MA - Northern Shoveler and more, Turner's Falls

We're bracing ourselves for a plunge of Arctic air and even had a little taste of it this afternoon. In between times, I had a quick check of the Turner's Falls area finding a few nice long stayers but no obvious new arrivals. The female Northern Shoveler continues at the power canal, neatly hidden among the Canada Geese. A male Merlin was soaring over the Turner's Falls bridge this afternoon and a slight improvement on the gull situation found a nice adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at Unity Park. A couple of Cedar Waxwings were feeding along the power canal, a species that was curiously absent during the same sector of the Greenfield CBC on December 28th.

 Northern Shoveler (right) - female continuing from late December, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 5th, 2014. Skillfully hiding among 350 Canada Geese!

Canada Goose - abberant bird with unusual amounts of white flecking on the black neck.

Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 5th, 2014. The goose flocks at Turner's Falls often

hold two or three birds like this which seem to have increased over the last five years or so.

 Lesser Black-backed Gull - adult, Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 5th, 2014.

 Cedar Waxwing -  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 5t., 2014.

Nice to see after completely dipping on this species during the Greenfield CBC.

Yesterday evening I hung around for the goldeneye roost at the power canal. It was a fine show with about 85 birds coming in and a great deal of displaying. There was, however, no sign of the male Barrow's Goldeneye which I don't think has been recorded here since the beginning of the New Year. The Eastern Phoebe was also calling toward dusk, continuing from late December. 

MA - Cape Ann seabirds 01/03/15

On Saturday we had a very pleasant family visit to the north shore of the Massachusetts coast. Somehow I managed to let more than a year pass by without a single visit to Cape Ann so it seemed appropriate to start there. We began with a walk down to the rocks at Halibut Point State Park. Conditions were calm with a light pre-storm NE breeze coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. Birds were not present in huge numbers, far from it in fact, but the variety was really nice and I'd forgotten just how close some of the seaducks pass at Halibut Point. Harlequins, Common Eiders, Red-breasted Mergansers, Black and White-winged Scoters, Common Loons and Razorbills were among the more frequent species seen with Great Cormorant, Red-necked Grebe, Northern Gannet, Long-tailed Duck and Purple Sandpipers also present. We didn't connect with any of the scarcer alcids (Dovekie and Thick-billed Murre) reported from previous days but our visits to the coast are so infrequent that all of the species seemed rather novel to us.

Later in the day we cruised down the Plum Island peninsula finding four Snowy Owls with no trouble at all, including a close encounter for Susuannah and Matan on an otherwise deserted beach. Two Merlins and a Northern Harrier were among other raptors seen at Plum. Overall, a beautiful day to be out and hopefully we'll be back before too long.

Harlequin Ducks - Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

We saw over fifty of these duing the day, most of them hugging the shoreline.

 Common Eiders (dresseri) - Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

 Red-breasted Mergansers - Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

 White-winged Scoter - female, Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

White-winged Scoter - male, Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

Long-tailed Ducks - Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

 Purple Sandpipers - Halibut Point SP, Cape Ann, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

Snowy Owl - Parker River NWR, Essex Co., MA. January 3rd, 2014.

Found and identified by a certain Mr. Matan Lerman-Smith, just seven years old.

MA - Turner's Shoveler 12/31

Found this female-type Northern Shoveler with Mallards under the guard rail at the Turner's Falls power canal this morning. Not at all common locally, at least in my experience. I usually seem them in late fall and early spring and, like this one, nearly always singles.

Northern Shoveler - female, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 31st, 2014.

MA - Ross's Goose on Christmas Day

Ross's Goose - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 25th, 2014.

Images taken at first light in mist and rain. Continuing bird now entering count week for the Greenfield CBC.

