MA - February notes on Redpolls 2 : the Whately flock

 

Common Redpolls - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 12th, 2021. Some of the 75 birds present.

Disconcerting numbers of pale/whitish rumped birds within the Whately flocks, most of them with variable amounts of streaking on the rump. 

The fallow fields of Whately became the favored feeding haunt for fluctuating numbers of redpolls this week. While I'd noted redpolls in these fields on previous during the winter, February 6th produced only nine pretty skittish Common Redpolls so to find numbers had suddenly increased to c.300 birds on February 8th came as a genuine surprise. At that point I decided to check the flock more thoroughly and regularly with a view to keeping an eye on numbers throughout the week. February 9th was the biggest day with a minimum of 475 redpolls swirling about the fields during a winter weather event that deposited 2 - 4 inches of drizzly, wet snow over Franklin County. While the 9th was a tough day for actual observations, the fields had clearly 'sucked' in numerous redpoll flocks from the surrounding countryside that converged to form one impressive heaving mass. Numbers then dropped steadily during the remainder of the week (250 on the 10th, 120 on the 11th and 75 on the 12th). My morning session  on the 12th ended abruptly at 10:45 am when a Merlin swept through the fields dispersing the entire remaining flock of 75 birds. They headed off SW without returning. 

Common Redpolls - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 11th, 2021. Some of the 120 birds present that day.

Common Redpolls and Snow Buntings - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 10th, 2021. Some of the 250 redpolls present on that specific day.

Out of focus but certainly worthy of a second glance, notice the huge, hulking dark brown redpoll to the right and rear of the middle Snow Bunting.

Surely a candidate for A.f. rostrata? 

Common Redpolls and Snow Buntings - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 9th, 2021.

The biggest day of the week for numbers with some 475 redpolls present during a winter storm. 

Snow Buntings - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 9th, 2021. Some 120 birds arrived during the winter weather event. 

Common Redpolls - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 8th, 2021. A tiny portion of the 300 or so birds present.

The large numbers of passerines within the Whately fields became a major draw for raptors too with the regular presence of 2 - 3 Northern Harriers, 2 - 3 Red-tailed Hawks and a Cooper's Hawk as well as the previously mentioned Merlin. Aside from the redpoll flock the fields were positively flush with other passerines and, while numbers varied from day to day, it was possible to see up to 120 Snow Buntings, 35 Horned Larks, 140 American Tree Sparrows, 65 Dark-eyed Juncos, 12 Savannah Sparrows, 12 Song Sparrows and about 9 White-throated Sparrows though the latter tended to stick close the surrounding hedgerows rather than the open fields. 

Northern Harrier (male) - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 9th, 2021. Hunting passerines during the winter storm. 

Merlin (female) - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 8th, 2021. 

One of several raptors with a keen interest in the large numbers of passerines foraging in the fields. 

Hoar-frosted morning - Whately, Franklin Co., MA. February 10th, 2021. 

MA - Golden Eagle and other raptors in Buckland

Golden Eagle - juvenile, Buckland, Franklin Co., MA. January 27th, 2021.

At rest, quite a few things stood out on this bird, most strikingly the stark white tail with black tip, the uniform dark brown upperparts lacking any pale on the wing coverts or scapulars, and the light colored, golden-brown nape and crown. Perched fairly low with aesthetic proportions, and without other species close-by for comparison, it did not give the impression of being an especially large raptor at rest .  

As winter begins to tighten its grip on Western Massachusetts, fresh snow falls and this weekend's forecast for an Arctic blast have brought an abrupt end to the relatively calm, mild  days experienced in mid-January. While it may be pure coincidence, raptors and owls have become increasingly evident in Franklin County over the last week or so and yesterday afternoon, after dropping Matan for snowboarding at Berkshire East near Charlemont, I came across this stunning juvenile Golden Eagle! 

Golden Eagle - juvenile, Buckland, Franklin Co., MA. January 27th, 2021.

Bald Eagle (immature) and Golden Eagle  (juvenile) - Buckland, Franklin Co., MA. January 27th, 2021.

Initially found resting on a low beam, thanks mainly due to a couple of mobbing Common Ravens, it somehow managed to slip away unnoticed and I actually lost touch with it for a little while. Twenty minutes later I was back in business as it soared majestically above the tree tops drifting over the Buckland side of the Deerfield River. At one point it sparred with an immature Bald Eagle, a bird that I'd seen perched by the river a little while earlier. The Golden Eagle appeared several more times over the course of the next 90 minutes and remained active quite late into the evening until I last saw it drifting south towards Ashfield at 16:45 hours. 

Bald Eagle - immature, Deerfield River,  Charlemont, Franklin Co., MA. January 27th, 2021.

Bald Eagle - Deerfield River,  Charlemont, Franklin Co., MA. January 27th, 2021.

