Cooler day with north winds brings in more waterfowl at Winsor Dam

Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Long tailed Ducks, Greater Scaup and Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

Our sunny weather continues although today we cooled down on the heals of some stronger northerly winds and with the winds came more waterfowl.  I spent about two hours at Winsor Dam with Ted, Jack and Scott (plus another birder that showed up at the tail end of the time).  It stayed active throughout the time although the busiest (and windiest) time was early on.  We had 14 species of waterfowl including at least one Gadwall, a small mixed group of Greater and Lesser Scaup, lots of Black Scoters, a few White winged Scoters, Long tailed Ducks and all three merganser species.  In addition to the waterfowl I had at least one Pine Warbler in with a mixed flock of mainly Dark eyed Juncos and Eastern Bluebirds plus a couple Bonaparte's Gulls and some raptors.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2026

After making a short trip elsewhere to get out of the wind for a bit I returned to the dam to try to get photos of the Pine Warbler with no luck in relocating it.  Waterfowl continued to move a bit while I walked around the area and a number of Black Scoters continued way out.

First week of November and an update on Wilson

American Wigeons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

American Black Ducks (and a few Mallards), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

American Black Ducks (and a few Mallards), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 6, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Red winged Blackbirds, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Barred Owl, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

American Tree Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Savannah Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Savannah Sparrow with large bill, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Fox Sparrow and Northern Cardinal, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Northern Cardinal, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2025

Cedar Waxwing, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2025

Wilson resting, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 5, 2025

 

Wilson out walking, Belchertown, MA, Nov 6, 2025

The first week of November has overall been cool and mainly windy with multiple bouts of rain as an active pattern has set up as we slide rapidly toward late fall.  At times the wind has been quite strong with the direction changing from southwest to west to northwest and back again.  I have spent a lot of time in the south Quabbin area looking for waterfowl and staying close to home for Wilson (more on that below).  With so much windy weather trying to track down late passerines has been tough but I have tried when the wind calms a bit and I have managed to find just two species of warblers.  Waterfowl migration has been hot or miss with a few mornings producing little and a couple being decent, including this morning at Winsor Dam with ten species including nearly 200 American Black Ducks.  Irruptive species continue to show up with continued large numbers of Purple Finches and increasing numbers of Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks 

Now for some sad news concerning my best bud Wilson.  The cancer on his foot has returned to the point that the tumor has ruptured on a small part of the foot and the remainder of the tumor continues to grow rapidly. We knew the tumor would be back at some point as the removal of two of his toes two years ago was not enough to get all of the tumor but we just could not go through with a full amputation at that time. With all these recent changes for all of us we have had to cancel our trip down to south Texas we had scheduled for mid November. He has thrived the last couple years and does not act his age of 14 1/2. He is in no pain right now but he has to wear the booty to keep him from licking at the foot. Unfortunately there are not any good options going forward and we are still deciding on what to do. In the end it will be quality of life for him, as it has always been. He is convinced he can just lick the cancer away if we just gave him a chance! He still runs around when it is play time, even with the boot on. Fuck cancer.

Black headed Gull at Winsor Dam this morning

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Red breasted Merganser and White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

November started off on the right foot with a very rare for the area Black headed Gull this morning at Winsor Dam.  After heavy rain overnight and very windy conditions today dawned mainly clear with a strong westerly wind.  I certainly had high hopes that something good would show up at Winsor Dam so that is where I went before sunrise.  I arrived just after Ted and we immediately started scanning the water and the air.  We could see hundreds of gulls milling about way, way out with many seeming to want to head out to the southwest before mainly being blown back.  It was tough to make out much for species as they were so distant.  Eventually groups started coming in closer and most were Ring billed Gulls.  As we were sorting through one group of perhaps 35 gulls Ted said he had an interesting bird in the flock.  I was able to get on it with the scope as the birds milled around and fought the wind.  The interesting bird had a dark carpel bar on the upper side, dark tail tip and dark trailing edge which seemed right for Bonaparte's Gull but the underside of the wings showed a dark triangle and the bird was only slightly smaller than the Ring billed Gulls and seemed to be able to fight the wind as well as the Ring billed Gulls (unlike the Bonaparte's Gull we saw perhaps 15 minutes after seeing this bird).  With the field marks there was nothing else would could come up with besides a Black headed Gull...a truly rare sighting in the area.  The gulls within this group all disappeared off to the southwest and were not seen again.  As mentioned above another group of gulls arriving from the north a bit later contained a Bonaparte's Gull and the two individuals were quite different in size, plumage and behavior when compared.  This is only my third Black headed Gull I have ever had in the county with the other two records both being in spring with one in March 2013 and another in April 2015 and both in the farm fields on the Hadley/Amherst border.  Beyond the gulls we had a decent diversity of waterfowl with a total of eleven species as well as some raptors migrating.

Redhead adds another species of unusual waterfowl for the month

 

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

After missing a group of five Redheads that showed up when I was working last week I didn't think I would get another chance to see this rare duck but I was wrong.  I got a text from Joe last evening that a Redhead was in the flooded fields along Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley.  With less than ideal migration conditions overnight I hoped the bird would stick around.  I headed to the location before dawn and waited for it to get light enough to see.  I scanned through the gathering of waterfowl and actually had a brief view of it fairly early on but it quickly disappeared into the grasses and out of view.  I then spent the next 30+ minutes endlessly scanning with the scope in the wind and cold and I finally relocated it and got some photos...well worth the wait!  Redhead is a rare species here and this is just my sixth Hampshire County record of the species.  Beyond the Redhead I had seven other species of waterfowl with above usual numbers of Wood Ducks and Ring necked Ducks.

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Brown Creeper, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks with American Black Ducks, Green winged Teal and Common Merganser, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

American Black Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

I decided to try for some additional waterfowl so headed across the river and up to Great Pond where the flooded areas offered lots of duck habitat.  The habitat produced some good variety and numbers with the highlights including three Northern Shovelers, 144 Wood Ducks, 52 American Black Ducks and 162 Green winged Teal (all appeared to be American subspecies).  It has been a fantastic March for me so far with a total of 106 species in the county so far (just one shy of my highest ever total of 107 back in 2021).  Waterfowl has figured in prominently (as expected) with 27 species so far.

Wilson on St. Patrick's Day, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Yesterday (St. Patrick's Day) was mainly rainy with limited visibility throughout the day.  I tried a few spots during the day without too much luck.