MA - Red Crossbill, Evening Grosbeaks and more

Evening Grosbeak - male, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2016.

One of those nice November days with some good 'incidental' birding beginning with a Red Crossbill northbound over North Cross Road, Gill at around 08:00 hrs. It was giving the classic, clear, penetrating 'gyp-gyp' calls and the first that I've seen in Franklin County this year. Half an hour later I was treated to a dozen Evening Grosbeaks feeding on what I think must have been Sugar Maples. The birds weren't shy as I watched them but suddenly flushed when a Red-tail flew by.

At Turner's Falls, a drake Long-tailed Duck graced Barton Cove. Otherwise Cackling Goose (1), Bufflehead (6) and Common Goldeneye (16) and Merlin (1) continued to enliven the birding in Turner's Falls.

MA - Horned Larks, late Pec and more saw-whets this week

Horned Lark - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 8th, 2016.

Notable observations in the Northfield/Gill/Turner's Falls area this week included a late Pectoral Sandpiper in Hell's Kitchen on the 7th, together with about eight Killdeer, and up to 11 Killdeer at the same spot on the 9th.

 Pectoral Sandpiper - Hell's Kitchen, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 7th, 2016.

Not that easy to see in Franklin County, and getting late to boot. 

Killdeer - Hell's Kitchen, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 9th, 2016.

Small flocks of Horned Larks showed up in Gill on River Road, and Northfield on Caldwell, both flocks offering excellent close views. There was also a huge flock of 150 Cedar Waxwings on Caldwell Road along with good numbers of American Robins which passed through the area in good numbers this week.

Horned Lark - Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 8th, 2016.

Down at Turner's Falls, the Cackling Goose continued to be seen periodically with Canada Geese through to the 11th when two drake Northern Shoveler also showed up with the Canada Geese. Otherwise, a general build-up of Common Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes continues, as does the numbers of gulls arriving at Unity Park at dusk. Unity Park has also hosted up to three Merlins again this week with the birds seemingly unconcerned by the busy recreational activities taking place in the park.

Cackling Goose (left) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 8th, 2016.

Continuing bird present through Nov 11th.

Northern Shovelers (2) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 11th, 2016.

Found very late in the day with a small flock of Canada Geese. 

Merlin - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 9th, 2016. 

Up to three around Unity Park most evenings this week. 

 American Robin - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 8th, 2016.

Finally, in Gill, the incredible show of Northern Saw-whet Owls continued on the 10th when I was joined by Laura Gaudette and Brian Kane. We checked four sites around the town finding saw-whets in all four, with just one site being a repeat visit from Nov 8th. Again we enjoyed a nice range of vocals with the drawn out 'squeal' or 'whine' call being the most frequent, but at the last site we also heard prolonged and sustained quiet 'tooting' as well as various squeals. It was another very successful sortie in less than favorable conditions with wind gusts of about 10 mph at times. However, with tally from the 8th and 10th combined, that gave us around 11 saw-whets Owls found in Gill this week alone and a further six or so from the 7th in Northfield.....pretty impressive!

MA - saw-whet 'mania'

Northern Saw-whet Owl - Gill, Franklin Co, MA. November 19th, 2016. 

I've long been intrigued by the presence of Northern Saw-whet Owls in the Pioneer Valley. This perky little owl seems to be only rarely detected as a breeder, migrant and winterer in our area. Yet, with a bit of effort and commitment, it's not too difficult to find saw-whets in the woods of Franklin County. In particular, this autumn seems to be a bumper year for migrant saw-whets and the banding stations in Eastern Massachusetts have recorded some exceptional numbers over the last month or so.
So with this in mind, I headed out to my local area determined to find a few saw-whets of my own. On the first evening (Nov 7th), together with Eric Huston, I checked some sites near my home on the west side of the Connecticut River in Northfield. We had a fabulous time finding saw-whets in all of the three plots that we checked. The birds responded with squeals, whines and 'squew' calls as well as more subtle hissing and bill-clicking, and included a response within 30 seconds at one spot! Views were limited to 'flight-only' but I had sightings at two out of three plots including two birds at one of these. At our final plot, we again heard squeals and whines in response to imitated calls but our hopes of views were dashed when a Barred Owl suddenly appeared in the spotlight. Barred Owls will certainly chase saw-whets given the chance and not surprisingly the next saw-whet call we heard was way off in the distance. So in summary, we heard/saw somewhere between four and six saw-whets from three plots on our first evening in Northfield - not too shabby!

