Quabbin in the rain

Quabbin in drizzle and fog, screen grab from Quabbin camera, Mar 3, 2012

The snowstorm of Wednesday and Thursday finally came to an end after delivering several inches of heavy, wet snow and sleet.  The temperatures climbed a bit on Friday and began the melting of the snow.  Although working on Friday I came across several groups of waxwings during the day along with large groups of American Robins with most feeding in crab apple trees.  Without binoculars and the ability to spend some time looking I did not see or hear any Bohemian Waxwings among the Cedar Waxwings but given the number of waxwings around and the recent reports of Bohemian’s I would guess there was a good chance at least a few were with these numerous flocks.

Saturday started off with a bit of drizzle and another dusting of snow from overnight but certainly mild with temperatures rising though the 40’s and adding to the melting of our recent snow.  I stayed somewhat close to home checked Quabbin Park.  Although the drizzle made for poor visibility in the morning I still manged to see the Bald Eagle sitting tight on the nest as well as a pair of Common Mergansers and a single flyby Mallard.  I had hoped for more waterfowl but given the weather the last few days I’m not surprised there was not much around.  Over the next few weeks the number and variety of waterfowl should pick up dramatically as migration truly kicks into gear.  I then stopped at the Route 9 marsh which was mostly frozen up again and had no waterfowl at all on it.  Quabbin Park itself was still closed due to the snow so I headed back to Winsor Dam and then home.