Ross's Goose among several good birds the last couple days

Ross's Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Ross's Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Ross's Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Canada Geese with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Although the last couple days were not nearly as pleasant as our record setting warmth on Tuesday and Wednesday they were at least productive bird wise with lots of good stuff including a Ross's Goose today.  Ross's Goose is a rare species in Hampshire County and I have only had them a few times in the past including a single back in April of 2015 and a group of between 5-8 seen at various times on the dates of March 17-22 at a variety of locations (including in the same field I had the one today).  I found out about the bird from a phone call from Bob Zajda letting me know he saw a white goose among some Canada Geese as he was driving by but he could not stop to check on the exact species and wanted to know if I could go check them out.   I was able to head right over and eventually found a spot to get a view (very tough at this location due to private property, busy roads and lots of mud).  I initially saw a white goose in among the Canada Geese but it was tucked in and not moving around.  I started scanning the rest of the nearly five hundred geese present and ran across both a Cackling Goose and three neck banded Canada Geese.  I kept checking back on the white goose and I eventually saw it starting to move, showing its small size and small triangular bill.  I got some digiscoped shots and got word out on the bird.  I tried to relocate the Cackling Goose but I could never turn it back up.  I also spent some time trying to read the codes on the neck banded geese but never managed to read all three but I got at least one and possibly two codes and have reported them to the banding lab and will update when I hear back.  The viewing conditions were far from optimal with fog and heavy rain but it was nice to see a rare bird on a miserable day..thanks to Bob for the heads up to go check on the bird.  The two geese bring my total for the month of February in Hampshire County up to 80...a record setting pace for me.

Red shouldered Hawk, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 23, 2018

White crowned Sparrows, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Dawn, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Elsewhere today I turned up a number of good birds and I have listed the highlights below:

-Common Loon and Iceland Gull (different individual compared to yesterday's bird) at Winsor Dam

-Killdeer, a Hermit Thrush and two Field Sparrows at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River

-2 White crowned Sparrows at the Honey Pot in Hadley

-2 Fish Crows at the Hadley Mall

-Red shouldered Hawk at Quabbin Park

Ring billed Gulls and Herring Gulls (part of several hundred present), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 22, 2018

American Wigeon pair with Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 22, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 22, 2018

Yesterday I also had some good stuff before the snow and rain moved in with the highlights being a pair of American Wigeon, two female Red breasted Mergansers and an Iceland Gull at Winsor Dam.