Windy end to the month with some waterfowl the last few days

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 31, 2025

Canada Geese, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Oct 31, 2025

Black capped Chickadee, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 31, 2025

Wilson ready for Halloween, Belchertown, MA, Oct 31, 2025

Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 30, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 30, 2025

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2025

Horned Grebes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2025

October has now come to an end and the weather continues to cool and feel more and more like later fall.  After a windy and rainy overnight today continued with the wind and it looks to just get stronger as it switches from southerly to westerly winds through the weekend.  Waterfowl was in short supply today but I had a great morning at Winsor Dam on the 29th with nine species including five that were new for the month.  I suspect there will be a big influx of waterfowl at some point either this weekend or early next week.  We are now entering the prime time for rarities to show up in the area moving through November and hopefully this year will bring some good stuff.  Diversity among passerines continues to drop with each passing day.  It was about an average October for me with 141 species in the county.  

Black Scoters this morning

Black Scoters, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2025

Black Scoters, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2025

Looking northwest from Hank's Meadow, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2025

Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2025

After looking for them for the last week plus I finally found some Black Scoters this morning at Quabbin and with them I have seen the last mostly guaranteed species for the year.  Any new species going forward will have to be some degree of rarity through the end of the year.  I now stand at 240 species in Hampshire County which is my second highest total YTD behind 2021 when I had 246 at this point and that year ended up being my highest with 249 species.  I caught up with the first Black Scoters of the morning in Quabbin Park at Hank's Meadow and got to watch an odd interaction of the scoters with a few Ring billed Gulls.  The scoters were in a tight group and milling around in typical scoter fashion with no active diving and fishing.  As I watched the group a few Ring billed Gulls appeared and repeatedly dove at the scoters forcing them to dive below the water.  They continued this for several minutes before the scoters finally got tired of it and took off.  The gulls were not trying to steal any fish the scoters were finding as the scoters were not hunting so no idea why the gulls kept harassing them.  Birds always surprise you with new behavior. 

A brief update on Hurricane Melissa that is now a Cat 5 storm with 175 MPH winds.  It is forecast to maintain nearly this strength as it turns northeast and makes landfall in central Jamaica.  The amount of rain and wind will be catastrophic to the island and it will take years for the island to fully recover.  Hopefully the impacts to both the birds and people will be as minimal as possible but this storm is going to be hugely impactful.

End of October

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 30, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 30, 2024

American Robin with leucism, Hadley, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Purple Finch, Amherst, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA

Black Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 27, 2024

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2024

Dark eyed Junco, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2024

Common Yellowthroat, Amherst, MA, Oct 22, 2024

The month of October has about come to an end so I will take a quick look at what the month produced.  I ended the month with 148 species in Hampshire County, which puts me at the high end of what I typically get.  Overall the weather was dry, sunny with slightly higher than typical temps and decent migration conditions (including some record warmth).  I mainly concentrated on warblers when I had free time.  Notables for the month included the long staying Black bellied Whistling Duck, Brant, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Black backed Gull, a few late swallows, Gray cheeked Thrush and a few late warblers and an ever increasing number of Purple Finches.  As the month comes to an end the diversity of waterfowl has ramped up and perhaps a rarity will show up among the more typical species.

October comes to an end

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 30, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 30, 2022

Savannah Sparrow, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 30, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 30, 2022

I ended the month with a few stops on my way home on a chilly morning mainly looking for warblers and I found three species including a late Common Yellowthroat and a few late Palm Warblers.  I also added my first Snow Bunting for the fall, bringing my total for the month in Hampshire County to a slightly above average 151.  The forecast for the next week or so looks to feature above normal temperatures continuing with no really cold weather in the immediate future.