The last raptor of the day and still in the air at 16:50 hours.

Golden Eagle is not a common bird in Franklin County. Looking back on my records, I've had very little luck with the species and I believe this is only the third that I've seen in the county since 2005! Fortunately, I've managed to photograph all three but yesterday's bird was especially sweet since it was a pristine juvenile, and in the air for some time. The same overlook by the Deerfield River seems to be becoming something of a sweet spot for raptors with Red-shouldered Hawk, Merlin, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, as well the ubiquitous local Red-tailed Hawks and Bald Eagles, all being seen over the last two weeks including this close encounter with a Rough-legged Hawk on January 8th. 

Rural farmland - Buckland, Franklin Co., MA. January 26th, 2021.

Looking towards Buckland from the Deerfield River, Franklin Co., MA. January 26th, 2021.

Approximate location for the Deerfield River overlook along the Mohawk Trail (Rt 2).

It should be interesting to see if this young Golden Eagle sticks around or whether it was simply moving ahead of the extremely cold weather front forecast for the next  2 - 3 days. Still with the raptor theme I had good views of a Northern Harrier in Whately on the 26th, a species not especially easy to find in Franklin County in mid-winter . 

Northern Harrier - fem/imm, Whately, Franklin Co., MA. January 26th, 2021.

Harlequin Duck - Millers River, Erving, Franklin Co., MA. January 28th, 2021.

Though getting far less attention nowadays, the Harlequin continues to show well on the Millers River 

as does the Barrow's Goldeneye at the Turner's Falls power canal. 

 

MA - 120th Northampton CBC - Hadley

 

Northern Harrier (juv/first-winter) - Hadley Honey Pot, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020.

A good day for harriers with multiple sightings involving at least three individuals. 

Sunday December 20th saw Brian Kane and I join our friend Scott Surner for his traditional sector of the Northampton Christmas Bird Count. Though we haven't always been able to join Scott for the count every December, Brian and I have always made the effort, as long as time and weather permitted. Indeed, I first did this particular count with Scott way back in December 2005! This year Annie Nugent joined the team for the first time and as always it turned out to be a massively enjoyable day enriched by fine birding, decent weather and great company. It was around 19 deg F at dawn, calm and overcast throughout the day until around 14:00 hours when the forecast snow showers started in earnest and effectively closed play for the day. Annie and Brian quite sensibly departed at that point while Scott and I trudged on through the snow until 16:00 hours but couldn't muster a single addition for the day's tally!

Annie Nugent, Brian Kane and Scott Surner - Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020.

Careful, socially distant CBC in action. 

The day delivered 49 species, slightly lower than the 53 - 55 species that we typically record in Scott's sector. We began at Hadley Cove steadily working our way north through the Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley Honey Pot, and finishing at the end of Meadow Street, North Hadley. Portions of the Connecticut River were frozen over and the river wasn't quite as lively as we'd seen on previous counts. Moreover, late afternoon snow flurries interfered with observations upriver in North Hadley, a section of the river that often produced surprises in the past. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Hadley DPW, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020.

Eastern Phoebe - Hadley DPW, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020.

Black-capped Chickadee - Hadley DPW, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020.

The Hadley sector is always good for this perky, crisply marked species. 

In the event, the day was as much about chasing long standing 'lesser' rarities as much as it was about actual 'bird finding' and I'm really not sure if we came up with any species that hadn't been identified and established in the weeks prior to the count. Our tally included a couple of late/wintering migrants at Hadley DPW - Eastern Phoebe and Yellow-rumped Warbler, and two rare sparrows, or rather locally rare sub-species of sparrows in the form of an 'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow and the gambelli form of White-crowned Sparrow. We eventually ended up having excellent views of both sub-species on the Aqua Vitae Road which proved to be one of the more enjoyable parts of the day. Being an incursion year, we also found several large flocks of Common Redpolls but never came close to finding a Hoary Redpoll, failing to repeat our success with Hoaries in the 2012 count. Flocks of Horned Larks were scattered fairly frequent throughout the day but few settled and we had to work especially hard to find just a handful of Snow Buntings and a single Lapland Longspur, though the latter just happened to be a nice male. 

White-crowned Sparrow - Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020

First-winter showing characteristics of the gambelli subspecies. 

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow (center) - with Savannah Sparrows, Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow (in flight) - with Savannah Sparrows, Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

Northern Mockingbird - Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

Raptors were few but we did well for Northern Harriers with at least three seen, as well as Bald Eagle, Peregrine and Merlin. As so often happens on Christmas Counts and Big Days, we had our share of agonizing misses but one that really stood out for me was Feral Rock Pigeon. In the early part of the day we joked that at least one bird we could guarantee was Feral Pigeon. Scott was a lot more cautious and indicated pretty heavily that we might have our work cut out to find one. How right he was! Even our best bet at the Coolidge Bridge was bereft of Feral Pigeons, certainly a big change in status from the years that I've done the count and Scott tells me that the Coolidge Bridge used to support hundreds of pigeons in decades past. Even so, to spend an entire day birding in the Connecticut River Valley missing Feral Pigeon struck me as bizarre!

