MA - Curlew Sandpiper - 10/11

Curlew Sandpiper (rear center) - juvenile at rest with Semi-palmated Sandpipers. At rest, the vivid white rump was often visible and one of the better field marks to use when trying to locate the bird in the tide wrack. Sandy Point, Plum Island, Essex Co., MA. October 11th, 2010.




Curlew Sandpiper (right) - juvenile in flight with Semi-palmated Plovers. Again, the white rump facilitates identification in flight although the presence of White-rumped Sandpipers complicated matters at times.




Curlew Sandpiper (left) - juvenile with Semi-palmated and White-rumped Sandpipers and a Dunlin (right).





This Curlew Sandpiper was an excellent find for Suzanne Sullivan at Sandy Point, Plum Island on October 8th and provided a fine excuse for a family 'twitch' on Columbus Day. We first found the bird in flight over the dunes at Sandy Point with a small flock of Dunlin and Semi-palmated Plovers, when it was relatively to pick out due to its larger size and vivid white rump. Later we had prolonged views of the bird feeding at the edge of flats and at rest in the tide wrack.

Curlew Sandpipers are more or less annual in MA, but juveniles, such as this bird, are rare with only two listed in the Birds of Massachusetts (Veit & Petersen), and both of those from the month of the September (1985 & 1991). On personal level, this was my first Curlew Sand in the US since an adult in California in 2001, well before my digi-scoping days, so naturally I welcomed the opportunity to grab a few images of this smart, scaly juvenile.

Lots of other nice species present at Sandy Point too, including very close looks at White-rumped Sandpipers and American Pipits.

JPS

CA - Yosemite Great Gray - 09/14

Great Gray Owl - Yosemite National Park, Mariposa Co., CA. September 14th, 2010. All images taken using Canon Powershot A560 hand held through Swarovski HD telescope.

One of the highlights (The highlight for many) of a recent tour of California. Prolonged views of the Gray Ghost in late afternoon................

JPS

MA - Gill migrants - 10/07

Since returning from Cape May on October 2nd, our yard in Gill has been receiving fresh migrants each day, especially around the period of unsettled weather during October 5th and 6th that brought heavy rain for most of the 6th.

Canada Geese could be heard moving before dawn on the 3rd, a day which produced several Blackpoll Warblers and a Golden-crowned Kinglet. A Swainson's Thrush was bathing in the stream on the evening of the 4th with another (night migrant) heard calling as it flew south at about 10 pm. The same date also produced a Cooper's Hawk and 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The latter have been present daily through to the 7th.

Showery North-easterlies on the 5th produced an influx of White-throated Sparrows, along with 3 Swamp Sparrows and 2 Song Sparrows but more impressive on the same date were 3 Palm Warblers (Yellow/Eastern birds), a male Eastern Towhee and a calling Bicknell's Thrush in the Alders. Late on the 6th, after a day of pretty much solid rain, I discovered a first-winter White-crowned Sparrow, not only the first of the fall but a classic gambelli-type (bright orange-yellow bill and plain lores recalling Field Sparrow at first glance). On the 7th, in much improving weather conditions, there were many birds around with c.35 White-throated Sparrows, 25 Yellow-rumped Warblers and about 15 Palm Warblers, all of the latter being Yellow (Eastern) types. Also of note on the 7th, our first Red-bellied Woodpecker since early September.

Here's a digi-scope selection of the three most common migrants from October 7th.

White-throated Sparrow - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2010. Present in the yard since September 25th, with numbers increasing significantly from October 6th. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 hand held through Swarovski HD telescope.



Yellow-rumped Warblers - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2010. Major increase in numbers on October 7th with 25+ present. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 hand held through Swarovski HD telescope.



(Yellow) Palm Warblers (D. p. hypochrysea) - Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 7th, 2010. First recorded on October 5th with a major incursion on October 7th when 15+ present in late afternoon. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 hand held through Swarovski HD telescope.

