More waterfowl the last few days

Red throated Loon, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Red throated Loon, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Hooded Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Common Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Red breasted Merganser, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Canada Goose with extensive white on neck, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2017

Waterfowl continues to arrive as November marches steadily toward December although in lesser numbers and variety than expected which is likely due to lots of open water to the north of us. Over the last few days I have managed to find 14 species of waterfowl including all three species of mergansers, two Red throated Loons (one at Arcadia and another at Beaver Lake) and a Cackling Goose in among Canada Geese this morning in Hadley.  Other notable species in the last few days include a Short eared Owl at Arcadia and an American Woodcock still flight displaying in Hadley.

Waterfowl continues to arrive

Long tailed Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2017

Long tailed Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2017

Long tailed Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2017

Common Loon, , Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2017

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2017

Red breasted Merganser, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 4, 2017

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 4, 2017

Black Scoter and Long tailed Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 4, 2017

Common Mergansers, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 7, 2017

Dawn, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2017

Our changeable weather with warm and then cold has continued but it now appears we are headed for a real cool down by the end of the week with highs barely breaking above freezing.  The last several mornings I have been out looking for waterfowl with some decent results.  Beyond the waterfowl migration there were raptors, crows and robins all moving by.  A few selected lists from those days attached below:

Nov 4-
Winsor Dam

Nov 5-
Winsor Dam
Quabbin Park
Winsor Dam

Nov 6 -
Quabbin Park

Nov 7-
Winsor Dam
Quabbin Park
Beaver Lake

Warm weather continues for the last couple weeks

Merlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 17, 2017

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 17, 2017

Northern Mockingbird, Pulaski Park, Holyoke, MA, Jan 20, 2017

Common Goldeneyes, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 22, 2017

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 25, 2017

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Jan 27, 2017

Our warmer than average January has continued with temperatures 15+ degrees above average for several days during the last week...just fine as far as I'm concerned.  Quabbin continues to be totally ice free and even some small lakes and ponds have lost some (or even most) of their ice.  It looks like it will cool to near normal temperatures over the weekend and into next week.  I have gotten out a little the last couple weeks with a few highlights but nothing extraordinary.  Without too much effort I have managed to find 78 species in the county so far this year which is about ten below my previous best years at this point but still a fairly respectable total.

Jan 19- a Merlin in the East Meadows.

Jan 20- Long eared Owl continued in Belchertown and 21 Black Ducks, 290 Mallards, 4 Common Goldeneyes, a Bufflehead, 23 Hooded Mergansers, a Red breasted Merganser, 322 Common Mergansers at Quabbin Park plus a fruitless search for a reported Common yellowthroat at Pulaski Park in Holyoke.

Jan 21- Red headed Woodpecker continuing at Lake Wallace along with a couple Red winged Blackbirds and a single Common Grackle.

Jan 22- 19 Black Ducks, 220 Mallards, a Bufflehead, 92 Common Goldeneyes, 77 Hooded Mergansers, 151 Common Mergansers and a Hermit Thrush and a couple Purple Finches at Piper Conservation Area (along with 25+ deer ticks between Wilson and I...most I have ever picked up in January).

Jan 27- Three Ring necked Ducks at Beaver Lake.

The last week

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Tree Swallows, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Hooded Mergansers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Common Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 25, 2016

Common Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Mar 25, 201

The forecast today called for early drizzle and some heavier rain that would lead to warming temperatures as a warm front pushed through. The cold air was a bit more stubborn than predicted and most of the day stayed cool and gloomy. I did head out early before the heavier rain arrived and stayed around the local area making stops at Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace. A few highlights this morning including 7 Great Blue Herons, 71 Tree Swallows, half a dozen Eastern Phoebes and a couple Rusty Blackbirds at Lake Wallace and 42 Ring necked Ducks, 7 Bufflehead and 18 Tree Swallows feeding low over the water at Beaver Lake.  I checked a few of the same spots throughout the day and added a few new species bringing the total number of waterfowl species to nine.  A walk with Wilson along the land trust trail turned up more phoebes, two singing Field Sparrows seemingly on territory and a Winter Wren.

While at work on Wednesday I had a Chipping Sparrow (#109) near the middle of Florence.  I have not had much time to get out much the entire week but thankfully the weather has not been very conducive to major migration.

The last few days around the valley add a couple more species for the year

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2016

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2016

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2016

Got up bright and early this morning to head out to try to find an early American Woodcock over at Covey WMA. I arrived there just after 5:30 and had a woodcock almost immediately fluttering around and added another new species for the county becoming #98. I then made the walk out to the larger fields where I typically find numerous woodcocks but oddly I didn't have any there. I then headed over to Winsor Dam where I had another American Woodcock plus a couple Common Loons and a nice roost of gulls including 228 Ring billed Gulls. I then spent a few hours exploring the fields and a few bodies of water from Amherst to Hadley and manage to turn up a few species of waterfowl but nothing really unexpected and the goose flocks I came across were relatively small. Although the conditions and weather look and feel more like mid March the birds still know it is the end of February. Without too much to speak of over near the river I headed back to the south Quabbin area with stops at Quabbin Park and Beaver Lake but once again low numbers of waterfowl with nothing out of the ordinary. Another nice day to be outside in February with above normal temperatures and no snow. 

