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| Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
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| Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
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| Bonaparte's Gulls with Ring billed Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
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| Common Gallinule, Tri-town beach, Deerfield, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
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| Common Gallinule, Tri-town beach, Deerfield, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
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| Semipalmated Sandpipers, North Hadley, MA, Oct 16, 2018 |
After another rainy, cool day yesterday it warmed up late in the day before another cold front came through overnight bringing breezy and cool conditions back once again for today. The forecast calls for continued below normal temperatures for the foreseeable future. Once I got out of work this morning I had a bit of time before a morning appointment in Deerfield so I checked a few spots on my way there. The first stop was to a few farm fields in Hadley that continued to hold a handful shorebirds including three late Semipalmated Sandpipers as well as two Pectoral Sandpipers and a single Solitary Sandpiper. I had seen reports yesterday of a juvenile Common Gallinule that Josh spotted at Tri-town Beach in Deerfield and since I was already headed to Deerfield anyway I decided to see if it was still around. It was not visible initially but it eventually showed itself on the edge of the small area of reeds there and was seen by a few other birders present (a new species for me in Franklin County). Once my appointment was over I wanted to head back toward home to check out Winsor Dam as I figured the west/northwest winds might bring in some waterfowl. When I arrived there late in the morning Devin was there and quickly told me there were six Brant out on the water which I immediately got a look at and got some distant photos. The Brant stayed around for several minutes before they lifted off and headed south. The Brant added another species to my Hampshire County list for the year becoming species #234. There was also some movement of raptors but little in the way of additional waterfowl at that point. After a few errands I made a few more stops at the dam over the course of the day and turned up a group of five Bonaparte's Gulls (found by Aaron before I saw them) as well as another single Brant and a few Long tailed Ducks. I suspect there will be a few more good days of waterfowl migration coming up over the next week as a series of cold shots of air come in.
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