Bonaparte's Gulls put down by weather and other migrants arriving

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 22, 2025

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 22, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 22, 2025

Blue Jay with nest material, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 22, 2025

American Robin with nest material, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 22, 2025

Ring necked Pheasant, Ware, MA, Apr 22, 2025

Field Sparrow, Ware, MA, Apr 22, 2025

I had some time free in the morning and after some showers that moved through overnight I had some hopes that something good would be brought down by the weather so I headed to Winsor Dam at first light and found the fog too thick to see too much beyond a few species of waterfowl.  The beginning of the morning was still productive with the first Eastern Whip Poor Wills of the year.  I decided to try a few spots in Ware before making a return to the dam.  My second visit to the dam was even less productive with the visibility reduced even more.  I then headed home to check on things and to pick up Wilson for his walk.  That walk proved fairly productive with a decent influx of warblers (seven species including my first Yellow Warbler of the spring here).  After the walk with Wilson I did a few things around the house before making another stop at the dam and this one was more productive with a flock of 43 Bonaparte's Gulls...my second highest total I have ever had in the county.  It has been a great spring for Bonaparte's Gulls in the area although I was working on the day when triple digit counts showed up at Quabbin.  I also made a return trip to an area I visited with Wilson earlier to sort through the warblers present and had nearly seventy Yellow rumped Warblers in just over half a mile of the trail.  There was also several species carrying nest material and building nests as breeding season heats up.  Wish I had more time to explore other areas but not in the cards in the immediate future.

Another fruitless search for Long eared Owls but did find a Northern Shrike and some unusual waterfowl (at least unusual for winter)

Cedar Waxwing, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Ring necked Pheasant, Hatfield, MA, Feb 19, 2016

I started off a rather cold morning in southern Hatfield looking for any Long eared Owls that might be around. Despite a lot of looking over the course of a few hours I didn't have any luck but there is so much good habitat for a roosting bird to hang out in I may have just missed them. The best I could come up with was an old owl pellet but no new ones. The best bird I had there was a male Ring necked Pheasant that called a few times and gave brief looks. I worked my way north up through Whately but didn't see anything noteworthy although a few of the fields look ripe to welcome geese as they move north in a few weeks. I then crossed back across the river and headed south on Route 47. When I was just past the Hadley/Sunderland line I had a Northern Shrike (#93) sitting at the top of a small tree just off the road. I got a great but brief look at it before I had to move due to traffic. I turned back around and came back but the bird was gone. I could not find a good spot to park in the area so I couldn't spend more time trying to relocate it.

Green winged Teal, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Gadwall, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Canada Geese on fields, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Feb 19, 2016

I checked numerous fields in northern Hadley and Amherst but didn't find any geese until I stopped at UMASS where I had 1300+ geese on the athletic fields near the Mullins Center. I scanned through them all three times but couldn't find anything besides Canada Geese although some birds were hidden from view, others were tucked in and the heat shimmer was a bit of an issue. My biggest group of geese so far this year and hopefully a good sign of more to come. I also stopped by the nearby campus pond and the Green winged Teal and Gadwall continue along with a few Black Ducks and hundreds of Mallards (much better looks at the birds today compared to a few days ago in a wind swept rain). I searched a few more fields to the south for geese or some other notable species but no luck.

Common Loons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 19, 2016

Cedar Waxwing, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 19, 2016

I then headed over to Winsor Dam where I had four Common Loons (the highest count ever for this species around here in February on eBird). The only other waterfowl I had there were 22 Common Mergansers. I then made it home to get Wilson and we went for a walk at Covey WMA and also stopped along the Swift River where we had a dozen each of Hooded Mergansers and Mallards. A pair of Mallards kept repeatedly diving under the water for up to ten seconds at a time....not very dabbling duck like behavior! Overall another nice morning out despite the cold start.

A rainy late fall day

Winsor Dam during a brief lull in the rain, Nov 27, 2013

Ring billed Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Nov 27, 2013 (trying to look like a Snowy Owl!)

Ring billed Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Nov 27, 2013 (trying to look like a Snowy Owl!)

I made a brief stop after midday at Winsor Dam as the rain continued to fall (totally a few inches today).  The predicted strong winds for the day had not yet shown up so the water was quite calm but contained no birds.  The group of 13 Wild Turkeys were feeding in and around the crab apple trees.  I scanned the water a few times and then the dam and noticed a white bird perched on the wall of the dam.  I set up the scope on it and unfortunately it was just a Ring billed Gull and not a Snowy Owl!  Damn! 

Ring necked Ducks, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Nov 27, 2013

Ring necked Pheasant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Nov 27, 2013

Ring necked Pheasant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Nov 27, 2013

Ring necked Pheasant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Nov 27, 2013

Although the rain continued through most of the afternoon I still managed to a get in a few birding stops in and turned up some birds. A few more stops at Winsor Dam didn't turn up any waterfowl but I did find my second Ring necked Pheasant I have ever had at Quabbin. A stop at Beaver Lake in Ware turned up some waterfowl including a Ruddy Duck, 57 Ring necked Ducks (mostly males), 27 Hooded Mergansers, 14 Common Mergansers, a couple Mallards and 16 Canada Geese plus a kingfisher. Most of the waterfowl were fairly distant but still viewable.  A really 'ring' type of afternoon with Ring necked Pheasant, Ring necked Duck and Ring billed Gull.

A few snow showers could arrive overnight and tomorrow is forecast to be another windy and cold day with strong winds out of the northwest. I will be out looking to see if I can find anything of interest brought in by these winds.  Hopefully a Snowy Owl will finally turn up as more and more are being found in the northeast.  One bird seen on the Massachusetts coast is a tagged bird that was captured this year out near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Winsor Dam before the rain, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2013

Yesterday I did a quick ride through the East Meadows in search of a Snowy Owl but came up empty, again.  The meadows did hold a very nice show of Horned Larks with a huge flock containing at least 425 individuals as well as 24 Snow Buntings and a Lapland Longspur.