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| Peregrine Falcon with prey, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Common Raven with a tasty meal, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Red throated Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Red shouldered Hawk, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
I arrived at a very windy and cold Winsor Dam this morning with temperatures just above freezing and a sustained wind of 20-25 MPH and gusts over 40 MPH. The reservoir looked like the ocean with big swells with lots of whitecaps. It really felt more like winter than early November. The winds were out of the north/northeast and then slowly turned north and then somewhat northwest by later in the day. I spent three and a half hours scanning the water and the sky looking for some unusual birds being pushed in by the strong northerly winds. I really hoped to turn up something really unusual today (like an eider or a kittiwake or who knows what else) but I had to be happy with what I did find....which I was. Most birds were seen as they rocketed past but I did manage to find a few birds among the waves. Waterfowl included 53 Canada Geese moving southwest in small groups, a pair of Wood Ducks, nine Black Ducks, two Mallards, a Black Scoter (female), a Long tailed Duck, 14 Buffleheads, a pair of Common Goldeneyes, four Common Mergansers, a red throated Loon (second one here in as many days), ten Common Loons and a Double crested Cormorant. Raptors were also moving including seven Bald Eagles, a couple Red shouldered Hawks, four Red tailed Hawks and a Peregrine Falcon that just hung in the air for several minutes consuming a kill on the wing...very neat. The gulls put on quite a show in the wind with lots of acrobatic maneuvers...unfortunately nothing beyond Ring billed and Herring Gulls. Some crow migration was also in evidence with at least 156 moving southwest.
Link to video of Bufflheads in the waves:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/15691211381/in/photostream/
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| Long tailed Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Surf Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
I stopped back by at midday an stayed for a bit over half an hour and found a couple birds on the water including a Surf Scoter and another Long tailed Duck. Also had half a dozen Common Mergansers fly past heading south plus a Northern Harrier among other raptors.
Link to Long tailed Duck in the waves:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/15507805948/
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| Bald Eagles, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
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| Ring billed Dull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2014 |
A final stop later in the afternoon found the winds had slackened off just a little and the sky had cleared. The only waterfowl around were a few Common Mergansers flying north and four Bufflehead sitting on the water in the state boat cove. Still lots of gull activity and a few Bald Eagles around but not much else.
Overall I spent a little over four and a half hours watching from Winsor Dam and despite not finding any mega rarities and being a bit cold, it was still worth every minute. The winds should continue out of the north through tomorrow so who knows what else will show up?
HI Larry-
ReplyDeleteWhere does a birder go to find the finches at Quabbin at this time of year?
Most finches at this point are flyovers (pine siskins and purple finches) so sometimes it is a matter of luck. Spending some time at Winsor Dam or Goodnough Dike doing a stationary count could produce either of these species.
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