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| Northern Shrike, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| Northern Shrike, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| Northern Shrike, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| Sunrise, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
This morning I headed over to Arcadia to see what I could find on
yet another cold morning. I had hopes of catching up with a screech owl over
there but I had no luck despite some effort. No luck finding the Rough legged
Hawk again nor any larks, buntings or longspurs...I guess they have moved on to
other locations. What I did find was a large number of American Tree Sparrows (120+)
along with a few Song Sparrows and juncos with them. I found the best bird of
the morning there as I was scanning through the sparrows when all of a sudden a
Northern Shrike flew through trying to pick one off without success. I assume
this is the same shrike James had here a few days ago. Always a cool bird to
see and the second one I have seen so far this year.
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| Merlin, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| American Goldfinch, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
As I had an appointment in Hadley at ten I slowly worked my way
east with a quick run through the very quiet East Meadows plus a stop along the
river there to check for waterfowl. The mostly frozen river still contained
some birds with 210 Canada Geese, 89 Mallards and 8 Common Mergansers hunkered down along the edge of the
ice. Without too much activity on the west side of the bridge I crossed over
the river and headed to the Honey Pot where I found some more open water which
contained four Common Goldeneyes, 238 Canada Geese and five Common Mergansers. I also had a Merlin
perched at the very top of a tall tree near the model airplane field. Some
sparrows still around as well as some Horned Larks (around a dozen) but much
lower numbers then on previous visits. I think the birds are a bit more
dispersed as the snow cover has decreased. I also checked a few spots for
roosting Long eared or Short eared Owls but no luck (I have checked for both
species predawn at this location several times over the last few weeks with no
luck...at least so far).
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| Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
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| Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 16, 2015 |
After a bit of time spent in Hadley I made
it home just as a cold front moved in with some strong winds and decreasing
temperatures (forecast for below zero again tonight). Wilson and I then headed
out for a walk with a quick detour to Winsor Dam where I caught up with a
Bufflehead (quite unusual around here in winter) as well as 140 Mallards. The
Bufflehead becomes species #81 for the county so far this month. Our walk at Covey WMA was cold and windy but still produced a rather frigid looking Great Blue Heron in the Swift River.
Meanwhile the yard continues to host mainly the expected species for January but today a Carolina Wren made an appearance...first one in the yard in a month.
Hi Larry, I love your website! I found it because I'm looking for places to bird in early March between Hartford, CT, and Plainview, MA, and am wondering if you can give me some advice since you're obviously well acquainted with the best birding spots there! I have a conference in Plainview over a weekend, but am flying into Hartford on Th night so I can have Friday to bird before my event starts at 5 p.m. in Plainview. I'm planning to get a rental car, drive to a hotel near a birding spot, bird during the day, then make it to Plainview. If you had only one day to bird in that area, where would you go? Thanks again for a great website!
ReplyDeleteNot sure where Plainview, MA is (perhaps Plainville or Plainfield?). The best spots to bird will depend a lot on the weather and what you are looking to try to find. Overall I would say birding along the Connecticut River and nearby farm fields would be the most productive overall. There should be some waterfowl moving by then plus a decent number of raptors. Fannie Stebbins in Longmeadow right on the CT line can be good as well as the East or West Meadows in Northampton or the nearby Honey Pot in Hadley. Basically any of the fields along the river could be productive (if you can access them...depends on the weather). If I had just one day to bird I would bird along the river and nearby fields. If you want to see what the latest sightings are before you arrive I would recommend joining the western mass birders facebook page...lots of up to date sightings there. You can also look back to previous years here on the blog and it might give you an idea of places to go and species to expect. Hope this helps.
DeleteOops, I meant Plainfield!!! Thanks for the tips! I had been thinking about Fannie Stebbins and Mass Audubon's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary as they are right along my route up to Plainfield. I'll check out the other places you mention. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour welcome.
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