Despite some rain and then cold and windy weather to start the new year as well as a variety of issues and commitments I have had a decent start to 2025 in Hampshire County with a total of 73 species so far (not my highest total to start a new year which was last year with 79 species in the first three days). I had to work new years eve so no birding until I got out and then had to deal with some lingering drizzle and fog. I made a brief stop in the East Meadows but it was way too muddy to access so I headed across the river to the Honey Pot where I added a number of notable including a Killdeer seen and heard across the river in Hatfield, a Rough legged Hawk, a flyover calling Evening Grosbeak and the lingering Western Meadowlark. I then headed south with a stop along the river in hopes of a Yellow rumped Warbler (I missed on that species unfortunately). The stop did produce some good stuff including Hermit Thrush among 31 species overall. My main goal for the morning was to catch up with a Cape May Warbler overwintering at a private residence in South Hadley. I was very happy to have luck finding the Cape May Warbler enjoying the feeders and getting me a warbler to start the year off right (bringing me to 93 consecutive months with at least one warbler in the county). I then worked my way toward home with a few stops along the way which added more species for the year including the continued Eastern Phoebe at Lake Wallace. A walk with Wilson produced a Swamp Sparrow which added the last unusual species for the day and brought my first day total to 61 species.
On the second I started a windy morning at the Holyoke Dam to add some waterfowl and then headed north along the river. Some areas were just too windy to bird and I only added a few new species and nothing really unusual. I then stopped near the Hadley/Amherst line looking for some continued vultures and got rewarded with an amazing 41 Black Vultures (possibly more) and a couple Turkey Vultures...really amazing year for both species so late in the season. Hickory Ridge Conservation Area added three Field Sparrows. All was going quite well and then I got a flat tire and that started a long saga of getting it looked at to find out the sidewall was punctured and I would need four new tires (an issue with Subaru's when you have a tire issue and there is not enough tread left on the remaining tires and all need to be replaced to avoid potential transmission issues). It was too late in the day to get them so I had to make an appointment for the following day.
I had a couple of appointments in Springfield (including getting new tires) which started before first light so no birding really until mid morning after I got home and picked up Wilson to go for a walk...the only bright spot of being in Springfield early in the day was seeing and hearing hundreds of crows at a roost near Mercy Hospital. The only real notable species for the morning turned out to be a male Rusty Blackbird in Belchertown. During the afternoon I got a quick walk in while in Amherst and added some more Black Vultures. I finally got my first owl of the year with a Great Horned Owl calling at dusk at home (it was the first time the wind died slightly to allow any owls to be heard).
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