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Wild Turkeys, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 28, 2022

Black Scoters, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 28, 2022

I added a more waterfowl for the month on the 28th following a big night of migration (the biggest night of the fall for overall numbers according to Birdcast with an estimated 4.28 million birds passing over the county).  I thought Arcadia would be the place to be but the area turned out to be quite quiet with little in the way of passerine migration evident.  I did have woodcocks still flying around in the morning plus continued decent numbers of Purple Finches flying over but sparrow numbers were very low and the only warblers around were some Yellow rumped Warblers.  A group of four Black Scoters in the Oxbow were a bit unusual for the location but not totally unexpected given the large number of the species being reported elsewhere on larger bodies of water.  After running some errands in Northampton I headed over to Winsor Dam and found large numbers of Black Scoters continuing with at least 266 present in a few groups.  There were also a couple Red necked Grebes way out.  I then headed home to take Wilson for a walk and do stuff around the house.  Late in the afternoon I headed back to Winsor Dam and the waterfowl were even more impressive with 316 Black Scoters, 3 Surf Scoters, 17 White winged Scoters, 5 Long tailed Ducks, four Red breasted Mergansers among some eleven species of waterfowl.  There were also three Bonaparte's Gulls mixed in among the Ring billed Gulls.

The remnants of Hurricane Ian brought in rain yesterday and wind today (and some early waterfowl species)

 

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2022

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2022

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2022

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Ware, MA, Oct 2, 2022

Yellow throated Vireo, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 2, 2022

The second day of the month brought strong northeast winds thanks to the interaction between the remnants of Hurricane Ian and a high pressure system off to the north.  The winds blew all day long with little let up until sunset.  I made a stop at Winsor Dam at dawn but did not have any luck with waterfowl so I tried a couple other spots for waterfowl and still came up with little.  I tried to track down some passerines in Ware but the pickings were slim although I did have a brief view of a late Cape May Warbler.  I then decided to head back to Winsor Dam and it turned out to be much more productive then during my earlier stop.  Scott and Mary were already there and we started picking out some waterfowl moving as well as a variety of raptors.  I had thoughts that some scoters might arrive with the strong northeast winds and I was not wrong.  We first had some White winged Scoters in a few small groups that eventually totaled at least 41 individuals.  A group of 8 Black Scoters then arrived and settled on the water way out before taking off again and landing again...the Black Scoters are a little early but given the conditions not too surprising.  All the scoters were adult males with no females or juvenile birds present making ID in the windy conditions a bit easier.  The next notable waterfowl species was a group of ten Northern Pintails that arrived with a few American Black Ducks.  The pintails were the opposite of the scoters with all of them being females.  Overall we had a half dozen species of waterfowl and I'm sure more came through during the course of the day.  

I stayed home for the rest of the afternoon but I noticed some movement outside so stepped out and ran across a mixed species flock that contained a late Yellow throated Vireo among lots of other stuff.  

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2022

Cackling Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Oct 1, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 1, 2022

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2022

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2022

Winter Wren, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2022

October started with the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Ian that devastated areas in Florida.  Although the forecast called for the rain to start late morning the rain actually arrived by around seven instead.  I stayed out as it was not raining too heavily but the conditions kept bird activity low.  I started off in Hadley and had a little flurry of thrushes early with Swainson's Thrushes, a late Wood Thrush and a Gray cheeked Thrush.  I tried to get recordings but the birds were either too distant or nearby jays made so much noise the recording only captured them.  There were also at least four American Woodcocks flying around near dawn.  Songbird activity was slow but there were lots of sparrows around a high count for the date for Common Yellowthroats.  The rain continued and although a few more short walks I still failed to turn up many passerines.  I then made a stop at UMASS to see if the Cackling Geese were around and I turned up one mixed with the Canada Geese.  A stop at Lake Wallace before I went home to wait out the rain turned up two late Green Herons.  Once the rain stopped I took Wilson for a walk and then made another attempt at turning up some passerines (primarily warblers) and I finally came across a mixed flock and added several species for the day.  All and all a fairly decent day despite the less than ideal weather with 75 species total.  

Black legged Kittiwakes (and other stuff) during a strong Nor'easter

Black legged Kittiwake, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Black legged Kittiwake, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Black legged Kittiwake, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Black legged Kittiwake, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Ring billed Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

