A few late month species for me today after a return from vacation

Great Egret, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 29, 2023

American Wigeons, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 29, 2023

Returned home last night after a trip down south (much more on that in upcoming posts) arriving home around 1:30AM after some flight delays.  I was itching to get out a bit this morning to catch up on the new arrivals and hopefully see the long staying Eurasian Wigeon.  Unfortunately it looks like the wigeon has moved on as it has not been reported in a couple days and I did not see it this morning although it could still be in the area.  Nonetheless it was still a productive morning and added three new species for the year in the county with an early Great Egret, a Blue winged Teal female and a flyover Greater Yellowlegs plus a great variety of waterfowl.

Eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2023

I also checked the duck boxes at the house and box#2 that had one egg right before I left for vacation now looks to have a full clutch.  The other two boxes look like they have been visited but no eggs yet.

Middle of March

American Wigeon, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2023

American Wigeon, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2023

Horned Larks, Amherst, MA, Mar 15, 2023

Killdeer, Amherst, MA, Mar 15, 2023

Ring necked Ducks, Ware, MA, Mar 13, 2023

Bufflehead, Ware, MA, Mar 13, 2023

The middle of the month brought in continued groups of waterfowl as well as a large nor'easter that dropped about 6-8" of heavy wet snow in the valley and up to three feet in the hills on Monday into Tuesday.  The storm caused widespread issues with trees and wires down (although not nearly as bad as the October storm of 2011, when we lost power for a week).  I got out a bit before the storm on the morning of the 13th and mainly stayed local with visits to Quabbin and a few lakes in Ware looking for waterfowl and had some luck (but no rarities).  Not much for birding on the day of the storm as I had to work but I did get out a little the next morning and again was out looking for waterfowl (mainly geese) in the fields of Amherst and Hadley.  I had large flock (1400+) of Canada Geese on the Hadley/Amherst line but I had no luck finding any unusual geese.  The number of Horned Larks was impressive with at least 650 present (video at the following link) plus I had at least a couple Lapland Longspurs mixed in.  The large flock was very flighty and I didn't manage to get any photos of the longspurs.  In among the snowy fields were a handful of Killdeer that looked less than thrilled with the snow.  Thursday was another day of work but I did get out a little on Friday morning after work and made a number of stops including Arcadia, Lake Wallace and Winsor Dam.  Waterfowl was again the main focus with a total of eleven species with the highlight being a Long tailed Duck way out from the dam plus some close up views of a few other species at various locations.  I also had my first Tree Swallows of the year flying northeast at the dam.  

March has been fairly productive so far with a total of 94 species in Hampshire County, which is right up there for a near record pace for me.  As is typical for March, waterfowl has figured prominently in this total with a total of 23 species with a number of rarities including Canvasback and American Coot.  I will have to break the hundred mark after I get back from some warmer southern locations.

Egg is duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2023

I also have the first egg of the season in one of the duck boxes at the house and the other two boxes look like they have been visited recently so hopefully it will be another year of all three boxes being used.

Wilson enjoying the snow on his birthday, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 15, 2023

The middle of March is also the time to celebrate another trip around the sun for Wilson.  His 12th birthday was on March 15th and he got to celebrate his birthday wish of snow.  Very happy to have my boy around for another year with his cancer staying put and not slowing him down.

American Coot and decent numbers of various species of waterfowl today

 

American Coot, Fitzgerald Lake, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2023

American Coot, Fitzgerald Lake, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Ring necked Ducks, Fitzgerald Lake, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Today was a good day for waterfowl with a total of 14 species over the course of the morning for me.  I decided to start the morning at Fitzgerald Lake in the hopes of relocating the American Coot that Mary found the day before.  I arrived before dawn and was rewarded quite quickly with views of the American Coot swimming through the fog on the opposite shore.  I also had couple other noteworthy species including a slightly early Virginia Rail calling a few times early plus two Swamp Sparrows.  Overall a half a dozen species of waterfowl were present during my time there.

Northern Pintails, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Next I went down to Arcadia and checked both the Oxbow and nearby marsh.  The Oxbow was much quieter compared to previous days (no sign of the Canvasback seen there recently) with just a handful of Mallards and Common Mergansers (perhaps due to boat traffic?).  The marsh was a bit more active with female Gadwall in among a flock of at least 27 Northern Pintails (it has been a great spring migration season for pintails so far in the area).  

Eastern Phoebe, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2023

I initially was going to go up through Hatfield checking fields for geese and then on to Great Pond but instead I decided to head across the river and check along the river in Hadley and then check fields in Hadley and Amherst.  I didn't find much for waterfowl along the river but did see and hear the overwintering Eastern Phoebe.  

Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Snow Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2023

The fields in Hadley and Amherst turned up some decent numbers of Canada Geese in multiple large flocks plus a single each of Snow Goose and Cackling Goose.  The Snow Goose was with a few hundred Canada Geese in the same general area it was reported yesterday.  The Cackling Goose was in with a 1100+ Canada Geese flock in North Hadley in a large farm field that could only be viewed from a distance with a scope.  The Cackling Goose was not very cooperative and stayed hidden most of the time and I failed to get any identifiable photos despite lots of attempts. I would not be surprised to see more unusual geese show up over the next several days as geese continue moving north (unless our predicted big storm halts migration progress for a bit).

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Hooded Merganser, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2023

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2023

My last stops for waterfowl for the morning included Winsor Dam and Lake Wallace.  The dam was fairly quiet beyond a pair of Bufflehead.  Lake Wallace was a bit busier with five species with some in quite close allowing for some decent digiscoped shots.  I'm sure I could have added a few more species with a few more stops but I wanted to get home to walk Wilson.

The predictions call for a large snow storm starting later on Monday and continuing through Tuesday with the chance of a foot plus here and even more in nearby hills with strong winds.  There is still a chance of some mixing with rain at lower elevations but there is a good chance this will end up being the biggest storm of the entire winter just as spring is really starting to ramp up.

Canvasback and other waterfowl the last few days plus some birds around the house

Canvasback, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 8, 2023

Canvasback and Lesser Scaup, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 8, 2023

Canvasback, Lesser Scaup and Common Mergansers, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 8, 2023

Pale Canada Goose, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 8, 2023

I have not had a chance until today to post about a female Canvasback that initially showed up in the Oxbow last Tuesday and which I got to see on Wednesday morning before I went to work.  The bird originally found by Bob and Lura and I was just too tired to drive back over on Tuesday to see it so I decided to wait until Wednesday morning to try to relocate it and thankfully the bird stuck around.  Canvasback is a fairly rare bird in the county with several years between sighting and I have only had the species on three previous occasions: one in January of 2004 in the Connecticut River in Northampton, another single on March 25th of 2008 at the Oxbow and a group of seven together on January 14th in 2013 in the Connecticut River below the Coolidge Bridge.  On Wednesday morning I arrived at Arcadia just after six and after a quick scan of the Oxbow I quickly turned up the Canvasback as well as a number of other species of waterfowl including two Lesser Scaup and nearly two hundred Common Mergansers plus my first Pied billed Grebe of the year here.  The nearby marsh at Arcadia also had waterfowl including the continued pale Canada Goose that has been around for a few years during the winter (I will eventually do a full post on this bird when I get a chance).  Overall I ended up with a dozen species of waterfowl during my stop at Arcadia.  

Snow Goose with Canada Goose, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Snow Goose with Canada Goose, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2023

American Robin, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Male banded July 2021 (yellow on left and pink/alum on right...missing purple color band on left), Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Female banded July 2021 (green/yellow on left and white/alum on right), Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Banded 2021 (nothing on left and white/alum on right...color bands missing on left), Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2023

Duck depression in duck box #1, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2023

I had plans to go out looking for waterfowl on Thursday morning after work but instead I got stuck at work for mandatory overtime so not much for birding that day and by the time I got out at 6pm I was dead tired after being up for 35+ hours...I was in bed by 7:30 after a quick dinner.  Friday turned out to be a really nice day with no wind, sunny skies and temps that eventually warmed into the 40's.  I got up and headed out to check a few spots along the river.  I tried and failed to find any Yellow rumped Warblers but the morning was still productive nonetheless with a flyover Snow Goose with a flock of Canada Geese and multiple large groups of Canada Geese at a few spots.  I tried to find some other rare geese among the flocks but had no luck.  I checked a few other spots on my way home to walk Wilson but didn't find anything too unusual.  I then spent the rest of the day around the house and spent some time checking out the hordes of Black capped Chickadees coming to the feeders and had multiple banded birds once again.  I also did a final check of the three duck boxes at the house before the nesting season starts and found box #1 has already had a visitor with a depression in the wood chips...I would not be surprised to see eggs within a week.

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 2, 2023

Beaver, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 21, 2023

Black Bear, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 14, 2023

I also checked the game camera along the Jabish Brook at home and had some good captures including Black Bear, Beaver and Bobcat.

