Red necked Grebes and others along the Connecticut River

Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Northern Pintail, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Sun pillar, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Sun pillar, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

With a report late in the day yesterday from Jacob of a Red necked Grebe on the Connecticut River I decided to once again head over that way first thing in the morning. At least this morning was not subzero with a balmy temperature in the teens. I started predawn at the Honey Pot and had a Short eared Owl working the fields as well as a pair of Great Horned Owls calling back and forth. I then headed down to the river to try to find the grebe. No luck with the grebe but did find a Northern Pintail in among a group of Mallards, Canada Geese and a few Black Ducks. The only other waterfowl around were a couple Common Mergansers. I briefly checked out the fields on the way out and ran across at least seven Lapland Longspurs, 88 Horned Larks and 62 Snow Buntings. Yet again found a large group of American Tree Sparrows that numbered nearly 115 with most near the 90 degree turn. A very photogenic Peregrine Falcon was sitting on a telephone pole just before the dike on my way out.

Red necked Grebe, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Ring necked Duck, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Mallard dead on ice, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Red necked Grebe, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Wood Duck, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Mallard dead on ice, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

I next stopped at the Coolidge Bridge to try my luck scanning through the waterfowl. One of the first birds I ran across was a Red necked Grebe! Very cool to find one on the Connecticut River in February. Lots of other waterfowl around including 489 Canada Geese, a female Wood Duck, 18 Black Ducks, 768 live Mallards plus two dead individuals on the ice (one on each side of the river), a male Ring necked Duck, five Hooded Mergansers (four males) and two Common Mergansers. The pair of Peregrine Falcons showed well and kept the waterfowl nervous. A brief trip down Aqua Vitae Rd and back over to the Honey Pot didn't turn up anything too unexpected. 

Red necked Grebe, North Lane Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Red necked Grebe, North Lane Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Feb 9, 2014

I then decided to make a brief stop at North Lane Conservation Area along the river in Hadley to check for waterfowl. I scanned and came across a Hooded Merganser, a Common Merganser and then another Red necked Grebe...two in one day in February! Crazy stuff. I made a quick stop back at the Coolidge Bridge and the other one was still there so at least two present within a relatively short distance of the river.  These birds may have been displaced from the Great Lakes as the lakes have become iced over. A couple interesting articles about this can be found at the following links:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/species-on-the-move-wwscrngr/
http://birdcast.info/forecast/species-on-the-move-white-winged-scoter-and-red-necked-grebe/

Rusty Blackbirds, Amherst, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Rusty Blackbirds, Amherst, MA, Feb 9, 2014

Rusty Blackbirds, Amherst, MA, Feb 9, 2014

On my way home I stopped at a private residence in Amherst that has been host to some rarities for some time now including 15 Rusty Blackbirds and a Dickcissel. I found at least a dozen Rusty Blackbirds fairly quickly but it took some time to finally find the Dickcissel. Although I only got a brief look at the bird, it was neat to see. These two species bring my county list for the year up to 87, which is just one behind my record setting pace of last year. 

Eastern Coyotes on ice (two of three), Quabbin Park, Feb 9, 2014

To get my Quabbin fix I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam and had three coyotes walking across the ice covered reservoir. Just a couple Bald Eagles and dozens of robins hitting the crab apple trees for bird life. Other birds around today included a Winter Wren at Covey WMA and a Belted Kingfisher at home once again.