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| Belted Kingfisher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Belted Kingfisher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Blue winged Teal (middle right), Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Pied billed Grebe (distant, middle top), Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
I decided to stay close to home this morning and started out right
before dawn at Lake Wallace. When I first arrived I was surprised there were
few ducks visible and almost immediately after I had that thought the ducks
started arriving in groups one after the other coming in from the west. I was
surprised the vast majority of ducks do not spend the night here but rather come
into feed starting at daybreak. The numbers were quite impressive once again
and there was certainly a little variety with at least eight Blue winged Teal,
two Hooded Mergansers, a Black Duck, a Pied billed Grebe as well as Wood Ducks (58),
Mallards (142) and Canada Geese (28). This really does seem to be a great spot for Blue
winged Teal as well as other waterfowl. It will be interesting to see what
shows up this fall. Besides the waterfowl there were several Green Herons, a
few flyby Bobolinks and just before I left a flyby Red Crossbill (heard only so
no telling exactly how many actually flew by).
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| Northern Harrier, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Northern Harrier, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Spotted Sandpiper preening, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| House Wren, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Turkey Vulture, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
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| Turkey Vulture, Quabbin Park, MA, Sept 2, 2012 |
I next headed over to
Quabbin Park to take a quick look around before the place filled up with the
weekend crowd. Overall the area was fairly quiet with only a smattering of mixed
species flocks and some areas seemingly devoid of birds. Highlights included
a few Yellow throated Vireos still calling, a pair of Common Loons calling as
they flew by, a Northern Harrier flying low past Winsor Dam. Also had the
highest number of Carolina Wrens here with a total of four.
At home
there were finally some warblers moving through. Nothing unusual but nice to
see some new species in the yard this season. Still at least four hummingbirds around, a couple flyby Sharpshinned Hawks
as well as several Red breasted Nuthatch's. A few hours of nighthawk watching produced no birds.
Local is always cool. Great observations and photo's. 58 Wood ducks!
ReplyDeleteIndeed local can be great. The Wood Ducks have actually dropped in numbers...I have had in the 90's as recently as a couple weeks ago!
ReplyDelete