The middle of month continues to set a record pace for March

Snow Geese, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Canada Goose x ? hybrid, Hadley Cove, Hadley, MA, Mar 15, 2025

Wilson on his 14th birthday, Mar 15, 2025

After a badly needed night of sleep I headed out before sunrise with my first stop being to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River in Hadley to see if the three Northern Shovelers stuck around after being seen yesterday.  I had a number of woodcocks and owls before it got light enough to see much.  As it brightened up I noticed a single female shoveler with a few Mallards.  They all flew out rather early and after waiting a bit in the hopes they would return I came up empty.  I then headed over to Hadley Cove where I had a couple Snow Geese, several hundred Canada Geese and a hybrid goose that was either a Canada Goose x Greater White fronted Goose or Canada Goose x domestic goose (likely Graylag).  A neat looking bird whatever the parentage was.  There were eight other species of waterfowl present besides the geese.  I tried a few fields in Amherst and Hadley for geese without too much luck before returning to Fort River again to check again for the shovelers (I had not luck but others turned them back up later in the morning).  I then headed to Quabbin and Lake Wallace and had a few more species for the day.  A total of a lucky 13 species of waterfowl for the morning.  I then headed home to take Wilson for his 14th birthday walk...very happy he is still chugging along.  By the end of the day I reached 103 species for the month in Hampshire County, just four species behind my highest March total ever here (set back in 2021) with still half of the month left to go.

Wood Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 14, 2025

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 14, 2025

Ring necked Ducks, Hadley, MA, Mar 14, 2025

After getting out of yet another way too busy shift yesterday I headed out to try to catch up with a group of Redheads seen along the river the day before.  I was not surprised that I didn't relocate them but it was worth the effort as I had decent numbers and variety of waterfowl with 14 species including my first Blue winged Teal of the year here (a male flying north along the river with some Green winged Teal)...the Blue winged Teal became species #100 for the month for me in the county...my earliest date I have reached 100 species ever for March here.  I wish I had the energy to spend even more time looking for arriving early season migrants but I was too exhausted.

Kody, Dec 2008

The 13th marked a sad milestone as it has now been 15 years since we lost our good boy Kody.  He really was the best and I still miss him.

More scouting for the Northampton Christmas Bird Count

Barred Owl, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Snow Goose, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Snow Goose, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

White throated Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

White throated Sparrows, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Black Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Canada Goose with extensive white on neck, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Common Goldeneyes, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Eastern Coyote, Hatfield, MA, Dec 14, 2018

I spent a majority of the morning today continuing to scout for the upcoming Northampton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) that takes place this coming Sunday.  It was a pleasant morning checking the northern portion of the area (Great Pond and areas north along the river in Hatfield) assigned to our group.  I started off along the river before dawn where I had some small groups of waterfowl along the river but little in the way of land birds although I did have a day hunting Barred Owl on my way out of the area.  My next stop was over to Great Pond trying to catch back up with the Common Gallinule I found there about a week ago (no luck despite much effort).  I did have a nice selection of waterfowl including a Snow Goose in among the few hundred Canada Geese (one of which had extensive white on the neck), at least 122 Black Ducks (my highest count ever for a single location in the county), hundreds of Mallards, a Green winged Teal and a Northern Pintail.  I also had a few pockets of birds along the shore including dozens of White throated Sparrows. After a few hours in the area of the pond I headed back along the river where I picked up even more waterfowl including an impressive 79 Common Goldeneyes.  Overall for the morning I had 37 species within our CBC area.  Tough to say what will turn up on Sunday but hopefully some of the birds from this morning will stick around and if not some can become count week species for our area. The Snow Goose became species #90 for Hampshire County in December...a total I have not reached before and one I should be able to add to before the month comes to an end...I'm going to try for a hundred but it will be tough to get there.  Full eBird lists from the morning below:
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50654663
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50654667
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50655480
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50656163
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50656158

Snow Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 14, 2018

Canada Goose hybrid, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 14, 2018

I made a brief stop by UMASS where I found a Snow Goose and the hybrid Canada Goose among the hundreds of Canada Geese on the fields and in the campus pond.  I ran out of time to scan through the flock on the pond completely to see if the Cackling Goose was still there.

The end of January brings in some geese

Greater White fronted Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Greater White fronted Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Cackling Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Canada Goose with white on neck, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Canada Goose with white on neck, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Graylag x Swan Goose hybrid, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jan 31, 2017