MA - Christmas Ross's Goose 12/24

Acting on a suspicion that our local Canada Geese would be spending most of the day out in the fields feeding on corn stubble, I decided to try the Turner's Falls power canal before I did anything else this morning. Initially it looked quite gloomy with just a small group of Canadas near the main entrance and nothing white among them. But farther down the canal, quite close to the entrance to the USGS Fish Lab, a nice raft of 350 Canada Geese. With them several white birds which included 2-3 male Common Goldeneye and the Ross's Goose. The tiny white goose stood out like a sore thumb among its big brown cousins.

So having been missing since Sunday, the Ross's Goose continues and I'm not over surprised by this. Most unusual geese at this site tend to stage for 5-10 days or more before moving on. At the moment conditions are ideal (mild and wet) for feeding so unless hunting activity pushes them back to the canal or to Barton Cove, the geese will most likely be absent for large chunks of the day as we've just experienced in the early part of this week. The best bet for catching up with the Ross's would be very early morning (before 07:30hrs) or late afternoon/early evening.

Ross's Goose - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 24th, 2014.

Images taken at first light in heavy overcast and drizzle. Continuing bird, first found by Bob Zadja on December 20th.

MA - very late phoebe - 12/23

A peculiar, rain sodden day was rounded off very nicely with a completely unexpected Eastern Phoebe at the Turner's Falls power canal. It was working the guard rail and behaving in exactly the same manner as the bird I photographed in the same spot a month ago (http://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2014/11/ma-late-phoebe-1122.html)
I'm certain it's the same individual which now appears to be attempting to overwinter and could be a really nice bird to work for on Sunday's Christmas bird count.

Eastern Phoebe - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 23rd, 2014.

The camera refused to focus on the bird in the gloom with the few seconds I had before it moved along the guard rail.

Kumlien's Iceland Gull (right) - adult, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 23rd, 2014.

Common Mergansers - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 23rd, 2014.

In addition to the phoebe, two Buffleheads and a Hermit Thrush were the main interest at the power canal, while up at Barton Cove two Canvasbacks and two Ring-necked Ducks continue along with impressive gatherings of Common and Hooded Mergansers. Also this evening, two fine adult Kumlien's Iceland Gulls were bathing off Riverview Drive at Barton Cove.

Despite the rain, the day was actually full of interesting birds beginning just after dawn with nice naked-eye views of Barred Owl and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker this morning on North Cross Road in Gill.

Both the power canal and Barton Cove have been strangely bereft of geese since the weekend and there hasn't been a sighting of the Ross's Goose since a brief observation on Sunday morning. Still, my guess would be that it's still in the area and will eventually be found again this week.

NH - Hinsdale waterfowl 12/22

This morning I happened to be passing the Hinsdale Setbacks on the Connecticut River. It's been a while since I've done any birding at all in New Hampshire and this spot is a mere fifteen minutes from our new house in Northfield. I dare say I'll be doing a bit more here over the next few months. Several years ago we lived in Keene, NH and spent plenty of time birding and hiking in this particular corner of the state. Needless to say, it was really good to get back and do a little birding if only for a few minutes.

My expectations were not high but I was pleasantly surprised by the range and numbers of species visible above Vernon Dam. Hooded Mergansers were by far the most common duck with over 100 present. Less expected were 2 Red-necked Grebes, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, a Common Loon, a Mute Swan and a Great Blue Heron. All of the water on the river was ice-free but I expect most of these species will disperse once the really hard weather arrives and the river freezes up. Still I was pleased with this haul and will try and get back again soon.

At Hinsdale the birds are often distant and I apologize for the grainy, heavy crops below;

Common Loon - Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. December 22nd, 2014.

Long-tailed Ducks (2) - with Hooded Mergansers, Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. December 22nd, 2014.

Mute Swan - Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. December 22nd, 2014.

Great Blue Heron - Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. December 22nd, 2014.

  Red-necked Grebe (one of two) - Hinsdale Setbacks, Cheshire Co., NH. December 22nd, 2014.

MA - ROSS'S GOOSE in Gill

So, the 'purple patch' in the Pioneer Valley continues.

