A dark American Goldfinch at a feeder and a look at the Northampton Christmas Bird Count

Dark American Goldfinch, Northampton, MA, Dec 20, 2022

Dark American Goldfinch, Northampton, MA, Dec 20, 2022

Dark American Goldfinch, Northampton, MA, Dec 20, 2022

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Northampton, MA, Dec 20, 2022

I spent a few days at a private residence trying to catch up with a Pine Warbler that has shown up very sporadically after being seen for the first time by the homeowner during a snowstorm on Friday the 16th and then seen one more day (about an hour after I left and was almost home) on the 17th.  I spent about 45 minutes at the location on Saturday and nearly an hour on the 20th.  Despite missing on the hoped for Pine Warbler I had some other good birds as I watched the feeders.  I had at least one flyover Red Crossbill on Saturday and a Pine Siskin on Tuesday.  A banded Black capped Chickadee showed up both days (the homeowner is taking part in the same study being conducted by a PhD candidate that I take part in at home).  The big highlight was an unusually plumaged American Goldfinch that showed up on Tuesday.  It was the darkest American Goldfinch I have ever seen and I assume it is some type of melanistic individual (like a melanistic Black and White Warbler I found back in 2020 in Amherst).  I have reached out to a couple finch experts to see if they have ever seen anything like and so far the consensus is it is new to them too.

Dawn, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 15, 2022

Gray Catbird, Hadley, MA, Dec 15, 2022

Smith's Longspur, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Dec 15, 2022

Common Grackles, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 19, 2022

Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 20, 2022

Common Grackles, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 21, 2022

The Northampton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) occurred on Sunday December 18th and yet again I missed the day due to work with my only contribution for the count day being a brief stop before work at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River where I turned up a few owls and then a couple Fish Crows during the day at work.  The preliminary total for the count day stands at 88 species, which is a great count and just a few species off a record high count for species for the count.   I was able to be out some on the days to either side of the count day which make up count week (three days to either side of the count day).  I added some unusual species in the days leading up to the count (including Yellow rumped Warbler, Gray Catbird and the continued Smith's Longspur).  In the three days after the count I added another species with a group of 13 Green winged Teal in the Connecticut River at dawn.  I have run across big flocks of Red winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles during my travels before and after the count and both species shattered records for the count with thousands of each around.  Here is a link to all the information you ever wanted to know about the Northampton CBC found on the Hampshire Bird Club site: Northampton CBC. The count next year is scheduled for Sunday Dec 17th and I will actually have the day off which almost guarantees there will be a blizzard that day!

Northampton Christmas Bird Count

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

American Tree Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Hooded Merganser, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

I was actually around this year and not working for the Northampton Christmas Bird Count and was able to assist Derek in area 35 in Hatfield for a few hours in the morning before I had to head back home.  The forecasted snow/sleet never really developed yesterday into this morning and instead the immediate area received a cold rain, which made the dirt farm roads a bit muddy (to say the least).  I began my morning at a portion of Great Pond and had three species of owls before sunrise including an Eastern screech Owl that flew right in front of my car (plus a couple Barred Owls and a Great Horned Owl calling).  The conditions were calm for a very short window just before the sun came up but then it got breezy for the remainder of the time I was out and there were even some flurries a few times.  Other highlights for my first stop at Great Pond included five species of waterfowl including a late Wood Duck, at least three Great Blue Herons, and at least 17 Red winged Blackbirds.  I then decided to head to the nearby river to check to see if anything interesting could be found on the water.

American Black Ducks (and a couple hybrids), Bashin Road area, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Black capped Chickadee, Boat launch area, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Black capped Chickadee, Boat launch area, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

I checked the area around the wastewater treatment plant and the river and fields to the south and found just seven Common Mergansers and a pair of Hooded Mergansers on the river (which was running fairly high for this time of year).  A small pond along the road was a little more productive with 23 American Black Ducks.  I got a brief look at another duck through the vegetation that may have been a Gadwall but when I relocated to try to get a better look I could not relocate the bird.   I was originally planning on covering more areas along the river but another part of our team was already checking the area so I decided to concentrate the remainder of the my limited time covering areas of Great Pond I did not make it to earlier.

Swamp Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Swamp Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

White throated Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Great Blue Heron, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Song Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Eastern Bluebird, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

American Tree Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Red bellied Woodpecker, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

Red winged Blackbird, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

White tailed Deer, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 19, 2021

As the wind continued to keep things cool and birds a bit hunkered down, I walked a large portion of the periphery of the pond and marsh.  I had some decent luck finding some good stuff (although no luck, despite a lot of effort, for a yellowthroat still hanging around).  Highlights included a total of at least five Great Blue Herons (a really good count for December), eight Red bellied Woodpeckers, a flock of 95+ Horned Larks with a half a dozen Snow Buntings mixed in, loads of sparrows with 54 American Tree Sparrows, a juvenile White crowned Sparrow, 31 White throated Sparrows, 54 Song Sparrows, and 7 Swamp Sparrows plus another eight Red winged Blackbirds.  The morning also produced some mammals including a close encounter with a White tailed Deer and a couple very active Muskrats (among other species).  Overall for the morning I found a total of 48 species and our entire area of the count totaled 56 species (a new record for Area 35!) with 2500+ individuals.  I wish I had more time to cover a few more areas but I was happy to be out at all so no complaints.  Quite productive despite the wind, cold and mud.

