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| Red tailed Hawk, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
I started the day at dawn at Covey WMA with Wilson. It was a very chilly morning with temperatures around 15 with a steadily increasing breeze. I hoped to catch up with some of the waterfowl seen there yesterday and although I could not relocate the Northern Pintail I did find the female Ring necked Duck plus a couple Hooded Mergansers,a Black Duck and a handful of Mallards. I think some of the ducks had been flushed by a group of three River Otters before I arrived. A Winter Wren was working the shore of the Swift River but there was little activity beyond that. I then headed home to drop off Wilson before heading down to the Holyoke Dam and then to other areas along the river.
At the Holyoke Dam area I had a small selection of waterfowl with three Common Goldeneye (two males), 13 Mute Swans, a dozen Common Mergansers, three Hooded Mergansers, 200+ Canada Geese and nine Mallards. The only gulls present were a few Ring billed Gulls and a single Great Black backed Gull. The river was still running fairly high, at least compared to last week. As I worked north I stopped at a few spots along the river but didn't find anything noteworthy. I made it up to the Coolidge Bridge in Northampton and the wind really picked up. The only waterfowl on the water below the bridge were two Common Mergansers. I then headed across the river to Hadley.
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| American Wigeons, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| American Wigeons, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| American Wigeons, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Feb 4, 2013 |
My final stop for the morning along the river was the most productive. I checked out the river upstream from the Coolidge Bridge viewing it from the Honeypot. The best birds were a pair of American Wigeon in among the other ducks. The wigeons became species #86 for Hampshire County this year. Other waterfowl here included 172 Mallards, four Black Ducks, three Mallard x Black Duck hybrids and half a dozen Common Mergansers. I quickly cruised through the Honeypot and didn't find anything else too unusual but the strong winds certainly kept some of the birds hunkered down.
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| Eastern Coyote, Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 4, 2013 |
The area of South Maple Street, Mill Valley Road and Moody Bridge road did not produce a Gyrfalcon or any other raptor besides a few Red tailed Hawks. I did have an Eastern Coyote in the middle of a large field off Mill Valley Road late in the morning. Surprised to see it out in the open in such a busy area. I managed a couple of blurry shots before it disappeared.
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| Red tailed Hawk, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| Red tailed Hawk, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| Eastern Bluebird chicks that didn't make it, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| Eastern Bluebird chicks that didn't make it, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| Wilson listening to a Winter Wren, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
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| Swift River, Covey WMA, Feb 4, 2013 |
Once I got home I picked up Wilson and we went back to Covey WMA were we found the female Ring necked Duck in among a group of Hooded Mergansers and we also refound the Winter Wren that kept up quite a chatter...even Wilson was impressed and just sat there listening to it as it worked its way up the opposite shore of the Swift River. Also came across a nest that looks to have been recently removed from one of the many nest boxes. The remains of at least three Eastern Bluebirds could be seen nearby. Hopefully the bluebirds have better luck this coming breeding season. A brief stop at Winsor Dam produced a total of five Bald Eagles all up in the air at once.
Today also saw the 40,000th page view here...amazing.
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