A very productive November comes to an end

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 30, 2020

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 30, 2020

November has now come to an end and it was a great month with several rarities, multiple irruptives and lingering species.  Highlights included rarities like Barnacle Goose and Summer Tanager, irruptives of many species including Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, Red Crossbills (Type 2 and Type 10), White winged Crossbill and Pine Siskin and an amazing eight species of warbler among the lingering species.  I found a total of 122 species in Hampshire County for the month, which blew away my previous best November total of 113 back in 2017 and well above the typical average for the month which is usually a few species to either side of one hundred.  In addition I added more species for the record breaking year with my total at the end of the month standing at 246 (my previous best year ever in the county totaled 241).  There is certainly still a chance of adding more species in the last month of the year.

Close up with a Fisher plus a Northern Shrike today and other odd and ends the last few days

Fisher, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Fisher, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Fisher, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Nov 29, 2020

The sighting of the day was not a bird but a mammal when I had a close encounter with a Fisher at Gate 8 at Quabbin.  I decided to take a long walk at Gate 8 mainly looking for irruptives with the hopes of additional crossbills and perhaps a Boreal Chickadee.  I was about a mile in getting some recordings of Red Crossbills when I heard some rustling in the woods and figured it was some deer moving through.  I finished up the recording and then heard more rustling that sounded like it was getting closer and closer.  I then caught sight of a dark mammal moving rapidly toward my vicinity and it briefly disappeared behind a tree and then popped up on top of a stonewall about 20 feet away.  It stayed there for just a few seconds before turning around and quickly heading back into the woods.  Easily the best looks I have ever had of an adult Fisher.  As far as birds go I had a few flyover White winged Crossbills as well as several Red Crossbills including my first Type 2's plus the expected Type 10's.  No luck finding a Boreal Chickadee but I hope some will show up at some point this winter.

Northern Shrike, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Northern Shrike, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Northern Shrike, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Great Horned Owl, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 29, 2020

Before heading to Gate 8 I decided to try my luck in relocating a juvenile Northern Shrike that Ted found in a series of fields near the rail trail in Amherst.  I arrived before dawn and spent some time listening for owls and I had a few Great Horned Owls as well as another unidentified call that may have been a Long eared Owl but I heard it just once and it could have been an odd call from a juvenile Great Horned Owl.  Once it started to get light enough to see the Northern Shrike started to show along one of the hedgerows and I snapped off a few photos from a distance before leaving the shrike to let it do some early morning hunting.  The shrike became species #246 for the year for me in Hampshire County...a recording setting year that just keeps adding species.

Red Crossbill (Type 10), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2020

Red Crossbill (Type 10), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2020

Evening Grosbeak, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2020

American Robin with white on wings, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2020

On Saturday I spent some time around Quabbin Park and Winsor Dam mainly looking for irruptives and finding several including Evening Grosbeak, Red Crossbill (all Type 10), Pine Siskins and Red breasted Nuthatches.  I also came across an oddly plumaged American Robin with white on its wings.

Gray Catbird, Easthampton Rail Trail, Easthampton, MA, Nov 27, 2020

A short walk after work on Friday along the rail trail in Easthampton turned up a late Gray Catbird.  I searched a few areas in the vicinity for lingering warblers but came up empty.

Summer Tanager in Northampton in November

Summer Tanager, Rio Magnolia Lodge, Costa Rica, Dec 18, 2013 (included to illustrate the species as the individual present in Northampton was not cooperative for any photos and this the closet approximation I have of the bird present in Northampton)

A Summer Tanager showed up in a small yard in Northampton on Saturday the 14th of November (at least that is the first date it was noted).  The initial observer of the bird submitted the sighting with fairly decent details and after a follow up she provided additional details and a marginal photo taken through a screened window which made the sighting even more interesting and credible.  The details seemed to rule out any similar species and the although the photo was not diagnostic it showed a bird that could be a number of species, all of which would be quite unusual. 

