Lark Sparrow at the Honey Pot plus lots of other birds around the valley

Lark Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Lark Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Lark Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Lark Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

White throated Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

After spending the early morning birding (more about that below) I was at home when I got a call from Scott S. telling me he had spotted a Lark Sparrow in the Honey Pot in Hadley.  As this would be a great bird to catch up with I headed right over, arriving around 10:30.  Scott was still there when I arrived but the bird had flown away and was not being seen at the moment.  After a bit of scanning around we were still having no luck finding the bird so I decided to walk one of the hedgerows trying to find it.  I spent about a half hour looking without success.  I then headed back to my car with the intention of checking a few other spots before I headed for home.  Thankfully the bird was waiting for me when I returned to my car as it happily fed near, and at times, under my car.  It was a very cooperative bird that fed right along the edge of the busy Cemetery Road.  I enjoyed close up looks of this species of the west.  Not only did this bird add a new species to my Hampshire County list for this year it was a new county bird (#283) overall as well as a new state bird (#315).  I have seen the species out west at numerous times but never out east.  The Lark Sparrow became species #236 for Hampshire County this year, matching my previous best year.  What (if any) species will be #237 and break my old record?  Who knows?  Besides the Lark Sparrow highlights at the Honey Pot included a Merlin, 85+ Horned Larks, a dozen Snow Buntings, a Savannah Sparrow, 11 White thoated Sparrows and an immature White crowned Sparrow.

Savannah Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Canada Geese and Mallards, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Nov 28, 2014

After my time at the Honey Pot I made a swing through Aqua Vitae Road and then over to Hadley Cove.  Aqua Vitae Road had a dozen Horned Larks, three Snow Buntings and 13 Savannah Sparrows.  Hadley Cove had some decent waterfowl numbers but nothing unusual.  My totals there included 428 Canada Geese, 8 Black Ducks, 118 Mallards and a few MallardxBlack Duck hybrids.

Pine Siskins, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Hooded Merganser, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 28, 2014

Before heading over to Hadley to go after the Lark Sparrow I spent a few hours this morning around the south Quabbin area with stops at Winsor Dam and Beaver Lake.  Quabbin Park itself remains closed as the roads have still not been plowed as of this morning.  Winsor Dam featured some waterfowl over the course of the morning including 140 Canada Geese (90+ on the water way out in the distance), 28 Black Ducks, 169 Mallards, a Hooded Merganser and a few Common Loons. Other species of interest included half a dozen Snow Buntings and around 50 Pine Siskins.  Beaver Lake held four Mallards, a female Bufflehead, 83 Hooded Mergansers and a lucky 13 Common Mergansers.

Morning in Hadley

Northern Pintail, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Nov 17, 2013

Northern Pintail, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Nov 17, 2013

Mallards and Black Ducks, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Nov 17, 2013

I got together with Ian for what will likely be one of our last morning birding outings before he end his time at UMASS. We had hopes of finding something super unusual but it was not to be today! Luckily for our early morning plans the forecasted rains showed up several hours early...nothing like being outside on a cool, rainy day in November! We spent most of our time at the Honeypot and turned up some decent birds including at least three White crowned Sparrows (at least two singing), 11(!) Fox Sparrows (also singing), a couple Savannah Sparrows as well as numbers of American Tree, Song and White throated Sparrows plus juncos. We also had at least one Northern Harrier, a flock of 30 Horned Larks, flyover Snow Bunting(s), and 11 Green winged Teal floating down the middle of the Connecticut River. With the rain getting worse we headed out and made a brief stop at Hadley Cove which produced a Northern Pintail, 120 Mallards and 9 Black Ducks and a few Canada Geese. A final stop at the UMASS campus pond produced the usual Mallards and a few Black Ducks plus a couple Swamp Sparrows.

Wilson after his day at the hospital

Wilson after his day at the hospital

A little issue with Wilson curtailed any other birding activity today as we had to bring him to the emergency vet hospital after he vomited up blood and was a bit pale and not acting his normal self.  After several tests and a good portion of the day there he was doing well enough to come home.  We still don't know exactly what the issue is but several major issues have been ruled out and he are thinking it is some gastrointestinal issue or gallbladder problem.  Hopefully it all turns out well for my little buddy.

