Birding along the CT river and then over to Winsor Dam

Short eared Owl, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Short eared Owl, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Short eared Owl, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Short eared Owl, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Despite the light snow this morning I headed over to Hadley trying to catch up with some more new for the year birds and try to get some better views of the Short eared Owls that I have been seeing at first light the last few mornings.  I spent over two hours at the Honeypot and found at least two Short eared Owls working the fields.  There may have been more than two but that is the maximum number I had in view at any one point.  Besides the owls the highlights included a Northern Harrier, a dark morph Rough legged Hawk (FOY!), at least 45 Horned Larks, two Carolina Wrens (at least some individuals managed to make it though the very cold weather), at least 280 Snow Buntings in two large groups, 77 American Tree Sparrows and a Savannah Sparrow. 

I then headed over briefly to Aqua Vitae Road where I had a couple Common Mergansers in one of the only spots of open water on the Connecticut River plus 140+ Horned Larks, at least two Lapland Longspurs in among the flock of larks and 32 Snow Buntings.  A few other stops along the Connecticut River heading south through Hadley and into South Hadley didn't produce much as the river was almost totally iced in.  The only waterfowl I found were two very miserable looking Mute Swans up above the Holyoke Dam.

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, S. Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, S. Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2014

I then stopped on the South Hadley side below the Holyoke Dam in search of gulls and perhaps an odd diving duck.  The area below the dam was fairly ice free but the water was still quite high so only a few gulls were around....no good roosting spots.  The open water featured some decent waterfowl including at least 26 Common Goldeneyes plus a female goldeneye with a fairly yellow bill that I managed a few photos of before it disappeared.  It may have been just an odd Common Goldeneye but still reviewing the bird.  The other waterfowl included 163 Canada Geese, three Black Ducks, 18 Mallads and half a dozen Common Mergansers.  The other notable species found during my time there were at least two Fish Crows calling back and forth.

Winsor Dam late morning, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2014

Winsor Dam during snow shower, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2014

I made a few stops at Winsor Dam between errands and taking Wilson for a walk and found a few species of waterfowl out on the partially frozen reservoir including a single Horned Grebe, a Hooded Mergansers and three Common Mergansers.

Tonight may feature some freezing rain and then rain for tomorrow with temperatures rising to the low 50's which should melt a lot of the remaining snow.  I hope to get out a little tomorrow at Quabbin but it depends on when the freezing rain stops and if there is a lull in the morning before the heavy rain moves in.