Count week for the Northampton CBC

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley DPW, Hadley, MA, Dec 21, 2020

Eastern Phoebe, Hadley DPW, Hadley, MA, Dec 21, 2020

Common Loon, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Eastern Bluebird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Green winged Teal, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Mute Swans, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Wilson in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 17, 2020

Wilson, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 17, 2020

Although I once again could not take part in the annual Northampton Bird Count on Sunday beyond a couple very brief stops on my way to work, I did assist for count week (three days to either side of the count day) by locating unusual species in areas that others tried (and succeeded) in finding on count day plus species missed on the actual count day.  On the three days leading up to Sunday I managed to get out on just one of them.  Thursday was a stay at home day as we got our first substantial snowstorm (around a foot) and Friday I had to stay around the house all day to get some chimney work done and then had to work that night.  After getting out of work on a very cold Saturday morning (-4 degrees to start) I stopped by Aqua Vitae Road and turned a Lincoln's Sparrow and a few White crowned Sparrow but missed the 'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow I found there on December 11th (thankfully the 'Ipswich' sparrow showed up for others on the day of the count).  

On the day of the count I made a brief swing through the Honey Pot where I had a Short eared Owl fly in front of my car.  There have been at least a couple Short eared Owls in the area lately but they can be somewhat hit or miss.  I then headed over to Arcadia but it was fairly quiet with just a couple hooting Great Horned Owls and few Common Redpolls.

The three days after the count I caught up with a few rarities (previously found by others).  After getting out of work Monday morning after a very long shift I made a brief stop by Arcadia mainly looking for some Yellow rumped Warblers but found none.  I was really tired and would have loved to hit several other spots but decided instead to just make one more stop over to the area of the Hadley DPW mainly looking for an Eastern Phoebe and Yellow rumped Warbler that have been seen in the area.  After a fairly short time I managed to locate both species and get some photos.  Tuesday morning dawned foggy and chilly so I decided to stay close to home initial with a visit over to Winsor Dam where I had an unusual sighting of five swans flying away into the fog.  Most any swan at Quabbin is unusual and the possibility is there for something really unusual.  I tried my luck at Gate 5 but was unable to relocate them and the fog just seemed to be getting thicker so I left that spot to head west and visit some places in Amherst (Gate 5 did have some good stuff including multiple species of irruptives).  I stopped along the rail trail as well as the UMASS campus pond.  Nothing too unusual and nothing that was not seen on the count day by others.  A return to Winsor Dam on my way home found the fog had mostly lifted and the five swans were sitting on the water.  Unfortunately they were Mute Swans and not something more exotic.  My last day of the count week is tomorrow but I have to work again so won't be able to check for additional species.