Gray Catbird and Bohemian Waxwings at the end of the month

Gray Catbird, northwest campus,  UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Gray Catbird, northwest campus, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Gray Catbird, northwest campus, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Black capped Chickadee, northwest campus, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Black capped Chickadee, northwest campus, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

American Robins (and a starling), UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Thankfully the predicted 2-4" of snow never materialized and we ended up with just around an inch or so for the day.  After spending the morning around the house and the nearby area (more on that below) I got a call from Keenan telling me he rediscovered a Gray Catbird originally found yesterday at UMASS plus he had some flyover Bohemian Waxwings.  I was thinking of heading that way already and these reports just made the decision easier to make.  I made it over there a bit before 11:30 and found the Gray Catbird fairly quickly but it only showed well for a short time before disappearing back into the tangles.  The last catbird I saw was down in Costa Rica in December...the one at UMASS is certainly a tough bird but maybe not the smartest one.  The smart ones are all way south of here right now.  After spending about forty minutes around the northwest side of campus where the catbird was I had a group of four Bohemian Waxwings flyover heading northeast.  I tried to get some photos but the distance, the overcast and the continued snow didn't make for great photography conditions and I only ended up with a few blurry shots.  I spent the next 45 minutes or so with Jacob and Keenan trying to find where the waxwings set down to feed but we only managed to find Cedar Waxwings and loads of American Robins.  I also checked a few other spots in the area that have attracted waxwings in the past but no luck.  Lots of fruiting trees around so hopefully I will eventually catch up with them feeding.  The Gray Catbird and Bohemian Waxwings became species #88 and 89 respectively for Hampshire County this month which breaks my previous record January (and there is still one more bitter cold and windy day left!).  I got species #87 yesterday morning along the Connecticut River in Hatfield when I ran across an Eastern Screech Owl (and managed to get my car stuck in the snow but that is a long tale I will not tell at this point).

Wilson on the run, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Wilson, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 30, 2015

Before heading to UMASS late morning Wilson and I enjoyed some time at Covey WMA during the snow and we both ended up totally snow covered.  I think he enjoyed it a bit more than I did!  The Swift River was nearly totally frozen over with only a few open pools which held 13 Hooded Mergansers and a dozen Mallards but nothing else.  Quabbin is now nearly completely frozen over and given the forecast will be frozen solid by this weekend and will likely remain that way through the rest of winter unless we get a lot of rain and warm temperatures (which seems unlikely at this point).  The only silver lining may be that a Golden Eagle could show up to feast on a less than sure footed deer that expires on the ice.