Easter weekend birding turns up a few new species

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Pine Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2016

I spent the early part of Sunday morning exploring around the south Quabbin area with stops at Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace.  I added one new species to the county list for the year, a Ruby crowned Kinglet (#111) at Quabbin Park.  I hoped for some new waterfowl but I didn't add any new species but I did find a total of nine species.  Predawn I tried for some owls and found a Great Horned Owl at Quabbin Park plus many American Woodcocks at various stops.  The clouds and cool temperatures certainly felt more like March and I'm sure the conditions kept some passerines below my radar.

During the afternoon the sun finally broke through and the temperatures warmed into the 50's.  A Pine Warbler singing in the backyard became species #112 for the county this year and was the first of what will hopefully be many warbler species passing through the yard this year.

Pied billed Grebe, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Mar 26, 2016

Bufflehead, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 26, 2016

Tree Swallows, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 26, 2016

I headed over to Arcadia for dawn looking for waterfowl but found very little in the flooded marsh (no luck finding a Pied billed Grebe that had been around for a few days).  I then headed back across the bridge and checked the river in Hadley and found some waterfowl including a Pied billed Grebe (#110) and 19 Green winged Teal.  I once again checked fields in Hadley and Amherst looking for geese but found none.  Without much activity in Hadley I headed back toward home and stopped at Beaver Lake where I had seven Bufflehead and 33 Ring necked Ducks.  A stop at Lake Wallace turned up at least 110 Tree Swallows plus other expected species.

The last week

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Tree Swallows, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Hooded Mergansers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Common Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Common Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 25, 201

The forecast today called for early drizzle and some heavier rain that would lead to warming temperatures as a warm front pushed through. The cold air was a bit more stubborn than predicted and most of the day stayed cool and gloomy. I did head out early before the heavier rain arrived and stayed around the local area making stops at Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace. A few highlights this morning including 7 Great Blue Herons, 71 Tree Swallows, half a dozen Eastern Phoebes and a couple Rusty Blackbirds at Lake Wallace and 42 Ring necked Ducks, 7 Bufflehead and 18 Tree Swallows feeding low over the water at Beaver Lake.  I checked a few of the same spots throughout the day and added a few new species bringing the total number of waterfowl species to nine.  A walk with Wilson along the land trust trail turned up more phoebes, two singing Field Sparrows seemingly on territory and a Winter Wren.

While at work on Wednesday I had a Chipping Sparrow (#109) near the middle of Florence.  I have not had much time to get out much the entire week but thankfully the weather has not been very conducive to major migration.

Spring begins cold with snow in the forecast

Hooded Merganser, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2016

Hooded Merganser, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2016

Rusty Blackbird, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2016

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2016

The entire weekend certainly felt much more March like than the weather has been lately with temps yesterday in the 40's, lows overnight around 20 and temps today topping out in the upper 30's.  The forecast calls for snow overnight into Monday morning with a few inches possible.  Hopefully this will be the last gasp of winter but time will tell.

Yesterday I stayed around the local area with stops at Quabbin Park and Lake Wallace among other stops during the morning.  Highlights included 20 Hooded Mergansers, four Eastern Phoebes, a few Tree Swallows and four Rusty Blackbirds at Lake Wallace.  I managed just seven species of waterfowl overall.

Today I started out along the rail trail before dawn listening for owls and had a few Great Horned Owls (plus another odd call that may have been just another Great Horned Owl but it could have been something better)  The best bird of the morning was an early Virginia Rail calling from one of the marshes (#108).  Several woodcocks were also calling and displaying as the sun came up.  I checked a few other spots for waterfowl but it was once again very quiet with no goose flocks at all around...perhaps they have already moved north and through the area due to the warmer than normal temps this month and lack of snowfall.  The best group of waterfowl I had was a group of 27 Green winged Teal along the river in Hadley.

A cool week brings a few new birds

American Tree Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2016

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2016

American Tree Sparrow with extensive white on wing, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2016

American Tree Sparrows (one with extensive white on wing compared to typical individual), Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2016

Fox Sparrow, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2016

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2016

I spent the morning covering numerous areas from Quabbin over the river and then to Great Pond in Hatfield then down Route 47 down to South Hadley and then back home.  Waterfowl numbers were down quite a bit and the only large group of geese were flying north against the strong northwest winds.  I had a few notable species including several American Woodcocks and Killdeer at various locations, a Ring necked Pheasant, a dozen plus American Tree Sparrows (including one individual with extensive white on its wing) and a Fox Sparrow at Great Pond, a flock of 43 Wild Turkeys at the old Pilgrim Airport, a Wilson's Snipe (#107) and a group of 77 Horned Larks along Meadow Street in Amherst, a Yellow bellied Sapsucker and a Fox Sparrow at Mitch's Way and at least seven Tree Swallows at Lake Wallace.  Overall it seemed rather quiet given the amount of area I covered but the cool temperatures and strong winds certainly didn't help.