I got a text from another great birder and we discussed following up in person on the report and he decided to contact the original observer to check on access and a follow up in person.  She was very gracious and allowed him (and I) to come by to try to relocate it.  Around midday I got a call from him and he had indeed relocated it and heard it call and saw it briefly before the bird disappeared (no photo possible with the brief view).  I figured I would head over myself to try to get a look and get some better documentation.  I arrived in the neighborhood and almost immediately after arriving and getting out of the my car I heard the bird call a few times and then silence.  I quickly called up the original observer and told her I was there and wanted to make sure it was fine to go into the backyard.  She stated the bird was 'just there' and I headed for the backyard where I noticed a bird bopping around in a row of evergreens and one look with binoculars confirmed it was the bird.  It popped in and out of view for several seconds and then abruptly flew off to the west and did not return for the next hour I was there.  The bird appeared to be a first year male with splotchy orange coloration.  I was very happy to see the bird but bummed I missed out on even a documentation shot...the bird was not very photogenic for any of us!  I suspect the bird is feeding on some type of fruiting trees in the area and/or suet feeders.  

After discussion with the observer and a couple other birders we decided to keep the report quiet as the neighborhood is quite built up (and would probably not react well to hordes of people prowling the neighborhood with binoculars and cameras), parking was very limited, access to the area where the bird was seen is on private property and in the backyard of a multifamily house.  In addition the observer was a bit concerned with how neighbors would react to lots of people parading through the neighborhood with the ongoing Covid pandemic.  The bird continued to be seen by the original observer very sporadically through November 19th with just a few widely spaced visits a day to a small birdbath.  I attempted to try to document the species on subsequent visits but the bird never showed during any return stops.

Summer Tanager is a rare visitor to the area and one in November is unprecedented.  In fact there are no records at all in western Massachusetts (in eBird) from September through early spring.  With the sighting of this tanager Hampshire County has hosted three species of tanager this year with the unexpected arrival of a Western Tanager in Amherst in April plus the expected Scarlet Tanagers.  I have previously seen the species just once in the county.

BARNACLE GOOSE at Winsor Dam this morning

Barnacle Goose with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Barnacle Goose (middle) with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Barnacle Goose with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Barnacle Goose (middle left) with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Barnacle Goose (far right middle) with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 23, 2020

Today dawned rainy and foggy with limited visibility but I tried my luck at Winsor Dam at dawn nonetheless.  The visibility was just too poor at first light so I left to run some errands and then returned to the dam around 7:30 in the hopes of finding something interesting.  The rain was even heavier than earlier but I decided to wait a bit and see if a break in the rain developed.  After about thirty minutes the rain let up a bit, the fog lifted slightly and I was able to start scanning the nearly calm waters.  I turned up a dozen Common Loons scattered around the reservoir as well as a Bonaparte's Gull.  In addition there were a few notable flyby species including a slightly late Yellow rumped Warbler and at least three Evening Grosbeaks.  As I was scanning I noticed a group of Canada Geese flying in from the north and got the scope on them right away in the hopes of perhaps turning up a Snow Goose or even a Greater White fronted Goose in the mix.  Much to my surprise I found an odd goose in among the flock but not one of the two mentioned above.  Instead it was a much, much rarer Barnacle Goose!  I got fantastic looks of the bird through the scope quickly noting the various field marks eliminating any other species.  I immediately knew I had to try to get some documentation photos of this incredible rarity but my good camera was not quickly accessible and I didn't want to take my eyes off the bird so I took out my iPhone and snapped off as many shots as I could before the flock disappeared off to the southwest.  Trying to get photos of moving birds in bad light with just the scope and phone can be a bit of a challenge and you just hope a few come out well enough to identify the species.  I came away with a few shots that showed the overall build of the bird with the white face, black neck and chest and overall grayish remainder of the body.  After this group disappeared a few more small flocks of Canada Geese came through following roughly the same flight line and then the weather closed back in again and the visibility dropped.  I quickly reviewed a few of the photos and it looked like I got a few that at least were good enough to show the field marks.  Barnacle Goose is a very rare bird to the northeast (but steadily increasing as the Greenland population of the species has continued to increase).  The species is on the review list for the state.  This record is the third in Hampshire County (with one in Amherst in 2008 and another this year in Northampton when an adult and four hybrids were present) and I have managed to see two of the three records (becoming my 299th species in the county when I saw the one in Northampton earlier this year).  In addition this species becomes the 251st species I have seen at Quabbin overall and my 212th species just at Winsor Dam.  I made a few more stops over the course of the day as a front moved in and the winds switched to the northwest.  There were lots of Bald Eagles around but unfortunately no hoped for Golden Eagles.  The Bonaparte's Gull continued and looked to be quite comfortable sitting on the water.  Full album of photos of the Barnacle Goose at the following link.

