Redhead adds another species of unusual waterfowl for the month

 

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Redhead, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 18, 2025

After missing a group of five Redheads that showed up when I was working last week I didn't think I would get another chance to see this rare duck but I was wrong.  I got a text from Joe last evening that a Redhead was in the flooded fields along Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley.  With less than ideal migration conditions overnight I hoped the bird would stick around.  I headed to the location before dawn and waited for it to get light enough to see.  I scanned through the gathering of waterfowl and actually had a brief view of it fairly early on but it quickly disappeared into the grasses and out of view.  I then spent the next 30+ minutes endlessly scanning with the scope in the wind and cold and I finally relocated it and got some photos...well worth the wait!  Redhead is a rare species here and this is just my sixth Hampshire County record of the species.  Beyond the Redhead I had seven other species of waterfowl with above usual numbers of Wood Ducks and Ring necked Ducks.

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Northern Shovelers, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Brown Creeper, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Wood Ducks with American Black Ducks, Green winged Teal and Common Merganser, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

American Black Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 18, 2025

I decided to try for some additional waterfowl so headed across the river and up to Great Pond where the flooded areas offered lots of duck habitat.  The habitat produced some good variety and numbers with the highlights including three Northern Shovelers, 144 Wood Ducks, 52 American Black Ducks and 162 Green winged Teal (all appeared to be American subspecies).  It has been a fantastic March for me so far with a total of 106 species in the county so far (just one shy of my highest ever total of 107 back in 2021).  Waterfowl has figured in prominently (as expected) with 27 species so far.

Wilson on St. Patrick's Day, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2025

Yesterday (St. Patrick's Day) was mainly rainy with limited visibility throughout the day.  I tried a few spots during the day without too much luck.

Good start to year in Hampshire County with several unusual species

Northern Flicker, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Northern Harrier, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2025

American Kestrel, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Brown Creeper, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Cape May Warbler, South Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Hooded Mergansers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jan 1, 2025

Despite some rain and then cold and windy weather to start the new year as well as a variety of issues and commitments I have had a decent start to 2025 in Hampshire County with a total of 73 species so far (not my highest total to start a new year which was last year with 79 species in the first three days).  I had to work new years eve so no birding until I got out and then had to deal with some lingering drizzle and fog.  I made a brief stop in the East Meadows but it was way too muddy to access so I headed across the river to the Honey Pot where I added a number of notable including a Killdeer seen and heard across the river in Hatfield, a Rough legged Hawk, a flyover calling Evening Grosbeak and the lingering Western Meadowlark.  I then headed south with a stop along the river in hopes of a Yellow rumped Warbler (I missed on that species unfortunately).  The stop did produce some good stuff including Hermit Thrush among 31 species overall.  My main goal for the morning was to catch up with a Cape May Warbler overwintering at a private residence in South Hadley.  I was very happy to have luck finding the Cape May Warbler enjoying the feeders and getting me a warbler to start the year off right (bringing me to 93 consecutive months with at least one warbler in the county).  I then worked my way toward home with a few stops along the way which added more species for the year including the continued Eastern Phoebe at Lake Wallace.  A walk with Wilson produced a Swamp Sparrow which added the last unusual species for the day and brought my first day total to 61 species.

Red winged Blackbirds, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 2, 2025

Black Vultures, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, Jan 2, 2025

Black Vultures, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, Jan 2, 2025

Song Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 2, 2025

Field Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 2, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 2, 2025

Turkey Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 2, 2025

Black Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 2, 2025

On the second I started a windy morning at the Holyoke Dam to add some waterfowl and then headed north along the river.  Some areas were just too windy to bird and I only added a few new species and nothing really unusual.  I then stopped near the Hadley/Amherst line looking for some continued vultures and got rewarded with an amazing 41 Black Vultures (possibly more) and a couple Turkey Vultures...really amazing year for both species so late in the season.  Hickory Ridge Conservation Area added three Field Sparrows.  All was going quite well and then I got a flat tire and that started a long saga of getting it looked at to find out the sidewall was punctured and I would need four new tires (an issue with Subaru's when you have a tire issue and there is not enough tread left on the remaining tires and all need to be replaced to avoid potential transmission issues).  It was too late in the day to get them so I had to make an appointment for the following day.

