Weekend birding and another unsuccessful search for a Snowy Owl

Long tailed Duck, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Long tailed Duck, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Mute Swan, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Bufflehead, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Northern Pintail, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Bufflhead, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Common Goldeneye, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Mute Swan, South Hadley Canal Park, S. Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2013

I spent the morning in a vain attempt to find a Snowy Owl (or anything else new for the year).  I started around daybreak on the South Hadley side of the Holyoke Dam looking for gulls, waterfowl and the odd vagrant.  Not many gulls around today but below the dam I had a couple Common  Goldeneye, a few Common and Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and a few hundred Canada Geese and a kingfisher.  Just up the river above the dam a stop at the South Hadley Canal Park produced a nice selection of waterfowl including a Long tailed Duck (an odd spot for this species and a little late in the season), two Bufflehead, a Northern Pintail (female), 4 Mute Swans, 14 Black Ducks, three Common Goldeneye, 42 Mallards and 69 Canada Geese. 

Common Goldeneyes, Dinosaur Footprints, Holyoke, MA, Dec 8, 2013

A brief stop at the dinosaur footprints area produced four more Common Goldeneye.  This can be a great spot for goldeneyes and almost always produces.  I was on the lookout for a Barrow's Goldeneye but no luck.

Horned Larks, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Horned Larks, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2013

I cruised through the majority of the East Meadows and had 350+ Canada geese (one group on the river had a very small goose with it but the group took off before I could get a good look to determine if it was a cackling goose or not), 7 black ducks, 110+ horned larks and 30+ snow buntings and nearly a hundred Mourning Doves.  A scattering of sparrows along the hedgerows consisted of the typical species.

I then headed across the river to check the Honeypot section of Hadley and finally ran into some other birders.  It was odd to not have run into someone else up until this point.  I spent a little time poking around 'That's a Plenty Farm' and a few other nearby fields and found a Ring necked Pheasant calling, a male Northern Harrier cruising south, 72 Horned Larks, 52 American Tree Sparrows,  57 juncos, a Savannah Sparrow and two White crowned Sparrows (one singing a few times) plus other typical stuff. 

Northern Harrier, Valley St, Hatfield, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Northern Harrier, Valley St, Hatfield, MA, Dec 8, 2013

I headed back across the river and headed up through Hatfield (hoping that the brief staying Snowy Owl of several days ago magically returned).  I hit several fields throughout the area and found a couple Northern Harriers, a few pockets of sparrows and others but nothing out of the ordinary.  I then continued on north.

Canada Goose with neck tag (27MA), Pilgrim Airport, Hatfield/Whately, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Canada Geese, Pilgrim Airport, Hatfield/Whately, MA, Dec 8, 2013

Distant Canada Geese flock, Pilgrim Airport, Hatfield/Whately, MA, Dec 8, 2013

As I was driving north I noticed a large gathering of geese at the old Pilgrim Airport on the Hatfield/Whately line.  The flock contained nearly 1600 Canada Geese but no other goose species.  Among the geese I found a neck tagged individual which I have reported to see the background on the it. I will update the info when I hear back. UPDATE: The goose is a female that was banded in Colrain, Massachusetts on July 7, 2005 and was an adult at that time (meaning the goose was hatched in 2004 or earlier).  I also heard from Ian that the same goose had been on the UMASS campus pond a few days before.

The other notable species at the airport included a flock of 94 Horned Larks and half a dozen Brown headed Cowbirds.  The remaining fields through Whately, Sunderland, Amherst and North Hadley were all quiet with nothing too noteworthy.  The UMASS campus pond held 648 Canada Geese, a Peregrine Falcon up on top of the library and the usual Mallards but little else.  I also made a brief stop at Winsor Dam on my way home (I have serious withdrawal if I don't stop at Quabbin at some point on a day off). Although I tried to find something of interest there it was all quiet.

Although I was unsuccessful in my quest to find a Snowy Owl once again I have not yet started to refer to the species in colorful language I reserve for those birds that just don't want to show themselves. I'm close but not quite there yet! I just know a Snowy Owl will show up and be cooperative as soon as I'm not able to chase it.

Winsor Dam at first light, Quabbin Park, Dec 7, 2013

Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Dec 7, 2013

Winsor Dam in the morning, Quabbin Park, Dec 7, 2013

Yesterday I stayed close to home with a trip over to Quabbin Park and nearby Beaver Lake.  We got a dusting of snow overnight making it look more like winter.  Luckily the roads were fine so travel around was not an issue.  Very quiet overall with only a few species of waterfowl at Quabbin including a single flyby group of 23 Canada Geese, three Horned Grebes and a Common Loon.  I did have nearly a hundred robins coming out of a roost near Hanks Meadow plus at least 20 Wild Turkeys at Winsor Dam but little else exciting.  Although Beaver Lake was almost completely ice free I only had a single Hooded Merganser and a Mallard there.