Today brought us our first snowstorm of the season with several inches of snow, sleet and then some rain. I managed to get out at first light before the snow arrived and actually had a great assortment of waterfowl at Winsor Dam with ten species at least (some just too far away in bad light to ID). I wanted to go into Quabbin Park itself for more waterfowl but they closed the park not long after I arrived due to the impending snow storm. I then headed home and took Wilson for an early walk and the snow was just starting as we ended the walk a bit after nine. I put out a few feeders for the first time just before the snow and the birds quickly found them. I even caught sight of a banded Black capped Chickadee that was banded as an adult in the yard back in the summer of 2021. I had not seen the individual since April of this year so was very happy to see it still around. It is getting to be an old chickadee with the typical life span of the species being 2-3 years. Wilson also got to enjoy the snow and was something I was glad to see him do. Now we are in for below normal temps with more mid winter like with multiple days not breaking freezing and temps at night in the single digits. Average highs now should still be in the low 40's but we don't look to be near that temp for the foreseeable future.
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025
Eastern Bluebird, Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025
Yesterday I also managed to find multiple Yellow rumped Warblers despite the breezy weather and the start of shotgun season for deer. I only had a couple hours available to be out and I'm glad I tried for the warblers as it extended my consecutive streak of months of seeing at least one warbler species in Hampshire County to 104 months.