Count week for the Northampton CBC

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley DPW, Hadley, MA, Dec 21, 2020

Eastern Phoebe, Hadley DPW, Hadley, MA, Dec 21, 2020

Common Loon, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Eastern Bluebird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Green winged Teal, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Mute Swans, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 22, 2020

Wilson in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 17, 2020

Wilson, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 17, 2020

Although I once again could not take part in the annual Northampton Bird Count on Sunday beyond a couple very brief stops on my way to work, I did assist for count week (three days to either side of the count day) by locating unusual species in areas that others tried (and succeeded) in finding on count day plus species missed on the actual count day.  On the three days leading up to Sunday I managed to get out on just one of them.  Thursday was a stay at home day as we got our first substantial snowstorm (around a foot) and Friday I had to stay around the house all day to get some chimney work done and then had to work that night.  After getting out of work on a very cold Saturday morning (-4 degrees to start) I stopped by Aqua Vitae Road and turned a Lincoln's Sparrow and a few White crowned Sparrow but missed the 'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow I found there on December 11th (thankfully the 'Ipswich' sparrow showed up for others on the day of the count).  

On the day of the count I made a brief swing through the Honey Pot where I had a Short eared Owl fly in front of my car.  There have been at least a couple Short eared Owls in the area lately but they can be somewhat hit or miss.  I then headed over to Arcadia but it was fairly quiet with just a couple hooting Great Horned Owls and few Common Redpolls.

The three days after the count I caught up with a few rarities (previously found by others).  After getting out of work Monday morning after a very long shift I made a brief stop by Arcadia mainly looking for some Yellow rumped Warblers but found none.  I was really tired and would have loved to hit several other spots but decided instead to just make one more stop over to the area of the Hadley DPW mainly looking for an Eastern Phoebe and Yellow rumped Warbler that have been seen in the area.  After a fairly short time I managed to locate both species and get some photos.  Tuesday morning dawned foggy and chilly so I decided to stay close to home initial with a visit over to Winsor Dam where I had an unusual sighting of five swans flying away into the fog.  Most any swan at Quabbin is unusual and the possibility is there for something really unusual.  I tried my luck at Gate 5 but was unable to relocate them and the fog just seemed to be getting thicker so I left that spot to head west and visit some places in Amherst (Gate 5 did have some good stuff including multiple species of irruptives).  I stopped along the rail trail as well as the UMASS campus pond.  Nothing too unusual and nothing that was not seen on the count day by others.  A return to Winsor Dam on my way home found the fog had mostly lifted and the five swans were sitting on the water.  Unfortunately they were Mute Swans and not something more exotic.  My last day of the count week is tomorrow but I have to work again so won't be able to check for additional species.   

Count week for the Northampton Christmas Bird Count

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 18, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 18, 2019

Field Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 18, 2019

Northern Flickers, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 18, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA,  Dec 16, 2019

White tailed Deer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA,  Dec 16, 2019

Black capped Chickadee, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Dec 16, 2019

The Northampton Christmas Bird Count (CBC) took place on Sunday December 15th but unfortunately I was working so I was not able to assist on the day this year beyond a brief stop before work at Arcadia where I managed to find a group of three Field Sparrows together plus a few mammals (Beaver, Muskrat and a vole) but not much else.  The water levels were the highest I have ever seen them this time of year with multiple roads flooded out.

Although I was unable to help on the day of the count I did get out on a few days before and after the count to try to add species for the count week portion of the count (three days to either side of the date of the actual count).  The days before were unproductive for me as the weather was poor on Thursday, I had to work on Friday and the weather was even worse on Saturday with heavy rain early in the day and drizzle the remainder of the day.

The days after the count were a bit better.  After getting out of work on Monday morning I spent some time in the East Meadows where I eventually turned up two Yellow rumped Warblers after a bit of walking along some icy roads and flooded out areas.  I also stopped along Aqua Vitae Road to try to relocate an Orange crowned Warbler that Scott had there as part of the CBC but no luck for me. Tuesday was another crappy weather day with snow changing to sleet and freezing rain which kept me around the house all day.  Wednesday was my last chance to find anything unusual for count week and I decided to try my luck at Arcadia.  The water levels had dropped low enough to allow access to most areas.  I had many highlights for the morning there including at least five Yellow rumped Warblers, a group of at least eight Field Sparrows together, seven Northern Flickers and two flyover Rusty Blackbirds (a count week species I believe) among 41 species over the course of around three hours. Other notables for the morning included a Black Vulture in South Hadley and a Gray Catbird and three Hermit Thrushes in Belchertown. More on the warblers in December can be found at the following link.

Winter Wren, Quabbin cemetery wetland, Ware, MA, Dec 12, 2019

Wilson listening to Hermit Thrushes, Piper Farm Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Dec 12, 2019

Before looking for any birds for the Northampton CBC I spent some time around Quabbin and Belchertown on Thursday the 12th.  I started off the morning at Quabbin Park where I found the gates opened earlier so I was able to make it to Hank's Meadow early enough to catch some of the birds at their overnight roost.  I found a total of seven species of waterfowl there with the highlights being several Ring necked Ducks, a Red breasted Mergansers with loads of Common Mergansers and ten Horned Grebes. I then explored some areas around a large marsh near the Quabbin cemetery where I found at least three Winter Wren and lots of Bobcat and fox tracks.  I then headed home and got Wilson and we explored the Piper Farm Conservation Area where we had at least three Hermit Thrushes in the dense undergrowth.

Dark eyed Junco with breast streaking, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 11, 2019

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 16, 2019

White tailed Deer, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 16, 2019

Red breasted Nuthatch, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 15, 2019

Beaver, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 14, 2019

Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, Dark eyed Junco and Hairy Woodpecker, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 13, 2019

Partially leucistic Tufted Titmouse, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 17, 2019

A check of the cameras at home produced a few interesting captures including the continued Dark eyed Junco with breast stripping, the partially leucistic Tufted Titmouse, a Bobcat and others.