Brian Kane, Scott Surner and Annie Nugent - Hadley Honey Pot, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

Common Mergansers - Hadley Honey Pot, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

Common Redpoll - Hadley Honey Pot, Hampshire Co., MA. December 20th, 2020. 

One of a flock of about 25 just as the snow showers set in for the rest of the day. 

Hadley Honey Pot at dawn - December 20th, 2020. 16 Horned Larks were feeding along the dike at first light. 

Starting count day at 19 deg F really didn't feel that bad compared to the previous morning when I ran three miles in Gill at - 2 deg F/ - 19 C!

As always, it was tremendous fun being out in the field with Scott and friends, and taking part in this long standing, traditional event. This year, quite naturally, we approached the count safely and carefully using four separate vehicles and keeping our distance in the field. It worked surprisingly well and proved to be no real detriment to the count. As to the bigger picture, well the overall participation fielded no less than 186 observers who identified 86 bird species and counted some 36374 individual birds! Thanks very much to Janice F. Jorgensen and Amanda Kallenbach, co-compilers for this year's count. And of course, special thanks to Scott Surner for putting up with us for yet another year!

MA - waterbirds on the move part three; more Bonaparte's Gulls and Caspian Terns!

Caspian Tern - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 14th, 2019.

Flying in from the east with Barton Island in the background.

The morning of April 10th found me back at Barton Cove hoping to catch up with even just a tiny fraction of the fall-out seen the on the previous evening. Despite squally rain showers and 100% cloud cover, it was fairly obvious a major clearance had taken place overnight....not a single Bonaparte's Gull was present at first light. As if to emphasize the general departure of waterbirds, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (male and 2 females) lifted off the water, circled the cove and headed off high to the NW. But 6 Ruddy Ducks, 5 Greater Scaup, 2 Horned Grebes and a Pied-billed Grebe ended up staying through the day with a fine pair of Northern Pintail appearing with the Canada Goose flocks in the evening. A Snow Goose and 2 American Wigeon remained, both species being long stayers.

Ruddy Duck - male, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 10th, 2019.

Northern Harriers (2) - Turner's Falls Airfield, Franklin Co., MA. April 10th, 2019.
Two of a minimum of four seen within an hour at the airfield in mid-morning.

Clearing skies and a change to quite cold air coming from the north triggered a shift in focus and by mid-morning I was enjoying great views of a male Northern Harrier at Turner's Falls Airfield. Although I soon lost that particular male to view, a further two Northern Harriers dropped into the airfield together just as suddenly as the male had appeared. Both were 'female-like' in plumage but careful scrutiny showed them both to be young males, one of which lingered while with the other one departed fairly quickly to the NE. After 20 minutes or so, a fourth harrier dropped in, this one being a young female which spent a good 15 minutes quartering the rank grasses along the taxi-way. Spring harrier migration isn't a particularly easy event to see in Franklin County so to have four individuals within an hour at the same site was pretty remarkable. Moreover, David Sibley recorded three Northern Harriers (two adult male, one immature male) migrating through Hilltop Farm, Deerfield during the morning hours. In the evening Josh Layfield visited Turner's Falls Airfield finding two Northern Harriers (male, female-type) hunting, possibly lingerers from the morning, but it's equally possible that they were new migrants. Either way, April 10th was something of a stellar day for harrier migration in Franklin County.

Bonaparte's Gulls - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 12th, 2019.

The 11th was fairly quiet for new waterbird arrivals but the 12th was yet another fine day for Bonaparte's Gulls with the initial discovery of a tight flock of 17 at the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club quickly followed by a further 5 at Barton Cove. By mid-morning both flocks had converged on Barton Cove while a brief check in the evening found seven birds present but included 3 first-cycle individuals not seen on the morning visit! So, an absolute minimum of 25 Bonaparte's Gulls passing through Barton Cove on April 12th. .

Overnight rain and warm southerlies brought yet more new arrivals on the 13th with some 55 Double-crested Cormorants between the Turner's Fall power canal and the Rod and Gun Club. New for the year was a Red-necked Grebe and a Spotted Sandpiper at Barton Cove (Josh Layfield), along with 4 Barn Swallows and a Bank Swallow at the Turner's Falls power canal. Scaup arrivals included 7 Lesser at the power canal, 7 Lesser at the Rod and Gun club and a further 7 Lesser joining the previously seen 5 Greater Scaup at Barton Cove. In the evening, 2 Black Vultures again appeared high over Barton Cove as they had done on the evening of the 11th.

Caspian Tern - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 14th, 2019.

