Some late warblers, odd geese and other notables the last couple days

Rusty Blackbirds, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

American Tree Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Cedar Waxwing, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Pectoral Sandpipers, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Dawn, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Nov 5, 2018

I was up before dawn as both Wilson and I try to adjust to the end of daylight savings time.  Since I was up well before the sun I decided to try my luck in tracking down some saw whet owls before dawn.  I arrived at Gate 5 at Quabbin to find it a bit breezier than forecast but I nonetheless had at least one Northern Saw Whet Owl calling.  The waves were kicked up quite a bit on the water so no waterfowl were in evidence on the reservoir, just some flyovers.  Dawn produced the only bit of sun for the day as another bout of rain moved in by late morning.  I decided I would get away from Quabbin and try to find some more sheltered areas where the wind would not be as big of a factor and I decided on Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  Not long after I arrived I had an Eastern Phoebe and the first of at least two (possibly three) Common Yellowthroats.  Despite the cloudy and cool conditions I continued to turn up a number of noteworthy species including an extremely late Black and White Warbler, a Palm Warbler, a Lincoln's Sparrow, at least 28 Rusty Blackbirds, large numbers of Red winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Brown headed Cowbirds (tried to find a Yellow headed Blackbird in among the hordes but no luck today). The two hours at Silvo Conte produced a total of 51 species (a respectable total for early November).  I then hit a few other spots in the Hadley and Amherst area where I had five Pectoral Sandpipers in North Hadley and several hundred Brown headed Cowbirds at Cooke's Farm in Hadley.  Once I got home I picked up Wilson and we went for a walk in the rain along the land trust trail in Belcherown where we found a late Blackpoll Warbler in a mixed flock, bringing the total number of warbler species for the day to five...probably my highest one day total in November around here...more on the warblers at the following link.

Canada Goose with white above both eyes, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Canada Goose with white above both eyes, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Cackling/Canada Goose?, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Cackling/Canada Geese?, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Rusty Blackbirds, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Eastern Comma, Belchertown, MA, Nov 4, 2018

I hit a number of spots yesterday, enjoying one of the sunnier days we have had lately although it stayed cool through most of the morning.  I started off at the Rail trail in Amherst where I had an Eastern Phoebe, several Rusty Blackbirds and a Palm Warbler.  I then headed over to the UMASS campus pond in search of a Cape May Warbler that has been reported there on and off.  No luck with the warbler but there were some interesting geese on the pond including two smaller individuals that certainly showed some traits of Cackling Geese as well as a Canada Goose with white above each eye.  A notable non bird sighting was a very fresh Eastern Comma seen along the Jabish Canal in Belchertown...a location that also produced dozens of deer ticks unfortunately.