Pileated Woodpecker, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, Jan 3, 2025

I had a couple of appointments in Springfield (including getting new tires) which started before first light so no birding really until mid morning after I got home and picked up Wilson to go for a walk...the only bright spot of being in Springfield early in the day was seeing and hearing hundreds of crows at a roost near Mercy Hospital.  The only real notable species for the morning turned out to be a male Rusty Blackbird in Belchertown.  During the afternoon I got a quick walk in while in Amherst and added some more Black Vultures.  I finally got my first owl of the year with a Great Horned Owl calling at dusk at home (it was the first time the wind died slightly to allow any owls to be heard).  

The last few days of March

Brown Creeper, Podick/Katherine Cole/Szala Conservation Areas, Amherst, MA, Mar 29, 2024

Barn Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2024

Tree Swallows, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2024

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2024

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 29, 2024

March has now come to an end and although there was some warmth early on in the month the last week and a half has been either average or cooler than normal with a few bouts of rain.  Waterfowl migration was lackluster to say the least but given that the fall waterfowl migration was also very slow it is not too surprising.  Now that my cold symptoms have almost totally gone away I have been out the last few days of the month trying to catch up on more early season migrants.  On Friday I headed out on an overcast morning that eventually turned more sunny and quite windy.  I took a walk along the rail trail in the hopes of finding an early Palm Warbler but failed on finding one there (or any other spots I checked for the day).  I did have some Fox Sparrows singing both there and other spots for the day (a good spring for them this year).  I then checked some fields in Amherst and Hadley and had no geese at all.  The most notable species were a couple American Pipits that got flushed up by a harrier.  After running a few errands I stopped at Lake Wallace where I had some good stuff including an early Barn Swallow among 20+ Tree Swallows, a Great Blue Heron that might be starting to build a nest, at least nine Eastern Phoebes and a couple Yellow rumped Warblers (with some singing a bit).  

Eastern Bluebird, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Barn Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Tree Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Canada Goose building nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Ring necked Duck, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Black capped Chickadee, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Dark eyed Junco, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2024

Saturday I headed out early with a brief stop at Winsor Dam which was just too windy to see too much.  I then went to nearby Lake Wallace where I once again failed to find an early Palm Warbler.  I did relocate the early Barn Swallow I found yesterday.  The wind and cool early morning temps were not too conducive to finding early warblers.  I then headed south with a stop in Granby and South Hadley near some wetlands but both areas were fairly quiet.  I then returned to Lake Wallace and yet again found the Barn Swallow in among at least 16 Tree Swallows plus had a Canada Goose building a nest and half a dozen Eastern Phoebes.

White throated Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Song Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Barn Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2024

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #1, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2024

To end out the month today I started my morning before dawn in a successful look for some owls before dawn at Quabbin.  I then made an hour and a half stop at Lake Wallace in a fruitless search for a Palm Warbler (I'm sure they will show up tomorrow once April starts).  It was a productive stop nonetheless with several Tree Swallows, the continued Barn Swallow, loads of White throated Sparrows and a Yellow rumped Warbler among some 42 species.  My next stop was over to Winsor Dam where I once again found the long staying Say's Phoebe contently hunting for insects.  The dam also featured my first Red necked Grebe of the year plus a flyover Red Crossbill.  A check of the duck boxes once I got home confirmed the second active nest to also be a Hooded Merganser (I didn't check the box I confirmed as Hooded Merganser a few days ago...want to keep her as undisturbed as possible).

Moose, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 9, 2024

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 8, 2024

Eastern Coyote, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 14, 2024

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 20, 2024

I finally got around to checking the camera at the house that sits along Jabish Brook and I was rewarded with the capture of my first Moose.  Lots of other stuff captured too over the last several weeks including Bobcat, Eastern Coyote, Beaver and lots of Raccoons and Gray Squirrels.  

I ended the month with 101 species in the county, which is a bit above average even with being away in Costa Rica in the middle of the month and then being down with a cold to end out the month.  April will bring more and more spring migrants (and hopefully warmer temps).