scarce but now expected migrant through our region.

Since both birds were close together throughout the observation, differences in bill color as well as overall color, size and structure became apparent leading me to believe that perhaps two distinct sub-species had to be involved. One bird, the larger of the two, appeared to be a pretty good a example of 'flavirostris' with a bright orange bill closely matching the orange leg color, along with dark, 'oily' brown plumage and an obvious but somewhat restricted white 'blaze' around the base of the bill. The other bird looked consistently smaller, stockier and grayer (especially on the breast) with a  much more striking white blaze around the bill riding higher on the forehead. The difference in the distribution of white around the bill was obvious on both birds at all angles. Above all, the smaller bird had a distinctly pinkish rather than bright orange bill, again obvious at all angles even in low afternoon light. The differences were subtle but distinct enough to follow and sort out both birds with ease as they mingled among the Canada Geese.

So, what to make of the smaller, pink-billed, grayer-breasted bird? Well, background reading should offer some insight but at the moment the features seem to be most suggestive of the 'Tundra' form 'gambelli/frontalis' or possibly, though obviously rather less likely, the European/Siberian form 'albifrons'. 

Greater White-fronted Geese (two adults) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016. 

Greater White-fronted Goose (adult, Greenland form flavirostris) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016. 

MA - White-fronts still in Turner's

A beautiful fall afternoon saw Unity Park crowded with folks understandably enjoying some warm autumn sunshine at the end of a glorious day. Bird-wise it seemed very quiet to start with and my expectations were relatively low as I embarked on a sustained watch overlooking the Connecticut River above the Turner's Falls dam. But by the end of a 90 minute vigil I'd recorded a few species of interest, including two Greater White-fronted Geese, presumably the same birds first detected at the power canal by Eric Huston on the 10th. About 350 Canada Geese had been loafing around in Barton Cove during the entire time that I watched from Unity Park, yet despite thorough scope scanning, I failed to pick out anything of interest so I was more than a tad surprised when one departing group of Canada Geese contained two Greater White-fronted which proceeded to fly right over my head, vocalizing as they headed west at sunset.

Greater White-fronted Goose - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 15th, 2016. 

One of two birds passing directly overhead. 

Otherwise the species profile was very much composed of long staying, continuing birds including five Double-crested Cormorants, four Green-winged Teal, Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot, as well as three Belted Kingfishers. An adult Peregrine put in an appearance and the local male Merlin suddenly became very vocal when a second Merlin appeared over the cove with the two birds sparring together for a few seconds.

Merlins - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 15th, 2016. 

Not surprisingly for such a warm sunny afternoon, passerines were few but a small arrival of 25 Song Sparrows was certainly of interest, and with them a couple each of Swamp and Savannah Sparrows, both fairly unusual for Unity Park.

Song Sparrow - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 15th, 2016. 

Small arrival of about 25 along the river bank.

Swamp Sparrow - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 15th, 2016. 

Savannah Sparrow - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 15th, 2016.