Southern Quabbin area

 

Dawn at Hanks Meadow, Mar 30, 2013

Ring necked Duck (showing its ring neck), Route 9 marsh, Quabbin Park, Mar 30, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Route 9 marsh, Quabbin Park, Mar 30, 2013

I decided to spend the day around the local area starting out before dawn trying to find some owls around south Quabbin. No luck with owls but did have a few American Woodcock. I stopped by Winsor Dam and had 17 Common Mergansers, 14 Mallards and a few Canada Geese plus hundreds of gulls but nothing unusual among them that I could find. I then headed through Quabbin Park and had  two Common Goldeneye, seven Ring necked Ducks, 16 Common Mergansers, three Hooded Mergansers, 7 Black Ducks, 21 Mallards and 11 Canada Geese.  I also had a kingfisher, a lucky 13 Wild Turkeys, a couple Tree Swallows and a Winter Wren singing.

Tree Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2013

I next headed over to Lake Wallace where I caught up with species #108 when I found a Swamp Sparrow calling. Other birds there included 7 Ring necked Ducks, 4 Wood Ducks, 4 Hooded Mergansers and a Tree Swallow.

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Common Merganser, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Winsor Dam panoramic, Mar 30, 2013

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Quabbin Reservoir from Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

I then headed back over to Winsor Dam and had more waterfowl including a couple Bufflehead,  three Common Goldeneye, a dozen Common Mergansers, nine Mallards, three Black ducks and 74 Canada Geese with most of those headed north. I spent almost 45 minutes there watching for migrants moving by but nothing too unusual.  There was a movement of blackbirds and grackles and a few robins plus at least two Killdeer flying by.

Great Blue Herons on nest, Quabbin Gate 9 marsh, Pelham, MA, Mar 30, 2013

In the early afternoon I took a ride up to Gate 9 to check the marsh nearby for waterfowl. A large portion of the marsh was still iced in so I only had a few Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and Canada Geese in the small parts of open water. I did have four Great Blue Herons sitting on nests in the small rookery there.

Tomorrow and Monday could be good with south winds kicking in and bringing a new influx of migrants with it. Anything is possible but I expect to see more waterfowl, Tree Swallows and sparrows plus early warblers and other early season migrants and possibly some of the irruptive species from the winter moving back north.