 |
| Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 14, 2014 |
 |
| Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 14, 2014 |
 |
| Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 14, 2014 |
 |
| Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 14, 2014 |
 |
| Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 14, 2014 |
I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam on my way home and was rewarded with a flock of 14 Bonaparte's Gulls with a nice mix of plumage. My largest flock of Bonaparte's Gulls I have ever had inland in Massachusetts with my previous high count of eleven back in early May of 2012...also at Winsor Dam. I looked through the flock to try to pull out something even more unusual but no luck. The gulls were in fairly close (at least for Quabbin) probably due to the very strong southern wind. The wind has brought some unusual species to our south and east so perhaps something rare will show up around here too (besides the flock of Bonaparte's Gulls!)
In addition the Connecticut River continues to rise with the melting of the northern snows and I made a brief stop along the flooded Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley and had a nice assortment of waterfowl including 47 Wood Ducks, a few Black Ducks, 96 Mallards, a female Blue winged Teal, 36 Green winged Teal and 93 Ring necked Ducks (odd to see them diving in what is basically a farm field when the river is not in flood mode). The only shorebird I could find were a few Killdeer but the area looks prime for shorebirds, waders and more waterfowl. The area looks prime for something unusual to show up...hopefully I will be right. The forecast calls for heavy rain tomorrow which will only add to the flooded conditions in the valley. Hopefully some birds will be able to take advantage of the flooded fields.
No comments:
Post a Comment