A quick update on the duck boxes at the house. I went down along the brook today to check for Olive sided Flycatcher (and found one) and during my walk down the Hooded Merganser in duck box #2 flushed off the nest so I took the opportunity to check the box and found it still full of unhatched eggs. I then walked over to duck box #1 and yet again found no eggs (it has been a struggle to keep wasps out of the box this year and at this point it is certainly too late for a duck to use for breeding this year). I then went over to duck box #3 which I have not checked in weeks after finding a Hooded Merganser sitting on eggs a few weeks ago. When I opened the box I found it full of freshly hatched nestlings. They will likely leave the nest box tomorrow and with any luck the camera mounted at the base of the nest will capture the little ones leaving the nest. Oddly duck box #2 was the first one with an egg this year but the single egg seemed to be unviable with a crack in the shell and at some point the egg was removed from the box and a new set of eggs laid. No idea how the egg was removed as it is not something I have ever had happen before and certainly was not easy to accomplish.
The never ending winter continues to drag on with mainly average to below average temps with even a few short bouts of snow moving through. Thankfully the vast majority of the snow is gone and the water bodies are rapidly losing their ice (even the long frozen Quabbin). Although the huge flocks of geese have moved further north additional species of waterfowl continue to arrive and the last week and a half has produced multiple new species for me for the year in the county including Northern Shoveler, Pied billed Grebe, Red necked Grebe and Ruddy Duck. Other notables have included a group of three Sandhill Cranes flying north mid month, the continued female Redhead, first Virginia Rail and Tree Swallows plus some continued irruptives (Evening Grosbeak and Red Crossbills). The remainder of March will bring more of the same weather with the exception of tomorrow when it will get into the 60's thanks to strong southerly winds. Mid month also marked Wilson's 15th birthday.
The last three days (especially the last two) have featured well above normal temps with highs in the low 60's today and in the low 70's yesterday which has resulted in lots of snow melt (except in the yard!) and has induced a number of species to move in with waterfowl leading the way. I stayed in the Ware/Belchertown area on Monday and added a couple new species for the year with Rusty Blackbird and American Woodcock. I also got photos of a surviving banded Black capped Chickadee that was banded as an adult in the summer of 2021...a very hardy chickadee when the average life span is 2-3 years! With the major warm up on Tuesday I started my morning at the Holyoke Dam and had ten species of waterfowl including my first Green winged Teal, Red breasted Merganser and Great Black backed Gull for the year in the county. I briefly stopped along the river at Mitch's Way and could hear what sounded like many geese in the East Meadows so I headed there and had to walk in on the muddy and icy farm roads to get a look at the geese enjoying the newly uncovered cornfields. I had a few thousand Canada Geese as well as single Snow Goose plus my first Wilson's Snipe and American Pipits (the Wilson's Snipe became species #100 for the year in the county). With continued warm temps thanks to southerly winds I headed back to the East Meadows before dawn today and once again walked in and could hear geese as I walked as well as a number of Killdeer and at least one Wilson's Snipe and an American Woodcock. I got down past the four corners area and as it became light enough to see I started scanning the fields and turned up tons of Canada Geese, multiple species of ducks and a single Snow Goose. More and more geese began to arrive from every direction and the numbers quickly climbed into the thousands with many stopping the the fields (many dropping out of views in the various flooded swales). I estimated at least 13,700 Canada Geese and I know this is an undercount. I scanned through the flocks over and over, both on the ground and as groups dropped in and I eventually found at least two Cackling Geese (one very pale individual), a single Greater White fronted Goose and two Snow Geese. I tried to find some neck tagged Canada Geese without having any luck. I also had a very early Lesser Yellowlegs fly in and stop for a bit in one of the pools...easily my earliest record for the species and the earliest record ever for western mass (at least in eBird). A four shorebird species day here on March 11th is noteworthy for sure! Other notables included at least 650 Horned Larks, more American Pipits, at least none Fish Crows and a swan that was almost certainly either a Tundra or Trumpeter Swan. As I reached my car to head out just before ten I heard a roaring noise that turned out to be all the geese taking flight...an amazing sight and sound. I also added an Eastern Phoebe at the house in the afternoon. By the end of the day I had reached 105 species for the year in the county.
During the week I was back here in this Arctic hell I did manage to track down a number of new species in the county for the year including a few unusual ones with a Pine Warbler probably being the most unusual. The extreme cold let up a bit with more average temps overall. The snow pack is still well over a foot and half on average and most bodies of water remain frozen solid (including Quabbin). The few patches of open water have featured some unusual waterfowl (discussed more in depth here). I managed to track down twenty two new species for the year in the county while I was back and my total now stands at 88. I'm now off to Texas and then Arizona to soak in some more warmth and find more birds. Hopefully some of the snow and ice will be gone by the time I get back home.
