North winds bring in some birds including a Blue Grosbeak at Arcadia and geese to Barton's Cove (including a Cackling Goose and a Greater White fronted Goose)

 

Cackling Goose (front) and Greater White fronted Goose (rear), Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Greater White fronted Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Greater White fronted Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

 

Dawn, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2015

With the strong northeast flow finally coming to an end and the wind coming more out of the north and northeast more birds seemed to have arrived. Although quite cold every morning the days have warmed into the 60's and 70's.  On Tuesday I made it over to Arcadia where I quick checked the marsh and had five species of waterfowl including at least 38 Wood Ducks plus half a dozen Great Blue Herons. I then headed over to the meadows where I spent the next hour of so exploring the roadside of the Ibis Pool and then up the road and down a part of the trolley line. The place was packed with birds including at least 22 Palm Warblers, a probable Orange crowned Warbler (fleeting glimpse as it disappeared into a hedgerow not to be seen again), eight species of sparrows including five Chipping Sparrows, a couple Field Sparrows, 11 White crowned Sparrows (with at least one singing), 29 White throated Sparrows, 60+ Savannah Sparrows, 84 Song Sparrows, four Lincoln's Sparrows and 33 Swamp Sparrows (all the counts of sparrows are conservative...likely many, many more). The best bird turned out to be a 1st winter Blue Grosbeak that was at the end of the Ibis Pool. An overall brownish bird that I got great looks at before it too disappeared not to be seen again. The grosbeak added another species to the county list for the year bringing my total to 230. I really wished I had more time to spend down there as I'm sure other oddities were there just waiting to be found but I just couldn't stay.  Later in the day others located two Orange crowned Warblers down there so I'm sure that is what I had but I could not be 100% sure so I will have to try back another day for it (no one else had any luck finding the grosbeak again). I also got a call from Bob Z. midday telling me he had a Nelson's Sparrow at Wentworth Farm Conservation Area in Amherst...another species I would like to catch up with. In the evening I had to head back up to Greenfield for a class so I made a quick stop at Barton's Cove where I quickly found a Cackling Goose and a Greater White fronted Goose in among around 475 Canada Geese (I thought perhaps one of these would be a new species for Franklin County but I have seen them all before...in fact I have seen more goose species in Franklin County then anywhere else with a total of eight species...one better than my Hampshire County total where I have not yet had a Barnacle Goose). The only other waterfowl at Barton's Cove were nine Mute Swans, a few Mallards and one each of Pied billed Grebe and Double crested Cormorant. A very brief stop on my way by at the power canal found the canal still drained with lots of exposed mud flats that look prime to attract a late shorebird. No luck with any shorebirds (but I had no time to scan the area very well) but I did have half a dozen species of waterfowl in the remaining water.

Although I had gotten very little sleep after a late night class I planned to try my luck in catching up with an Orange crowned Warbler over at Arcadia on Wednesday morning...instead I ended up with a flat tire and a jack that broke so those plans went right out the window. I'm hopeful to give it another try tomorrow.