Waterfowl begins to arrive

Common Goldeneyes, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2020

Mute Swan, Lake Warner, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2020

American Wigeon, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2020

Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2020

White crowned Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Feb 25, 2020

I made a number of stops along the Connecticut River on yet another fairly warm morning before running errands in Hadley and there was a noticeable increase in both waterfowl numbers and diversity throughout the morning.  I had a total of ten species including my first American Wigeon and Green winged Teal of the spring as well as double digit count of Wood Ducks.  There also seemed to be more Canada Geese around but I was not able to find any unusual geese in among them.  Besides the waterfowl the only other notable species for the morning was an adult White crowned Sparrow at the Honey Pot.  The river is now almost totally ice free and even small ponds have some sections of open water.  The forecast calls for rain off and on the next couple days and then a cool down into the weekend...a perfect time to get away to the tropics again!