A warm day in December

Cedar Waxwing, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

 

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Ring necked Ducks, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Common Loons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Cedar Waxwing, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Pine Grosbeak, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 3, 2012

Spent a good portion of this unseasonably warm day outside enjoying temperatures that made it up to 57 degrees.  The morning started out a bit foggy but not nearly as bad as yesterday.  I made a swing through Quabbin Park with a few stops at Winsor Dam too this morning and had the following waterfowl:  77 Ring necked Ducks in one group at Hanks Meadow, a lone male Long tailed Duck, 15 Horned Grebes (all at Hanks Meadow), five Common Loons, 18 Hooded Mergansers, three Common Mergansers, five Black Ducks, 21 Mallard and ten Canada Geese.  Other birds of note seen included a flyover Red Crossbill seen and heard (unable to get a good recording due to distance), a Yellow bellied Sapsucker (had all six species of somewhat expected woodpeckers today), half a dozen Pine Grosbeaks, a kingfisher and a handful of Bald Eagles (including one very vocal juvenile at Goodnough).

I also went for a couple of different walks along the Jabish canal with Wilson and had a couple Winter Wrens as well as a group of three White winged Crossbills feeding in the pines.