Another Greater White fronted Goose (and other waterfowl)

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Canada Geese (and others), Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Wood Ducks, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

I took advantage of having more time this morning to check the waterfowl at Hadley Cove for something unusual and after looking through the large flock of waterfowl I was rewarded with a Greater White fronted Goose.  I didn't notice the Greater White fronted Goose for the first 30 minutes I was there...the birds were packed in tight and really good views are difficult here. I'm sure something else unusual will turn up here over the next few weeks.  In addition to the unusual goose I had 2200+ Canada Geese, an amazing 56 Wood Ducks, 7 Green winged Teal, 7 Ring necked Ducks, 11 Black Ducks, 10 Common Mergansers and 44 Mallards.  I also had a starling that kept giving a great impression of an Eastern Wood Pewee!  After an hour at the cove I headed across the river to Arcadia and the Oxbow.

Oxbow near dawn, Northampton, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Green winged Teal (with Canada Geese), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Common Mergansers, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 22, 2013

With all the recent cold weather the ice closed back in on the oxbow and along the Mill River.  The numbers of waterfowl were thus diminished a bit from previous recent visits.  Between the two locations I had 47 Common Mergansers, a couple Hooded Mergansers, five Wood Ducks, a couple Green winged Teal, five Ring necked Ducks, a couple Black Ducks, four Mallards and 29 Canada Geese.

I headed back across the river with a few stops as I travelled back through Hadley.  I stopped at North Lane and had 11 Common Mergansers on the river plus three Tree Swallows feeding as they moved down river...I guess a few of them survived the cold weather.  I then stopped off at Lake Warner with the only waterfowl present being a handful of Wood Ducks and Ring necked Ducks.  I also ran across a new species for my 2013 Hampshire County list there...a Purple Finch ( singing) which became species #105.  A stop at the UMASS campus pond turned up the usual species there with nothing unusual noted. 

Canada Geese, Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Canada Geese, Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 22, 2013

I noticed a large gathering of geese in the corn stubble fields along Mill Valley Road as I was driving past.  As I watched the few hundred geese in the fields, more and more geese arrived from the southwest (possibly from Hadley Cove?).  I scanned each arriving flock to try to find something unusual in among them and I had at least one good candidate for a Cackling Goose but it dropped in out of view and I was never able to get a look at it on the ground.  The geese kept coming and going but I eventually was able to get a fairly good count and came up with 1230.  I also had a few Horned Larks in the fields.

I then headed south to East Hadley Road where I had a few small flocks of geese heading north.  The only other birds of note here included a flock of 28 Horned Larks and three Turkey Vultures.

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Mar 22, 2013

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Mar 22, 2013

My next stop was Quabbin Park, starting off at Winsor Dam and then heading through the park.  I had absolutely no waterfowl on the reservoir itself...very unusual.  I did have some waterfowl at the Route 9 marsh including 13 Wood Ducks plus a few Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and Canada Geese. 

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 22, 2013

Common Mergansers, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 22, 2013

I tried once again at Beaver Lake in Ware to try to find a Snow Goose reported there yesterday.  No luck again with that species but I did have 9 Ring necked Ducks, 10 Hooded Mergansers, and 21 Common Mergansers.  I also had a pair of Cooper's Hawks in courtship flight over the lake.

Once I got home I picked up Wilson and we went on a couple of walks including stops at the Piper Farm Conservation Area and Lake Wallace.  Nothing unusual on either stop. 

At home I had the first American Tree Sparrow I have had here in a few weeks.