Black Scoter, Snow Goose and Bonaparte's Gull on a rainy day

Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

Black Scoter, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

 

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

 

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

Gulls in the air, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, May 23, 2013

 

After yet another night of southerly winds and rain showers scattered around I started my morning at Winsor Dam where low clouds and fog made viewing a bit of a challenge at times.  I scanned the water and noticed a duck way out on the water that appeared interesting.  After a lot of looking and a slight improvement in viewing conditions I was able to ID the bird.  It was a male Black Scoter, which is very rare in spring inland.  It is actually the first record I have had of the species in spring in western Massachusetts.  The Black Scoter became county species #204 for the year.  The unusual birds did not end with the scoter as I found a Bonaparte’s Gull in among nearly seventy Ring billed Gulls near the dam.  It took a bit of time to get a really good look at the bird to confirm it wasn’t something more unusual.  I had a handful of other species around including several Common Mergansers, a couple Spotted Sandpipers, Bald Eagles at the nest and a variety of other species.  The radar last night showed a decent movement of birds and I heard several flight calls when I stepped outside around ten (plus had an Ovenbird singing then too).  After the dam I headed over to the rail trail off Station Rd in Amherst and made a quick walk up to the horseshoe dam.  Nothing too unusual but did have a Black billed Cuckoo, Blackpoll Warblers and Virginia Rails among the 43 species in about a half hour.  I also heard several other Blackpoll Warblers at various spots throughout the day.

Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013

Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013

Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2013

The remainder of the day featured heavy rain that continued past sunset.  I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam to check for anything unusual but only had a loon and cormorant.  A bit later I got a call from Tom G. that Scott had a late Snow Goose along Mill Valley Road in Hadley.  After a quick bite to eat I headed out the door and after a little searching I found the bird in among some Canada Geese and Mallards.  Certainly a late date for this species.  The Snow Goose became species #205.  Very happy to add two more species today.

 

Greater White fronted Goose (or geese) continues

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

 

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Black Ducks (and others), Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Canada Goose with neck tag (Yellow GJA), Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

In what is probably sounding like a broken record I spent the morning visiting various locations trying to catch up with waterfowl and whatever else might be out there.  I started out once again predawn at Hadley Cove and yet again found the cove packed with birds.  I found a (the) Greater White fronted Goose fairly quickly and got a few photos.  In among the 1900+ Canada Geese I found a neck tagged individual.  The tag was yellow with the letters "GJA".  I have reported the tag and I will update on the background of this individual when I hear back.  Besides the geese I found 38 Wood Ducks, at least 42 Black Ducks, 49 Mallards, 16 Ring necked Ducks, three Green winged Teal, nine Common Mergansers and ten hybrid Mallards/Black Ducks.  I also had a Killdeer and a kingfisher.

Old Mill River, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A brief stop at the old mill river in Northampton produced a pair of American Wigeon, half a dozen Wood Ducks, 22 Black Ducks, 41 Mallards, 32 Canada Geese and five hybrid Mallards/Black Ducks. 

Ring necked Ducks, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Wood Duck,  Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A swing over to the oxbow and Arcadia produced more waterfowl including 12 Wood Ducks, 77 Common Mergansers, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, three Ring necked Ducks, eight Black Ducks, 18 Mallards and 58 Canada Geese.  At least two Killdeer were working the muddy shore and were joined by a Great Blue Heron.

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A short ride through the East Meadows produced around 150 Canada Geese and a few Mallards plus 36 Horned Larks and at least 16 Savannah Sparrows near the airport.  The roads in the meadow were rutted up quite a bit and once the temperature went up a bit were sure to turn into a muddy mess so I headed out before checking all the potentially productive areas.  As I headed back across the bridge I had a Peregrine Falcon make a few passes at the pigeons there without success.

Greater White fronted Goose (head visible above the corn), Mill Valley Rd/S. Maple St, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose (head visible above the corn), Mill Valley Rd/S. Maple St, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

I next stopped at the fields along Mill Valley Road where I had a large group of geese yesterday and yet again the fields contained geese.  I turned up a Greater White fronted Goose just poking its head up above the corn.  Likely the same individual I had earlier at Hadley Cove but who knows for sure.  I went through the flocks a few times but could not find anything else unusual.  I did get a careful count of Canada Geese which totalled 1282.  I also had a flock of 82 Horned Larks flying around the fields.