No luck finding the King Eider this morning...but did find a Snow Goose at Hadley Cove

Snow Goose, Hadley Cove, Nov 12, 2013

Snow Goose, Hadley Cove, Nov 12, 2013

Mallards and Canada Geese, Hadley Cove, Nov 12, 2013

Despite the windy and snowy conditions I headed over to Winsor Dam at first light in an attempt to relocate the King Eider seen there throughout yesterday.  The viewing conditions were horrible so I was unable to see very far at all so I could not tell if the bird left or was still hanging around.  Without having any luck at the dam I headed toward work making a brief stop at Hadley Cove to check for waterfowl.  Among the 100+ Mallards, several Black Ducks and a handful of Canada Geese I found a Snow Goose….the first one of this species I have found this fall.  I have not heard any positive reports (or negative) of sightings from today of the King Eider.  Given the fact that the anti gull patrol is back on for the week the bird has almost certainly moved on to other locales.  It was great while it was here and a bird I will never forget!

 

Trying to find new birds to add to my Hampshire County list for the year becomes more and more difficult as fall turns to early winter and I have picked up most of the expected species already. I still have a few possibilities but the chances of finding them is quite low. Here is a list of species I have seen in previous years in the county but have not yet found this year and still have a chance of seeing (I have excluded species that have gone to warmer climes by now). As you can see from the list below my best chance of adding to my current total of 234 would be a species of waterfowl or gull. I really have no idea if new species will show up but given the appearance of a King Eider yesterday I guess anything is possible!

Waterfowl: Tundra Swan, Trumpeter Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Great Cormorant

Marsh birds: Common Gallinule, American Coot

Shorebirds: Hudsonian Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Baird’s Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, Red Phalarope

Gulls and Terns: Black legged Kittiwake, Lesser Black backed Gull, Glaucous Gull, Caspian Tern, Black Tern, Parasitic Jaegar

Owls: Long eared Owl

Hummingbirds: Rufous Hummingbird, Allen’s Hummingbird

Flycatchers: Western Kingbird

Wrens: Sedge Wren

Thrushes: Varied Thrush

Irruptives: Bohemian Waxwing, Boreal Chickadee

Sparrows: Nelson’s Sparrow

Blackbirds:Yellow headed Blackbird

Other vagrant species are also possible and anything is possible as the year comes to an end...if anyone sees any of the above species (or any really odd bird) let me know.

April begins

Greater White fronted Goose, Tri Town Beach, Deerfield, MA, Apr 13, 2013

With all the south winds last night into today I decided to hit a variety of areas to see what new stuff arrived.  The notable species for arrivals in large numbers included Eastern Phoebe and Song Sparrow.  Most every location I stopped today had calling Eastern Phoebes and Song Sparrows (with large groups in a few locations).  I added three new species to the year list for the county-Fox Sparrow, Double crested Cormorant and Osprey.  A very nice day to be outside with some sun and temperatures that briefly made it up to around 60 before an afternoon cold front cooled it down again.

Wood Ducks and Canada Goose, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2013

I started before dawn at Lake Wallace and had 26 Wood Ducks, ten Hooded Mergansers and a Great Blue Heron.  I hoped to get some teal here at first light but no luck.

Common Goldeneye with extensive yellow bill, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Common Goldeneye with extensive yellow bill, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Common Goldeneye with extensive yellow bill, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Common Goldeneye with extensive yellow bill (R), Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Common Goldeneye, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Rusty Blackbird, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

Ring necked Ducks, Quabbin Park, Apr 1, 2013

I then headed over to Winsor Dam and then through Quabbin Park.  Waterfowl included two Common Goldeneye (one of which had a fairly extensive amount of yellow on bill but otherwise appeared like a normal female COGO), 7 Wood Duck, 42 Ring necked Duck (23 at Hanks Meadow), 4 Hooded Merganser, 12 Common Merganser, 7 Black Duck, 8 Mallard and 7 Canada Geese.  Non waterfowl highlights included a singing Fox Sparrow (#110) at Hanks Meadow, three Tree Swallows and a male Rusty Blackbird calling and seen briefly before it took off to points unknown.

I then headed west with stops at Hadley Cove, the Oxbow, Arcadia and then Great Pond in Hampshire County before crossing over to Franklin County and stopping at Tri Town Beach in Deerfield. 

