Neck banded Canada Geese and other waterfowl as the weather cools down again

Canada Geese with neck bands, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2026

Canada Geese with neck bands, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2026

Ring necked Ducks, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2026

Northern Harrier, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Mar 13, 2026

Gadwall, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 12, 2026

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2026

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2026

Lesser Scaup, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2026

Green winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 12, 2026

Despite a return to cold temps the waterfowl continue to move into and through the area.  Today was more winter like compared to the previous few days with wind and temps that struggled to reach 40.  I tried to find an early Virginia Rail at Lake Wallace without any luck so I decided I would head over along the river to Mitch's Way where a female Redhead showed up yesterday.  The Redhead was still present but tough to pick out as it moved among the trees in a flooded part of the river.  I tried to walk the length of the road for passerines but the high water levels flooded the road about a half mile in so I headed back out without finding anything noteworthy.  I tried again without any luck to find the Redhead and perhaps get some photos.  I did however find two neck tagged Canada Geese that were banded in Greenland (details on those to follow when I hear back from the researchers up there).  There were quite a few Canada Geese dropping into the East Meadows out of view and I didn't feel like driving over and making the long walk down to see them so I instead headed to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and turned up my first Eastern Meadowlark of the year in the county plus some Northern Harriers.  Yesterday I did spend some time in the East Meadows just as the cold front arrived and kicked up the winds, cleared out the fog and dropped the temps.  Although the numbers and variety were down a bit from the previous days there were still tons of waterfowl to look through and watch flying overhead.

Record setting pace for first week of March with 87 species

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Greater White fronted Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 7, 2025

Fox Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 7, 2025

I typically do not do so many posts here within a few days anymore but I want to make just one more quick post as the first week of March has now come to an end.  Despite very windy conditions today I added several new species for the month plus two more for the year in the Hampshire County (new year species being American Woodcock and Gadwall).  This was best start to March ever here with 87 species so far (breaking my previous first week of March back in 2022 when I had 77 species).  I also stand at 118 species for the year so far in the county which is my highest YTD total for the end of the first week of March.  A lot of the good numbers are thanks to a great showing of waterfowl this month with a number of rarities around plus a few early arriving species.  For today I started near home and then visited a number of spots along both sides of the river with continued large numbers of geese including a few unusual species (Greater White fronted Geese and Cackling Goose) as well as the Greenland banded Canada Goose.  The concentrations of geese continue to be impressive with several thousand Canada Geese in the area with other waterfowl showing also with a total of 20 species so far for the month.  The ice on the river is rapidly disappearing and open water is slowly starting to show in other areas.

More goose goodness with Greater White fronted Geese and the return of the pale Canada Goose for a fifth winter (plus other continued rare, unusual and banded geese)

Greater White fronted Geese, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Snow Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Pale Canada Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

Rough legged Hawk, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 6, 2025

After another way too busy shift at work I got out this morning and headed out mainly in search of geese and other waterfowl (and whatever else I could find for newly arriving birds).  It was still relatively warm for the time of year with light winds but the heavy rain overnight and snow melt made a muddy mess of any dirt road.  There was a bit of thick fog in places to start the morning which made viewing tough at times.  I hit a few fields and other areas in Hadley and South Hadley as I worked my way toward the Holyoke Dam.  Most areas were fairly quiet although I did have at least two very early Tree Swallows below the Holyoke Dam popping in and out of the fog.  I also tried for Yellow rumped Warblers in a few locations along the river and came up empty.  As I came back north on the west side of the river the fog lifted so I decided to try the very muddy East Meadows for geese and was rewarded with several thousand birds scattered throughout the fields.  I immediately noticed a decent sized group of Snow Geese among the hordes of Canada Geese.  I then spent the next half hour slowly scanning through the geese in search of unusual species and odd individuals and had success on both endeavors.  I found the continued Pink Goose sitting contently at the south end of the meadows as well as the continued pale bodied Canada Goose plus the very uniquely plumaged overall pale Canada Goose that has now shown for a fifth straight winter (I would love to know where this bird stays during the warmer months).  I made a post about this really neat looking individual in the fall of 2023.  Beyond the geese there were other notables around including 16 Killdeer, two Rough legged Hawks, 280+ Horned Larks, at least two American Pipits and a Lapland Longspur.  Around 10:30 the Snow Geese suddenly lifted off followed quickly by all the other geese with large groups heading in various directions.  I figured I would stop by the Coolidge Bridge as it looked like some of the geese headed in that direction.  I arrived to find hundreds of geese present with more and more arriving over time including my first of the year Greater White fronted Geese as well the individual banded in Greenland.

Canada Goose with neck band, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 5, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 5, 2025

On my way to work yesterday I stopped off for a bit at the Coolidge Bridge and found 1200+ Canada Geese including the banded bird from Greenland plus the pale bodied bird.  I also had a few other birds that had some characteristics of a Cackling Goose but not enough to make me think a pure Cackling Goose.