With seemingly optimal conditions continuing into early evening on Nov 8th, I decided (last minute) to try some sites in and around Gill Center, this time being joined by Laura Gaudette. We hit four different spots and found saw-whets squealing and whining in all four, with the 'squew' calls heard less frequently, but still heard very well. Two sites had multiple saw-whets calling back and forth and we think we may have had as many as three birds at our last site. Not to be outdone, Barred Owls turned up at two plots including one very vocal bird that scuppered our chances for views at the first plot. So, all in all, another brilliantly successful evening with saw-whets in all four plots. Sadly, these birds really gave us the run-around when it came to actual views with the owls staying high in the hemlocks almost all of the time. However, in many respects the erratic behavior of these tiny owls is all part of the mystique and I know, for sure, that they can be seen well at times as this image from New Salem in 2009 shows. It was taken with simple Canon Powershot point n' shoot camera at close range.

Northern Saw-whet Owl - New Salem, Franklin Co., MA. November, 2009.

Northern Saw-whet Owl - Salisbury Beach, Essex Co., MA. October, 2010.

Day time roost of a migrant in Eastern Red Cedars. 

I've yet to get this lucky with a day-time roost in Franklin County, but I am trying!

MA - Harris's Sparrow plus waterfowl on the move

Harris's Sparrow (singing) - Westborough WMA, Worcester Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

Excellent find by Bette Robo on October 26th. Not an easy bird requiring lots of patience but eventually it shuffled up

and even started singing in front of a small gathering during my visit today. 

November 5th/6th saw a classic late fall weekend.....fairly mild and windless after a chilly start on the 5th and cool, rather raw and blustery on the 6th. I entered the weekend with no plans for birding, but fortune came my way and I managed some incidental birding around Turner's Falls on the 5th and my first (and subsequently successful) attempt at the long-staying Harris's Sparrow at Westborough WMA on the 6th.

Aside from the sparrow, waterfowl were very much the theme of the weekend with fresh birds arriving on both days at Turner's Falls including my first Common Goldeneyes of the fall. These were some ten days later than I usually record my first at Turner's with eight birds together on the power canal on the 5th, and 12 together at the same site on the 6th. With them came a smattering of Buffleheads, Black Scoters (13), Greater Scaup and Horned Grebe. After Friday's Cackling Goose at Turner's, another lighter, more typically plumaged bird showed up on the 5th and remained to the 6th.

Cackling Goose (Richardson's) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

Same bird also present on Nov 5th. 

Common Goldeneyes (12) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 6th, 2016. Small flock of eight also present on Nov 5th. 
My first of the season but later than average date which is usually around Oct 25th/26th. 

The Harris's Sparrow adventure turned out to be a slightly longer, more difficult project than I'd hoped with a 90 minute drive to the site for starters and then some two hours of working the fields at Westborough WMA before eventually connecting with the bird around 10:40am. For all the grumbling, it was well worth the effort as the bird eventually shuffled up to the top of a thicket and even started singing! It was also very instructive to hear it calling for a prolonged period just before the observation, a call which I likened most to a Chaffinch....rather loud, sharp 'chink', similar to White-throated Sparrow but deeper and louder. The sighting was shared with a small group of hopefuls including Peter Lansdown from the UK and Dave Mako and his wife from Deerfield, MA. I've been quite lucky with Harris's Sparrows over the last few years with birds seen in Arizona (3), New Mexico (1), and Connecticut (1) but this was my first in Massachusetts. Gracious thanks go to Bette Robo the finder and to members of the greater birding community in Massachusetts for giving us constant updates on the presence of the bird.

Harris's Sparrow (singing) - Westborough WMA, Worcester Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

Waterfowl of note at Westborough WMA included a Greater Scaup, three Buffleheads and a Long-tailed Duck.

 Greater Scaup - juv/first-winter, Westborough WMA, Worcester Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

 Bufflehead and Long-tailed Duck - Westborough WMA, Worcester Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

Northern Harrier - juv/first-winter, Westborough WMA, Worcester Co., MA. November 6th, 2016.

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 - Evening Grosbeak in Gill

Update: It certainly seems like an incursion of Evening Grosbeaks is taking place in the Northfield/Gill/Turner's Falls area. This morning I stumbled across a flock of 12 feeding in Sugar Maples (?) in Gill, and on the 10th I saw nine apparently dispersing from roosts on North Cross Road, and in the days prior to that, single fly-overs in Northfield, Gill and Turner's Falls. It certainly seems plausible that more have yet to arrive, perhaps showing up at feeders later in the month. 

