More shorebirds on a cool, windy and rainy day

Black bellied Plovers, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Black bellied Plovers, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Black bellied Plovers, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Black bellied Plovers, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Song Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Eastern Coyote, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Groundhog, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 30, 2026

The forecast for today was not great with near record cold for highs, wind and rain.  Today was suppose to be the date for the annual Poverty Mountain bird survey but with the forecast the survey got pushed to tomorrow.  When I woke up this morning I expected rain and instead found mainly clear conditions with a breeze.  The radar didn't show any rain nearby so I first headed over to Winsor Dam and the wind was certainly up there and viewing was not easy due to the wind.  With nothing of note there and strong winds I decided to make the drive back over to the Honey Pot in Hadley to try my luck in relocating the Loggerhead Shrike seen there yesterday.  The wind was much less there to start with a mix of sun and clouds.  I decided to walk out on the dike and use the scope to scan as many spots as I could for the shrike.  Although I had no luck finding the shrike for the day the stop was well worth the effort with a number of unusual species including a silent flyby group of Black bellied Plovers that cut across the fields and continued north in the ever increasing winds.  When I made it out to the shore of the river and started my walk back I heard a shorebird calling as it flew overhead headed north.  I could not place it right away and got a recording as it quickly moved off.  I only got brief looks at it as it was going away in bad light and could not pin down an ID.  I had thoughts of trying some other spots but the clouds rapidly closed in and the light rain started as the temperatures continued to drop.  The flyover shorebird that I got a recording of had me thinking of a few different species and all would be rare.  I sent the recording off to a few people including Ted, Mary and Aaron and the overall consensus was that the bird was a Ruddy Turnstone.  Amazing to get another Ruddy Turnstone after having one at Winsor Dam less than a week ago.  I made my way home to help get Wilson ready for a surgery he had to undergo and once he was on his way I eventually made my way over to Winsor Dam.  If I thought it was windy earlier that was nothing compared to my second stop at the dam for the day.  The water had white caps and there was a sustained wind of 30MPH with higher gusts...it was not comfortable to be outside in.  Initially there was just some sprinkles and as I scanned the water I came up with some gulls including one Bonaparte's Gulls as well as multiple Double crested Cormorants.  I then caught sight of the first of several groups of shorebirds fighting the wind as they tried to move north.  I was able to ID some but others remained unidentified.  A another slug of rain then arrived and as it did so the wind increased even more and I would estimate there were some 50MPH gusts.  The flags sounded like they were about to break free and the recently installed scaffolding on the headquarters building was creaking a bit.  As heavier rain continued to move in I called it quits and headed home.