Quabbin CBC

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Blue Meadow Rd, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 28, 2019

Red Squirrel, Blue Meadow Rd, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 28, 2019

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 28, 2019

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 28, 2019

I took part in the Quabbin Christmas Bird Count (CBC) this morning with quite comfortable conditions for the count with mostly sunny skies and low temperatures around freezing (the weather is usually very cold and/or snowy for this count).  I helped David Spector in the area around the Administration Building and Winsor Dam.  I arrived before dawn and stayed at the dam until I met up with Dave a little after 8AM.  No luck finding anything too unusual at the dam (no repeat of the Great Black backed Gull I had there yesterday morning) but a flyover calling Purple Finch was a nice addition.  Once I met up with David we made the walk down Blue Meadow Road plus a couple other side roads.  We ran into a couple of pockets of birds on the walk in with several robins feeding on winterberry and a single Song Sparrow with a group of juncos plus at least three Red breasted Nuthatches.  The best bird of the entire morning waited until the very end of my time there when I heard a flyover Yellow rumped Warbler that briefly settled into the top of a tree along the road (thankfully allowing a photo) before it continued off to the west.  A very rare bird for the Quabbin area in late December!  It is only the third record ever for the species on the Quabbin CBC.  More on the warbler sighting can be found at the following link. Total number of species for the time I was there came up to 31...I'm sure David added some others later.  Lots of mammal tracks but I didn't see anything bigger than a squirrel for the morning.

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin cemetery wetland, Ware, MA, Dec 26, 2019

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin cemetery wetland, Ware, MA, Dec 26, 2019

Golden crowned Kinglet, Quabbin cemetery wetland, Ware, MA, Dec 26, 2019

Eastern Bluebird, Quabbin cemetery wetland, Ware, MA, Dec 26, 2019

Great Black backed Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 27, 2019 (crap photo with phone through scope)

Before the count I scouted a number of areas to try to find some rarities before the count (which will become count week species if no one finds them on the day of the count).  On Thursday the 26th I started off in Quabbin Park where I made it to Hank's Meadow before dawn and found a decent selection of waterfowl including 176 Common Mergansers and a Red breasted Merganser plus four Horned Grebes and four other species of waterfowl.  I then went over to the large wetland near the Quabbin cemetery where I had a Ruby crowned Kinglet as well as at least four Winter Wrens.

Posts from my previous Quabbin CBC's can be found here:

2017
2015
2012
2011
2009

Here is the summary from Scott regarding the count at Quabbin:

Here are the totals for this year’s Quabbin Count, which of course was held on December 28^th.

Forty five observers and two feeder watchers had really nice weather for this year’s count, Temperature range 31-44, wind direction was W-NW and wind speed ranged anywhere from 0-15 with a few gusts near 20 mph.  It was generally cloudy throughout the day but some breaks in the clouds in the afternoon.  Snow cover was basically non-existent which is incredible since we had over 20”on the ground on December 3^rd! The main body of the Quabbin was open, but smaller bodies of water (coves/Beaver Ponds etc) were frozen and most streams were open. We didn’t add any new species to the count, but we had 4 new high counts, but the overall numbers were generally down.

 

Many thanks to everyone for helping out, and if you like to plan ahead…….Next year’s Quabbin count will be on January 2, 2021.

 

Cheers,

 

Scott

Quabbin Count.   Dec 28, 2019

 

Mallard- 117

American Black Duck-89

Greater Scaup-  CW

Common Goldeneye-16

Hooded Merganser- 35

Common Merganser- 275

Ring-necked Pheasant -1

Ruffed Grouse – 11

Wild Turkey -89

Horned Grebe- 4

Red-Necked Grebe -1 (6^th record)

Rock Pigeon – 140

Mourning Dove -150

Ring-billed Gull – 288 HC

Herring Gull – 18

Great Black-backed Gull –CW

Common Loon -5

Great Blue Heron – 1

Sharp-shinned Hawk -1

Bald Eagle- (29) Adults -17  Imm. -12

Red-shouldered Hawk -1

Red-tailed Hawk – 30

Great Horned Owl – 6

Barred Owl – 2

Northern Saw-whet Owl – 5

Belted Kingfisher – 5

Red-bellied Woodpecker- 39

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – 4

Downy Woodpecker – 96

Hairy Woodpecker – 23

Northern Flicker – 9

Pileated Woodpecker -17

Eastern Phoebe- CW

Blue Jay – 216

American Crow – 162

Common Raven – 23

Black-capped Chickadee – 660

Tufted Titmouse – 271

Red-breasted Nuthatch – 44

White-breasted Nuthatch – 163

Brown Creeper – 25

Winter Wren -5

Carolina Wren- 20 HC

Golden-Crowned Kinglet -97

Ruby-crowned Kinglet CW

Eastern Bluebird -119 HC

American Robin - 114

Hermit Thrush – 1

Gray Catbird -2 HC

Northern Mockingbird -8

European Starling - 248

Cedar Waxwing – 164

House Sparrow – 625

House Finch – 33

Purple Finch – 3

American Goldfinch – 210

American Tree Sparrow – 15 (all time low)