Evening Grosbeaks - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 12th, 2016.

Evening Grosbeak - juv/first-winter, North Cross Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 3rd, 2016.

This morning I was just finishing up a run on North Cross Road, Gill when I heard the distinctive call of a Tropical Kingbird. It was just one call note, but sounded spot on for that species which I know well from multiple trips to Arizona, Texas and most recently, California. Being very aware of a resident pair of Northern Mockingbirds in the exact same spot, I took the call with a 'pinch of salt'. On the other hand, having just seen Western and Gray Kingbirds in New England in the last ten days, I wasn't prepared to take any chances and returned to the area after dropping Matan at school. A few bursts of playback didn't yield the hoped-for result but in the distance I did hear an Evening Grosbeak which eventually worked its way towards me. Evening Grosbeaks are scarce, perhaps irruptive and certainly unpredictable in Franklin County in my experience, late spring and fall seemingly being the best periods to catch up with them.

Elsewhere, Pied-billed Grebe, 6 Ring-necked Ducks and a Merlin chasing a Red-bellied Woodpecker enlivened a relatively quiet Barton Cove.

Ring-necked Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 2nd, 2016.

VT - Putney morning

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking WNW.

Sensing the need for change, I headed north toward Putney Mountain Hawk-watch in southern Vermont, my third such visit this fall. It was a glorious morning, but from a birding perspective, not quite as cool and blustery as I'd hoped, nor as cool as the weather forecast might have suggested. Even so, it was a thoroughly enjoyable visit and I was more than happy to share the morning with regulars JoAnne Russo, Laura Gaudette and Don Clark.

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking East. 

View from Putney Mountain, VT looking North-east. 

Raptors were few, very few in fact but a steady trickle of Sharp-shinned Hawks passed through in ones and twos, actually the only common raptor species for the morning. Otherwise, there was a smattering of Turkey Vultures and singles of Cooper's Hawk, American Kestrel, Merlin, Bald Eagle and my personal favorite, a Northern Goshawk (distant adult soaring with a Sharp-shinned Hawk).

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

By comparison, passerine action was quite lively as small groups of American Robins and Purple Finches passed south through much of the morning, and there was even a small flock of Horned Larks that tried to settle on the mountain before moving on. Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were also present, as well as several Yellow-rumped Warblers and a good looking yellow (eastern) Palm Warbler.

Purple Finch (adult male) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

 Purple Finch (female-types) - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

Palm Warbler - Putney Mountain, Windham Co., VT. October 20th, 2016. 

MA - Greater White-fronted Geese

Greater White-fronted Geese (two adults) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016. 

This evening I finally managed to get decent views of the two Greater White-fronted Geese present in the Turner's Falls area since October 10th. The birds were calm resting amid some 1200 Canada Geese on a lovely, warm autumnal evening. These were also the first really large numbers of Canada Geese that I've seen this autumn.

I've been naturally reluctant to attempt assigning the white-fronts to sub-species without having extended views in good conditions. However, since one bird had already been seen to have a bright orange bill and dark, almost 'oily' brown plumage, I'd assumed that both would prove to be the Greenland form 'flavirostris', a scarce but now expected migrant through our region.

Since both birds were close together throughout the observation, differences in bill color as well as overall color, size and structure became apparent leading me to believe that perhaps two distinct sub-species had to be involved. One bird, the larger of the two, appeared to be a pretty good a example of 'flavirostris' with a bright orange bill closely matching the orange leg color, along with dark, 'oily' brown plumage and an obvious but somewhat restricted white 'blaze' around the base of the bill. The other bird looked consistently smaller, stockier and grayer (especially on the breast) with a  much more striking white blaze around the bill riding higher on the forehead. The difference in the distribution of white around the bill was obvious on both birds at all angles. Above all, the smaller bird had a distinctly pinkish rather than bright orange bill, again obvious at all angles even in low afternoon light. The differences were subtle but distinct enough to follow and sort out both birds with ease as they mingled among the Canada Geese.

So, what to make of the smaller, pink-billed, grayer-breasted bird? Well, background reading should offer some insight but at the moment the features seem to be most suggestive of the 'Tundra' form 'gambelli/frontalis' or possibly, though obviously rather less likely, the European/Siberian form 'albifrons'. 

Greater White-fronted Geese (two adults) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016. 

Greater White-fronted Goose (adult, Greenland form flavirostris) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. October 18th, 2016.