MA - Snow Goose and a good selection of other waterfowl

 

Snow Goose - (first-spring), Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 16th, 2021.

Migration appears stalled for a few days, perhaps held up by four straight days of very cold, blustery North-westerlies, certainly a shock to the system after last week's warm southerlies. Aside from a steady build up of Ring-necked Ducks (c.140 between Barton Cove and the Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club) and Buffleheads (9 Barton Cove and at least 5 at the Turner's Falls power canal), the last few days have seen several species simply 'staging' in the area presumably waiting for more favorable weather conditions to continue migrating. A combined total of at least 1400 Canada Geese has been present at Barton Cove and the Turner's Falls power canal, seemingly ripe for the discovery of a good rarity? Alas, the most unusual geese so far have been single Snow and Cackling Geese, both of which have been present at the power canal from the 14th - 16th. The power canal also produced a welcome surprise with the appearance of the long staying (but often aloof) first-winter male Barrow's Goldeneye on the 13th. Barton Cove hosted a female Lesser Scaup (11th - 13th) and a female Greater Scaup (14th - 16th) as well as up to 30 each of Common and Hooded Mergansers. Gull migration has definitely been light over the last few days but an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was new at Barton Cove on the 13th. 

Cackling Goose -  Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 15th, 2021.

Barrow's Goldeneye - (first-spring male), Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 13th, 2021.

Mercurial, with sporadic appearances at the power canal throughout the winter since December 25th, 2020.

Ring-necked Ducks - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 15th, 2021.

Lesser Scaup (female) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 13th, 2021.

Greater Scaup (center) - female, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. March 15th, 2021.

Black Vultures - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. March 13th, 2021.

Continued arrivals in Montague with four over the power canal on the 13th.  

MA - Harle on the move plus Barrow's Goldeneye and a wintering phoebe

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - with Ring-necked Duck, off Riverview Drive, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

A mid-morning walk around Cabot Camp along the Millers River failed to produce the Harlequin Duck that apparently showed well to the many visiting birders the previous day (Jan 3rd). As it happens I did hear a second hand report that a Cooper's Hawk had been seen pursuing the Harlequin and forced it out of the Millers River and into the larger, wider Connecticut River! Either way, the Harlequin proved to be a no show but the walk along the Millers River was extremely pleasant not only revealing an Evening Grosbeak but also an Eastern Phoebe, presumably the same bird that I first heard calling there on Jan 2nd but neglected to follow up. The phoebe showed well this morning and, although I've late phoebes in November and December in past years, I'm pretty sure this particular bird furnishes my first January record for Franklin County. 

Eastern Phoebe - Cabot Camp, Millers Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Common Redpoll - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

One from a flock of about 85 birds. 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - off Riverview Drive, Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

After keeping an eye on Barton Cove on and off for over 15 years I could never have visualized watching a Harlequin in flight over the open water! 

Harlequin Duck (first-winter male) - at dusk from Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Looking at little lost and out of place.

In late morning I spent time with a close, cooperative flock of Common Redpolls in Turner's Falls and then made a point to swing by Barton Cove on my way home where I was greeted by the sight of multiple birders avidly scoping the open water from Riverview Drive in Gill. They'd relocated the Harlequin which had evidently moved downstream to share the relatively calm waters with Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers and the continuing female Ring-necked Duck. As if that wasn't enough, at least ten Red Crossbills fed and called from a tall White Pine right along Riverview Drive!

Red Crossbills - Riverview Drive, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Late afternoon found the Harlequin still present though distant and actually best viewed from Unity Park plus a nice aggregation of gulls viewed from the same spot that included my first local Iceland Gull (a first-winter) in about three weeks. The last two evenings have also seen up to 85 Common Goldeneyes dropping in to roost at the Turner's Falls power canal and with them the continuing first-winter male Barrow's Goldeneye, and the female Bufflehead. 

Barrow's Goldeneye (center) - first-winter male with Common Goldeneyes, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

Hooded Merganser (male) - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 4th, 2021. 