A powerful nor'easter hit the area starting very late on Monday into Tuesday and lasting through today.  We were lucky to escape of the worst of the rain and wind but we still had plenty of both (the coast and the cape got hit hard with hurricane force winds resulting in widespread power outages).  I had to work yesterday so was not able to check Winsor Dam when I'm sure some stuff showed up but I did immediately head in that direction this morning.  Strong nor'easters during this time of year can produce some good birds as the rain force some migrants down and displace birds from the coast inland.  A similar type of storm back in mid October of 2005 produced a record number of Black legged Kittiwakes (up to nine) in the valley and that species was high on my list of potential rarities with this storm (more of kittiwake records in the county below).  As I was just about to Winsor Dam I got both a text and email about two Black legged Kittiwakes being found by Ted and Scott.  I arrived a few minutes later and immediately got to see and distantly photograph the birds.  This was only the third time I had ever seen the species in Hampshire County with my previous records being up to five back in October 2005 and a single seen Winsor Dam in November of 2012 in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  The kittiwakes today would fly around for a bit and then settle on the water only to fly up again.  Most of the time they were fairly distant and tough to keep track of due to the wind and rain.  They were joined for a time by at least two Bonaparte's Gulls.  Eventually the kittiwakes flew up along with a few other gulls and gained altitude before being propelled south by the strong north winds and they did not return (a review of photos later showed that there were at least three unique kittiwakes present and possibly even four).  Thankfully they stuck around long enough for a number of other birders to arrive and see them.  During the nearly three hours I stayed at the dam there was a noticeable movement of both Canada Geese and Double crested Cormorants.  The low clouds and low visibility hid the birds occasionally and many likely went by undetected.  As expected other waterfowl was also moving or grounded by the weather with seven other species beyond the Canada Geese but nothing unexpected given the date.  Overall a great morning at the dam and one I was glad to be a part of.

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

After taking Wilson for a walk I returned to Winsor Dam where the wind, low clouds and drizzle continued but was slightly reduced from the morning.  The overall activity was lower but there was still some stuff to be seen including a group of 16 White winged Scoters and another large group of Double crested Cormorants moving rapidly off to the southwest (a great count of cormorants overall for the day at the dam with at least 150 individuals).  A very unexpected Blue headed Vireo showed briefly in one of the large pine trees and then quickly moved off...one of the few passerines at the dam all day.  It will be interesting to see what others turned up both nearby and at the coast due to the storm.  There is still the chance of stuff being seen in the wake of the storm over the next day or two so certainly worth getting out to look if you have the chance.

Surf Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Winsor Dam (view when I arrived), Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Winsor Dam (view when I left), Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

Rainbows at Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 27, 2021

I made a final trip over the dam late in the afternoon in the hopes of finding some additional birds at the end of the storm (a report of 15 Common Eiders at Wachusett Reservoir inspired me to try again...I unfortunately did not find any eiders).  I arrived to the winds still cranking and the the visibility poor due to ongoing rain.  I started scanning and quickly found all three species of scoters (including my first Surf Scoters of the day).  There were a few flocks of Canada Geese both flying over and on the water.  Other notables included three Red breasted Mergansers that joined up with some of the scoters.  As the light of the day was coming to an end the wind suddenly slackened a lot and the rain came to an end for the most part.  The calmer conditions allowed me to find more groups of birds out on the water but most were too far out to identify.  The best bird of the stop came in around 5:30 and settled way out on the water...a Ruddy Duck.  My stop was capped off by a beautiful double rainbow.  I wish I could be at the dam again at first light to see what else settled in over night but I will have to leave that effort up to others.  With the sightings of the Black legged Kittiwakes and the Ruddy Duck today I added two new species to my Hampshire County list for the year (species #246 and #247) which now brings me to just one shy of my previous best year (which was last year) with two months left in the year.

Just a taste of what the coast got with this epic storm...a list from First Encounter Beach on the cape on the 28th as the storm was pulling away:  First Encounter Beach on October 28th

Red breasted Merganser with Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2021

Red breasted Merganser, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2021

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2021

Wilson resting after his appointment, Home, Oct 25, 2021

On Monday before the arrival of the big nor'easter but following overnight rain I made it to Winsor Dam before dawn.  The rain was still coming down but eventually it let up a bit and then changed to just occasional drizzle for most of the rest of the day.  I was joined by Ted and eventually Joe before I had to leave to pick up Wilson for an appointment at Tufts.  The overnight rain had downed a few birds with four White winged Scoters and at least 8 Common Loons.  Other waterfowl was moving but nothing unexpected although a close look at a Red breasted Merganser that flew in with a few Common Mergansers was nice.  I made a couple more stops back to the dam later in the day but didn't find anything noteworthy.  I then headed home to pick up Wilson to head down to an appointment at Tufts late in the morning.