Easter weekend birding turns up a few new species

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 27, 2016

Pine Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2016

I spent the early part of Sunday morning exploring around the south Quabbin area with stops at Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace.  I added one new species to the county list for the year, a Ruby crowned Kinglet (#111) at Quabbin Park.  I hoped for some new waterfowl but I didn't add any new species but I did find a total of nine species.  Predawn I tried for some owls and found a Great Horned Owl at Quabbin Park plus many American Woodcocks at various stops.  The clouds and cool temperatures certainly felt more like March and I'm sure the conditions kept some passerines below my radar.

During the afternoon the sun finally broke through and the temperatures warmed into the 50's.  A Pine Warbler singing in the backyard became species #112 for the county this year and was the first of what will hopefully be many warbler species passing through the yard this year.

Pied billed Grebe, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Mar 26, 2016

Bufflehead, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 26, 2016

Tree Swallows, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 26, 2016

I headed over to Arcadia for dawn looking for waterfowl but found very little in the flooded marsh (no luck finding a Pied billed Grebe that had been around for a few days).  I then headed back across the bridge and checked the river in Hadley and found some waterfowl including a Pied billed Grebe (#110) and 19 Green winged Teal.  I once again checked fields in Hadley and Amherst looking for geese but found none.  Without much activity in Hadley I headed back toward home and stopped at Beaver Lake where I had seven Bufflehead and 33 Ring necked Ducks.  A stop at Lake Wallace turned up at least 110 Tree Swallows plus other expected species.