Snow and sleet on multiple days as the cold weather continues

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Palm Warblers 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Chipping Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Canada Goose with white on face, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Northern Watersnake with injury, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Ring necked Ducks (female with extensive white on face and neck), Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Wilson checking out the latest snowfall, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2018

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2018

Common Grackle, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2018

White tailed Deer, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18, 2018

Eastern Bluebird, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 16, 2018

Sleet covered ground, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 16, 2018

Another round of snow today to go with the few inches of sleet we got on Monday (along with a couple inches of rain) continues our colder than normal month.  It honestly feels more like March then the middle of April.  The weather has certainly been tough on multiple early migrants that depend on insects for food (such as warblers, swallows, vireos, etc).  On the days with snow the insectivores have been concentrated in areas with larger numbers of insects (such as marshes and ponds).  As an illustration in just a small area around Lake Wallace I had nearly 80 Palm Warblers and double digit counts of Yellow rumped Warblers as well as multiple Tree Swallows, a couple Northern Rough winged Swallows and my first Bank Swallow.  I took a couple videos (#1, #2) that show the warblers feeding there...I tried to find something else unusual with them but didn't have any luck.  Just as the snow was starting this morning I stopped at Beaver Lake where I had an unusual Ring necked Duck with extensive white on its head and neck..a unique looking bird that really stood out from the typical female that was also with the group.

Yesterday I hit a variety of spots including Quabbin Park, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and the Rail trail in Amherst and turned up a number of new species for the year including Louisiana Waterthrush, Blue gray Gnatcatcher and Pectoral Sandpiper.  I also followed up on a report from Mike L. that he had an unusual Palm Warbler at Covey WMA  that was either an aberrant individual or possibly a hybrid with a Yellow rumped Warbler.  No luck finding it despite a bit of effort both yesterday and today. 

I made a few stops on my way from work of Tuesday following our sleet and heavy rain on Monday but didn't turn up anything too unusual beyond a pair of Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam.  Wish I could have gotten out during the storm as I'm sure something unusual was put down by the weather.

Sleet covered ground, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 16, 2018

Mourning Dove, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 16, 2018

Snow covered ground again, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2018

The snow has kept the bird activity subdued at home too with just a handful of visitors to the water feature including a rather cold looking Mourning Dove the morning of the sleet storm.