Northern Pintail, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Apr 1, 2013

Hadley Cove held a nice selection of waterfowl including three Northern Pintails, 8 Wood Ducks, half a dozen Green winged Teal, 14 Black Ducks (one of which had an aluminum leg band), 128 Mallards and a few Canada Geese

The Oxbow and Arcadia were fairly quiet with the following seen: 16 Ring necked Ducks, 17 Hooded Mergansers, 11 Common Mergansers (way down from the last several days were 100-/+ were present), eight Wood Ducks and four Tree Swallows

Great Pond was not as active as yesterday but still produced some decent birds including three American Wigeon, 14 Wood Duck, 8 Green winged Teal, half a dozen Black Ducks, three Tree Swallows, at least nine American Tree Sparrows and a few Swamp Sparrows.

Greater White fronted Goose, Tri Town Beach, Deerfield, MA, Apr 13, 2013

 

Greater White fronted Goose, Tri Town Beach, Deerfield, MA, Apr 13, 2013



Cackling Goose, Tri Town Beach, Deerfield, MA, Apr 13, 2013

After seeing a report yesterday evening that a few tagged geese from Greenland (including 'GJA" that I found at Hadley Cove earlier) were present at the pond at Tri Town Beach last evening I decided to try my luck.  When I arrived there I had 600+ geese and after scanning through the flock I picked out a juvenile Greater White fronted Goose and a Cackling Goose.  I did not find any neck tagged geese but was very happy with what I did find.  I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam on my way home and added three Bufflehead close into shore.

Painted Turtle, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2013

I picked up Wilson and we headed to the Jabish Canal to take a walk and hopefully see some birds moving on the strong southerly winds.  I added Double crested Cormorant (#111) and Osprey (#112) as they flew northeast as well as other species including Tree Swallows, Northern Harrier, Red tailed Hawks and a few flocks of Common Mergansers.  Also had a calling Red shouldered Hawk come by low a few times and a pair of Cooper's Hawks in flight display.  Also had at least three Mourning Cloak butterflies and my first Painted Turtle of the season.

Brief check for waterfowl



Northern Pintail, Black Duck, Green winged Teal and Mallard, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 29, 2013

I made another brief stop at Hadley Cove this morning and had a small selection of waterfowl present.  There were no Canada Geese present at all but I did have four Northern Pintails (males), seven Green winged Teal, five Wood Ducks, six Common Mergansers, seven Black Ducks and 16 Mallards.  The weather continues to warm a bit with temperatures once again getting to the 50’s today.  The weekend should finally bring in some good numbers of early migrants as the temperatures continue to rise with the winds turning to the south.  I’m sure several new species for the year will arrive over the next few days.

Neck tagged Canada Goose from Greenland!

Tagged Canada Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Tagged Canada Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

As mentioned in an earlier post from March 23 I found a neck tagged Canada Goose at Hadley Cove:(http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2013/03/greater-white-fronted-goose-or-geese.html
 I have just gotten back some detailed information about this individual from researchers in Denmark.  The bird (a male) was originally tagged in west Greenland on July 17, 2008!  Very cool.  It has been seen a few other times over the last several years (list included at bottom of post).  With all the recent Greater White fronted Geese around I guess it is not completely unexpected that a Canada Goose joined them in their trip down from Greenland.  It is very interesting to me to track the journeys that certain individual birds take over the course of their lifetimes.  I have seen (and reported) several tagged geese over the years but this one is the farthest travelling individual I have yet found.  This is the first time I have gotten back a personal e-mail (with quite a bit of detail) from a researcher on a tagged bird I have found.  I have included the e-mail below:

Thank you very sincerely for your reports of the Canada Geese marked with the yellow collar GJA From just south of Hatfield, Hampshire County, Mass.on 23 March 2013 for which we are extremely grateful! I am very happy to tell you that this Canada Geese was marked by our banding team in Greenland and that we are extremely excited about the news! GJA was caught as part of a project to mark Greenland White-fronted and Canada Geese in west Greenland in the summer of 2008 and was recaptured nearby on another lake in summer 2009!
GJA was caught and banded on a lake simply known as Lake T to the banding team (very few lakes in this area have Greenlandic names) which is at 67°07'58"N 50°34'02"W in an area known as Isunngua, immediately north of the airport at Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. This has been a study area for our investigations on and off over many years. It was an adult male when caught, part of a flock of 42 non-breeding adults trapped on 17th July 2008. It was retrapped the following year on Lake U (67°08'04"N 50°34'26"W) on 18th July 2009.

