MA - waterfowl and other odds n' ends in the first half of November

 

(Pale-bellied) Brant - three of six at Pine Meadow Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 1st, 2020. Initially found by Sasha Auer and Kevin Barnes. 

Irruptive passerines from the boreal certainly stole the show in early November but compared to previous years, it seemed (to me at least) that waterfowl migration was a little below par for the first twenty days of the month. Small numbers of Black, Surf and White-winged Scoters showed up at Turner's Falls and at the north end of the Quabbin Reservoir along with a tiny handful of Long-tailed Ducks but generally, those species were not found in the numbers that we've seen in the past. That much said, there were certainly some notables around with Red-breasted Mergansers turning up in flocks of up to nine birds and a continued presence with Common Mergansers at the Turner's Falls power canal through to the middle of the month. It was also excellent to have some lingering Brant (6 at Pine Meadow Road, Northfield through to Nov 2nd) and a Cackling Goose in Turners Falls  (Nov 7th - 20th) after both species had been curiously missing in October. Still, while early to mid November might have light on the scarcer waterfowl, it certainly wasn't light on volume. On several dates between the 12th and the 20th, the Turner's Falls power canal 'groaned' under the weight of 1900-2000 Canada Geese and up to 260 Common Mergansers and 32 Common Goldeneyes. Other notable gatherings included the continued presence of Pied-billed Grebes and American Coots on the CT River all month to the 20th at least, with up to 11 of the former and up to five of the latter between Barton Cove and the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club. 

Cackling Goose (center) - heading north for evening feeding. Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 7th, 2020. 

This bird was courteous enough stick around at the power canal for well over week after this initial sighting. 

Cackling Goose -Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 14th, 2020. 

Cackling Goose (right) -Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. November 15th, 2020. 

Bonaparte's Gull (adult/near adult) -Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2020. 

Late migrant shorebirds included a Dunlin on Nov 8th and a Semipalmated Plover on Nov 10th, both coming from the rather under watched Gate 22 at the Quabbin Reservoir. The Connecticut River at Turner's Falls hosted unusually good numbers of Greater Yellowlegs until all of them appeared to form one tight flock of eleven birds and depart south at speed on the evening of the 12th. While the odd Greater Yellowlegs can be expected in November, a single flock of 11 is unprecedented in my experience in the county, especially so late into the month.  

A Bonaparte's Gull at Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club on Nov 12th was the only larid of note in the first 20 days of the month in what had to be quietest opening to 'gull season' that I've ever seen in the greater Turner's Falls area. Iceland Gulls are long overdue but should hopefully put in an appearance soon, and perhaps one or two Lesser Black-backed Gulls. 

May 1st - 4th

Killdeer - a rain dappled breeding bird, Montague, Franklin Co., MA. My 1st, 2020. 

Travel restrictions and social distancing protocol continued into May with no foreseeable end in sight. Though obviously difficult to deal with, few birders would grumble about the idea of being stuck in Massachusetts during the month of May. With spring migration in full swing and unpredictable weather patterns ahead, many diverse days will offer the promise of great field birding all the way through until the month's end. The opening three days formed a perfect example as heavy/torrential rain grounded a modest fall-out of waterbirds on the 1st, whilst on the 3rd temperatures soared into the low 80s bringing the first genuinely warm day of the year and a widespread, diverse range of summer breeders to Franklin County.


May 1st: Barton Cove, Gill; 14 Common Loons with some birds dropping in whilst I was there before 09:00 but a complete exodus of all loons by 12 noon. There was also a noteworthy fall-out of 10 Buffleheads plus 3 Green-winged Teal and 2 Ring-necked Ducks lingering over from April. 

Ring-necked Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 1st, 2020. 

View from Barton Cove campground, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 1st, 2020. 

 Common Loons - from Barton Cove campground, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 1st, 2020. 

Some of the early morning fall-out of 14 birds.

May 2nd: a cool start but warming to the mid 60s by the afternoon. Noteworthy first arrivals (with thanks to Josh Layfield, Brian Kane and David Sibley) included; Chimney Swift (Deerfield, Greenfield),  Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Deerfield), Green Heron (Montague), Baltimore Oriole (Montague), Warbling Vireo (Gill), Wood Thrush (Northfield, Montague), Ovenbird (Northfield, Montague), Northern Waterthrush (Gill), Chestnut-sided Warbler (Gill), Yellow Warbler (Turner's Falls) and Common Yellowthroat (Montague).

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male) - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 2nd, 2020. 

Broad-winged Hawk - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 1st, 2020. 