Wild Turkeys, Northampton, MA, Nov 19, 2020

White throated Sparrow, Amherst, MA, Nov 20, 2020

Wilson enjoying a rare warm day, Belchertown, MA, Nov 20, 2020

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 21, 2020

 Hermit Thrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 21, 2020

The last few days have been relatively quiet without too much in the way of unusual stuff as late fall as truly arrived with continued cooling temperatures (with a slight reprieve for a couple days) and less and less in the way of species diversity although the ongoing irruption of a variety of species have kept things interesting.  

Mid November

Red Crossbills, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 15, 2020

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 15, 2020

White throated Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 15, 2020

Fox Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 15, 2020

Dawn, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 15, 2020

Now that we are at the mid point of yet another record setting month for me in Hampshire County I figured I would post regarding the last few days and summarize where I stand at this point of the month.  I currently stand at 119 species for the month which is already six ahead of my best previous November in the county with half of the month still left to go. Today began with a very cold start at Arcadia with temps around 20 and a heavy frost.  The cold temps kept activity somewhat muted even after the sun came up.  I next headed over for a short walk in the East Meadows which was also fairly quiet.  With the prediction for strong winds as the day wore on I decided to head for home with brief stops at Winsor Dam and Quabbin Park.  The dam was quiet but that was not too surprising as migration conditions were not great the night before so there was no influx of waterfowl.  The stop at Quabbin Park produced a flock of Red Crossbills and I managed to get some marginal photos and audio of them. 

American Kestrel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

Spotted Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

Gadwall, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

Black Ducks and Mallards, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

American Wigeons, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

Pine Siskin, Hadley Malls, Hadley, MA, Nov 14, 2020

The forecast for Saturday was promising for bringing in waterfowl with sunny conditions and fairly strong west to northwest winds.  With this in mind I headed to Winsor Dam but when I arrived the wind was light and out of the south with some fog and light drizzle...not what I was expecting.  I ditch the idea of waiting at the dam in the hopes the conditions became more conducive for waterfowl migration and instead headed east to Hadley again (see below). No luck with any rarities near the mall but did get some great looks at some Pine Siskins.  I spent some time along the river and turned up a decent selection of waterfowl but nothing too out of the ordinary for mid November.  The Spotted Sandpiper that has been around continued to show well and I got some photos of it.  After my time in Hadley I stopped back at Winsor Dam just as the weekend zoo of people was ramping up.  Besides the typical Common Loon I had a pair of Common Goldeneyes well out from the dam plus a flyover group of Red Crossbills.  Eventually the sun came out from time to time and it got breezy but not in time to entice any large number of ducks to move. 

Red throated Loons (part of group of five), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 13, 2020

With overcast and drizzle conditions on Friday the 13th I headed over to Winsor Dam and despite the poor conditions and limited visibility at times Ted and I turned up some good birds including a group of five Red throated Loons that showed up just as Ted was about to leave.  We also had a few other species of waterfowl, a late Sandpiper and more flyover irruptives including Evening Grosbeak and Red Crossbills.  I made multiple stops back to the dam over the course of the morning and the only other noteworthy species was a female Red breasted Merganser that flew in and settled on the water.  The weather never cleared out until just before sunset and I happened to be down at the Holyoke Dam around that time picking up a dead Northern Saw Whet Owl from another birder.  The owl is destined for the collection at UMASS.  It was tough viewing at the dam but I did manage to pick out a Greater Yellowlegs below the dam as I scanned through the various species.  I tried to relocate the bird after the initial discovery to get a photo but it disappeared among the myriad of hiding spots among the rocks.

