New Years Day birding

Clay colored Sparrow, Belchertown, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Clay colored Sparrow, Belchertown, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Wood Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Northern Pintails, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Mallard hybrid, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2015

American Tree Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Despite fighting a cold I still made it out a bit for the new year but did all my birding from the warmth of the car.  Even with this limitation I still found a total of 45 species for the day including a late Wood Duck at Winsor Dam and the continued Clay colored Sparrow at a private residence in Belchertown.  I started my day at Winsor Dam and then hit the UMASS pond and the various fields to the south and west of campus (lots of hunting decoys in the fields), then the Honey Pot and then along the river in Hadley before heading toward home.  The campus pond featured a few Canada Geese, 18 Black Ducks, 479 Mallards (including several hybrids of various types) and three Northern Pintails (no sign of the coot that had been present for weeks).  The Honey Pot held a Hermit Thrush, various sparrows and flocks of Horned Larks.  The Connecticut River had a selection of waterfowl present including at least 1200 Canada Geese that took flight before I could go through them in detail looking for an oddity.  I really wish I could have spent some time out of the car checking some other areas but thought the better idea was to stay warm.