Last few windy, cool days produce little

Snow moving down reservoir toward Goodnough Dike, Quabbin Park, Mar 3, 2013

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, Mar 3, 2013

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, Mar 3, 2013

On Sunday I stayed closer to home with visits to Covey WMA, Quabbin Park and a few other nearby areas.  I started before dawn at Covey to try to catch up with an early arriving American Woodcock but I had no luck.  It may have been just a bit too breezy to have the birds displaying.  I next headed over to Quabbin Park and walked down to Hanks Meadow and the loop around Goodnough Dike.  At Hanks Meadow I ran across a Barred Owl still hanging out in the local area.  The only waterfowl turned out to be Common Mergansers.  I hoped to catch up with some Eastern Meadowlarks seen at Goodnough Dike on Saturday but I had no luck.  The snow picked up from a few flurries to a more steady light snow although the snow had a tough time sticking as the temperatures were just above freezing.  A number of Red breasted Nuthatchs kept coming in and out of the area near the parking lot allowing some great views.  I stopped back by Winsor Dam but the snow made viewing difficult.  I then headed over to Lake Wallace to check if the ice had started to melt allowing for some open water but the area was still totally frozen.  A check of a few other fields failed to produce any geese or Killdeer.

Today I headed back over to the Hadley/Amherst area to run errands and stopped at a few locations trying to catch up with new birds for the year.  I didn't have any luck finding any new birds but still had some decent sightings.  The Clay colored Sparrow continues in the Honey Pot in Hadley but I was unable to find the Vesper Sparrow along Aqua Vitae Rd today.  I checked the thicket near the airport for the White crowned Sparrow but was only able to turn up several other sparrow species.  Waterfowl were few and far between with nothing too unusual.  The crew teams have started to practice on the river above and below the Coolidge Bridge so no waterfowl in those areas.  I checked various fields to try and find some geese but had no luck with that endeavour either.  The mixed blackbird flocks continue to grow in number and I had my first three digit count of Red winged Blackbirds so far this season.