Record warmth in mid October...lots of waterfowl today despite the southerly winds

Long tailed Ducks and Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Surf Scoters, Black Scoters and Greater Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Surf Scoters and Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Surf Scoters and Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Greater Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Surf Scoters, Red breasted Mergansers, Black Scoters and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Red headed Woodpecker, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2016

River Otter, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

River Otter, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Sunrise, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 19, 2016

Another warm morning starting out at 64, which is warmer than the typical high this time of year and it only warmed up from there to near 80 with an increasing southerly wind.  I did not have high expectations in finding much in the way of waterfowl but I figured I would try any way.  I stayed around the Quabbin Park/Winsor Dam area plus made a visit over to Lake Wallace (where the Red headed Woodpecker continues).  I started at Hank's Meadow where I turned up a number of species of waterfowl including a Surf Scoter, some Hooded Mergansers, Horned Grebes and Common Loons plus Black Ducks and Mallards.  Goodnough Dike had some more loons but nothing else I could see.  With the decent number of waterfowl within the park I wanted to make it back over to Winsor Dam but made a stop at the Route 9 marsh and once again found the Pectoral Sandpiper there as well as a large flock of Rusty Blackbirds (at least 56 individuals!)  I also ran across my second group of River Otters for the morning there and they were fairly photogenic.  There were also a few more species of waterfowl there but nothing unusual.  I then made it over to Winsor Dam and immediately started seeing unusual waterfowl as a pair of Greater Scaup flew in to join the Mallards and several loons.  I then caught sight of another group of birds coming in and the group contained Surf Scoters and Black Scoters, Lesser Scaup and Long tailed Ducks.  The scoters landed in fairly close (at least for Winsor Dam!) and the other settled way out on the reservoir.  A few minutes after that three Red breasted Mergansers joined the group of ducks and then a Green winged Teal popped in.  There were also a number of Black Ducks around too but they also didn't come in very close.  Another surprise for the morning was two fly by Snow Buntings which seems a little early for the species.  I called Devin and he was able to make it over to check out most of the waterfowl.  A total of 14 species of waterfowl was exceptional given the poor migration conditions.  I stopped by again midday to check on the birds but unfortunately with the nice weather the state decided it would be a great day to go boating so a couple of packed boats were zooming around the reservoir.

Full lists with additional photos:

Quabbin Park: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32110771

Winsor Dam:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32110774

Lake Wallace:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S32110776

Common Yellowthroat, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 18, 2016

Pectoral Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 18, 2016

American Pipit, Hadley, MA, Oct 18, 2016

Surf Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 18, 2016

Yesterday was even warmer than today despite some early morning fog that just would not burn off until later in the morning. It eventually warmed into the mid 80's with a strong southerly wind. I spent the foggy part of the morning exploring the Honey Pot and then went looking for geese (without much luck) through Hadley and Amherst before making a run back to Winsor Dam/Quabbin Park. The Honey Pot had nine species of sparrow but nothing unexpected and the overall numbers of sparrows were down quite a bit. Winsor Dam had four Surf Scoters and a couple loons and Quabbin Park (Goodnough Dike and the marsh) had half a dozen species of waterfowl with almost all of them on the marsh. The Pectoral Sandpiper I found Monday at the marsh continued for another day. Not much else noteworthy but it was a rare treat to be able to enjoy summer like temps in mid October.