I have taken the liberty of attaching two files below for your information - one containing the listing with your observation along with others from this year so far and a pdf file containing a short paper describing our earlier findings (this file need Adobe Reader to open - let me know if you cannot open this). If you would like a little more information about the project last summer, you can find this at:http://greenland10.wikispaces.com/ with an update from this year via the link on the bottom of the list in the Word document.You may also be interested to read of other sightings of these geese from North Maine (including photographs) athttp://northernmainebirds.blogspot.com/

Needless to say, if you hear of any other reports of ringed or collared Canada Geese (especially those beginning with G since these are ours) please do not hesitate to report them to us here - needless to state, we would be extremely interested to know whether any other collars turn up in this area.
Do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like further information!

All very best wishes and enormous thanks again for taking the trouble to report these birds!
T

Tony Fox
Research Professor

Department of Wildlife Ecology and Biodiversity
National Environmental Research Institute
University of Aarhus
Kalø
Grenåvej 14
DK-8410 Rønde
Denmark

Below I have also included the various sightings of this particular goose since it was initially captured back in 2009.  Interesting in that the bird travelled quite a bit further south this winter.  Keep your eyes out over the next few weeks for neck tagged geese (especially tags that start with "G"). 

GJA caught Isunngua, west Greenland, July 2008

 

GJA         18.07.2009              Lake U, Isunngua, West Greenland                                                          RESIGHT                                GWGS

GJA         12.04.2010              Beaudet Reservoir, Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada 46°04’N 71°58’W      RESIGHT                                CR

GJA         21.04.2010              Beaudet Reservoir, Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada 46°04’N 71°58’W      RESIGHT                                CR

GJA         21.05.2010              Near Lake P, Isunngua, West Greenland                                                  RESIGHT                                HTH

GJA         19.03.2012              Bassin de Chambly, Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, near Montreal,

Canada, 45°27'40.1”N 73°16'23.6” W                                     RESIGHT                                RBE

GJA         31.07.2012              Lakes Q and R, Isunngua, West Greenland                                                              RESIGHT                                HTH

GJA         23.03.2013              Hadley Cove, Hatfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA

42°19’49.95”N 72°35’17.92”W                                                              RESIGHT                                LT

Thanks to the researchers for providing all this detailed information on this bird I have included in this post.

Gadwall and Greater White fronted Goose (and others) in the valley

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 25, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 25, 2013

I birded this morning with Ian visiting a variety of areas in Amherst, Hadley, Northampton and Easthampton.  I was running a little early to pick up Ian so I briefly stopped at Orchard Hill at UMASS and had at least eight American Woodcocks calling and displaying.  Our first stop for the morning was Hadley Cove which held quite a few less waterfowl then the previous several mornings but what it lacked it quantity it made up for in quality.  We had a likely Cackling Goose from the car but then could not relocate it (not counted as it was not confirmed).  The Greater White fronted Goose was showing quite well and allowed great looks as it swam among the 120 Canada Geese present.  Other waterfowl included a Northern Pintail, a Ring necked Duck, a Green winged Teal, 15 Wood Ducks, 14 Black Ducks, ten Common Mergansers and 45+ Mallards.  We also had three Great Blue Herons come in and land in the trees near the cove.

Gadwall, Mill River, Northampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

Gadwall, Mill River, Northampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

Gadwall, Mill River, Northampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

We then headed across the river with our first stop being the Mill River where we had a male Gadwall which became species #106 for my county year.  Gadwall can be quite tough to find inland so I was happy to run across this individual.  Other waterfowl here included nearly 100 Mallards, 25 Black Ducks and a couple Wood Ducks plus Canada Geese.