Mammatus Clouds, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2016

I arrived home yesterday following a line of showers and had an Eastern Phoebe (#106) calling from along the Jabish Brook.  Some impressive Mammatus Clouds were also visible after the storm line moved through.

Canada Goose with limited white on face, Hadley, MA, Mar 16, 2016

I have checked the Connecticut River several times this week on the way to work but have not had anything too unusual but certainly a continued increase in Green winged Teal and Wood Ducks.  I also turned up another unusual Canada Goose which had a nearly black face with very limited white.

Mid March weekend birding

Eastern Meadowlark, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Ring necked Duck, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Bald Eagle (with leg band), Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Northern Pintails (pair), Ring necked Duck, Green winged Teal and Mallard, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016 

Northern Pintail, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Sun through clouds, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Ring billed Gulls, Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

I headed over to Hadley on the first morning of daylight savings time and managed to find a few notable birds.  The only new species for the county for the year was an Eastern Meadowlark (#105) found at Silvio Conte NWR.  Other notables included a flock of 410+ Ring billed Gulls plus a handful of Herring Gulls in a field along Mill Valley Rd...I thought for sure there would be something unusual in such a large group of gulls but no luck.  I had a few hundred geese in the Meadow Street fields but nothing besides Canada Geese.  The river in Hadley featured a dozen Wood Ducks, a pair of Northern Pintails and 22 Green winged Teal plus the other expected species.  A brief stop at Quabbin park produced 46 Common Mergansers, a Bufflehead, 15 Ring necked Ducks, 8 Hooded Mergansers and a banded Bald Eagle sitting on a wood duck box.  A walk later in the morning with Wilson produced a pair of Red shouldered Hawks near a swamp where I have had them breeding in the past.  A total of eleven species of waterfowl for the morning.  Overall another nice for mid March with temperatures reaching 60.

Common Merganser, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser swimming under water, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser surfacing with fish, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser surfacing with fish, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Tree Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Yesterday I stayed in the local area around the house with visits to Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace as well as a couple other spots.  I found ten species of waterfowl but nothing unusual although some species numbers continue to build with 43 Ring necked Ducks at Beaver Lake.  The best birds were probably five Tree Swallows feeding over Lake Wallace and a calling Swamp Sparrow along the land trust trail in Belchertown.

Kody

Today also marks a sad anniversary...six years since we lost Kody.  Still miss him and wish he was still here.

More new arrivals in the valley

Fox Sparrows, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Fox Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Red tailed Hawk at nest, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Black Vulture, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Black Vultures (one at bottom and two on top) and Turkey Vultures, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 11, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 11, 2016

I spent the morning into the afternoon exploring many areas around the valley with several highlights.  I added two new species for the year with the sighting of Fox Sparrow (#103) and Tree Swallow (#104).  A total of 51 species for the day with eleven species of waterfowl.  Below are the highlights at various stops:

Beaver Lake- 33 Ring necked Ducks and a Common Goldeneye.

Quabbin Park- 37 Common Mergansers, 4 Bufflehead and 2 Common Loons.

Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley- 3 Black Vultures.

Meadow St fields- 1250+ Canada Geese, 4 Killdeer and 22 Horned Larks.

Great Pond- 5 Fox Sparrows.

CT River, Hadley- 15 Wood Ducks and 17 Green winged Teal.

Lake Wallace- 23 Hooded Mergansers

Swift River,Ware- 2 Tree Swallows (my earliest ever date for this species here..beat 2006 and 2012 by a day)

Yesterday I added species #102 when I had a Cackling Goose in among a group of Canada Geese in the river.  I only had the bird in view for a minute before the entire group of geese took off toward the southeast.

Record setting warmth (80 degrees!) today and a Glaucous Gull on Monday

American Wigeon, Hadley, MA, Mar 9, 2016

Green winged Teal, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 9, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 9, 2016

A truly amazing day of weather today with record breaking warmth that shattered the old record for the day by 12 degrees!  It reached a high of 80 degrees today which is the earliest date it has been this warm ever with the previously early date being in later March.  It felt more like late spring or early summer and not the beginning of March.  The day started off around 40 and that is when I was out looking for stuff moved in by the southerly winds.  I hit a few spots with the highlights being 31 Ring necked Ducks at Beaver Lake, five Green winged Teal at Winsor Dam, several hundred geese along East Hadley Rd and 11 Wood Ducks, three American Wigeon, five Black Ducks and 138 Mallards along the river in Hadley.  I expect a decent number of early migrants will show up over the next few days as the warm weather and southerly winds will continue (although not as warm as today!)

Glaucous Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 7, 2016

Glaucous Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 7, 2016

Glaucous Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 7, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 7, 2016

A brief stop before sunrise on Monday morning at Winsor Dam produced a 2nd winter Glaucous Gull (species #101) hanging out with Ring billed Gulls and Herring Gulls on some freshly formed ice.  A very bulky bird compared to the nearby Herring Gull and dwarfing the near by Ring billed Gulls.  I managed a number of digiscoped shots but the light was not great.  Also had a couple Common Loons cruising around the areas not covered in ice.