On Christmas Eve a couple of birders (Evan and Nicole) found a Western Meadowlark in the Honey Pot section of Hadley in the exact same spot where one spent the late fall into early winter back in 2021-2022 (is it the same individual returning again...who knows?). I heard about it after getting home from work and I had Christmas Eve plans so I did not consider chasing it that day. I had to work overtime on Christmas and I made a brief stop near daybreak and had a brief view of a meadowlark but the view was too brief to say for certain it was the Western Meadowlark. After getting out of work this morning I headed over and scanned for a bit and eventually had the bird perching on the fence line of the capped landfill and later in some short brush. It stayed out of view the majority of the time down in the grasses and it did not make any sound while I was watching it. Not a species I expected to see again in the exact same spot after first seeing one in the county three years ago. I really wonder if it has returned for the last few years but used any of a number of nearby areas that are not birded as extensively as the honey pot...we will never know. There were a fair number of raptors around the area too so hopefully the meadowlark can avoid all these predators.
Other notables on my travels toward home included at least seven Black Vultures and a Lapland Longspur in Hadley and a few Swamp Sparrows at UMASS. The year is rapidly coming to a close and with any luck a lot of these rarities and lingering species will continue into the new year.
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