Various stops in the valley on a very cold morning

Lapland Longspur, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

I spent a very cold morning exploring several locations along the Connecticut River.  The temperature started off at a refreshing -1 and eventually warmed into the 20's late morning.  Luckily there was no wind to speak of early on so it wasn't too bad to be outside.  The downside of no wind was thick freezing fog along the river which made finding waterfowl a challenge.  The fog did make for some great scenery shots as it froze to the trees along the river. 

Horned Lark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Snow Bunting and Horned Lark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Lapland Longspur, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Lapland Longspur, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Low clouds/freezing fog, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Ice covered trees, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Savannah Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Dawn along Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 7, 2014

I started out at the Honey Pot but the fog made it tough to find anything.  No luck with the Short eared Owls this morning but that is not too surprising given the lack of visibility.  I decided to head over to the East Meadows to see if the fog was any better on the opposite side of the river...it was not!  I did however have a Merlin fly past with a prey item dangling below.  After checking how far I could get down the roads I headed back across the river passing through a quiet Aqua Vitae Rd and then over to the Honey Pot again.  I ran into a large mixed species flock in among the corn stubble and along the side of the road there that contained at least 132 Horned Larks, half a dozen Lapland Longspurs and 34 Snow Buntings.  With all the recent snow the birds have been forced to congregate in the few open areas.  Elsewhere in the Honey Pot I had three Savannah Sparrows and about 25 American Tree Sparrows.  The fog appeared to lift a bit so I headed back across the river again to the East Meadows.

Freezing fog and iced trees, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Iced branches, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Iced branches, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Iced branches, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Feb 7, 2014

After a bit of a walk through the snow I made it to the rivers edge but found the river almost completely choked with ice.  The only waterfowl I could find included about 150 Canada Geese and handful of Mallards.  A far cry from the thousands of birds present a few days before.  Even without the large numbers of waterfowl the scenery was spectacular and worth the walk.

Waterfowl in fog, Connecticut River, Feb 7, 2014

I travelled back across the river again and made a quick stop on the Hadley side of the river and found some more waterfowl in tight along the bank.  The rising sun made viewing difficult but I managed to turn up a Common Goldeneye, a couple Common Mergansers, 162 Canada Geese, three Black Ducks and 184 Mallards.  There appeared to be more birds just around the corner but out of view.

I then headed south to below the Holyoke Dam to see if the waterfowl had moved down there.  The numbers here were not too impressive but did manage to find 144 Canada Geese, two Mute Swans, 38 Mallards, a Hooded Merganser and eight Common Mergansers.  Around 40 gulls around but nothing out of the ordinary.

Winsor Dam with the reservoir frozen solid, Quabbin Park, Feb 7, 2014

I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam on my way home to check on the status and the reservoir is frozen solid with no open water at all.  Hopefully we get an early thaw so the water opens up for waterfowl migration in spring.  Not much chance for finding anything good here now but I will still check from time to time so I don't get 'Quabbin withdrawl'.  In past years road killed deer would be placed out on the frozen reservoir but I got word that will not happen this year...oh well.

Wilson listening for something under the snow, Feb 7, 2014

Once I got home I picked up Wilson and we went for a walk at Covey WMA.  Lots of snow but few birds beyond the feeders at the Fish and Wildlife HQ.  Wilson enjoyed trying to find stuff buried in the snow!  A brief stop at the fish hatchery on the way home turned up a Belted Kingfisher but little else.