April 14th dawned mild and calm and I wasn't expecting too much in the way of grounded birds but I decided to check Barton Cove in any case. Initially, things seemed a little quiet and I couldn't find the previous day's Red-necked Grebe. In the distance a group of small group of 'gulls' resting on an exposed mud bar caught my attention. Instead of scoping them at range I drove around to Riverview Drive for a closer look and there sat with a few Herring and Ring-billed Gulls were 2 Caspian Terns. As I settled down to enjoy them, I could clearly hear the distinctive grating bark of one or more Caspian Terns in the air.......in fact there were 5 of them present together in the cove!! I last them heading towards Barton Campground at about 07:20 hours.

Caspian Tern - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 14th, 2019.

Caspian Terns (5) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 14th, 2019.

MA - good birding in the first few days of April

Long-tailed Ducks - gracing the Turner's Falls power canal in heavy rain, Franklin Co., MA. April 4th, 2018.

April opened with a nice wave of Eastern Phoebes in northern Franklin County with a concentration of at least seven birds around the fringe of Gill Elementary school fields on the 1st, and several other smaller gatherings at sites such as Barton Cove and Turner's Falls power canal. The phoebes must have shivered during the snowfalls on the 2nd but were already widespread and present around many properties in Gill by the 4th.

Eastern Phoebe - newly arrived migrant, Gill Elementary School, Franklin Co., MA. April 1st, 2018.

Finally, I managed to connect with some Tree Swallows on April 3rd, with three at Turner's Falls Rod and Gun Club and another three at the power canal hawking over the water in very gloomy conditions.

Tree Swallow - over the Turner's Falls power canal in heavy rain, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018.

The 3rd also brought an impressive build up of waterfowl at Barton Cove, especially in late afternoon when over 145 Common Merganser, 85 Ring-necked Duck, 15 Wood Duck, and six Common Goldeneye were among the species present, highlighted by four Northern Shoveler this time composed of two pairs versus the three males and a female present last week.  Also on the 3rd, a flurry of large gulls arrived at Barton Cove in the evening bringing two Iceland Gulls ( first-cycle and second-cycle).

Barton Cove, Gill - relatively impressive gatherings of waterfowl. April 3rd, 2018. Northern Shovelers (four center left), Common Mergansers, Ring-necked Ducks and Wood Ducks among the species present.

Iceland Gulls (2) - with Herring Gulls, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018.

Second-cycle left, first-cycle upper right. 

Again on the 3rd, I caught up with some of the Red Crossbills present in the Montague Plains where I found two pairs in what I assumed to be the spot where breeding had been reported in the preceding weeks. Even so, I think I would have to admit to being more impressed with the gathering of around 150 American Goldfinches present in the same area, by far the largest flock I've encountered in Franklin County. The birds were very vocal, just about audible from the road but only truly appreciated by walking into the habitat some 300 meters from the road where I was greeted by absolute wall of sound coming from singing and calling American Goldfinches. Oddly, when I returned to the site the following day (the 4th), most of the large numbers had moved leaving only 35 or so present in the same area, though intriguingly, I found another very large flock (80+) along River Road in Gill that day.

Red Crossbill - male, Montague Plains, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018. 

American Goldfinches - Montague Plains, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018. 

Just a tiny fraction of the 150+ birds singing and calling about 1/4 north of Old Northfield Road. 

Unexpected and supplemented by another large flock of 80+ on River Road, Gill on the 4th. 

The 3rd also produced a fine male Northern Harrier migrating north through Upinngil Farm, neatly matching a cluster of late March/early April dates for other spring males in Gill in previous years. And on the 2nd, a surprise American Pipit in the arable fields along North Cross Road, Gill.

Northern Harrier - male, northbound migrant, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018.

Inclement weather on the 4th produced yet more waterfowl arrivals with new birds including 17 Green-winged Teal at Barton Cove, four Lesser Scaup, a female Red-breasted Merganser and a whopping 175 Common Mergansers present, and highlighted by pairs of migrant Long-tailed Ducks at the Rod and Gun club, and at the power canal. Many of these departed on the following cold, clear night though a Lesser Scaup (female), a male Bufflehead and no less than 13 Common Goldeneyes were noteworthy at Barton Cove on the 5th. 

Woodland birding remains fairly quiet though singing Fox and American Tree Sparrows were present on North Cross Road, Gill on the 5th, along with a singing Winter Wren back on a  traditional breeding territory. Further north, we chanced up a Hermit Thrush in the woods and a Red-breasted Nuthatch excavating a nest hole in Pisgah State Park on April 1st. 

Hermit Thrush - Pisgah State Park, Cheshire Co., NH. April 1st, 2018.

Red-breasted Nuthatch - Pisgah State Park, Cheshire Co., NH. April 1st, 2018.

American River Otter - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2018.

Briefly resting on floating ice during snow flurries.