May 3rd: the first really warm day of the year with winds in the SW quarter and temps reaching the low 80s by mid-afternoon. Lots more new arrivals including; Prairie Warbler (Deerfield, Montague, Leyden), Black-throated Blue Warbler (Deerfield, Gill), Blue-winged Warbler (Deerfield), Gray Catbird (everywhere!), Northern Parula (Deerfield, Gill), Great Crested Flycatcher (Deerfield, Sunderland), Eastern Kingbird (Gill) Least Flycatcher (Montague) and Bobolink (Monatgue). Thanks again to Josh Layfield, Brian Kane and David Sibley, and Susannah Lerman for the reports. Considering the clear skies and warm, sunny conditions 38 Ring-billed Gulls, a Red-breasted Merganser (female) and a Bufflehead (fem/imm) at Barton Cove were surprising. 

Red-breasted Merganser with Ring-billed Gulls - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 3rd, 2020. 

May 4th: Clear skies and a warm morning induced another widespread arrival of summer breeders to Franklin County. Warbling Vireos and Eastern Kingbirds were already plentiful around Barton Cove and Prairie Warblers (12+) seemed to be well established in the Montague Sandplains. I had my first Yellow-throated Vireo of the year, along with a Northern Parula, on Taylor Hill Road, Montague and a Blue-winged Warbler singing right by Rt 47 in Montague. In Deerfield, David Sibley reported Blackburnian Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and Indigo Bunting all making first-time appearances this year. In the evening Josh Layfield and I watched nice gathering of swallows feeding low over the water at Barton Cove, five species in all including 10+ Bank Swallows and at least 3 Cliff Swallows. Chimney Swifts (3-4) were visible over Riverview Drive as well . 

Eastern Kingbird - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 4th, 2020. 

Cliff Swallows - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. May 4th, 2020. 

Minimum of three birds watched feeding low over the water with Josh Layfield on a cool, cloudy evening. 

Covid Spring IV - Grebes!

Horned Grebes - flock of seven, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

Red-necked and Horned Grebes - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

After a warm, promising start on April 12th the rest of the week turned decidedly chilly with cold air from the N and NW seemingly blocking, or slowing down the arrival of many spring migrants. In fact, the air was so cold that we had late spring snow falls on the 16th and 18th. Notable spring passerine migrants included Brown Thrashers singing on North Cross Road, Gill on the 12th and the 17th, and an early pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers on Meadow Road, Montague also on the 12th. Louisiana Waterthrushes trickled in but became increasingly quiet as the air grew colder in the middle of the week. A Blue-headed Vireo was singing in the NMH woods off North Cross Road on the 15th and three 'yellow' Palm Warblers dropped in by the Turner's Falls power canal on the 18th. There was also a strong 'wave' of Ruby-crowned Kinglets on the 17th and 18th with singing birds turning up in many places all over Gill.

Brown Thrasher - North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 12th, 2020. 

My earliest arrival date for this species in Franklin County. 

Towards the end of the week the snow showers produced a light fall-out of waterbirds at Barton Cove and Turner's Falls. Two Red-necked Grebes and a female Red-breasted Merganser were at Barton Cove on the 16th along with a Horned Grebe at the Turner's Falls power canal. A more impressive fall-out took place on the 18th with seven Horned and three Red-necked Grebes in one raft at Barton Cove (Josh Layfield), along with 13 Double-crested Cormorants and 3 Great Blue Herons. And on the same morning, visible from Barton Cove campground, a male Red-breasted Merganser, four Long-tailed Ducks and a further three Red-necked Grebes. All of the grebes this week were in pristine breeding condition!

Pied-billed Grebe - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

Great Blue Herons - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

Double-crested Cormorants - some of the 13 present, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

Fields off Main Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 18th, 2020. 

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 - waterbirds of the move part four; Red-necked Grebes!

Red-necked Grebes - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

The impressive run of waterbird fall-outs at Barton Cove, Gill continued unabated this morning when a southerly airflow combined with torrential rain, mist and poor visibility brought no less than 20 grounded Red-necked Grebes. The birds were initially quite mobile rarely settling for long but as the weather improved they found refuge just off Barton Island and started to rest and feed. With them came a Horned Grebe in full summer plumage, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, as many as 9 Bonaparte's Gulls and a particularly brutish Caspian Tern. Some 15 Northern Rough-winged Swallows were present at the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club but aside from 7 Lesser Scaup waterbirds were few, and the fall-out appeared to be more or less restricted to Barton Cove this morning though a couple of Red-necked Grebes did drop into the power canal and stayed throughout the afternoon. Today's total of 22 Red-necked Grebes was the single largest arrival that I've recorded in the Gill/Turner's Falls area to date.

Red-necked Grebes - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

With a female Red-breasted Merganser leading the flock.

Red-necked Grebes - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Caspian Tern - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Bonaparte's Gulls and Caspian Tern - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Horned Grebe (left)  with Red-necked Grebes - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Bonaparte's Gull - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Bonaparte's Gulls - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Bonaparte's Gulls - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

Bonaparte's Gull - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. April 15th, 2019.

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.