First egg in the duck boxes plus continued unusual waterfowl

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 20, 2025

Ring necked Ducks, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 20, 2025

Today dawned cool and drizzly (quite a change from yesterday when it was sunny and in the 60's).  I was not feeling great after work but did make a couple stops on my way home with the highlights being the continued Redhead in Hadley as well as an early Greater Yellowlegs.  The yellowlegs pushes me to 107 species for the month, which ties my highest ever total for the month in Hampshire County.  I'm actually ten species ahead of my previous best March here so no doubt I could beat my record if I was not soon to head off to warmer locations.  Beating my record would be good but I prefer going to the tropics!

Egg in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 20, 2025

Around the house I have been checking the duck boxes every few days and noticed about a week ago that at least two of the three boxes had been visited by ducks (the wood chips were pushed down a bit...the first step in the nesting process).  I finally found the first egg today in duck box # 2 (my original box I installed years ago when we moved here).  I will have to wait until I catch a female on the eggs to figure out the species but if history is any gauge it will be Hooded Mergansers once again.

Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 18, 2025

I also got the water feature up and running.  Initially I froze my hands trying to hook everything up a few days ago only to find the hose to the top of the fountain was still froze so had to wait for another warm day for the remaining ice to melt and yesterday fit the bill with sun and temps in the mid to upper 60's.  I got a few camera captures even before getting the water running and the first species to show was a Black capped Chickadee.  Look forward to another year of good stuff showing up as migration picks up. 

Redhead adds another species of unusual waterfowl for the month

 

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

After missing a group of five Redheads that showed up when I was working last week I didn't think I would get another chance to see this rare duck but I was wrong.  I got a text from Joe last evening that a Redhead was in the flooded fields along Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley.  With less than ideal migration conditions overnight I hoped the bird would stick around.  I headed to the location before dawn and waited for it to get light enough to see.  I scanned through the gathering of waterfowl and actually had a brief view of it fairly early on but it quickly disappeared into the grasses and out of view.  I then spent the next 30+ minutes endlessly scanning with the scope in the wind and cold and I finally relocated it and got some photos...well worth the wait!  Redhead is a rare species here and this is just my sixth Hampshire County record of the species.  Beyond the Redhead I had seven other species of waterfowl with above usual numbers of Wood Ducks and Ring necked Ducks.

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Brown Creeper, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks with American Black Ducks, Green winged Teal and Common Merganser, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

American Black Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

I decided to try for some additional waterfowl so headed across the river and up to Great Pond where the flooded areas offered lots of duck habitat.  The habitat produced some good variety and numbers with the highlights including three Northern Shovelers, 144 Wood Ducks, 52 American Black Ducks and 162 Green winged Teal (all appeared to be American subspecies).  It has been a fantastic March for me so far with a total of 106 species in the county so far (just one shy of my highest ever total of 107 back in 2021).  Waterfowl has figured in prominently (as expected) with 27 species so far.

Wilson on St. Patrick's Day, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Yesterday (St. Patrick's Day) was mainly rainy with limited visibility throughout the day.  I tried a few spots during the day without too much luck.

The middle of month continues to set a record pace for March

Snow Geese, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Wilson on his 14th birthday, Mar 15, 2025

After a badly needed night of sleep I headed out before sunrise with my first stop being to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River in Hadley to see if the three Northern Shovelers stuck around after being seen yesterday.  I had a number of woodcocks and owls before it got light enough to see much.  As it brightened up I noticed a single female shoveler with a few Mallards.  They all flew out rather early and after waiting a bit in the hopes they would return I came up empty.  I then headed over to Hadley Cove where I had a couple Snow Geese, several hundred Canada Geese and a hybrid goose that was either a Canada Goose x Greater White fronted Goose or Canada Goose x domestic goose (likely Graylag).  A neat looking bird whatever the parentage was.  There were eight other species of waterfowl present besides the geese.  I tried a few fields in Amherst and Hadley for geese without too much luck before returning to Fort River again to check again for the shovelers (I had not luck but others turned them back up later in the morning).  I then headed to Quabbin and Lake Wallace and had a few more species for the day.  A total of a lucky 13 species of waterfowl for the morning.  I then headed home to take Wilson for his 14th birthday walk...very happy he is still chugging along.  By the end of the day I reached 103 species for the month in Hampshire County, just four species behind my highest March total ever here (set back in 2021) with still half of the month left to go.

