I stuck close to home on yet another warm, overcast morning with my first stop being a brush dump in Ware where I turned up a late House Wren plus at least two woodcocks flying around and a calling Ring necked Pheasant. I then spent the rest of my time out for the morning at Quabbin Park. Unusual species seen there included a late Spotted Sandpiper and a late Eastern Towhee as well as a nice show of irruptives including Red breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches, Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins. The number of siskins were impressive with my first triple digit count of this years influx.
Although Tuesday started rather gloomy with low clouds and some fog it was warmer than average to start the day and it eventually warmed to around 70. I spent a few hours in the morning at Arcadia and had a number of notable species including a Cackling Goose in among a group of Canada Geese. I initially had the group on the ground but just as I was about to get a digiscoped photo the group took off but thankfully they flew right past me and I was able to get some inflight shots. Other notables included a couple of American Woodcocks flight displaying before dawn, a late House Wren, a less than cooperative Marsh Wren, a slightly late Common Yellowthroat and a very late Wilson's Warbler (a stunning male). I checked a few fields in Hadley and Amherst in the slim hope that the Barnacle Goose was still in the area (I heard later in the day that the Barnacle Goose and four hybrids turned up in northern Connecticut).
After getting out of work later than planned on Sunday morning I still managed to have a decent morning at Arcadia with some really close looks at a cooperative Northern Harrier as well as loads of Purple Finches and Pine Siskins flying by and large numbers of Palm Warblers among some 46 species over the course of an hour and a half. A brief stop at Lower Mill Pond turned up three Blue winged Teal.
On Monday I had stopped to take a short walk and felt like something was staring at me and I looked up to see a Bobcat standing in the middle of the road. It looked at me for several seconds before bounding away into the brush.
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