MA - early September

 

Nashville Warbler. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 9th, 2021.

The first ten days of September saw a welcome drop in the heat and humidity of August but, certainly from a Franklin County perspective, it's been pretty quiet for migration. Even the passage of Hurricane Ida on the 2nd did little to stir things up though did bring a small number of shorebirds to Northfield and an increase in shorebird diversity. The Baird's Sandpiper that had showed so well at Caldwell Road in late August lingered until September 3rd though became increasingly difficult to see spending most of its time with Killdeers on the plowed section of the fields rather than feeding out in the open grass. Two Semipalmated Plovers, two Least Sandpipers and my first Wilson's Snipe of the fall were also at Caldwell Road on the 2nd. On the 9th, heavy overnight rain brought a further 21 Least Sandpipers and 4 Lesser Yellowlegs to the Caldwell Road sod fields though the yellowlegs stayed only briefly and flew off purposefully to the south after just a few minutes never to return. 

Killdeer. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 9th, 2021.

Least Sandpipers. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 9th, 2021.

Part of a single flock of 21 birds.

Aside from an excellent showing of Common Yellowthroats along the Connecticut River, warbler migration and diversity has been slow so far, or at least in the places that I've been able to check. A few Cape May Warblers, a couple of Northern Parulas and a Nashville Warbler (on the 9th) is all I have to show for my efforts so far! On the plus side, checking for warblers has revealed an excellent passage of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feeding in wild habitat while taking advantage of the flowering Jewelweed along the banks of the Connecticut River, and there was an early Lincoln's Sparrow in the same habitat on the 3rd, I'm pretty sure my earliest fall record for Franklin County.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 9th, 2021. 

Lincoln's Sparrow. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 3rd, 2021.

Common Yellowthroat. Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. September 9th, 2021.

Abundant along the field edges flanking the Connecticut River.

 

MA - Red Crossbills and Red-breasted Nuthatches on the move

 August 15th brought a cool, north-easterly airflow and a welcome end to a prolonged spell of heat and humidity. It really felt like fall had started and there were even small kettles of Turkey Vultures and Broad-winged Hawks, as well as a juvenile Merlin to be seen at Turner's Falls Airfield that day. The 16th was equally cool and comfortable and Hell's Kitchen supported a small but enticing selection of shorebirds including 5 Least and 1 Solitary Sandpiper, a Lesser Yellowlegs and at least 12 Killdeer. A post breeding flock of at least 15 Killdeer continued to linger at Turner's Falls Airfield as well. 

But the real story revolved around the build up of several irruptive species throughout northern Franklin County, especially Red Crossbills. I've now heard and seen crossbills every day since July 31st. Sightings appear to be completely random and almost always involve flyovers will a general movement toward the SW. Flock sizes have not been large ranging from two to nine birds and actually involving quite a lot of singles. Since August 8th I've found them at numerous sites in Gill, plus Hell's Kitchen in Northfield, Millers Falls, Sunderland, Montague and Wendell. Sound recordings from about 15 observations and all have been identified as 'Type 10' by Tim Spahr and Matt Young after analysis of the 'kip-kip' flight calls. It's fantastic having these birds in our area, especially so early in the fall, and with no signs of the influx slowing down it seems that we have plenty to look forward to in the coming weeks. 

Mid-August also produced an especially noteworthy wave of Red-breasted Nuthatches with small numbers and singles occurring just about anywhere, and larger concentrations at Hell's Kitchen (15+) and North Cross Road, Gill (7+) over the 16th and 17th, and Highland Park, Greenfield (16) on the 20th.  Like the crossbills, I think we can look forward to more over the next few weeks with the potential for some quite spectacular movements and concentrations.  By comparison, the SW movement of Purple Finches over Gill and Northfield has been more subtle involving fewer birds and they have not been daily. However, the indications are there for a stronger passage in late August and into September. 

Gadwall - eclipse male, Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. August 13th, 2015.

Historical image of what is presumably the same male back for another summer in 2020!

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have graced our garden feeders in Northfield with up to eight in the yard at any one time, and on the 18th I noted four individual hummingbirds moving low over the water at Barton Cove heading in SW direction - those could well have been migrants. Barton Cove has also hosted several Great Egrets and, remarkably, what appears to be the same returning drake Gadwall back for another summer. It can usually be found loafing around with the Mallards off Unity Park and is likely to stick around for several weeks.