The first week of February comes to an end with a decent influx of waterfowl including an American Green winged Teal x Eurasian Green winged Teal intergrade

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Horned Lark, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Tufted Titmouse, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

American Robins, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

'MERICA!, Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Black Vulture, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

To start off the new month of March I headed out early and although I still didn't feel great I thought I would try to take advantage of warmer weather and sunny, calm conditions.  I hit a variety of areas with quite a bit of birding from near the car.  My main goal was to find a warbler to start the month and I succeeded with a flyover Yellow rumped Warbler at Arcadia.  Unfortunately I was unable to find where the bird landed so no chance for a photo.  During the remainder of my time out I had a total of 61 species, which is surprisingly the best first day of March I have ever had here (could have added a few more species if I felt up to it).  Highlights for the morning (besides the warbler) included eleven species of waterfowl including a Common Loon, a couple Black Vultures, a Lapland Longspur and my first Fox Sparrow of the year.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, female banded July 2021 (red/yellow on left and alum. on right...missing purple color band on right), Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 21, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, close up on alum band on bird pictured above, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 21, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, female banded in Jun 2021 (pink/pink on left and pink/alum on right), Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 2, 2023

The morning was fairly rainy on Thursday so I hit just a couple places close to home with the highlight being a total of 11 Northern Pintails way out at Winsor Dam.  A couple other spots that recently have been good for waterfowl were frozen over.  I laid low at home mainly but did get out a little to check on the continued large numbers of Black capped Chickadees with multiple banded birds continuing...at least eight different banded individuals over the last week or so.  I was able to solve one mystery bird when I got a close up shot of the aluminum band on one individual that had lost a color band.

Double crested Cormorant, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 3, 2023

Black capped Chickadee, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2023

I took advantage of the calm before our next storm to check a few areas in Amherst and Hadley.  I decided to take an early morning swing by the campus pond at UMASS to see the continued Double crested Cormorant that has been present since the end of February.  I then headed down to a couple spots along the river in the hopes of finding a Yellow rumped Warbler that I could actual get photos of but I had no luck.  A lot of the snow we had has settled in the past few days so there is only a couple inches of crusty snow left plus some icy spots so walking was a bit tough at time but it was nice to be outside for a longer period of time compared to the first days of the month.

Wilson playing ball in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 4, 2023

Wilson playing ball in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 4, 2023

Our next storm arrived overnight Friday into Saturday with a few more inches of heavy, wet snow.  I spent the entire day at home with multiple trips outside to both clean up the snow and to play with Wilson in the snow...he certainly loves the snow.

Wood Duck, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Mallard, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Red winged Blackbird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Hooded Merganser, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Hooded Mergansers, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Canada Goose, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Common Merganser, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Double crested Cormorant, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

On Sunday morning I was out early and started my morning at Winsor Dam (which turned out to be quiet).  I then went to nearby Lake Wallace in the hopes of finding an early Virginia Rail but had no luck with that species.  The lake had thankfully thawed nearly completely and the waterfowl arrived to take advantage of the open water with five species present.  I then travelled west to the rail trail in Amherst where I walked from Station Road up past Hop Brook.  Again lots of open water among the marshy areas.  After over an hour along the rail trail I made a brief visit over to the UMASS campus pond and the Double crested Cormorant continued in the same location.  The pair of Common Mergansers were also still present. I spent much of the morning trying various settings on the new camera to try to come up with the best combo for the birds.

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian x American) intergrade, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian x American) intergrade, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Northern Pintails, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Northern Pintail, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Red tailed Hawk, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

House Finch, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

I had to work on Monday and made just a couple brief stop on my way in without finding anything noteworthy.  After work on Tuesday morning I decided to head north and check the area around Great Pond.  It was still below freezing when I arrived but was thawing by the time I left and mud would definitely be an issue if I stayed longer.  The big draw was of course waterfowl and I spent over an hour scanning the water from a variety of viewpoints (I also kept my ears and eyes out for an early Tree Swallow but no luck with finding one).  I had a total of nine species of waterfowl plus a fairly rare intergrade (or hybrid depending on which taxonomic classification one uses).  The intergrade was an American Green winged Teal x Eurasian Green winged Teal in among a large flock of American Green winged Teal.  I have found this hybrid combo twice before in Hampshire County including one I found in Hadley in late March 2018 and another in Belchertown in early April 2021.  I got out of the Great Pond area before it got too muddy and heading north to cross the river and then head south again on the east side of the Connecticut River with a couple stops in Hadley with the main focus again being waterfowl.  I had a total of seven species of waterfowl in Hadley with great counts of Northern Pintails.  Just as I was getting ready to leave I noticed Cory had a sighting of a Yellow rumped Warbler in the area but I was unable to relocate it.  I made it back home late in the morning and took Wilson for a walk.  I noticed a post about a female Canvasback in Northampton but I didn't have the energy to drive back over to look for it but I did let others know about it...perhaps it will hang around and I can relocate it tomorrow morning if I have time.