The end of March and the beginning of April amid the pandemic

Red shouldered Hawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2020

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 28, 2020

The last week or so has been quite a roller coaster on so many levels.  The world as a whole has really been turned upside down by the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic and my little slice of it has been impacted.  Work has been crazier and crazier with each passing shift with more and more sick people and ever changing protocols.  The numbers of people infected (or likely infected) has grown exponentially and the official numbers are still way below what is actually occurring (mainly due to lack of available testing).  I got to experience the rather unpleasant test on Wednesday when I started developing symptoms (headache and sore throat to start).  The next few days the symptoms continued and I developed an occasional cough and chest tightness.  After getting the test done late on Wednesday afternoon I was told I should hear back with results in 2-5 days.  I finally got the results back after a week and lots and lots of phone calls to try to track down the results.  In the end I tested negative for the virus but that result is both good and bad.  It is nice to not have to isolate as much and be able to go back to work but it is pretty much inevitable I'll get it and it would have been nice if I had gotten and had mild symptoms.   During the last several days I have kept myself isolated at home most of the day with just some short morning trips to nearby Quabbin early in the morning to enjoy the solitude of a warm car while I checked out the area for waterfowl mainly.  I would have loved to stay out longer and walk a bit but I didn't feel up to it most of the time and I didn't want to be near anyone.

Being stuck around the house has allowed me to see some good stuff including multiple days with a pair of Red shouldered Hawks (which have a decent chance of nesting here) plus multiple days with up to half a dozen Rusty Blackbirds.  More on the duck boxes and what the game cameras have caught at the bottom of the post.

Red necked Grebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2020

Wood Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2020

Friday I stuck close to home again with just a few early morning stops including Quabbin Park and Winsor Dam.  It was certainly a nice morning with temperatures in the mid 40's and dead calm conditions early on.  The highlights included a Virginia Rail at Quabbin Park and a Red throated Loon and three Red necked Grebes at Winsor Dam.  The temperatures eventually made it up to the low 60's and I managed to get the water feature up and running at the house before I ran out of energy (some photos of the first captures at the end of the post).

Northern Shoveler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Mar 25, 2020

Green winged Teal, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 25, 2020

Common Mergansers, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 25, 2020

Wednesday I headed over to Williamsburg early to see if I could find the reported Red Crossbills in the area of Nash Hill Road.  I took a short walk and managed to get a brief view of at least four Red Crossbills as well as a recording before I headed back to the car (confirmed as Type 1 Red Crossbills).  I also made a brief run through Arcadia where I found some waterfowl including a Northern Shoveler.  It is likely the same bird that has been reported in Ned's Ditch but I saw it in a completely different area.  No luck finding any Yellow rumped Warblers but I was not able to hit all the areas they have been in recently.  There is a chance they have moved on as the weather has warmed up.  I was starting to feel bad as the morning moved along so I headed for home.

After getting out of work on Tuesday morning I hit a few spots before going home to sleep.  The best stop was to Beaver Lake in Ware where I had three Lesser Scaup in among a large group of Ring necked Ducks.  The entire group lifted off and headed north back toward Quabbin Park but the park was closed due to clean up from the snow storm the night before so I was never able to relocate the group.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2020

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2020

Black capped Chickadees with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 19, 2020

Eggs in duck box #1, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 26, 2020

Eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 26, 2020

Black Bear at empty feeders, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2020

Tufted Titmouse, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2020

Black Bear, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2020

Eggs in duck box #1, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2020

Drak eyed Junco, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2020

Meanwhile at home the cameras have continued to capture two of my banded Black capped Chickadees.  In addition two of the three duck boxes now have eggs in them.  I have also had a Black Bear visit on multiple nights but he has only found empty suet feeders (thankfully he has not broken the feeders in anger)