Wood Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 14, 2025

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 14, 2025

Ring necked Ducks, Hadley, MA, Mar 14, 2025

After getting out of yet another way too busy shift yesterday I headed out to try to catch up with a group of Redheads seen along the river the day before.  I was not surprised that I didn't relocate them but it was worth the effort as I had decent numbers and variety of waterfowl with 14 species including my first Blue winged Teal of the year here (a male flying north along the river with some Green winged Teal)...the Blue winged Teal became species #100 for the month for me in the county...my earliest date I have reached 100 species ever for March here.  I wish I had the energy to spend even more time looking for arriving early season migrants but I was too exhausted.

Kody, Dec 2008

The 13th marked a sad milestone as it has now been 15 years since we lost our good boy Kody.  He really was the best and I still miss him.

More waterfowl today

Canada Geese, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2025

Canada Goose with white on face, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2025

Canada Goose with extensive white on neck, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2025

Wood Ducks (with Green winged Teal and Canada Geese), Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2025

Common Goldeneyes, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2025

Bufflehead, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2025

The waterfowl show continued this morning despite not having as much time as I would have liked due to a doctors appointment down in Springfield.  I had a few hours free in the morning and I made the most of it with waterfowl being the main focus with 14 species found even with no rare geese around.  I was up well before dawn so went looking for owls and found three species (including a Short eared Owl) before heading to the East Meadows to look for waterfowl.  I checked out an area along the river and had thousands of birds with the majority being Canada Geese with a decent showing of various duck species.  Lots of stuff moved out at dawn so I may have missed something among them.  After about 45 minutes there I headed further south to check another area along the river in Hadley.  When I arrived there were thousands of geese present as well as several species of ducks.  I then walked about a mile along the river mainly looking for early migrant passerines and finding few.  As I was getting back to my car there was a deafening roar of geese and I got to witness the arrival of 6000+ geese that came in from the East Meadows.  Try as I might I failed to find any rare geese among the nearly 9000 geese present.  I would have loved to wade through the hordes again but I had to go to my appointment.  Once I was finished in Springfield I headed back to Quabbin with a stop at Winsor Dam where I had a selection of waterfowl way out at the edge of the ice.  I then decided to take advantage of a little free time and temps in the 50's and walk down to the waters edge at Gate 5.  There was a good selection of species there despite the windy conditions.  It was nice to not need gloves and see lots of birds around. 

Record setting pace for first week of March with 87 species

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Greater White fronted Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Fox Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 7, 2025

I typically do not do so many posts here within a few days anymore but I want to make just one more quick post as the first week of March has now come to an end.  Despite very windy conditions today I added several new species for the month plus two more for the year in the Hampshire County (new year species being American Woodcock and Gadwall).  This was best start to March ever here with 87 species so far (breaking my previous first week of March back in 2022 when I had 77 species).  I also stand at 118 species for the year so far in the county which is my highest YTD total for the end of the first week of March.  A lot of the good numbers are thanks to a great showing of waterfowl this month with a number of rarities around plus a few early arriving species.  For today I started near home and then visited a number of spots along both sides of the river with continued large numbers of geese including a few unusual species (Greater White fronted Geese and Cackling Goose) as well as the Greenland banded Canada Goose.  The concentrations of geese continue to be impressive with several thousand Canada Geese in the area with other waterfowl showing also with a total of 20 species so far for the month.  The ice on the river is rapidly disappearing and open water is slowly starting to show in other areas.

More goose goodness with Greater White fronted Geese and the return of the pale Canada Goose for a fifth winter (plus other continued rare, unusual and banded geese)

Greater White fronted Geese, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Snow Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Pale Canada Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Rough legged Hawk, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

After another way too busy shift at work I got out this morning and headed out mainly in search of geese and other waterfowl (and whatever else I could find for newly arriving birds).  It was still relatively warm for the time of year with light winds but the heavy rain overnight and snow melt made a muddy mess of any dirt road.  There was a bit of thick fog in places to start the morning which made viewing tough at times.  I hit a few fields and other areas in Hadley and South Hadley as I worked my way toward the Holyoke Dam.  Most areas were fairly quiet although I did have at least two very early Tree Swallows below the Holyoke Dam popping in and out of the fog.  I also tried for Yellow rumped Warblers in a few locations along the river and came up empty.  As I came back north on the west side of the river the fog lifted so I decided to try the very muddy East Meadows for geese and was rewarded with several thousand birds scattered throughout the fields.  I immediately noticed a decent sized group of Snow Geese among the hordes of Canada Geese.  I then spent the next half hour slowly scanning through the geese in search of unusual species and odd individuals and had success on both endeavors.  I found the continued Pink Goose sitting contently at the south end of the meadows as well as the continued pale bodied Canada Goose plus the very uniquely plumaged overall pale Canada Goose that has now shown for a fifth straight winter (I would love to know where this bird stays during the warmer months).  I made a post about this really neat looking individual in the fall of 2023.  Beyond the geese there were other notables around including 16 Killdeer, two Rough legged Hawks, 280+ Horned Larks, at least two American Pipits and a Lapland Longspur.  Around 10:30 the Snow Geese suddenly lifted off followed quickly by all the other geese with large groups heading in various directions.  I figured I would stop by the Coolidge Bridge as it looked like some of the geese headed in that direction.  I arrived to find hundreds of geese present with more and more arriving over time including my first of the year Greater White fronted Geese as well the individual banded in Greenland.

