The last few days...waterfowl including an interesting goldeneye

Greater Scaup, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Greater Scaup, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Greater Scaup, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Ring necked Duck and female Greater Scaup, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Common Goldeneyes, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Red necked Grebe, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Red necked Grebe, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Wood Duck, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Goldeneye sp (center bird, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Close up view of Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Close up view of Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Close up view of Goldeneye sp (left side, possible Barrow's?) and Common Goldeneye, heat shimmer elongating bills of both birds a bit but overall structure of both shown, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

Another cold morning (around 5 degrees) found me over in Hadley checking out a variety of areas.  A brief ride through the Honey Pot didn't turn up too much at all so I then headed over to the Connecticut River to check out the waterfowl.  Yet again lots of waterfowl below the Coolidge Bridge which included the following species: 308 Canada Geese (no sign of the hybrid today), a female Wood Duck, ten Black Ducks, 344 Mallards, three Northern Pintails (two males), a male Ring necked Duck, a dozen Greater Scaup (nine males and three females), 18 Common Goldeneyes (including a goldeneye species that may have been a Barrow's Goldeneye...the head shape and structure was right but not an extensive yellow bill...I have included a few photos I managed to get before the bird disappeared...still trying to figure it out), four Hooded Mergansers, eight Common Mergansers and a Red necked Grebe.  The pair of Peregrine Falcons made a few swipes at the waterfowl and drove off a Bald Eagle that tried to fly north up the river.

A little more on the goldeneye that has me wondering.  The overall structure, head shape, bill size all point toward Barrow's but the amount of yellow on the bill was similar to a Common Goldeneye but there is certainly variability in the bill color.  The photos came out somewhat blurry given the heat shimmer but they do show the general structure of the bird compared to a nearby Common Goldeneye although the bill appears a bit longer in a few photos then it appeared in real life.  I viewed the bird for probably a minute before I took my eyes off it and then could not relocate it.  My best guess is it went further up river out of view when the peregrines came through.

Horned Lark, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 17, 2014

After the river I headed down Aqua Vitae Road.  I have tried many times to come across the Clay colored Sparrow that has been seen sporadically all winter at Pete Yeskie's feeders and this time I finally got to see it, but just briefly.  It was at the front feeders along with a variety of other typical species.  Further down Aqua Vitae Road I ran across a mixed flock that contained 88 Horned Larks, 31 Snow Buntings and a single Lapland Longspur.  No luck with the meadowlark along Moody Bridge Road again but did have four Snow Buntings along the road.

Enfield Lookout, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 17, 2014

I then headed over to Quabbin Park and spent some more time trying to find the recently seen Golden Eagle.  Despite quite a bit of looking I didn't find a single eagle at all...perhaps they were all on a carcass somewhere around Quabbin.

Cedar Waxwing, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Cedar Waxwing, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Cedar Waxwing, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Cedar Waxwing, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Cedar Waxwings, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Cedar Waxwing, US Fish and Wildlife HQ, Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2014

Winsor Dam at dawn, Feb 16, 2014

With the snow Saturday night and strong winds forecast for Sunday I decided to stay close to home that day with a visit over to Quabbin Park with the goal of possibly running across a Golden Eagle.  No luck again finding that eagle but did have at least five Bald Eagles in the air at once.  Although it was a bit breezy at times, it wasn't as bad as predicted. 

Later in the day I had to make a trip over to Hadley so I stopped briefly along Moody Bridge Road in search of the meadowlarks but no luck again today.  I then headed over to the US Fish and Wildlife HQ in Hadley to check out the Cedar Waxwings coming into feed on the fruiting trees.  I searched through the flock of nearly 80 birds several times trying to pull out a Bohemian Waxwing but no luck.

Yet another bout of snow is forecast for tomorrow (another 3-6") but after that the weather should moderate a bit with highs in the 40's which should melt some of this damn snow.