After the epic find yesterday of a Common Eider at Winsor Dam I was not expecting to find another big rarity at the dam but that is indeed what happened. I arrived at Winsor Dam a bit before dawn with the slim hope that the eider would still be around and hopefully closer in. I started scanning the water and had just a few species of waterfowl (Bufflehead, three Long tailed Ducks and a couple Hooded Mergansers). The only gulls were way out and were just a white blob. The gulls lifted off in small groups with most heading off to the southwest but a few came in and landed back on the water a bit closer. As I was scanning through the gull flock I noticed a single Bonaparte's Gull among the Ring billed Gulls. As I continued scanning in the dim light I came across another bird among the Ring billed Gulls that was slightly smaller then they were but larger than the Bonaparte's Gull. I quickly noticed a dark bill, a black smudge behind the eye and a black partial collar...a juvenile Black legged Kittiwake. I tried to get some photos with the phone through the scope but the results turned out to not show much at all. After a few minutes the birds lifted off and I easily picked out the kittiwake by flight style and bold black "M" on the upper wing. I watched it through the scope as it moved around and I shot off photos with the phone through the scope to try to get some documentation. Surprisingly I got a few shots that at least showed some of the field marks. The bird continued to fly around and moved off to the north by itself. I lost track of it so not sure where it finally ended up. I got the word out once again to others but with the bird no longer visible I knew it would be tough for others to enjoy this bird unless it decided to return (which it did not do unfortunately). Given the strong southerly winds overnight and into today and clear conditions I have no idea what induced the kittiwake to drop in today. Black legged Kittiwake is a rare bird here and is almost always associated with rainy weather and strong winds. My other records in Hampshire County include three at Winsor Dam in late October last year, a single at Winsor Dam in early November 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and a group of five in mid October 2005 at the Oxbow in Northampton. These sightings make up the bulk of sighting ever of this species in Hampshire County. I wonder what tomorrow will bring or perhaps what will show up after the remnants of Hurricane Nicole move through overnight into Saturday. One thing is for sure the temps and humidity will certainly be high tomorrow and through early Saturday with highs in the upper 60's again.
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