End of the second week of the month comes to a cold end

Gray Catbird, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 13, 2022

Light colored Mallard, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 13, 2022

Mute Swans, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 13, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 13, 2022

The second week of November has now about come to an end and with it the end of our unseasonably warm weather.  We are now in a cooler than normal pattern that looks to continue into the foreseeable future with highs in the 40's and lows in the 20's.  The warm weather was nice while it lasted.  Sunday was the first really cool day with a wind out of the west and northwest bringing in the cold air with showers throughout much of the day, especially through midday.  I started the morning at Winsor Dam but it was rather slow with just the expected stuff around.  I then dodged rain for the next few hours as I visited spots along the river that I usually don't hit during hunting season and found a few notable birds including a late Gray Catbird and some waterfowl.  I also started checking areas that have featured overwintering Yellow rumped Warblers and found one at Mitch's Way...hopefully it (and others) stay all winter.  

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2022

Saturday featured very warm and humid weather thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Nicole.  The morning low was 68 degrees!  I started off the rainy morning at Winsor Dam and didn't find much at all. I made a few return trips to the dam during the morning and the highlight was a single distant Red throated Loon.

Partial leucistic Common Grackle, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 11, 2022

Partial leucistic Common Grackle, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 11, 2022

Song Sparrow, Hadley town well area, Hadley, MA, Nov 11, 2022

Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 11, 2022

Long tailed Ducks, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Nov 11, 2022

On Veterans Day I had some hope that history would repeat itself and I would turn up a big rarity at Winsor Dam but no luck this year although after two days of rarities (Common Eider on the 9th and Black legged Kittiwake on the 10th) I can't complain.  I made multiple stops over the course of the morning and had a few highlights including a large mixed flock of grackles (one partially leucistic individual), blackbirds, starlings and cowbirds in the East Meadows.  I continue to add species at a good clip for the month in Hampshire County with a total of 114 so far, which is just behind my highest ever at this point of the month and well ahead of a typical November (I had 118 by mid month in 2020 and ended that month with my best ever total for November in the county with 122 species).