I'd just finished a four-mile run in Gill and was about to drive home when I thought I'd better check the Western Mass Birders Facebook page...and I'm glad I did! Steve Moytl had just posted rather briefly "Second hand report from Bob Zadja of adult Ross's Goose at Bartons Cove". I was just five minutes away and, despite not having my camera with me, could hardly resist a quick look. Scanning from Riverview Drive in Gill I soon picked up two white geese among hordes of Canadas, one them clearly being the described adult Ross's Goose. The whole flock slowly drifted across from Turner's Falls and started linger on the Gill side of the river at which point I put out an additional alert on WMB and then headed home for my camera. In between times Scott Surner had also received a call from Bob Zadja, and called me just to make sure that I was in the loop. About an hour later, Scott and I were enjoying the Ross's Goose together as it grazed with Canada Geese and two Snow Geese off Riverview Drive. Apparently, according to WMB, it spent much of the day in the same spot allowing many local birders to catch up with it.

Kudos to the finder Bob Zadja, and to Steve Moytl for getting the word out so quickly on WMB.

Ross's Goose - with immature Snow Goose (two present), Gill, Franklin Co., MA. December 20th, 2014.

MA - drake Barrow's again

This morning I couldn't resist have another look at the goldeneye flock on the Connecticut River at Bennet Meadow. It was quite the spectacle, even more birds than yesterday with about 130 goldeneye in all. The birds seemed nervous this morning, roaming up and down the river, apparently very wary of an adult Bald Eagle patrolling the area. The male Barrow's Goldeneye was still present offering some nice 'in flight' comparisons with Common Goldeneye.

Barrow's Goldeneye (center in all three images) - male with male Common Goldeneyes, Bennet Meadow, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. December 19th, 2014.

MA - another drake Barrow's?

This morning I quickly checked the Turner's Falls power canal hopeful of seeing Eric Huston's Horned Grebe that he found there yesterday. No dice on the grebe but a pair of Bufflehead were nice, along with a handful of Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers.

Late last week Josh Rose reported close to 100 Common Goldeneye at Bennet Meadow, a mere half mile from our house in Northfield. It sounded like an impressive gathering and was also a spot where I'd seen a Barrow's Goldeneye (females) in the past. I arrived at about 09:20 hours and wasn't disappointed. About quarter of a mile downstream, a superb raft of over 100 Common Goldeneye as well as a single Common Merganser and a loitering Herring Gull. After a few minutes of searching - 'boom!', there was a fine male Barrow's Goldeneye. Straight away, I wrestled with the idea that it was the same male frequenting the river at Turner's Falls and Montague, but to me this individual looked different, 'blacker' somehow with an apparently thicker black spur and slightly fewer white spots on the upperparts. As it happened, Josh Rose was out and about this morning as well and reported negative news on the male Barrow's from both the power canal and the rail trail bridge at Montague City.

 Barrow's Goldeneye - male with Common Goldeneyes, Connecticut River at Bennet Meadow, Northfield, 

Franklin Co., MA. December 18th, 2014. 

So could the same male Barrow's Goldeneye be commuting between Northfield and Turner's Falls? That's a distance of roughly nine miles by car and probably much further on the river given the river bends and meanders. Moreover, aside from Barton Cove and the Rod and Gun club, large sections of the Connecticut River between Turner's Falls and Northfield are simply not checked. It seems like a stretch that we should be finding the same single drake Barrow's at the few spots where we can access on the river. Anyhow, time should reveal more and, to be honest, I'm just delighted that these handsome diving ducks are becoming a feature of our winter here in the valley.

Also of note today, a Common Redpoll flying over Gill Elementery School on Boyle Road at 06:55hrs, and 2 (first-cycle) Kumlien's Iceland Gulls and a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Barton Cove in the evening.

Bufflehead - male, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. December 18th, 2014.