Rough legged Hawk becomes species #239 for the year in Hampshire County and breaks my previous record for a year in the county

Rough legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Nov 25, 2018

Rough legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Nov 25, 2018

Rough legged Hawk, Hadley, MA, Nov 25, 2018

Although the forecast called for heavy rain this morning it had all moved out to the east before daybreak so I was able to get a little birding in after work.  I started out at the East Meadows in the hopes of finding a Rough legged Hawk seen there yesterday.  It is a species I have not yet seen this year in Hampshire County and if I could find one it would push me past my old record for species seen in the county in a year.  I scanned for a bit and found some Red tailed Hawks but no Rough legged Hawks.  There were also swirling groups of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings plus a few Lapland Longspurs mixed in.  I didn't venture too far into the meadows as it was quite muddy and I certainly didn't want to get stuck.  I decided to try my luck across the river in Hadley and drove through various open areas/fields.  I noticed a decent movement of geese heading north from the area of Moody Bridge Road so headed north to see if I could find where they had settled down to feed.  As I got to Mill Valley Road and South Maple Street I noticed a raptor hovering over the fields...a dark morph Rough legged Hawk!  I managed to make a quick stop and set up the scope and get a few digiscoped shots with my phone before the bird continued to drift off to the south.  I posted about the bird and I know several people were able to follow up on it and relocate it in the same general area including at least one person who had never seen the species before.  The Rough legged Hawk became species #239 for me in the county for the year and surpasses my previous best year back in 2016 when I had 238.  My previous attempts at big years for the county topped out at 237 in 2014 and 2015.  With just over a month left in the year there is still a chance for another species or two but it will have to be an irruptive species or a rarity as I have found all the expected species at this point.

Canada Goose with white markings on neck and head, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 25, 2018

After seeing the Rough legged Hawk I continued north to look for geese (and run a few errands).  The biggest group of geese I found were on the partially frozen campus pond at UMASS where there were well over 500 Canada Geese including one individual with white markings on the neck and head.  A return run past the area of South Maple Street turned up four late Turkey Vultures together as well as an American Kestrel but no sign of the Rough legged Hawk.

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2018

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2018

Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2018

I ventured down to the East Meadows on Friday on yet another very cold and frosty morning and turned up at least five Lapland Longspurs among the flocks of larks.  There were also a few pockets of sparrows including a number of Savannah Sparrows as well as a single adult White crowned Sparrow.

Cold weekend of birding

American Kestrel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 11, 2015

Rough legged Hawk (dark phase), Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 11, 2015

Rough legged Hawk (dark phase), Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 11, 2015

Lapland Longspurs (middle right and middle left), Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 11, 2015

Lapland Longspur, Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 11, 2015

Today was yet another cold day in a string of cold days with a low temperature this morning at -6.  I headed over to the Connecticut River in South Hadley and then worked my way north along the river finally ending at the Honey Pot.  The open waters below the Holyoke Dam featured some very cold looking waterfowl including 827 Canada Geese, two Mute Swans, five Black Ducks, 69 Mallards, 37 Common Goldeneye (no barrows found despite a lot of looking), a Hooded Merganser and 11 Common Mergansers.  Other notable species there included a Sharpshinned Hawk harassing a vocal Cooper's Hawk, a Peregrine Falcon sitting on a lightpole on the bridge and at least one Fish Crow mixed in with the American Crows leaving their morning roost.  I then headed north along the largely frozen Connecticut River and ended up at the Aracdia meadows looking for the dark phase Rough legged Hawk that has been reported there the last few days.  I found the striking individual fairly quickly as it was perched along the road as I arrived.  Rough legged Hawks are always a fun bird to catch up with in winter around here and having a cooperative dark phase bird makes it even better.  Probably the best looks I have had of this color phase in years.  In the same area of the hawk was a large flock (240+) of Horned Larks.  Mixed in with the large flock of larks were at least four Lapland Longspurs as well as a couple Snow Buntings.  Once I finished scanning through the flock and checking out the groups of nearby sparrows, I headed over to the East Meadows to check the river for waterfowl.  I only managed to turn up 160 Canada Geese, 43 Mallards and a pair Hooded Mergansers in the open water areas.  The couple of Bald Eagles as well as a Peregrine Falcon kept the birds on edge as the raptors moved around.  My final stop over at the Honey Pot turned up my first of the year American Kestrel as well as 80+ Horned Larks, a Snow Bunting with the larks, half a dozen Savannah Sparrows among the other more typical sparrows.  Overall a very good morning for raptors as well as other species despite the frigid temperatures.  I added three more species for the month this morning: Fish Crow, Rough legged Hawk and American Kestrel bringing my total for the month in Hampshire County to a respectable 77.

