Bonaparte's Gulls at Winsor Dam and other stuff around the south Quabbin area

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Bonaparte's Gulls (with Ring billed Gulls), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Bonaparte's Gull (with Ring billed Gulls), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Wood Duck, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Hank's Meadow looking north, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

Blue Jay, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 10, 2014

I stayed close to home this morning with various stops in the south Quabbin area looking for waterfowl and other migrants.  Fog made viewing tough at times early on but it eventually cleared out.  The best birds of the day turned out to not be waterfowl but instead a group of four Bonaparte's Gulls sitting on the water at Winsor Dam.  I watched them for quite awhile and eventually they took off once the fog lifted and they started flying north, feeding from the surface as they went.  As far as waterfowl goes I had a few Mallards and Black Ducks at Winsor Dam as well as several Canada Geese migrating, two Common Mergansers and a Common Loon.  In Quabbin Park itself I had five Common Mergansers and a couple Common Loons and at the Route 9 marsh I had 33 Canada Geese, 16 Wood Ducks, half a dozen Black Ducks, four Mallards and a Pied billed Grebe....a slight increase in numbers and species of waterfowl from previous visits but still somewhat slow.  A couple stops at Beaver Lake in Ware turned up zero waterfowl.  Other migrants included several species of raptors, small groups of Pine Siskins, a few American Pipits and Yellow rumped Warblers plus Blue Jays and others.

The forecast for tomorrow is calling for rain beginning before dawn and continuing through the morning which may result in some waterfowl (and perhaps other migrants like shorebirds) getting grounded.  Sunday looks like it will be sunny with northwest winds which should bring in even more waterfowl and other migrants and a stationary count may produce some good stuff...time will tell.