VT - another Goshawk

Northern Goshawk - juvenile, Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. November 4th, 2016.

The flared supercilium stood out, even in the camera's view finder.

Seemingly perfect conditions for a late season flight saw me back at Putney Mountain in southern Vermont. Alas, migrant raptors were few, so few in fact that I left at 11:30 with less than ten migrant raptors tallied. On the other hand, the tally did include yet another observation of Northern Goshawk with a close range juvenile zipping past me and the two counters present at the time. The consistency with which this species can be seen at Putney still blows me away, especially when I consider how difficult they can be in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Other raptors of interest included Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin and a high-flying Red-shouldered Hawk migrating SW. Passerines included a smattering of Purple Finches and Snow Buntings, and a lone Rusty Blackbird.

Northern Goshawk - juvenile, Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. November 4th, 2016.

Red-tailed Hawk - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. November 4th, 2016. 

Red-shouldered Hawk - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. November 4th, 2016.

High flying migrant but still showing classic primary pattern of dark tips contrasting with pale, translucent crescents.

The afternoon provided my first proper looks at a Cackling Goose this fall along with some bewilderingly small Canada Geese, probably of the form 'interior' and a family group of suspected CanadaxCackling Goose hybrids.

Cackling Goose (left) with Canada Geese - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 4th, 2016.

MA - good birds on Columbus Day

Northern Goshawk (juvenile) and Common Raven - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

October 10th brought a welcome (and steep!) drop in temperatures with a cool air mass bringing stiff north-westerly winds. The conditions seemed ripe for a good movement of geese and raptors, and so we headed north to visit the dedicated hawkwatch at Putney Mountain in southern Vermont. The signs for a good day were already in place as, during the previous evening, I tallied no less than seven Ospreys at Turner's Falls in just 25 minutes, and that included four in the air at the same time! The birds were lifting from the forest edge on clearing weather conditions after a day of solid rain. Such high counts of Ospreys are pretty unusual at Turner's Fall in my experience.

Osprey (juvenile) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 9th, 2016.

One of the seven seen during a surprising evening flight after a day of rain. 

Arrival at Putney Mountain was greeted by a bracing north-westerly and smattering of raptors shooting through at high speed, most of them Sharp-shinned Hawks. However, we hadn't been there too long before a Common Raven began sparring with a juvenile Northern Goshawk just in front the station. I was thrilled. Northern Goshawks are like 'hens teeth' in Massachusetts in my experience and usually I don't get to see them every year. To have a smart hatch-year bird in front of us offering good photo opportunities was a treat indeed. As if that wasn't enough, a crisp adult Goshawk passed steadily over the station followed by another sighting of a young bird, so two or three Northern Goshawks in all leaving me highly satisfied with the morning. But there was more to come......just after 11;25am, Don Clark picked out an odd looking large bird disappearing behind the tree line but he'd seen enough to suggest that it might be a crane. Sure enough, a Sandhill Crane appeared from behind the maples heading west before hitting a thermal and soaring almost directly above the hawkwatch before continuing west once more - just awesome!

 Northern Goshawk (juvenile) - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

 Northern Goshawk (adult)  - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

Sandhill Crane - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

High-flying, westbound migrant. 

With some reluctance, we left the station at about 1:15 pm with some nice diversity though not too much in the way of volume; Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Peregrine, American Kestrel, and Turkey Vulture were all recorded in addition to the previously mentioned Goshawks. 

 Sharp-shinned Hawk  - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

The most abundant migrant raptor of the day. 

Red-shouldered Hawk  - Putney Mountain Hawkwatch, Windham Co., VT. October 10th, 2016.

Two seen in the air at the same time, though not quite together - one adult-type, one juvenile. 

In late afternoon, the north-west wind was still raging and a timely check of Barton Cove from Turner's Falls was very birdy indeed producing four Ring-necked Ducks, two male Black Scoters, one female Surf Scoter, one male American Wigeon as well as the long staying Pied-billed Grebe and Gadwall. And active migration was still taking place right through to end of the day with a juvenile Northern Harrier drifting south over Unity Park, and a Cackling Goose migrating south with Canada Geese as if to compliment the two Greater White-fronted Geese found by Eric Huston earlier in the day - quite a day in the end!

 Black Scoters (males) - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 10th, 2016.

Greater White-fronted Geese (with Canada Goose)  - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 11th, 2016.

Found by Eric Houston on October 10th and still present on the 11th when this image was taken. 

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!

MA - late September

Since returning from California, a high pressure system has settled over much of Massachusetts and the surrounding New England states. The result has been cool, foggy dawns and immaculate autumnal days. The wind, if any, has been light and variable from the northern quarter. As a result, my local birding has been pretty 'steady' with few changes, but still very enjoyable. Indeed, it's been a joy to be outside enjoying some 'classic' late September migrants.

A handful of warblers included 3 Tennessee Warblers at Northfield Meadows on September 25th, a spot where I also saw a Magnolia Warbler on October 1st. On September 30th I got tantalizingly close to a Connecticut Warbler calling from the dense shrub layer underneath the power lines at Depot Road in Turner's Falls. It called for about five seconds giving hard, flat chip calls before vaporizing into the shrubs. I'm usually comfortable with 'heard-only' type observations but Connecticut Warbler is so rare, aloof and sought-after in our area that I think I'd only be truly happy with good, clean looks (and preferably a photo or two) before making a full claim.