Horned Lark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2015

Horned Lark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2015

Song Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2015

Low hanging fog, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2015

Morning frost, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 10, 2015

I woke up well before dawn yesterday so thought I would use my time before sunrise to try to catch up with some owls along the river in Hadley. It was a frosty 8 degrees when I left the house but clear with moonlit skies. As I arrived at the Honey Pot the temperature dropped down to zero and there was a narrow layer of fog covering the fields. It was an odd sight as the layer varied between hugging the ground and being just above the ground. I scanned below the fog where I could and checked the few open areas but no luck finding a long eared or short eared owl hunting the fields. My efforts to get a screech owl calling back to me also failed so no luck with any owls at all. I even tried a few spots to find roosting owls but none were found. The fog lifted rapidly just before dawn but left behind a thick layer of frost on all the weeds, trees and grasses. I did manage to find some flocks of larks as well as groups of sparrows but did not turn up the Vesper Sparrow seen there yesterday. Highlights during the two hours there included 120+ Horned Larks, a single Lapland Longspur (with larks), a single Snow Bunting, half a dozen Savannah Sparrows and numbers of American Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White throated Sparrows and juncos. The river was largely frozen but there were still open areas with the only waterfowl there being a few Common Mergansers. Raptors were oddly low in number with just a single Sharpshinned Hawk and a Red tailed Hawk but the sharpie was a new species for the year. The area near the Coolidge Bridge produced a few more Common Mergansers plus around 35 Mallards. Without too much activity happening along the river I decided to head toward Quabbin to see if any birds were taking advantage of the largely open water there. On my way over there I stopped along South Maple St at Flavors Farm and found a Brown headed Cowbird mixed in with hundreds of starlings. With the cowbird I made it to 74 species for the first ten days in Hampshire County.

Black Ducks and Mallards, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2015

I then made a few stops at Quabbin Park with the most productive being at Hank's Meadow where I had 24 Black Ducks, 13 Mallards, six Common Mergansers and half a dozen Horned Grebes. A stop at Winsor Dam produced 12 Hooded Mergansers. The reservoir is still mainly open with just coves and shallow areas beginning to ice up. With the continued cold weather I would expect large areas to freeze up over the next week or so.

Cold weather comes back after a one day break

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Bald Eagles on deer carcass, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Rough legged Hawk, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Canada Geese with neck tag, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Mar 16, 2014

Killdeer, state fish hatchery, Belchertown, MA, Mar 16, 2014

With the forecast of strong northwest winds my original plan was to stay close to home but when I got up and went outside with the Wilson the winds seemed fairly calm and I had a Great Horned Owl hooting so I decided to head a bit further afield.  I headed east toward the Connecticut River once again in the hopes of catching up with some unusual waterfowl or other early migrants. Before dawn I finally caught up with an American Woodcock near Atkins Farm despite the winds which were a bit higher over that way.  I then made several stops along the Connecticut River including North Lane Conservation Area, the Honey Pot, the CT river near the Coolidge Bridge, then over to the old Mill River, the East Meadows and then a few fields in Hadley. Overall the waterfowl numbers were a bit reduced from yesterday but I still managed to find some good stuff (or at least what I consider good stuff...good is so subjective).

North Lane Conservation Area- a Wood Duck, a couple Mallards, 24 Common Goldeneye, 4 Hooded Merganser and 4 Common Merganser.

Honey Pot- 40 Canada Geese, 2 Wood Duck, 37 Mallard, 6 Ring necked Duck, 2 Hooded Merganser, 6 Common Merganser, a couple Bald Eagles and a Rough legged Hawk.