MA - Bicknell's moving through? - 10/05

Alders bordering stream, Gill, MA - a convenient hiding place for skulking migrants, including Swainson's Thrush on October 4th, Bicknell's Thrush on October 5th and a gambelli White-crowned Sparrow on October 6th.

As well as the White-winged Scoter at Barton Cove on October 5th, another good local find was a calling Bicknell's Thrush in our yard in Gill. This bird gave about 8 clear, descending 'peeez' calls from the Alder thicket at about 11:45 am. Assuming it was just a random event, I didn't think too much more about it other than being frustrated that another excellent yard bird had eluded the camera. But today (October 7th), a cursory glance of the New England list-serves produced two other reports;

One bird photographed as a possible by Pam Hunt at Penacook, NH, October 3rd and one picked up dead after flying into a window at a residence in Maine on October 7th.

The usefulness of identifying Bicknell's by call was brought home to me at Cape May last fall when Cameron Cox was kind enough to point out a calling bird at dawn from the dike at Higbee Beach. Interestingly, that bird was heard on October 1st, 2009 so perhaps the first week of October would be an excellent time window to look for this rarely detected Catharus thrush in migration.

The Xeno Canto website offers a selection of Bicknell's calls recorded mostly in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

JPS

MA - local WWScoter

White-winged Scoter - female-type, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2010.

Hopeful that today's showery North-easterlies might produce one or two birds of interest, I made my first 'fall' visit to Barton Cove this afternoon finding a female-type White-winged Scoter and 4 Northern Pintail visible from Riverview Drive in Gill. Otherwise rather quiet with a total of about 300 Canada Geese between Barton Cove and the power canal and nothing unusual amongst them. Even so, rather nice to see waterfowl on the move through the Pioneer Valley.

Northern Pintail - four together, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. October 5th, 2010.

NJ - Connecticut Warbler - 10/02

Connecticut Warbler - Higbee Beach, Cape May, NJ. October 2nd, 2010. Yellow underparts (accentuated by early morning sunlight) but with distinct hooded appearance. Note especially long undertail coverts almost reaching to the tip of the tail and the pinkish feet. Digi-bin shot taken using Canon Powershot A560 through Leica Trinovid 8 x 30 binoculars.

Apologies for another long pause between posts. Just back from tour leading in Cape May, a volatile week weather-wise but excellent birding all the same. Our group was fortunate to have a wonderful 'flight' of warblers at Higbee Beach on the very last morning of the trip. It was more or less none stop action from first light until about 10am, when I estimated that we'd seen about 1500 warblers passing the dike. However, the official count for the day (October 2nd) was closer to 12,000 warblers, the bulk being Yellow-rumped Warblers!

I didn't have too much success with digi-bin shots but managed to get something on the first of two Connecticut Warblers seen during the morning.

More to come from Cape May - JPS

MA - pastures new 09/05

Looking south over the 'Sedge Meadow' from the yard, Gill, MA. September 5th, 2010.

American Goldfinch in the 'Sedge Meadow', Gill, MA. September 5th, 2010. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 through Swarovski HD scope

Red-tailed Hawk, one of a 'resident' pair from the yard, Gill, MA. September 5th, 2010. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 through Leica 8x32 Trinovid binoculars.

Red-shouldered Hawk, juvenile over the yard, Gill, MA. September 5th, 2010. Image taken using Canon Powershot A560 through Leica 8x32 Trinovid binoculars. This young bird stuck around for at least three days but was only seen early in the morning. This shot shows the classic, pale, translucent crescents at the base of the primaries - very distinctive when seen well.

So we moved recently, finally leaving Amherst behind after a five years and finding ourselves in a distinctly rural setting just a half mile south of the center of Gill, Massachusetts. There's nothing quite like exploring new surroundings and the thrill of building up a new yard list, all of which has provided a pleasant tonic from the chaos of moving and 'still-packed' boxes.

