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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
With some of the warmest weather in weeks I headed out early today and hit several different spots. The temperatures started off in the mid 30's with some fog but eventually the fog broke and the temperatures actually made it to the upper 40's before some rain started in the afternoon. I started the day looking for owls at Quabbin Park and managed to find just a pair of Great Horned Owls. With the frozen reservoir (although with nearly 30 Mallards flying south past Winsor Dam before dawn there must be some open water somewhere nearby) and some fairly thick fog I decided I might have better luck elsewhere so I headed down to the Holyoke Dam in South Hadley. Along the way I saw my second Red Fox in as many days as one ran through the woods near Quabbin.
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| Mute Swan, Holyoke Dam, S. Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Canada Geese (one with leg band), Holyoke Dam, S. Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Common Merganser, Holyoke Dam, S. Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
A stop at the Holyoke Dam produced a scattering of waterfowl including 78 Canada Geese (one with a leg band), a couple Mute Swans, 17 Mallards, a couple Common Goldeneyes and eight Common Mergansers. At least one Fish Crow was also calling in among the groups of crows moving by. I then headed north through Holyoke up to Northampton. A stop at the dinosaur footprints produced nine Common Goldeneyes, three Common Mergansers and a handful of Mallards, Black Ducks and Canada Geese.
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| American Wigeon, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| American Wigeon, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| American Wigeon, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Northern Pintails (with Mallards and Black Duck), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Wood Duck (with Mallards), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Wood Duck (with Mallards), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
I drove through the barren and quiet East Meadows over to the Connecticut River below the Coolidge Bridge. The river was full of waterfowl that took a bit of time to sort through but turned up some good species and numbers for early February. The most notable species included an American Wigeon, a Wood Duck female, two male Northern Pintails and a Common Goldeneye. The number of Canada Geese had dropped from previous days to just 344 (no sign of the hybrid goose). The numbers of both Black Ducks (56) and Mallards (738) were impressive. A handful of Mallard x Black Duck hybrids rounded out the waterfowl. A Bald Eagle made a few passes and really stirred things up and sent some waterfowl to locations unknown...damn eagle. A couple flyover Horned Larks, a flyby Eastern Meadowlark calling and dozens of American Tree Sparrows were the non waterfowl highlights. With the warming temperatures the roads were just starting to get muddy so I timed my exit there well.
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
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| Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2014 |
I then headed over the Honey Pot briefly to check the river up above the bridge. As I drove in I noticed a Peregrine Falcon sitting on top of a telephone pole and it stayed there as I set up the scope and got some fantastic looks at the bird. Peregrines are always impressive and worth a stop to admire. The river held no waterfowl so I headed for home to take Wilson for a walk before the rain started up.
It appears that the furry little rodent saw his shadow so six more weeks of winter...big surprise! So much for global warming!!!! (yes...sarcasm)
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