Common Mergansers, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Feb 26, 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Feb 26, 2016

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 27, 2016

After getting in late from work early Saturday morning I didn't have much energy to get out early so when I finally did get out I stayed local covering a few areas around south Quabbin. Not too much noteworthy stuff but I had three Common Loons at Winsor Dam and a pair of Common Goldeneye at Hank's Meadow.

On Friday I had some time in the morning to explore a few spots before work and I managed to catch up with another new species for the year when I found a Rusty Blackbird (#97) at Arcadia. The area was quite flooded but was fairly quiet waterfowl wise despite some great looking flooded fields. A brief check for geese in the Hadley/Amherst fields turned up several hundred Canada Geese but not much else.


Elsewhere in the state it appears that another new species has been added to the state bird list with the sighting of a Yellow billed Loon at Race Point out on the cape yesterday by Steve Arena (and relocated today)...I have attached his eBird list here: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27850033  There was also a Pacific Loon (which increased to two Pacific Loons today!) in the same area which resulted in four loon species in one day.  Yellow billed Loon is a species that has been overdue to show up in the state and I actually had a sighting of an interesting loon that may have been a Yellow billed Loon but more likely an odd Common Loon or some hybrid...http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-loon-is-itcommon-yellow-billed-or.html

First weekend of the year brings more new birds

Bufflehead, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Jan 2, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2, 2015

I spent both mornings this weekend out looking for some new species for the year and I had quite a bit of good luck.  On Saturday I stayed relatively close to home making stops at Quabbin Gate 5, Quabbin Park and Beaver Lake.  The Quabbin CBC was going on that day so I added a few species for the count even without being a formal part of it.  At Gate 5 I made it down to the water for first light and had 400+ gulls on the water (with Ring billed and Herring being the only ones I could ID).  Most left before it got light enough to really go through the flocks.  I also had a calling Northern Saw Whet Owl (which the CBC team covering the area also were able to hear) and a Ruffed Grouse.  Quabbin Park was fairly quiet with just a few Common Mergansers, a Horned Grebe and a flyby Pine Siskin with a group of goldfinches plus at least 110 Cedar Waxwings near Quabbin Tower (no Bohemian Waxwings with them that I could find).  Beaver Lake was fairly active with the highlight being two Bufflehead.  I missed two good birds seen on the CBC...Long tailed Ducks from gate 5 and a Blue winged Teal at gate 52...both would have been great to see but you can't see everything.

Snow Geese, UMASS pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Goldeneye species, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Northern Pintail, Swift River, Ware, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Today I headed over across the river to Arcadia to start the morning and then came back across the river and checked the river and fields in Hadley and Amherst before hitting the UMASS pond and then back south through Hadley and finally heading back toward home with stops at Winsor Dam and Covey WMA (and the nearby Swift River).  Arcadia produced a continued Short eared Owl plus a pair of Great Horned Owls plus two Wood Ducks in the oxbow.  Decent numbers of American Tree Sparrows were in evidence in the meadows at Arcadia (as well as other locations throughout the morning).  I finally caught up with a Savannah Sparrow for the year too.  The Honey Pot was overall fairly quiet but I did pick out a single White throated Sparrow among the hordes of tree sparrows.  The Connecticut River produced hundreds of Canada Geese, a calling Eastern Screech Owl plus 16 Common Goldeneyes and an intriguing goldeneye that may have been a Barrow's Goldeneye.  The bird was in view for a short time at a distance through the scope before it was flushed by an eagle.  I managed just a few iPhone digiscoped shots before it disappeared not be be found again.  I immediately picked the bird out as different in shape from the near Common Goldeneyes.  It had a steeper forehead giving in a more box like head that appeared pushed forward.  There was obvious yellow on the bill but not complete on the entire bill.  Really wish I was able to find it again as I had the bird in roughly the same area a Barrow's Goldeneye was seen during the Northampton CBC.  After trying in vain to find the goldeneye again I headed over to the campus pond and found the two Snow Geese back on the pond in the company of several hundred Canada Geese plus 17 Black Ducks and roughly a hundred Mallards.  The rest of the fields and areas of the river I checked on my way home were not too productive.  My visit to Covey WMA with Wilson produced several good birds including a Great Blue Heron flushed from a small frozen pond, a kingfisher and a female Northern Pintail.  Overall a very good day with several new species for the year bringing my county total to 65 for the first three days of the year...a very good start to the year.

