Despite the winter like feel today with well below normal temperatures with highs in the 30's, strong winds and occasional flurries I had to be out in it to try to track down something unusual for the day around the south Quabbin area. November 11th has consistently held more unusual birds in Hampshire County for me than any other single day for the entire year (a look back at previous Veteran's Day sightings below). I started off before dawn at Winsor Dam where it was rather slow for birds so after about half an hour I headed into Quabbin Park to check a few spots for waterfowl and found a few species with nothing unusual among them. I then returned to Winsor Dam multiple times over the course of the morning with most of my time spent checking the water where I turned up some more waterfowl with the most abundant species for the day being Bufflehead. I also spent some time around the thickets near the administration building and turned up a somewhat late Chipping Sparrow...not the best rarity but certainly better than nothing! The wind out of the west continued to increase throughout the day and made it feel even colder and winter like. Wilson was at least happy to see some snow come down although he wanted more so he could eat it!.
Now for a little history of previous Veteran's Day. This date has produced two of the five first Hampshire County records I have ever found with a King Eider in 2013 and a Pacific Loon in 2015 (with both of these at Winsor Dam). I have also had some incredible rarities around the date so I always try to get out and bird on and around the date.
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