End of February brings some slightly warmer weather and the beginning of waterfowl migration

 Ring necked Ducks, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2021

 Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2021

 

Wood Ducks, Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2021

Mute Swans, Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2021

Hooded Mergansers, Swift River, Ware, MA, Feb 23, 2021

The last week of February has finally seen the arrival of some warmer weather giving us a break from what has been a colder and snowier than normal month.  The sun has actually shown itself and temperatures have made it into the mid to upper 40's a few times.  This warm up brings us up to more average temperatures but are still a far cry from our record warmth we experienced back in 2019 and 2018 when we reached the 60's and 70's!  With the warmer temperatures the ice has started to break up resulting in more and more open water and the arrival of some early migrating species of waterfowl.

I have been working a lot lately so have had not had much in the way of extra time to get out birding but I have been able to get out a little in the morning before work and on Thursday I tried my luck along the Connecticut River and found a total of eleven species of waterfowl with the rarest among them being a male Lesser Scaup.  The river was still at least 50% ice covered in the areas I checked on Thursday.  Prior to Thursday the best waterfowl sighting I had was a flock of at least 83 Hooded Mergansers along the Swift River in Ware on Tuesday.

Common Goldeneyes, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 26, 2021

Ring necked Ducks, Swift River, Ware, MA, Feb 26, 2021

Bald Eagles at deer carcass, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2021

Eastern Coyote, Common Ravens and Bald Eagle at deer carcass, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2021

Yesterday I had the entire day off so tried my luck once again with checking for waterfowl along the Connecticut River before heading to the Quabbin Park area.  I didn't have quite the diversity of species I had the day before but the river was even more ice free so the birds had many more spots to disperse to.  Nonetheless I still had nine species of waterfowl over the course of the morning.  The biggest surprise of the morning was at the still nearly totally frozen over Quabbin Reservoir.  I stopped by to see if there was any open water (there was some way, way out) but I quickly noticed a deer carcass that was out on the ice and being picked over by an Eastern Coyote, Common Ravens and Bald Eagles.  As I was watching the interactions I noticed a juvenile Golden Eagle in the area being pursued by a Bald Eagle.  I tried to get some photos through the scope but failed.  I last saw the Golden Eagle headed north and although I waited around for another 30 minutes it never returned.  There were at least eleven Bald Eagles of various ages coming into the carcass to feed.  This is the first time in a few years the reservoir has frozen over and featured a deer carcass out on the ice.  Here are a few links to videos of the various scavengers feeding on the carcass...video 1, video 2 and video 3

Today featured a little early snow that quickly turned to rain after giving us a coating of snow.  I headed out to the area of Winsor Dam and along the Swift River.  The snow dropped the visibility too much to see if the deer carcass was still on the ice (typically a deer doesn't last too long on the ice with all the scavengers taking part in the feeding).  The Swift River had some waterfowl with the highest total for Hooded Mergansers (91) and Ring necked Ducks (11)  I have had there this season.

Like January this month has featured a record setting number of species for the month in Hampshire County.  I have seen a total of 97 species for the month in the county, breaking my previous best February total of 88 which I set back in 2018.  I have made it to 115 species so far for the year in the county, which is still way ahead of any previous year at this point. 

Sage Thrasher continues in Hatfield despite continued snow and cold

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

The Sage Thrasher that was first discovered in December in Hatfield continues at least through this morning when I made the half mile icy walk in to the spot and found the bird fairly quickly.  There have been just a few reports of the bird for the last few weeks as snow made access to the area quite difficult.  The thrasher seemed healthy and quite content in its favored location despite all the recent snow and cold weather.  Unless a predator manages to capture it I don't see any reason it will not make it through the entire winter as it has already endured some very cold and snowy weather.  What happens to the bird once spring begins to arrive is anyone's guess but it will be hard pressed to make a journey back west where it belongs but who knows?

