Mid March weekend birding

Eastern Meadowlark, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Ring necked Duck, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Bald Eagle (with leg band), Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Northern Pintails (pair), Ring necked Duck, Green winged Teal and Mallard, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016 

Northern Pintail, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Sun through clouds, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

Ring billed Gulls, Mill Valley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2016

I headed over to Hadley on the first morning of daylight savings time and managed to find a few notable birds.  The only new species for the county for the year was an Eastern Meadowlark (#105) found at Silvio Conte NWR.  Other notables included a flock of 410+ Ring billed Gulls plus a handful of Herring Gulls in a field along Mill Valley Rd...I thought for sure there would be something unusual in such a large group of gulls but no luck.  I had a few hundred geese in the Meadow Street fields but nothing besides Canada Geese.  The river in Hadley featured a dozen Wood Ducks, a pair of Northern Pintails and 22 Green winged Teal plus the other expected species.  A brief stop at Quabbin park produced 46 Common Mergansers, a Bufflehead, 15 Ring necked Ducks, 8 Hooded Mergansers and a banded Bald Eagle sitting on a wood duck box.  A walk later in the morning with Wilson produced a pair of Red shouldered Hawks near a swamp where I have had them breeding in the past.  A total of eleven species of waterfowl for the morning.  Overall another nice for mid March with temperatures reaching 60.

Common Merganser, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser swimming under water, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser surfacing with fish, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Common Merganser surfacing with fish, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Tree Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 12, 2016

Yesterday I stayed in the local area around the house with visits to Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace as well as a couple other spots.  I found ten species of waterfowl but nothing unusual although some species numbers continue to build with 43 Ring necked Ducks at Beaver Lake.  The best birds were probably five Tree Swallows feeding over Lake Wallace and a calling Swamp Sparrow along the land trust trail in Belchertown.

Kody

Today also marks a sad anniversary...six years since we lost Kody.  Still miss him and wish he was still here.