Crossbills and loons

Common Loons, Quabbin Park, November 25, 2010
Common Loon surfacing, Quabbin Park, November 25, 2010

Common Loons, Quabbin Park, November 25, 2010

I made another trip to Quabbin Park early Thansgiving morning to see what I could find first thing. The winds of yesterday had calmed and the water was calm. I stopped first at Winsor Dam and discovered a few Common Loons. My next stop was the nearly completely iced over Route 9 marsh. The small area of open water held a few Hooded Mergansers but nothing else. I then made the track around the Administration Road. The other birds of note here were a few Snow Buntings at the tower parking lot, a couple flyby Pine Siskins, a group of 29 American Black Ducks, a couple Horned Grebes and several more Common Loons. Some of the loons called a few times as they interacted with each other. In addition an adult Bald Eagle sat on the edge of its nest for the 20+ minutes I was at Winsor Dam. Finally I stopped at the area where I have been having luck with Red Crossbills since last month and I had them again today. I heard and then saw three. There may have been more but they didn't stay around long.