For those with an interest in the great show of geese check out the post from a a couple days ago that has more unusual geese photos and additional info on the neck banded bird.  March is off to a great start for me in Hampshire County with 81 species so far with waterfowl figuring prominently (a big change from last year which featured a horrible waterfowl migration overall).  In fact I'm at my highest point for the first week of March ever in the county with one day left (although with high winds tomorrow out of the north I doubt I will find too much new stuff but one never knows!).

Influx of geese including Pink footed Goose, Cackling Goose, Snow Geese and a uniquely plumaged Canada Goose plus a neck tagged goose from Greenland

Pink footed Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2025

Pink footed Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2025

With the arrival of March comes the first real pulse of migrant waterfowl and the first few days have been great with geese of various species figuring prominently (plus the continued Trumpeter Swan).  I heard of a Pink footed Goose at the Coolidge Bridge on Sunday afternoon but I didn't try for it until Monday on my way to work.  Thankfully it was still there and actually showing quite well despite the bitter cold temps.  It was one of only a handful of active geese with the rest tucked in most of the time.  I also had a Cackling Goose in among the Canada Geese that popped its head up briefly thanks to a pair of very vocal Peregrine Falcons in the area.  I then continued on to work and had another extremely busy day (I really cannot wait for retirement!).  Very cool how Pink footed Goose has become more common since I found the first county record back in March 2014.

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Cackling Goose, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Pink footed Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Cackling Goose, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

Canada Goose with pale body, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 4, 2025

After work on Tuesday I headed out to try to find some more unusual geese with my main target being a pair of Greater White fronted Geese seen at Mount Holyoke College the day before.  I got a text from Mary that she tried for them at the location earlier and they were not present so I decided to stop at the open water below the Coolidge Bridge once again.  There were several hundred Canada Geese in the water and much more active then the previous morning.  A scan through the flock turned up a single Cackling Goose as well as a uniquely plumaged Canada Geese that had a pale body with a typical looking head and neck...cool looking bird.  I then decided to head south with the intention of trying to find the Greater White fronted Geese (spoiler alert...I never found them).  I stopped off at Mitch's Way with the intention of possibly walking the road (depending on the ice conditions on the road).  As I pulled in I saw hundreds of geese in flight so immediately started scanning the birds moving upriver and had a group of nine Snow Geese (with one blue morph) plus a couple other Snow Geese in among the Canada Geese with one looking smaller (possibly a Ross's Goose).  I lost track of the small goose but was able to watch the group of nine with views through the scope and binoculars.  They never settled down and continued off to the north.  I then decided to head back north to check the hordes of geese.  I decided to check East Hadley Road and found hundreds of geese with more arriving over the course of the hour I remained on site.  Lots of scanning turned up a (the) Pink footed Goose, the pale bodied Canada Goose and a Cackling Goose among 1200+ Canada Geese.  I also had one neck banded Canada Goose with a yellow band with black writing with the code "G6Y".  I was fairly certain it was a bird from Greenland and a quick email to a researcher up there proved I was right.  The bird was banded in Isunngua, West Greenland in July 2023 and was last reported in late November in Nova Scotia (more info on the bird listed at end of post).  There were loads of Red winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown headed Cowbirds and European Starlings as well as a very early Wilson's Snipe that was scared up by some arriving Canada Geese.  Although I missed on finding any Greater White fronted Geese I was happy to have a four goose species morning.  Spring is certainly starting to show itself, finally.

G6Y (banded Isunngua, West Greenland, July 2023)

27.09.2023 1696 Chemin Saint-Ignace, Saint-Ignace, New Brunswick, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W 

01.11.2023 Forbes Lake, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W 

11.11.2023 Forbes Lake, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°29’49”N 62°38’18”W  

12.12.2023 Avalon Nature Preserve Lake, Stony Brook, New York, USA 40°54’49”N 73°08’46W

28.11.2024 Shaw Pond, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada 45°04’56”N 63°24’34”W 

04.03.2025 Hadley, Massachusetts, USA 

Update on the neck tagged Canada Geese and an early Pine Warbler among other stuff this morning

Canada Goose with neck tag, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Canada Goose with neck tag, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Canada Geese with neck tags, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Now for an update on the neck tagged Canada Geese I found last week in Hadley.  I got an e-mail from Tony Fox who has been tagging Canada Geese up in Greenland for years now. He sent lots of detailed on the tagged geese I found as well as additional info.  The tags were yellow with black writing with the codes "GT6" and "GU5".  I have found similarly tagged in the past and the codes beginning with "G" have all been tagged in Greenland (Greenland tagged Canada Geese -April 2015, Greenland tagged Canada Geese -March 2013).  Below is the information of the two geese including when and where they were caught and all the resightings so far.