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 31, 2017

After spending most of the last several days inside fighting a cold I finally got so stir crazy I had to get out a little this morning.  The weather turned cold overnight with lows in the teens which rapidly refroze several bodies of water with even a bit of ice on the reservoir at Winsor Dam.  I spent little time out of the car but nevertheless still had some great birds for the end of January.  My first notable sighting was a Northern Shrike along North East St in Amherst which stayed teed up long enough to get a look at but as soon as I tried to get the scope set up to take a photo it dropped out of sight.  The area looks perfect for a shrike to stay in so hopefully some others get a look at it too.  I then made a quick stop at Orchard Hill at UMASS where I successfully caught up with the juvenile White crowned Sparrow that Keenan found there a few days ago.  As I was on the hill I got a text from Keenan telling me he had several hundred geese on the playing fields at UMASS with more birds coming in.  I made it back to the car and drove down to the campus pond for a quick look around before heading over to meet Keenan.  I was quickly looking through the couple hundred geese there when I got another text from Keenan telling me a Cackling Goose just came in.  I quickly made the short drive over to the fields and got on the sleeping Cackling Goose as well as the hybrid Greylag x Swan Goose that was discovered at the campus pond a few days ago.  As we were trying to find some other unusual geese among the hundreds of Canada Geese more geese continued to arrive in small groups with the total eventually reaching 1403 Canada Geese.  Among one of the groups was a Greater White fronted Goose that showed quite well as it fed and slept on the far right side of the flock.  The geese were still present when I left and from other reports it appears the geese eventually headed over to the campus pond.  I was starting to have the effects of the cold catch up with me again so I headed for home to get Wilson so we could get a walk in before the snow arrived and I still had some energy left.  The snow started a little earlier than the forecast called for (late morning instead of early afternoon) so our walk was cut short.  I did manage to find one more good bird at home when I had a Winter Wren down along the brook (my first for the year...very unusual to not have more of this species around).  Ended the month with 84 species despite not being out for most of the last week.

Waterfowl in the Connecticut River below the Coolidge Bridge

I have stopped the last couple of mornings briefly before work to check out the waterfowl in the Connecticut River below the Coolidge Bridge and have been rewarded with some nice variety and numbers for February. 

Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Northern Pintails, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Hooded Merganser, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Common Goldeneye, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Hybrid goose, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Dawn, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

Dawn, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 4, 2013

This mornings waterfowl totals included 1349 Canada Geese, the continued hybrid goose (Canada Goose x Greater White fronted Goose or Canada Goose x Graylag Goose), a female Wood Duck, 44 Black Ducks, 688 Mallards, three Northern Pintails (two males and a female), two male Common Goldeneye, a pair of Hooded Mergansers and 16 Common Mergansers.  The non waterfowl highlights included at least seven Snow Buntings flying around, a couple Horned Larks and 38 Red winged Blackbirds plus a fair number of crows and robins leaving their roosts before dawn.  Although cold (about 18 degrees) with a bit of fog on the river, at least it was a clear sky and there was a beautiful sunrise.  Another storm is forecast to hit overnight into tomorrow with up to a foot of snow so checking out the waterfowl in the immediate future at this location will be difficult at best.
 

Northern Pintail, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 3, 2014

Wood Duck, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 3, 2014

Wood Duck with hybrid goose (center), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 3, 2014

Hybrid goose in among Canada Geese, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 3, 2014

Yesterday morning I had an American Wigeon, a female Wood Duck, three male Northern Pintails (up from two males the previous days), the hybrid goose in among 840 Canada Geese, 51 Black Ducks, 644 Mallards (minimum count), a Hooded Merganser and 23 Common Mergansers. Non waterfowl highlight included a few flyover Horned Larks. I attempted some photos of the more noteworthy birds but the lack of light and clouds made the results less than ideal but I include them anyway because I can.

Although I hoped to turn up a Redhead or Long tailed Duck that have been seen a bit further south along the Connecticut River, I was happy to get the stuff I did find.

 

My luck in finding birds has been fairly good this year with 84 species so far for the year in the county which is just two behind at the same time last year.  Given the lack of irruptive species the fact that this year and last are so close is impressive.  Although I'm not doing another big county year this year (at least that is what I'm telling myself) I'm on track to have another great year for Hampshire County.

Another cold month begins with some good birds

I woke up early today and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to take advantage and head out looking for owls. I had a pair of Great Horned Owls calling back and forth at home before I even headed out so I had high hopes of having some luck. I made a few different stops in Amherst and Hadley and found another pair of Great Horned Owls but oddly no screech owls. However the lack of screech owls was made up for in a big way when I had a Long eared Owl! I was walking through the woods and thought I heard a Long eared Owl call so I stopped walking and listened for several minutes but didn't hear anything else. I then played a Long eared Owl call a couple times and then waited. After several minutes the owl called again. I was ecstatic to hear it again. I didn't want to cause any undue stress to the owl so I headed back toward my car. I think I heard the owl call distantly one more time on my way out but could not be certain. The Long eared Owl was one of my big misses last year so finding one his year was fantastic. As it was starting to get brighter I headed over to the Honey Pot and had at two Short eared Owls working the fields while I viewed them from the dike. There were also groups of Canada Geese moving around before dawn.

Hybrid goose, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 1, 2014

Hybrid goose, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 1, 2014

Northern Pintail (center with Mallards and Canada Geese), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Feb 1, 2014

Dawn along the Connecticut River (with the remains of an old toilet), Northampton, MA, Feb 1, 2014 (In case you wonder what happens to toilets when they get old...they make there way to the river and then blow themselves up...sad)

I wanted to make another check on the waterfowl below the Coolidge Bridge so I headed over there next. The goose hybrid was still present along with 630+ Canada Geese, a couple male Northern Pintails, 38 Black Ducks, 380+ Mallards, a pair of Hooded Mergansers and half a dozen Common Mergansers. In addition to the waterfowl I had a couple Cooper's Hawks and half a dozen Snow Buntings flyby plus lots of crows moving north.

