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).