 

MA - Thanksgiving buntings, longspurs and a smart Barred Owl

Barred Owl - Main Road, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 24th, 2018. 

Finally a chance to catch up on some blog notes after a busy, but very lovely Thanksgiving Break. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull showed up at Unity Park on the 21st and was present area in the Turner's Falls everyday after that. It looked very much like the returning winter adult that I've documented in Turner's Falls for at least the previous five winters.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2018.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (right) -  with Herring Gulls, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2018.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (center) -  with Herring Gulls, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 24th, 2018.

Iceland Gull (second-cycle) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2018.

Great Black-backed Gulls (adults) - with a couple of Herring Gulls, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 21st, 2018.

Waterbirds of note included a Common Loon at Turner's Falls Rod and Gun club throughout the period after initially arriving during the big waterbird fall-out on the 20th. The long staying female Surf Scoter was still present at Barton Cove on the 21st, a female American Wigeon was with Mallards at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 22nd and two Ruddy Ducks (first-winters) were at Barton Cove, Gill on the 26th. Perhaps more surprising was a late Double-crested Cormorant at Unity Park on 23rd, certainly one of the latest that that I've come across in Franklin County. The annual late autumn gathering of Hooded Mergansers at Barton Cove continued to be a feature but never really built up to the impressive show that we saw last year in late November with numbers remaining steady at around 65 birds for the area. 

Hooded Mergansers - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 19th, 2018. 

Hooded Mergansers - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 24th, 2018. 

Ruddy Ducks (first-winter) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018. 

Ruddy Ducks (first-winter) - Barton Cove, Gill, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018. 

Bufflehead - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 24th, 2018. Long staying, slightly injured female.

Double-crested Cormorant - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 23rd, 2018. 

Some 1200 Canada Geese gathered at the Turner's Falls power canal on the 26th, the largest single concentration that I've seen this fall. The flock contained at least two Cackling Geese but unfortunately time constraints prevented me from finding a few more birds of interest though I would have loved to have stayed a bit longer!

Cackling Goose (center) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018. 

Cackling Goose (right) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018. 

Cackling Goose (left) - Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018. 

The wave of irruptive finches passing through northern Franklin County most certainly tapered during the Thanksgiving period with very few Purple Finches and Pine Siskins, though I did have a very vocal Evening Grosbeak on North Cross Road, Gill on 23rd. On the plus side, Snow Bunting numbers increased with up to 50 at Northfield Meadows (on the 26th), 7 at Turner's Falls Airfield (on the 26th) and 4 at Caldwell Road fields, Northfield on several dates where a Lapland Longspur joined a small flock of Horned Larks on the 22nd.

Snow Buntings, Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 23rd, 2018. 

Lapland Longspur - Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 22nd, 2018. 

Lapland Longspur - Caldwell Road, Northfield, Franklin Co., MA. November 22nd, 2018. 

 Snow Buntings - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018.

 Snow Buntings - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. November 26th, 2018.

The passerine highlight of the period was arguably a very late Common Yellowthroat unearthed by Josh Layfield in Northfield Meadows on the 24th - I know of only one report later than that for Franklin County. Josh also had around 35 Snow Buntings in Northfield Meadows on the same day.

Common Yellowthroat - Northfield Meadows, Franklin Co., MA. November 24th, 2018.

Image appears courtesy of Josh Layfield.

And, in keeping with other roadside reports from around northern Franklin County, I had a nice daytime encounter with a Barred Owl in Gill on the 24th. 

Hoodies in Arizona 12/19/07

Spent the morning doing point counts around northern Scottsdale and Carefree swinging by Fountain Lake in Fountain Hills on the way home. The lake was loaded with waterfowl, nothing rare, but lots of birds to look at - American Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common and Hooded Mergansers (3). Some 45 plus Eared Grebes were present and literally hundreds of American Coot. On the banks, a single Great Egret, 4 Least and 1 Spotted Sandpiper, 3 Western Meadowlark and an American Pipit. This male Hooded Merganser put on a nice display to two females in the short time that I was there around noon.

Least Sandpipers