Hurricane Sandy update and Winsor Dam at dusk

Projected path as of 5pm, Oct 26, 2012

 

Satellite view as of midday Oct 26, 2012

The latest projections on Hurricane Sandy show the storm making landfall in New Jersey as a minimal hurricane or a tropical storm.  This would lessen the impact to western Massachusetts but we would still be in for days of heavy rain and wind.  Given the fact that the storm is still days away the exact location of landfall is still not a certainty but the latest model runs all move the storm landfall a bit further south than previous forecasts although some models do bring it to the New York City area.  As this is a unique storm given its tropical and extratropical components and the late date of its occurrence there is not many previous storms to compare it to.  It appears that the impact will be wide ranging geographically and the effects could last for days.  The exact day of landfall is also unknown at this point with various forecasts differing from Monday-Wednesday.  Will the storm live up to the ‘historic’ rhetoric already being heaped on it?  Time will tell.  From the perspective of birds with the storm I will try to update as often as I can regarding potential species and locations to check as the storm gets closer.  A great spot to see the latest info on the hurricane and its birding potential can be found at: http://birdcast.info/

American Wigeon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Oct 26, 2012

American Wigeon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Oct 26, 2012

American Wigeon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Oct 26, 2012

Dusk at Winsor Dam, Oct 26, 2012

 

I had to head into work early so I was unable to check Quabbin this morning to see if the birds present last evening were still around.  Hopefully some others got a chance to check as the show was quite impressive.  On my way home I stopped at Winsor Dam and although the waterfowl show was not quite as impressive as yesterday there were still some noteworthy birds around with an American Wigeon (male) and a couple pairs of Ring necked Ducks (both species not seen yesterday) plus a couple Common Loons.  Yet another calm evening at Winsor Dam with a great sunset.  It was an another warm late October day with some sun and temperatures climbing to the upper 60’s .