Hooded Mergansers (part of flock of 73), Swift River, Ware, MA, Feb 17, 2021

Barred Owl, Hadley, MA, Feb 15, 2021

Partially leucistic American Robin, South Hadley, MA, Feb 13, 2021

Wilson enjoying the snow, Belchertown, MA, Feb 10, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 10, 2021

I have gotten out a bit on a few days over the last week or so between lots of time at work but many areas were tough to access due to snow and many areas of previously open water have now frozen over (including the Quabbin Reservoir).  I have caught with some other continued rarities for the month including the Red headed Woodpecker in Northampton plus a few other unusual species including Black Vultures and Pine Grosbeaks (as well as a few species of owls).  I also came across a partially leucistic American Robin among a large flock of the species in South Hadley.  With all the snow Wilson has been super excited to go play in it and eat as much of it as he possibly can.

Duck box with fresh cedar shavings, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2021

Remnants from a Northern Flicker using duck box as roosting location, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2021

As the nesting season for waterfowl is rapidly approaching I took some time to get the three duck boxes ready for another season.  One of the box has been used as a roosting location of a Northern Flicker for the winter and the box had lots of feathers in it.  Fingers crossed for another successful season of nesting for Hooded Mergansers (and perhaps Wood Ducks).

The first week of February comes to an end

Greater Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 7, 2021

Ring necked Duck, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Feb 7, 2021

Hermit Thrush, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Feb 7, 2021 (photo through binos with phone)

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 7, 2021

Green winged Teal, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 5, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Deerfield, MA, Feb 3, 2021

 Bufflehead, Turners Falls Power Canal, Turners Falls, MA, Feb 3, 2021

Snow Buntings, Pilgram Airport, Hatfield, MA, Feb 3, 2021

The first week of February has come to an end and it has been colder than normal with several bouts of snow (with several more chances for snow forecast over the next week).  I already covered the first two days of the month in an earlier post so this is just a look at the mid and end of the first week between my days at work.  On the third I got out of work in the morning after working more overtime and headed north toward Deerfield to try to catch up with a Common Yellowthroat that has been present in a private greenhouse since fall.  Before getting to the location in Deerfield I made a few stops on the way including a few spots in Hatfield were I had a few notable birds including a large flock (265+) of Snow Buntings on the Whately line (I didn't try for the Sage Thrasher as some recent snow made access difficult).  I had scheduled to meet the person at the greenhouse in Deerfield around 9:30 and I was well ahead of schedule so I bypassed Deerfield at first to head to Turners Falls where I visited the power canal where I had way too many Mute Swans (23) and a continued female Bufflehead plus more expected species.  I then headed back to Deerfield and arrived and eventually caught up with Tristen who brought me to the greenhouse where the Common Yellowthroat has been spending the winter.  The bird has been surviving on the plentiful insects and providing a much appreciated bit of insect control for the employees at the greenhouse.  Much more on the yellowthroat can be found at the following link: Common Yellowthroat in Deerfield.  After work on the morning of the fifth I made a few stops before heading home and picked up the continued Green winged Teal along the mostly frozen Connecticut River as well as some other continued rare sparrows in Hadley (including Lincoln's Sparrow and Swamp Sparrow) plus I finally caught up with a Rough legged Hawk in Hadley after lots of looking.  After another shift this morning I headed out before the latest round of snow arrived and I made it down to a small pond in Easthampton where I had a flyby Snow Goose plus a number of other species of waterfowl.  I briefly stopped at a few other spots but didn't turn up anything too unusual.  My final stop for the morning was to Winsor Dam where about half of the visible water had frozen up over the last few cold days.  Mary was already there and looking at a group of three Greater Scaup.  I got a look at the scaup and managed some crappy distant photos.  There was not too much else to look at on the water so I headed home and picked up Wilson and we headed out for a walk where we found a Hermit Thrush just as the snow started falling.  So far for the month I have had 67 species, which puts me on yet another record setting pace for a month in Hampshire County (I'm usually in the tropics for a chunk of the month so not sure how unusual the number is but I'm well ahead of my previous best February which had me at 60 species at this point...back in 2018).

