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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern (proving its digestive system is working fine!), Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Common Tern, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
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Double crested Cormorant, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, June 4, 2013 |
With the sunny conditions today with a northerly breeze I
was not expecting to have anything new show up around the area but I was
wrong. I stopped briefly on my way to
work at Winsor Dam but there was not much around so I headed off to work. As I was about to have lunch I got a call
from Tom about a tern (either a Forester’s Tern or Common Tern) down on a small
sandbar at the oxbow in Northampton. The
timing was perfect as it was the only part of the day I could get away from
work using a little time off to go down and check the bird out. The bird was found earlier today by another
birder but I do not recall the name.
When I arrived at the oxbow Tom was still there and the bird was sitting
tight on the small sandbar despite the boat traffic. We got good looks at the bird and noted the
reddish orange bill with black tip, wings projecting longer than the tail and
grayish wings matching closely with gray body pointing toward the
identification as a Common Tern. We tried to turn it into something even more unusual but we just couldn't. I have
been trying to catch up with any tern species this year and with some help I
finally got one! The Common Tern becomes
species #211 for Hampshire county this year.
This is only my second sighting of this species in Hampshire county(the last time was during Irene when I had two at Winsor Dam) My only other western Mass record goes back to 2003 when I had one at Turners Falls. A rare bird around here for sure! In addition to the tern a couple of Double crested Cormorants were
present as well as a good number of Tree and Bank Swallows feeding over the
water. The bird was still present when I
left and seemed to be quite comfortable on its little sandbar.
The next few days should stay sunny and pleasant but the
conditions may change as the end of the week approaches. A potential nor’easter could impact the area
as some tropical moisture comes out of the Gulf of Mexico and develops into a
storm off the east coast late Thursday into Saturday. Although it is getting later in the spring
migration season the potential is still there for some birds to result from the
storm such as terns and/or shorebirds (or something more exotic). I will update this potential storm as the
week goes on. It may not even impact the
area and if it does it may not result in any noteworthy birds but I will
certainly be out checking (and getting completely soaked in the process I’m
sure!)
Hi Larry,
ReplyDeleteStrangely, the same thing happened here in Arizona. A Common Tern shows up!!! Huge!!! Congrats!
Strange indeed! Hopefully more will show up.
ReplyDelete