Mallards and Black Duck, Honey Pot, Hadley, Feb 1, 2014

A return trip over to the Honey Pot finally produced an American Kestrel for me this year. No idea how it has taken me so long to find this species this year when so many others have seen it. I also checked out the river and found 157 Mallards and a few Black Ducks plus a few hybrids. I also made a trip down Aqua Vitae Road but it was quiet.

The Eastern Meadowlarks continued to be seen along Moody Bridge Rd at the Silvio O. conte NWR but I was only able to find two this morning. The birds were distant and the topography of the land probably hid others. I then drove down South Maple St to Mill Valley and had a few cowbirds in among the groups of starlings. I also made a brief stop by a location where a Dickcissel has been coming to a feeder but I didn't know the exact address in the residential area so didn't have any luck.

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Feb 1, 2014

I then headed back toward home with a brief stop at Quabbin. I was hoping some areas of water were opened back up but no luck. Just a couple adult Bald Eagles near the nest and little else. Tough to have my 'go to' birding spot not productive...oh the humanity!

Last day of January birding

Eastern Meadowlarks, Silvio O. Conte NWR, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

I spent the morning along with Jacob hitting a few spots along the Connecticut River.  We started at the Honey Pot and then across the river to the East Meadows and then back across the river once again to the Honey Pot once again before I had to get Jacob back for class.  After dropping Jacob off I headed back over to the Honey Pot trying in vain to find a kestrel (don't ask me why I have missed it so far this year) then down to the Holyoke Dam.  The temperatures today finally broke above freezing which felt really nice. Below are the highlights from the morning:

Honey Pot at dawn(with Jacob):
Short eared Owl -1 flew right over us on the dike

Hybrid Goose (canada goose x Graylag or GWF goose), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Hybrid Goose (canada goose x Graylag or GWF goose), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Hybrid Goose (canada goose x Graylag or GWF goose), Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Wood Duck, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Northern Pintails, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, Jan 31, 2014

East Meadows/CT river below Coolidge Bridge (with Jacob):
Canada Geese -1250 (minimum count...likely more)
Hybrid Goose -1 either a Canada x Greater White Fronted Goose or Canada x Graylag Goose (thoughts on bird welcome)
Black Ducks -57 (nice show of this species)
Mallards -410 (minimum count)Wood Duck -1  female
Northern Pintail -2 males
Hooded Mergansers -3 (two males and a female)
Common Mergansers -6
Northern Harrier -1
Horned Lark  -21 (minimum)
Red winged Blackbird -110  groups of birds moving past us just before we left...high count for end of January. 

Honey Pot (with Jacob):
Northern Harrier -1
Snow Bunting -23  single group flyover
American Tree Sparrow -45 (minimum count)
Savannah Sparrow -1 (pale bird that I was unable to get a good photo of)
Song Sparrow -2
White throated Sparrow -1

Eastern Meadowlarks, Silvio O. Conte NWR, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Eastern Meadowlarks, Silvio O. Conte NWR, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Silvio O. Conte NWR (with Jacob):
Eastern Meadowlark  -7  seen well feeding in field, up to eight have been seen here lately but we had just the seven.  Quite unusual in winter, especially in numbers.

Bald Eagle, North Lane Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Bald Eagle, North Lane Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

North Lane Conservation Area:
Common Mergansers -14
Bald Eagles -2

Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 31, 2014

Honey Pot (again):
Canada Geese -500+ moving north
Peregrine Falcon  -1 making several passes at crows


Holyoke Dam area:
Canada Geese -109
Mallards-77
Common Goldeneye -1 (just one...odd)
Common Mergansers -12
Gulls -nearly 60 but just Ring billed and Herring Gulls (largest groups of gulls there yet this year!)

Winsor Dam with reservoir frozen over completely, Jan 31, 2014

A brief stop at Winsor Dam found the entire reservoir frozen with very little activity at all.  Hopefully it warms up before the arrival of waterfowl this year. 

With today being the final day of January I will take a look at where I stand as far as birds seen so far.  Although I’m not trying to break my Hampshire County record it is always fun to compare one year to the next.  I currently have seen 81 species in the county for the year which is just bit behind from the 85 I had at this time last year.  However last year was a big irruption year of northern birds and the weather was a bit warmer so I’m very happy to have as many species as I do.  Compared to the last several years I’m a quite a bit ahead with the following totals from those years: 2012-60 species, 2011-45 species, 2010-51 species, 2009-34 species, 2008-51 species and 2007-42 species. 

With February comes the true doldrums of birding here, especially with a cold winter.  Most areas of water are frozen over and there is little movement of birds.  At least as the month drags on owls should get more vocal, some raptors will get more active and Turkey Vultures should arrive.