American Wigeon, River St, Easthampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

American Wigeon, River St, Easthampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

American Wigeon, River St, Easthampton, MA, Mar 25, 2013

The various areas of the Oxbow had a nice show of Common Mergansers with at least 218 present.  The oxbow also held 25 Hooded Mergansers,   Also present were four Ring necked Ducks, a couple each of Black Duck and Wood Duck, around 70 Canada Geese and a few Mallards.  A couple Bald Eagles kept watch over all the waterfowl present.  We took a ride down River Street in Easthampton to try to get a better view of the oxbow but the real treat here was a male American Wigeon in a small puddle in one the fields.  At nearby Arcadia we had small numbers of the expected species of waterfowl but nothing too noteworthy.  As we walked back to the car we had a Barred Owl fly over head and perch in a tree.

We headed back across the river with stops at North Lane, Lake Warner, Meadow Street fields, Mill Valley Road and finishing up at the UMASS pond.  North Lane and Lake Warner were very quiet with the only waterfowl being geese heading north.  The Meadow Street fields held some geese as well as at least 9 Killdeer.  The area looks great for shorebirds as the season moves on.  Mill Valley again held a nice selection of geese with at least 1090 Canada Geese but nothing unusual that we could pick out.  The area also had 24 Mallards, a few Killdeer and at least 19 Horned Larks working the eastern fields.  The campus pond held only a small number of Mallards and Canada Geese.

I then headed for home but made a quick stop at Winsor Dam in hopes of finding something good but only had a couple Common Mergansers.  The winds continued to pick up and waves started to build a bit.  The rest of the morning and midday I spent walking with Wilson along Jabish Canal and Piper Farm.  Jabish Canal turned up another Winter Wren as well as a Red shouldered Hawk, a few Red tailed Hawks, a few Turkey Vultures and a Cooper's Hawk. 

I heard late in the afternoon that the Greater White fronted Goose was refound at the campus pond.  It will be interesting to see how long the bird sticks around before heading back to breed in Greenland.

Greater White fronted Goose (or geese) continues

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

 

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Black Ducks (and others), Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Canada Goose with neck tag (Yellow GJA), Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

In what is probably sounding like a broken record I spent the morning visiting various locations trying to catch up with waterfowl and whatever else might be out there.  I started out once again predawn at Hadley Cove and yet again found the cove packed with birds.  I found a (the) Greater White fronted Goose fairly quickly and got a few photos.  In among the 1900+ Canada Geese I found a neck tagged individual.  The tag was yellow with the letters "GJA".  I have reported the tag and I will update on the background of this individual when I hear back.  Besides the geese I found 38 Wood Ducks, at least 42 Black Ducks, 49 Mallards, 16 Ring necked Ducks, three Green winged Teal, nine Common Mergansers and ten hybrid Mallards/Black Ducks.  I also had a Killdeer and a kingfisher.

Old Mill River, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A brief stop at the old mill river in Northampton produced a pair of American Wigeon, half a dozen Wood Ducks, 22 Black Ducks, 41 Mallards, 32 Canada Geese and five hybrid Mallards/Black Ducks. 

Ring necked Ducks, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Wood Duck,  Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A swing over to the oxbow and Arcadia produced more waterfowl including 12 Wood Ducks, 77 Common Mergansers, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, three Ring necked Ducks, eight Black Ducks, 18 Mallards and 58 Canada Geese.  At least two Killdeer were working the muddy shore and were joined by a Great Blue Heron.

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 23, 2013

A short ride through the East Meadows produced around 150 Canada Geese and a few Mallards plus 36 Horned Larks and at least 16 Savannah Sparrows near the airport.  The roads in the meadow were rutted up quite a bit and once the temperature went up a bit were sure to turn into a muddy mess so I headed out before checking all the potentially productive areas.  As I headed back across the bridge I had a Peregrine Falcon make a few passes at the pigeons there without success.

Greater White fronted Goose (head visible above the corn), Mill Valley Rd/S. Maple St, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

Greater White fronted Goose (head visible above the corn), Mill Valley Rd/S. Maple St, Hadley, MA, Mar 23, 2013

I next stopped at the fields along Mill Valley Road where I had a large group of geese yesterday and yet again the fields contained geese.  I turned up a Greater White fronted Goose just poking its head up above the corn.  Likely the same individual I had earlier at Hadley Cove but who knows for sure.  I went through the flocks a few times but could not find anything else unusual.  I did get a careful count of Canada Geese which totalled 1282.  I also had a flock of 82 Horned Larks flying around the fields.