GT6 caught Isunngua, West Greenland, July 2014

GT6 04.04.2015 Magenta, Farnham, Quebec, Canada, RESIGHT BHA
GT6 26.11.2015 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT DR
GT6 07.01.2016 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT MG
GT6 20.03.2016 Bassin de Chambly, Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal, Canada, RESIGHT RBE
GT6 26.02.2017 Congamonde Lakes, Southwick, Hampden, Mass., USA, RESIGHT DOH
GT6 14.11.2017 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA RESIGHT DR
GT6 03.03.2018 Russellville, North Amherst, Hampshire,Mass., USA RESIGHT LT

GU5 caught Isunngua, West Greenland, July 2014

GU5 29.11.2014 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT DLM
GU5 05.01.2015 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT DLM
GU5 26.11.2015 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT DR
GU5 07.01.2016 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT MG
GU5 19.01.2016 Elda Lake, North Babylon, New York USA, RESIGHT CC
GU5 03.04.2016 Le Croche-à-Bourret, Quebec, Canada, RESIGHT PR
GU5 14.11.2017 Millers Pond, Smithtown, New York USA, RESIGHT DR
GU5 03.03.2018 Russellville, North Amherst, Hampshire, Mass., USA, RESIGHT L

It is interesting to see the distances the two birds have covered and the fact that they were seen together on multiple occasions.  Thanks to Tony Fox for the detailed information.

Canada Goose with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

Canada Geese with neck band, East Hadley Rd, Hadley, MA, Feb 23, 2018

I also got the information back on two of the three neck tagged geese I found in Hadley on February 23 (I was not able to read the third tag so didn't have enough info to send in).  The two birds I did hear about where both banded in Quebec.  The bird with the tag "Y2U7" was banded 7/3/2013 at Boucherville, Quebec and it was an adult when banded.  The second individual with the tag "X9E3" was banded 7/4/2017 near Varennes, Quebec and was also an adult when banded.  I had found another bird banded up in Quebec four years ago...more on that sighting here

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2018

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Mar 10, 2018

Ruby crowned Kiglet, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2018

Red tailed Hawk, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Mar 10, 2018

Black Vultures, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Mar 10, 2018

I decided to make the trip over to Arcadia first thing this morning mainly searching for waterfowl but I found very few in the marsh (just a couple Mallards and a Hooded Merganser).  The Oxbow had a few more birds as did the nearby Fort River but overall numbers for waterfowl were quite low.  I did however turn up an Eastern Screech Owl, at least two Yellow rumped Warblers and two Fox Sparrows.  Since I was in the area I stopped over to the Lower Mill Pond in Easthampton where I had two Black Vultures atop the smokestack they have been frequenting for a few weeks.  I then headed back across the river and heading north up through Hadley and Amherst checking fields for geese but the only geese I found were on the campus pond at UMASS and even that spot only had a few hundred.  As it appeared waterfowl were just not around in any numbers I decided to head down to Mitch's Way to see if I could find anything of interest.  The walk there turned up a Yellow bellied Sapsucker as well as a Ruby crowned Kinglet (I suspect these are both overwintering birds and not early migrants as both species have been in the area on and off for the last several weeks).  As I was walking out I got a text from Devin letting me know the Pine Warbler I had searched for in vain the last few days had once again returned to their yard.  I then headed over to their house and finally got the bird as soon as I showed up as it fed on one of the suet feeders...my earliest record for the species in the county.  Thanks to the Griffith's for letting me stop by on multiple occasions to try for the bird the last few days.  If one is so interested I have a much more detailed post regarding the warbler at the following link:  Early Pine Warbler

Cackling Goose, a hybrid goose and more neck tagged Canada Geese plus other stuff

Greater White fronted Goose x Canada Goose hybrid and Cackling Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Greater White fronted Goose x Canada Goose hybrid, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Cackling Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Canada Goose with neck tag, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Canada Goose with neck tag, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Canada Geese with neck tags, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

After the heavy rain and wind yesterday I wanted to get out and see what I could find this morning.  The most productive stop of the morning was up to the fields in North Hadley/North Amherst where I found a Cackling Goose hanging around with a Greater White fronted Goose x Canada Goose hybrid (the two birds were found together at the UMASS Pond a few days ago by Keenan).  The two birds were inseparable and were never more than a few feet away from each other.  I also found two neck tagged Canada Geese among the 1500+ geese.  The tags were yellow with black writing with the codes "GT6" and "GU5".  I have found similarly tagged in the past and the codes beginning with "G" have all been tagged in Greenland (Greenland tagged Canada Geese -April 2015, Greenland tagged Canada Geese -March 2013).  I have reported the birds to the banding lab and will update when I hear back on the details of the birds.  A Peregrine buzzed the large flock and sent them all up in the air for a bit but a good percentage settled back on the fields.

White crowned Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2018

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 3, 2018

I started the morning off at Arcadia mainly looking to see if any waterfowl were around after yesterdays nor'easter but it was oddly very quiet with little in the way of waterfowl.  I did manage to turn up at least five Yellow rumped Warblers in the same area they have been for weeks. I then made a brief stop in the East Meadows but it was too muddy to go in very far so I headed over to the Honey Pot where I found two of the continuing White crowned Sparrows among a few other sparrows.  I also made a few stops around Quabbin but it was very windy at Winsor Dam so no luck in finding anything unusual there either.