Thursday, December 30, 2021

A few unusual species to end the year


Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 27, 2021
Ruby crowned Kinglet, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 27, 2021
American Black Ducks, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 27, 2021
Common Grackles, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 27, 2021
American Goldfinches, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 27, 2021

Monday morning I was able to make it out for a few hours with somewhat cooperative weather (cloudy and cool with a little breeze).  I decided to spend my time checking out a few areas for lingering warblers on either side of the Connecticut River (more on warblers for the day at the following link).  As I arrived before dawn I made a quick stop in the Honey Pot looking and listening for owls but had no luck.  I then went across the river to check out small portion of the East Meadows but didn't find anything too noteworthy (no warblers despite a bit of looking).  I decided to make my next stop at Mitch's Way and had better luck with this stop including a late Ruby crowned Kinglet, nearly fifty Black Ducks, all the expected woodpeckers (including a Yellow bellied Sapsucker and at least four Northern Flickers), at least 165 American Goldfinches including a single group of at least 135 in a small area feeding along the edges of the water and in the road, a group of 22 Common Grackles (this species and Red winged Blackbirds continue to be around in really good numbers for this late in the season) and three Yellow rumped Warblers.

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

I got out briefly on Sunday morning and checked out Winsor Dam where I had at least a dozen Bald Eagles in view at once...a very nice show as they did lots of interactions with each other.  I tried to find a different species in among them but no luck (still hopeful the globetrotting Steller's Sea Eagle decides to stop here).

No comments:

Post a Comment