Magnolia Warbler - blending in beautifully with the greens and yellows of early October. Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 1st, 2013. Canon Powershot G10. Heavy crop from the same image below.

 

More widespread arrivals have included Blackpoll, Palm (all yellow) and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blue-headed Vireos, and many sparrows including White-throated, White-crowned (first two at Northfield Meadows on 25th), Swamp, Savannah and a few Lincoln's Sparrows. As usual, Clay-colored Sparrows elude me despite frequent reports from the Pioneer Valley and elsewhere in MA. The first Golden-crowned Kinglets turned up along Main Road, Gill on September 27th in decent numbers (10+) and there was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Northfield Meadows on September 25th.

Palm Warbler - 'yellow', Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. September 25th, 2013.

 

Palm Warbler - 'yellow', Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. October 1st, 2013.

 

 

Lincoln's Sparrow - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. September 25th, 2013.

 

 

Finally, a family visit with friends to the Putney Mountain in SE Vermont produced a few single migrating raptors, mostly Sharp-shinned and Broad-winged Hawks, American Kestrels and a couple of Northern Harriers. Despite the small numbers, it was good to catch up with the challenge of identifying distant and semi-distant raptors in migration. The highlight was watching a Northern Goshawk being mobbed by a Sharp-shinned Hawk and getting a true appreciation of the size difference between the two species - the goshawk was HUGE! Unruffled, the goshawk continued its migration passing high over the dedicated band of hawk-watchers below. In New England terms, Northern Goshawk remains an exceedingly rare bird for me, and I think probably see less than a total of five per year. Below, some very heavy crops of high, distant migrating raptors at Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT on September 29th, 2013;

Broad-winged Hawk - juvenile.

Northern Goshawk

Northern Harrier - juvenile.

VT - Redpolls and Goshawks - 11/09

This morning I traded my usual 'tour' of Barton Cove for a visit to Putney Mountain in Vermont. There I joined a band of dedicated hawk counters hoping for a decent push of south-bound raptors after the recent nor'easter. It also happened to be the last official count day of the season which may have been telling in the small number of migrant raptors seen. In the event, my personal tally was a mere half-a-dozen Red-tailed Hawks over a two hour period. But the morning did yield some goodies, namely two fairly prolonged sightings of Northern Goshawk, a species which I only very rarely encounter in Massachusetts - averaging about one per year over the last five years or so. Two birds in one morning was pretty mind blowing for me but my field companions seemed quite used to them.

Irruptive finches also featured with five Common Redpolls (1, 4), a Pine Siskin and a superb male White-winged Crossbill. Also, apparently I missed a male Pine Grosbeak which passed the mountain about an hour before I arrived. Very much in keeping with irruptive finches, I had my first-of-season Common Redpolls over our house in Gill this morning which, unfortunately, did not come into the Nyjer seed feeders though they did look 'interested' for a brief period.

 

Northern Goshawk - (adult) - A real 'beast' of a raptor with stocky proportions and tapered wing tips. 
This bird looks especially heavy and it appears to have a full crop. 
Putney Mountain, VT. November 9th, 2012.

Northern Goshawk - (adult) - A second bird.. Putney Mountain, VT. November 9th, 2012.

MA - N.Goshawk - 10/11

Northern Goshawk - digibin shot of adult/sub-adult migrating south-south west over Blueberry Hill, Granville, MA.

The day got off to a good though rather cold (32 F) start with an American Pipit flying over the apartment in Amherst, another local 'first of season'. Also, about 10 Yellow-rumped and a single Blackpoll Warbler, along with 35 Common Grackles and 25 Canada Geese flew south.

Later we had a family visit to the Hawkwatch at Blueberry Hill in Granville which turned to be thoroughly worthwhile, despite the gloomy forecast of strong Westerly winds. Raptors were almost constantly in view from the time we arrived at 0930hrs. The highlight was easily an adult/sub-adult (probably male) Northern Goshawk which passed relatively low over the summit allowing me to grab a few horribly backlit images. During a two hour vigil we, togther with official counter John Weeks and a visiting birder Austin Stokes, notched up Cooper's Hawk (1), Sharp-shinned Hawk (17), American Kestrel (4), Merlin (2), Bald Eagle (4, only 1 migrant), Osprey (1), Red-shouldered Hawk (1), Red-tailed Hawk (4), and Turkey Vulture (25, including a kettle of 17). Migrating passerines included 34 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Palm Warblers, 1 Blackpoll Warbler, 1 Blue-headed Vireo, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet and 2 Purple Finches. John had also managed to coax a female Eastern Towhee into view with some seed.

Eastern Towhee - Blueberry Hill, Granville, MA. October 11th, 2009.

An afternoon non-birding visit to Groff Park, Amherst in the produced 10 White-throated Sparrows, Eastern Phoebe, 2 Eastern Bluebirds, 6 Chipping Sparrows and 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Nice birds and a beautiful time of year to be out.