Ups and downs with the weather over the last several days

Mallards, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 9, 2019

White throated Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Dec 9, 2019

Winsor Dam Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 8, 2019

After a little freezing rain early on Monday the remainder of the day was rainy with a decent amount of snow melt as the temperatures climbed into the 40's and continued rising slowly overnight.  The rain continued on and off through Tuesday but we had a very rare above normal day as far as temperatures go with highs reaching into the mid-50's, melting at least 2/3 of the snow pack with several areas along the river down to bare ground. After not getting out much at all on Monday I was out the door before dawn on Tuesday.  There was a lot of low level fog early in the morning with all the melting snow but thankfully some fields were clear enough in Hadley to catch up with a Short eared Owl working the fields...hopefully it sticks around for the winter.  I then worked my way over to the rail trail  in Amherst where I had the best bird of the day when I very briefly had a Common Yellowthroat pop up along the edge of a marsh and then drop out of view, never to be seen again.  I also had a flock of 11 Red winged Blackbirds flyover.  I checked a few other small marshes in Amherst without finding anything noteworthy.  I then tried my luck one last time trying to relocate the long staying Pacific slope Flycatcher.  I was able to check all the areas it had previously been in but I could not relocate it.  I think with all the snow and temperatures below zero plus lots of snowmobile activity in the area the flycatcher has either moved on or finally met its end.  It had a long run from October 23 through December 2 and was seen by dozens (probably hundreds) of people.  After running a bunch of errands I finally got home late morning and then took Wilson for a walk along the Swift River in Ware where we had a flyover calling Yellow rumped Warbler making it a two warbler day.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2019

Hoar frost on trees, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2019

Hoar frost on trees, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 8, 2019

American Tree Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2019

American Tree Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Dec 8, 2019

Our cold stretch continued through the weekend with Saturday morning lows around 10 and the low on Sunday bottoming out at -5 degrees...not quite a record but very close.  With a little time after work on Sunday morning I braved the conditions and made a trip down to East Meadows where I found at least three Yellow rumped Warblers still around and active.  There were also a few mixed sparrow flocks but nothing unusual among them.  The hoar frost made for some nice photos as the sun came up.  After the meadows I headed toward home but not before making a stop along Aqua Vitae Road where I found more sparrows but oddly no larks or buntings.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2019

Field Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2019

Field Sparrows, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2019

Field Sparrows (partially leucistic individual upper right), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2019

White crowned Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2019

Mourning Dove, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2019

I got out for a bit after work on Friday morning although access to most areas was limited or impossible due to the snow.  I spent about an hour at Arcadia and found a few notables species including at least two Yellow rumped Warblers and a group of seven Field Sparrows travelling together, including a partially leucistic individual.  A count of seven Field Sparrows together is very unusual at anytime of year but especially in the winter.  I assume it is part of the same group of five I had together at nearly the same spot on November 17th which also contained the partially leucistic bird.  I would have liked to explore other areas at Arcadia but I was not dressed for it so I instead headed over to the Honey Pot (where I had a late Vesper Sparrow on my way to work early Thursday morning).  Although I didn't have any luck relocating the Vesper Sparrow I caught up again with the continued White crowned Sparrow that looks to be set up to try to overwinter again near That's a Plenty Farm.

Wilson enjoying the snow, Belchertown, MA, Dec 4, 2019

Snow with brook, Belchertown Land Trust trail, Belchertown, MA, Dec 4, 2019

Wilson and I eventually managed to find a spot to go walking on Wednesday after finding several spots inaccessible due to all the snow.