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| Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Gulls in the air, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
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| Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013 |
After yet another night of southerly winds and rain showers
scattered around I started my morning at Winsor Dam where low clouds and fog
made viewing a bit of a challenge at times.
I scanned the water and noticed a duck way out on the water that appeared
interesting. After a lot of looking and
a slight improvement in viewing conditions I was able to ID the bird. It was a male Black Scoter, which is very rare in
spring inland. It is actually the first
record I have had of the species in spring in western Massachusetts. The Black Scoter became county species #204 for the year. The unusual birds did not end with the scoter
as I found a Bonaparte’s Gull in among nearly seventy Ring billed Gulls near
the dam. It took a bit of time to get a
really good look at the bird to confirm it wasn’t something more unusual. I had a handful of other species around
including several Common Mergansers, a couple Spotted Sandpipers, Bald Eagles
at the nest and a variety of other species.
The radar last night showed a decent movement of birds and I heard
several flight calls when I stepped outside around ten (plus had an Ovenbird
singing then too). After the dam I
headed over to the rail trail off Station Rd in Amherst and made a quick walk
up to the horseshoe dam. Nothing too
unusual but did have a Black billed Cuckoo, Blackpoll Warblers and Virginia
Rails among the 43 species in about a half hour. I also heard several other Blackpoll Warblers at various spots throughout the day.
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| Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013 |
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| Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013 |
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| Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013 |
The remainder of the day featured heavy rain that continued past sunset. I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam to check for anything unusual but only had a loon and cormorant. A bit later I got a call from Tom G. that Scott had a late Snow Goose along Mill Valley Road in Hadley. After a quick bite to eat I headed out the door and after a little searching I found the bird in among some Canada Geese and Mallards. Certainly a late date for this species. The Snow Goose became species #205. Very happy to add two more species today.
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