A snowy beginning to February

Short eared Owl, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2021

Short eared Owl, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 2, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 2, 2021

Wilson enjoying his deflated soccer ball, home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 2, 2021

Wilson enjoying his deflated soccer ball, home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 2, 2021

The snowstorm came to an end by early this morning after delivering around a foot of snow and keeping me home cleaning up for a good part of the morning.  I had to run some errands late in the morning and I took the opportunity to make a few quick stops along the way.  Winsor Dam was probably the most productive with a Chipping Sparrow in a mixed sparrow/junco flock and a flyby Common Goldeneye.  I also turned up one of the continued Rusty Blackbirds in Amherst.  The snow will make it tough to access some areas until a little settling and melting occurs and some parking areas get plowed out.  On my way into working an overnight shift I made a brief stop in Hadley and had at least two Short eared Owls hunting over the snow covered fields.

Ring necked Ducks and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 1, 2021

With the beginning of a new month yesterday I had plans to get out early before the snow arrived but I had to temporarily modify the plan when I woke up to find the snow had already started and we had a couple inches of snow (so much for the forecast of it not starting until mid to late morning).  I thought I would be stuck at home all day but the snow let up around eight so I took the short ride over to Winsor Dam in the hopes of finding some waterfowl.  I started scanning the water and quickly found some interesting species including a female Lesser Scaup and a total of ten Ring necked Ducks (as well as a few other expected species).  I was in the midst of getting some photos of the interesting species when a Bald Eagle came in and flushed everything (eagles can be real asses).  With nothing left to look at on the water and the winds being fairly strong I took a look at the radar and it appeared a hole in the snow shield was occurring so I decided to go back to my original plan for the morning to go over to the Hadley area in search of some continued rarities with the biggest target being a Yellow rumped Warbler.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

Eastern Phoebe, Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

Song Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

Common Redpoll, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

Swamp Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 1, 2021

I arrived in Hadley a bit after 8:30 and immediately set out in search of a couple of continued rarities (Eastern Phoebe and Yellow rumped Warbler) that have been in the same area for the winter (although the warbler has been missed more than it has been seen during previous visits to the area).  I met Cory  not long after I arrived and he had not seen either species.  In addition the winds were continuing to increase which made the prospects of seeing either species fairly low.  Nonetheless I figured I would give it a try.  After a bit of looking I saw the Eastern Phoebe hanging it is usual spot near the waste water treatment plant and I got a few distant photos.  Although I thought I had heard a few chip notes from the warbler earlier during my time there I was never able to be sure and the call was distant.  I was about to give up and move to another location and then I heard the bird calling fairly close but still could not see it.  After a minute or so it flew over my head and landed briefly in a tree nearby before dropping down into the DPW yard (which is strictly off limits).  I managed  a few marginal photos of the warbler before it took off.  Seeing the warbler was the main goal for the day and I was very happy to find it given the weather conditions.  The sighting of the Yellow rumped Warbler became the 46th month in a row I have seen at least one warbler species in Hampshire County.  More on the warbler can be found at the following link.  I then headed over to the Honey Pot in the hopes of turning up a Rough legged Hawk but no luck with that species once again.  Even without seeing the hawk I did find some good stuff including at least 130 Common Redpolls (no sign of a Hoary Redpoll), a Lapland Longspur in with some Horned Larks and a juvenile White crowned Sparrow in a mixed species flock of sparrows.  My next stop was over to nearby Aqua Vitae Road to check out the sparrow flocks that have been hanging out there.  The most unusual species I had there was a Swamp Sparrow but I didn't spend a lot of time looking for other stuff as I wanted to head toward home before the snow started up again.

Ring necked Ducks and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 1, 2021

I stopped by Winsor Dam once again before I headed home and I found the flock of ten Ring necked Ducks still present but no sign of the scaup.