I was suppose to make it down to the Stafford Cidery in Connecticut for the opening night of my photo show but due to some unforeseen circumstances that was not possible.  I hope to get down at least once or twice over the next month that the show is open down there.  Check out the website for details on the great hard cidery down there and see their Facebook page for more details on the photo show.

Wilson's Warbler, Hadley Malls, Hadley, MA, Nov 12, 2020

Gray Catbird, Hadley Malls, Hadley, MA, Nov 12, 2020

On Thursday I started off my morning at Winsor Dam where I had a smattering of waterfowl plus a Bonaparte's Gull.  I had hoped to turn up more waterfowl given the conditions but I had no luck.  Instead of spending more time trying to find waterfowl around Quabbin I headed over to Hadley to try to relocate some of the unusual warblers (and others) near the mall and get photos of the ones I missed yesterday.  Although the Tennessee Warblers could not be relocated I did get better looks and marginal photos of the Wilson's Warbler and found two Gray Catbirds. I checked a few other spots in Hadley and the best sighting was a continued Spotted Sandpiper along the river.

Record setting heat comes to an end with several late warblers (and others) still hanging on

Tennessee Warbler, Hadley, MA, Nov 11, 2020

Fox Sparrow, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 11, 2020

White throated Sparrow, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 11, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2020

Wilson enjoying the warm weather, Belchertown, MA, Nov 11, 2020

Today marked the end of our long stretch of record setting high temperatures with yet another day above 70 degrees.  High temperature records were broken for six days in a row which is incredible in November.  My first stop after getting out of work was to an area near the malls in Hadley where Mike has had a few late warblers the last few day.  I only stopped briefly and didn't find anything.  I then headed to Wentworth Farm Conservation Area in search of some lingering species or irruptives.  Overall the area was fairly quiet with nothing too unusual.  I then headed home to take Wilson for a walk and after almost completing our walk I heard from Mike that he and Scott had found a few other late warblers in the spot near the mall.  I decided to try my luck once again and this time the stop was much more productive and found at least three Tennessee Warblers, a very late Wilson's Warbler and a Gray Catbird.  Really amazing to find such an odd selection of species in such a small area with lots of 'development' all around.  These warblers were very late and somewhat unexpected this far into November.  More on late warblers for the last few days at the following link.  The month has been very productive in Hampshire County with 115 species so far, which is already a couple species ahead of my best previous November back in 2017.

November 11th has been an extremely productive date for me in Hampshire County with this date producing two of the four first Hampshire County records I have found (King Eider in 2013 and Pacific Loon in 2015).  I made a brief stop by the Winsor Dam (where the records above occurred) but with strong southerly winds the waters at the dam where mainly empty with no unusual waterfowl around.  Perhaps with the cold front coming in tonight and northerly winds and cold temperatures for the foreseeable future something else noteworthy will show up.

American Coot, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 10, 2020

I had just a few minutes on my way to work on Tuesday morning and I decided to spend that time at Arcadia, primarily around the marsh in the hopes of finding some unusual waterfowl.  The best I could find was an American Coot (presumed to be the same individual that has been in the area for awhile but who knows).

Magnolia Warbler, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2020

Common Redpolls, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2020

Common Redpolls, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2020

Eastern Bluebird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2020

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2020

After work Monday morning I headed over to the rail trail in Amherst to follow up on a few late warblers (and a very late Least Flycatcher) that Ted had there the day before.  I walked all around the same areas he visited but came up empty on his sightings but I did have some interesting birds around including a color banded Black capped Chickadee.  I next went to nearby Wentworth Farm Conservation Area and had better luck there with a very late Magnolia Warbler (more on warbler the last few days at the following link) and a flock of 80+ Common Redpolls.  

The tropics continue to produce storms with Tropical Storm Eta expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida tonight and then head out into the Atlantic.  Tropical Storm Theta will slowly dissipate as it moves eastward toward Europe way out in the Atlantic.  This season has already set the record for the most named storms in the Atlantic for any hurricane season and there is a decent chance of yet another storm forming in the western Caribbean in the next few days.