Dark-eyed Junco – 375

White-throated Sparrow – 71

Song Sparrow –  30

Red-winged Blackbird- 6

Brown-headed Cowbird – 1

Yellow-rumped Warbler – 1 (3^rd record)

Northern Cardinal – 96

 

60 Species -  Individuals -5201.

 

Mammals

 

Eastern Cottontail -1

Gray Squirrel -50

Red Squirrel- 10

Eastern Chipmunk-2

Porcupine-1

Beaver-2

River Otter-1

Red Fox-1

White-tailed Deer-1

Moose-1

Second week of January brings some record warmth for the end of the period with several unusual species around

White winged Scoter, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2018

Common Mergansers and White winged Scoter, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2018

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2018

Red winged Blackbird, Swift River, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2018

Red winged Blackbirds, Swift River, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 8, 2018

The second week of January started out a little warmer than the first week with highs reaching into the 20's after a morning low in the low teens...a near heat wave.  I decided to stay close to home on Monday with a predawn visit to Quabbin Gate 5 where I turned up a number of decent birds including a Northern Saw Whet Owl and seven species of waterfowl including 138 Mallards, 18 Black Ducks, the continued White winged Scoter, a pair of Common Goldeneyes, 7 Hooded Mergansers, 24 Common Mergansers and a single Horned Grebe.  After walking back back to the car I headed over to Winsor Dam where I had 74 Common Mergansers.  The vast majority of the area near the dam is frozen with the only large areas of open water out toward Gate 5.  I then hit a variety of spots south of Quabbin Park (which is still closed to traffic).  Highlights for the rest of the morning included a Wood Duck among more typical waterfowl in the few open areas of the Swift River plus a flock of 17 Red winged Blackbirds and a single Common Grackle also in the area of the Swift River.

White crowned Sparrows, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

White crowned Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

White crowned Sparrows, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

Song Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

Mute Swans, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

Great Black backed Gull, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jan 9, 2018

Tuesday I started off at Arcadia trying to relocate the Yellow rumped Warbler(s) I had there a few days ago but despite much effort I came up empty in that search (one and possibly two were seen the next day so they are still around).  All was not lost as my time looking for the warblers turned up other good stuff including a Hermit Thrush, a Gray Catbird and at least two Rusty Blackbirds (all new stuff for the year).  The sparrows at the Honey Pot where impressive once again with a total of at least 85 American Tree Sparrows, at least five White crowned Sparrows and 23 Song Sparrows.  After running a few errands I proceeded south to check out the Holyoke Dam where I had my first Great Black backed Gull of the year, an unusual for winter Ruby crowned Kinglet and 43 Common Goldeneyes plus a dozen Mute Swans  I also had a very interesting bird at the Holyoke Dam that might have been a Barrow's Goldeneye but the bird was in terrible light and I was never able to get a good enough view to confirm.  The overall shape certainly looked like a Barrow's Goldeneye but the birds flushed for some reason and when they settled back down I could not find the bird again so I assume it went further down river with a small group that didn't settle back on the water within my view.  Winsor Dam produced a single red breasted Merganser and the nearby fish hatchery produced a female Northern Pintail in among a group of Mallards.

Red breasted Merganser, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2018

Red breasted Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2018

Wednesday started out cold but it warmed up to above freezing with mostly sunny skies.  I started the morning before dawn in Granby where I had a calling Barred Owl.  I then headed over to the south Quabbin area where I had a few decent birds including my first Common Loon of the year, the continued White winged Scoter as well as three Red breasted Mergansers (a male and two females)...all at Winsor Dam.  I actually had all three merganser species in view at once.  I tried to turn up some other new stuff along the Swift River but struck out on anything new.

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 12, 2018

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 12, 2018

On my way to work on Thursday I stopped at the Coolidge Bridge where a bit of open water has opened up and contained the largest gathering of waterfowl there so far this year but unfortunately there were no unusual species to be found.  While at work I heard about yet another Snowy Owl sighting in the area but I would have to wait to try to find it.  It has been the best season for Snowy Owls in quite awhile around here but unfortunately the less than ethical behavior of a number of people has resulted in the sightings not being publicized widely.

Friday dawned much warmer than normal with temperatures that started in the 40's and climbed into the 50's with strong winds and heavy rain later in the morning through the remainder of the day.  The temperature actually broke the record for the day topping out at 61 degrees (the previous record for the date was set just last year at 55 degrees).  Odd to have record cold on multiple days last week (including a near all time record low) and then have record warm temperatures.  The morning was quite foggy but I still had some good stuff nonetheless including a Snowy Owl that appeared briefly before disappearing back into the fog after apparently trying for Canada Geese.  Other notables included at least two White crowned Sparrows at the Honey Pot and a pair of Red breasted Mergansers at Winsor Dam.

