Last day of the heat wave (hopefully)

Great Blue Herons on nest, Lake Wallace, July 20, 2013

I spent a bit of the early morning of the last day of our heat wave checking out Lake Wallace and part of Quabbin Park.  The morning started off at a toasty 76 degrees before sunrise and warmed to the low 90's by midday.  I started at Lake Wallace where I had six Great Blue Herons including three large youngsters in the nest there.  No sign of the Sora there today.  At least four Belted Kingfisher kept chasing each other around and making lots of noise throughout my entire time there.  A decent number (20+) of Wood Ducks plus a few Mallards and a Hooded Merganser rounded out the waterfowl. 

 

Morning view at Gate 52, Quabbin Park, July 20, 2013

Morning view at Gate 52, Quabbin Park, July 20, 2013

Quabbin Park was fairly quiet and I only covered a few areas (Winsor Dam, Route 9 marsh and Gate 52) due to the heat and large numbers of annoying insects.  Nothing too unusual at all with less activity then the previous week with much reduced song.  I did however have a singing Yellow Warbler, which I have not had in weeks. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be much more comfortable out and I intend to try to take advantage of some nicer weather.