Warm weather continues (with warmer air to come)

Hooded Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Dec 11, 2015

Common Merganser, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 11, 2015

White tailed Deer swimming in reservoir, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 11, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 11, 2015

This morning started off foggy but I figured I would head out anyway in the hopes of finding some holes in the fog.  I started off at Quabbin Park and headed to Hank's Meadow which looked like it would be too foggy to see anything but I could hear some ducks so I headed down to the waters edge and I was able to see a bit of the water which produced some decent waterfowl including 16 Black Ducks, 22 Mallards, 17 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Common Mergansers and 11 Horned Grebes.  I'm sure there were more birds further out lost to me in the fog.  The nearby route 9 marsh produced three more Hooded Mergansers.  Beaver Lake was as busy as I have seen it yet this season with seven Canada Geese, a couple Black Ducks, 19 Mallards, 68 Hooded Mergansers and 7 Common Mergansers.  When I stopped by Winsor Dam it was fogged in and I had just a few flyby Canada Geese and Common Mergansers.  Lake Metacomet was completely empty of waterfowl (at least the part of the lake I could see).  As I was watching the activity at Hank's Meadow I noticed three deer swimming in the reservoir heading north from Gate 52.  Not much else of note around but it was nice to get some waterfowl as well as enjoy the above average temperatures.

I also made some early morning stops this week on my way to work but found just the typical waterfowl along the river and at Arcadia.  I tried for the Short eared Owls at Arcadia yesterday too but came up empty.

The weather this month has continued to be warm with no snow as of yet (and none in the near future).  The forecast through the weekend into next week shows even warmer temperatures with highs approaching or exceeding 60 degrees (record breaking warmth).  The lows over the next week will be closer to what the average high should be (low to mid 40's).  Hopefully this will be a trend through the remainder of the winter, which is certainly possible given the strong El Nino that has developed.  Time will tell but it is enjoyable weather for now.  In another weather item the initial look (not a forecast but a trend) at the 2016 hurricane season for the Atlantic is out and it could be a very active year or a very slow year depending on a number of variables with one major being how fast the current strong El Nino weakens...a faster weakening would favor a busier season.  More about this can be found at the following link: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/first-look-at-2016-hurricane-season-unusually-big-question-marks

Hurricane Joaquin headed out to sea but sustained period of northeast winds continue



Hurricane Joaquin projected path as of 2PM Oct 2, 2015 (courtesy NHC)

It now appear that Hurricane Joaquin will not hit anywhere on the east coast and instead will curve out to sea.  The storm continues to be intense, reaching Catagory 4 status yesterday.  The Bahamas continue to suffer the worst effects of the storm with severe damage there almost certain.  It has been interesting to watch the development and progress of the storm as well as the nearly hourly changes in the projected path.  The only forecast model that got the 'out to sea' path right days ago was the European model.  Most every other forecast model called for an impact somewhere on the east coast but once again the European model got it right.  Although we will have no direct impact from the storm the entire area will continue to be under the influence of sustained northeast winds that have already been in place for several days and will continue for a few more.  There are many potentially unusual birds that could show up inland from conditions like this (not as many as a tropical system would bring in but still some stuff).  One possibility would be Northern Wheatears being blown back to the east as they migrate from far northern Canada out over the Atlantic to Africa.  In fact one showed up just to our east in Worcester County at Wachusetts Reservoir yesterday and continued today.  Other possibilities would include a number of near shore pelagics such as Black legged Kittiwakes, unusual gulls, phalaropes and others (including storm petrels...which also have shown up in Worcester County with a Leach's Storm Petrel today).  Any additional rain we get could also ground other migrants including but not limited to waterfowl and shorebirds.

Green winged Teal, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Surf Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Pied billed Grebe, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Oct 2, 2015

With the possibility of something unusual being around due to the sustained northeast winds I headed over to the south Quabbin area where I spent a large part of the morning as well as a little time in the early afternoon.  The strong winds made viewing a bit difficult but I nonetheless managed to find some decent stuff including a Surf Scoter (species #229 for Hampshire County this year), half a dozen Green winged Teal flying around at Winsor Dam, a few other species of waterfowl (including a continued Pied billed Grebe at Beaver Lake), a few raptors migrating and a number of warblers and other unidentified passerines zipping by.  I was actually expecting more waterfowl and raptors to be moving but at least I had some.  I spent a good chunk of my time at Winsor Dam but also made stops within Qabbin Park as well as down to Beaver Lake.  I tried my best to find a Northern Wheatear along either Winsor Dam or Goodnough Dike but no luck today.  I was joined for a time at Winsor Dam and a nearby sheltered area (somewhat out of the wind) of Quabbin Park by Sam from New Jersey and Stijn from Belgium.  It was nice to be out with someone who gets lifers one after another as Stijn was making his first trip to the US.  We managed to find a number of his target species (including Bald Eagle, Gray Catbird and woodpeckers) as well as many other new ones for him despite the less than ideal conditions for finding landbirds. 

Ring necked Ducks, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 1, 2015

I had to go up to Greenfield for a class yesterday and made a brief stop at Barton's Cove where I found some waterfowl including four Ring necked Ducks as well as a Gadwall among the more expected species.  It is so much easier to view the waterfowl there as they are not as far out as many are at Quabbin.