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 14, 2018

Saturday was a very changeable day with another record high set for the day (59 degrees) in the morning before the temperatures crashed rapidly with the arrival of a cold front.  The front moved through with more wind and rain just before dawn as I was driving to work.  The temperature dropped from 58 degrees to 40 degrees in about five minutes...a very impressive drop in temps!  The rest of Saturday got progressively colder and windier as it got sunnier.  On Sunday the low bottomed out around ten with a slight breeze.  I tried my luck at Mitch's Way to catch up with a reported group of Yellow rumped Warblers but the flooding and ice made access to the location where they were reported impossible to reach.  All was not lost there as I had my first of the year Yellow bellied Sapsucker along the road.  I then ran through some farm fields in Hadley which were all quite quiet.  Before heading home I stopped at Winsor Dam to try to find some unusual waterfowl seen by Scott S. there yesterday but the wind made viewing a bit difficult.  I did manage to find a male Bufflehead but had no luck finding the red necked Grebe or the continued Red breasted Mergansers. The wind, rain and warmer temperatures of the last few days had cleared out almost all of the ice.

Decent numbers of waders continue the last couple days including the Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Little Blue Heron and Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Great Egret, Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Green Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Great Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Killdeer, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Great Black backed Gull, UMASS pond, Amherst, MA, Aug 29, 2016

Yesterday I was up before dawn and out the door to spend the morning in search of some early migrants and dispersing birds post breeding with the main focus on waders and shorebirds. I had to be over in Hadley late in the morning for an appointment so I decided to spend the whole morning out and about. I started at Lake Wallace where I had my first Great Egret of the day as well as a couple of begging juvenile Great Horned Owls. I then headed down to the Holyoke Dam where I eventually turned up the continued Little Blue Heron. This stop also produced 15 Great Egrets plus a number of Great Blue Herons. I the checked in on the herons and egrets at Arcadia and although the numbers were a little lower than the previous couple days I still had 8 Great Blue Herons, 15 Great Egrets and four Green Herons. Most of my shorebirds for the morning were once again at Lower Mill Pond including an larger than average Least Sandpiper that had me hoping it was something more unusual. I then traveled up through Hatfield and then across the bridge and back down the east side of the river through Hadley before ending up at UMASS. A productive morning that turned up some good stuff. Overall for the morning I had four species of wader with the following overall totals for the morning: 26 Great Blue Heron, 32 Great Egrets, a Little Blue Heron and 11 Green Herons. Shorebirds topped out at five species including Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Green Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Raccoon, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Common Mergansers, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Woodchuck, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 30, 2016

Today I once again went out in search of wader (and other stuff) but covered a little less territory.  I started predawn at Winsor Dam where I had at least two Eastern Whip Poor Wills calling.  I was glad to finally find them again here as I had struck out on them the last few times I have tried.  After Winsor Dam I stopped along the river and checked some fields in Hadley before heading over to Arcadia then Lower Mill Pond and finally down to the Holyoke Dam before heading back toward home with a stop off at Lake Wallace.  No luck with the Little Blue Heron this morning but it is probably still around.  Overall the numbers of waders were down a bit from yesterday but the stop at Lake Wallace turned up some decent waterfowl variety and numbers.  Below are a few of the lists from the morning.

Arcadia:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31327085
Lower Mill Pond:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31327141

Holyoke Dam:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31327136
Lake Wallace:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31327093

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 30, 2016

The drought continues around here with no real prospects of any substantial rain on the horizon.  The level at Quabbin continues to drop and the reservoir is somewhere around 87% capacity.

Tropical outlook via NHC, Aug 30, 2016

Tropical Depression 9 projected path as of Aug 30, 2016 (courtesy of the NHC)

The tropics continue to heat up with more and more activity. There are a number of systems to watch right now but none should have any direct impact here. Hurricane Gaston (cat 2) continues to churn way out in the Atlantic. Closer to the U.S. are two tropical depressions, TD 8 and TD 9. TD 8 is off the coast of North Carolina and will likely become a tropical storm as it brushes past the outer banks. TD 9 (old invest 99L) is in the southern Gulf of Mexico just northwest of Cuba and is still struggling to form. The forecast is for the storm to gain tropical storm status before impacting central and northern Florida before it too heads out into the Atlantic.  The latest National Hurricane Center projected path has moved the storm a little closer to us but we would still only be on the outer fringes of a fairly weak storm but it bears watching.  There is another decent looking wave (Invest 92L) coming off Africa and heading out across the Atlantic. This will certainly have to be watched as it has a decent chance of developing.