Birds appearing daily in the yard have included Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Carolina Wren, Cedar Waxing, Eastern Bluebird, Gray Catbird, Common Yellowthroat, Purple Finch and Song Sparrow. We've already found Pileated, Hairy, Downy, and Red-bellied Woodpekers, Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker on or near the property and the 5th was especially good for raptors with Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, Broad-winged and Cooper's Hawks, American Kestrel and Turkey Vulture. The morning of the 7th was highlighted by a Barred Owl vocalizing just outside the house at 05:45am.

Landbird migrants have been scarce perhaps down to the warm, dry conditions and winds in the Southern quarter but the last three days produced a handful of interesting birds with most species appearing in Alders above the brook behind the house including Warbling Vireo on the 2nd, American Redstart (2), Chestnut-sided Warbler and Red-eyed Vireo on the 3rd, American Redstart, Swainson's Thrush and Philadephia Vireo on the 4th, and Barn Swallow (2), House Wren, Red-eyed Vireo and Magnolia Warbler on the 5th, Wood Thrush and Black-billed Cuckoo on the 6th and Eastern Wood-Pewee on the 7th.

On the down side I have two pairs of Leica binoculars currently being repaired in New Jersey with no prospect of having them returned before October. I've also been having teething troubles working with a new digi-scoping set up so I've been doing rather badly when it comes to getting images of all these wonderful birds.

JPS

MA - 'first' Merlin - 08/24

'Taiga or Boreal' Merlin, Whately, Franklin County, MA. August 24th, 2010. Probably juvenile.

A strong North Easterly with rain and drizzle has persisted since Sunday, so this morning I tried an hour scouting for shorebird pools in the Hatfield/Whately fields along the CT River. Surprisingly, I came empty and found virtually nothing in the way of rain pools. The only bird of note I could muster was a Greater Yellowlegs on a shingle bar on the river itself. But having not done any local birding since returning from Arizona it was just nice to get out do some poking around. I noted a couple of Yellow Warblers and an American Redstart with a chickadee flock by the CT River, and both adult and juvenile Bald Eagles overhead.

The highlight was a juvenile Merlin, my first of the fall locally, perched overlooking the fields at Whately. This species breeds as close as southern New Hampshire and, I think, has recently been found breeding in Florence, MA. I've certainly noted them in our area in August in previous years - for example, this bird at Quabbin Park two years ago;
http://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/search/label/Merlin

Also of note locally on Sunday morning, August 22nd, a Black-crowned Night Heron over North East Street, Amherst.


JPS

AZ - Short-tailed Hawk, juvenile - 07/30

Short-tailed Hawk - juvenile, Barfoot Lookout, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona. July 30th, 2010. Images taken using Canon Powershot A540 through Leica 8x42 bins.

Certainly one of the highlights of the recent Birdfinders tour of Arizona. A fantastic morning in the Chiricahuas culminating in the observation of this juvenile Short-tailed Hawk low over Barfoot Lookout. Earlier, under the expert guidance of Helen Snyder, we had a light morph adult and the same juvenile cruising over Barfoot Meadow. Both birds formed part of a successful breeding story from the Chiricahuas this year.


Short-tailed Hawk - light morph adult seen from Barfoot Meadow, Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona. July 30th, 2010. Images taken using Canon Powershot A540 hand held through Swarovski HD scope.

View from Barfoot Lookout, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ. July 30th, 2010.

View from Barfoot Meadow, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ. July 30th, 2010. The Short-tailed Hawks could be seen cruising over the crags for extended periods in mid-morning.

MA - Hudsonian Godwit - 07/11

Hudsonian Godwit. South Beach, Chatham. MA. July 11th, 2010.

Saw about 5 Hudsonian Godwits during my day at South Beach. Blair Nikula also picked out a Marbled Godwit feeding with Hudsonians at extreme high tide. This lone bird gave the closest views.


JPS