UMASS

Sharp-shinned Hawk, UMASS, November 28, 2010
White-throated Sparrow, UMASS Campus Pond, November 28, 2010

Canada Geese, UMASS Campus Pond, November 28, 2010

I made a trip over to UMASS to see if I could track down the Clay-colored Sparrow and/or the Cackling Goose that has been seen there recently. I stuck out on both species but still had a good morning nonetheless. I began at dawn at the Campus Pond where the pond had a thin layer of ice in the areas not containing waterfowl. There were over 250 Mallards, a few Black Ducks and several hundred Canada Geese. A few White-throated Sparrows skulked along the shoreline and I also had a Peregrine Falcon perched on top of the library. After going through the flocks on the pond without too much luck I made it over to the area around the heating plant to try for the Clay-colored. No Clay-colored but several other sparrow species including White-throated, Savannah, Song, and American Tree as well as 130+ Dark-eyed Junco's. I moved around the area a few times but never managed to find the Clay-colored. On my last trip around all the birds scattered as a Sharp-shinned Hawk made a dive at the House and Goldfinches without luck. It did give great views as it went over to perch in a far tree. I ran into a few other birders who also had not had any luck tracking down either of the above mentioned species.