Canada Goose with neck band, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 5, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 5, 2025

On my way to work yesterday I stopped off for a bit at the Coolidge Bridge and found 1200+ Canada Geese including the banded bird from Greenland plus the pale bodied bird.  I also had a few other birds that had some characteristics of a Cackling Goose but not enough to make me think a pure Cackling Goose.

For those with an interest in the great show of geese check out the post from a a couple days ago that has more unusual geese photos and additional info on the neck banded bird.  March is off to a great start for me in Hampshire County with 81 species so far with waterfowl figuring prominently (a big change from last year which featured a horrible waterfowl migration overall).  In fact I'm at my highest point for the first week of March ever in the county with one day left (although with high winds tomorrow out of the north I doubt I will find too much new stuff but one never knows!).

Influx of geese including Pink footed Goose, Cackling Goose, Snow Geese and a uniquely plumaged Canada Goose plus a neck tagged goose from Greenland

Pink footed Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2025

Pink footed Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2025

With the arrival of March comes the first real pulse of migrant waterfowl and the first few days have been great with geese of various species figuring prominently (plus the continued Trumpeter Swan).  I heard of a Pink footed Goose at the Coolidge Bridge on Sunday afternoon but I didn't try for it until Monday on my way to work.  Thankfully it was still there and actually showing quite well despite the bitter cold temps.  It was one of only a handful of active geese with the rest tucked in most of the time.  I also had a Cackling Goose in among the Canada Geese that popped its head up briefly thanks to a pair of very vocal Peregrine Falcons in the area.  I then continued on to work and had another extremely busy day (I really cannot wait for retirement!).  Very cool how Pink footed Goose has become more common since I found the first county record back in March 2014.

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Cackling Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

After work on Tuesday I headed out to try to find some more unusual geese with my main target being a pair of Greater White fronted Geese seen at Mount Holyoke College the day before.  I got a text from Mary that she tried for them at the location earlier and they were not present so I decided to stop at the open water below the Coolidge Bridge once again.  There were several hundred Canada Geese in the water and much more active then the previous morning.  A scan through the flock turned up a single Cackling Goose as well as a uniquely plumaged Canada Geese that had a pale body with a typical looking head and neck...cool looking bird.  I then decided to head south with the intention of trying to find the Greater White fronted Geese (spoiler alert...I never found them).  I stopped off at Mitch's Way with the intention of possibly walking the road (depending on the ice conditions on the road).  As I pulled in I saw hundreds of geese in flight so immediately started scanning the birds moving upriver and had a group of nine Snow Geese (with one blue morph) plus a couple other Snow Geese in among the Canada Geese with one looking smaller (possibly a Ross's Goose).  I lost track of the small goose but was able to watch the group of nine with views through the scope and binoculars.  They never settled down and continued off to the north.  I then decided to head back north to check the hordes of geese.  I decided to check East Hadley Road and found hundreds of geese with more arriving over the course of the hour I remained on site.  Lots of scanning turned up a (the) Pink footed Goose, the pale bodied Canada Goose and a Cackling Goose among 1200+ Canada Geese.  I also had one neck banded Canada Goose with a yellow band with black writing with the code "G6Y".  I was fairly certain it was a bird from Greenland and a quick email to a researcher up there proved I was right.  The bird was banded in Isunngua, West Greenland in July 2023 and was last reported in late November in Nova Scotia (more info on the bird listed at end of post).  There were loads of Red winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown headed Cowbirds and European Starlings as well as a very early Wilson's Snipe that was scared up by some arriving Canada Geese.  Although I missed on finding any Greater White fronted Geese I was happy to have a four goose species morning.  Spring is certainly starting to show itself, finally.

G6Y (banded Isunngua, West Greenland, July 2023)

27.09.2023 1696 Chemin Saint-Ignace, Saint-Ignace, New Brunswick, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W 

01.11.2023 Forbes Lake, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W 

11.11.2023 Forbes Lake, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W  

12.12.2023 Avalon Nature Preserve Lake, Stony Brook, New York, USA 40°54’49”N 73°08’46W

28.11.2024 Shaw Pond, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°04’56”N 63°24’34”W 

04.03.2025 Hadley, Massachusetts, USA