Coolidge Bridge area- 427 Canada Geese (including a neck tagged individual with a red tag with the code "Y3R7"...I have reported the tag but the last goose I had with a red tag with a similar code came from Quebec...I will update when I get the info back    ****update**** banded goose was tagged in Varennes, Quebec on 7/3/2010), a Wood Duck, 198 Mallard, a Northern Pintail female, 11 Ring necked Duck, 4 Hooded Merganser, a Great Blue Heron, a pair of Peregrine Falcons,

Old Mill River- 5 Canada Geese, 13 Wood Duck, pair of American Wigeon, 19 Black Duck, 41 Mallard, a Green winged Teal, 2 Hooded Merganser and 3 Common Merganser.

East Meadows-no real highlights here...area has limited access at this point with lots of large puddles and ice.

After my journey along the Connecticut River I headed over to Winsor Dam to check on the deer carcass (spoiler alert...it was still dead). At least half a dozen Bald Eagles were in the vicinity with up to three feeding on the carcass at any one time. It really felt like winter there again with the winds really blowing strong out of the north. A stop at the nearby fish hatchery turned up a couple Killdeer but not much else.

A very cold morning along the Connecticut River

Common Goldeneye, below Holyoke Dam, Chicopee/S. Hadley line, MA, Jan 24, 2014

Common Goldeneyes, below Holyoke Dam, Chicopee/S. Hadley line, MA, Jan 24, 2014

I spent a very cold (near zero with a breeze) morning with Jacob exploring a few areas along the Connecticut River.  We started at dawn at the Holyoke Dam trying to find some waterfowl or gulls.  With all the recent cold temperatures few areas of open water exist so with that in mind we had hopes of finding some good stuff.  No gulls at all here and we only had one gull the entire morning!  Waterfowl were a bit more active with at least 46 Common Goldeneyes, a couple Hooded Mergansers, a half dozen or so Common Mergansers, a dozen plus Mallards and 140+ Canada Geese.

Rough legged Hawk, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 24, 2014

Rough legged Hawk, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 24, 2014

Rough legged Hawk, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 24, 2014

After the Holyoke Dam we headed north and checked out the area below the Coolidge Bridge and had just a couple Common Mergansers.  A quick run through Aqua Vitae Road was unproductive so we headed over to the Honey Pot.  We had some decent birds there including a Rough legged Hawk, at least two Lapland Longspurs in among the larks, at least 125 Horned Larks, several Snow Buntings and at least 55 American Tree Sparrows.  A couple other spots along the river and fields along South Maple St proved to be unproductive.

Winsor Dam with the reservoir nearly frozen over, Jan 24, 2014

Wilson at Covey WMA, Jan 24, 2014

I dropped off Jacob a bit before 9 and then headed back toward home to pick up the Wilson.  I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam and had just a couple species.  The reservoir was nearly completely frozen over with just a few small open spots of water.  I did have a River Otter playing on the edge of the ice near one of the open channels of water...always fun to watch!

Once I picked up Wilson we headed to Covey WMA and had just a handful birds with almost all concentrated around the feeder at the Fish and Wildlife HQ.  The Swift River was totally frozen with no open water at all. 

A cold day but some birds still around

Ring necked Duck (with Mallards and Canada Geese), Connecticut River, Hadley/Northampton, Jan 26, 2013

Yet another sunny, windy cold day here with temperatures starting out just above zero and topping off in the mid-20's with near zero wind chills.  I initially was going to spend some time this morning at Quabbin but the light snow we got overnight kept the park gates closed plus the wind was very strong at Winsor Dam so I headed over to the Hadley/Northampton area instead.  I started out in the East Meadows heading over to the shore of the Connecticut River to check out the large congregation of geese on the Hadley side.  With large portions of the river frozen the geese were all bunched up which made finding something odd among them difficult.  Among the just over 1000 Canada Geese was a male Ring necked Duck and a few Mallards.  Further up river around the Coolidge Bridge were around a dozen Common Mergansers.  As I was watching the area of the bridge I noticed a large falcon fly in and dive at a Bald Eagle.  Although I wanted it to be something more it was 'just' a Peregrine Falcon.  The bird came back around the bridge a couple times before heading north.  Besides the Bald Eagle that was the subject of the Peregrine Falcon's attention there were two other adult Bald Eagle sitting in a tree nearby.  I tried to catch up with all these birds by heading to the bridge but I could not relocate them. 

Rough legged Hawk, Honeypot, Hadley, Jan 26, 2013

I next headed through the Honeypot and Aqua Vitae Road.  Aqua Vitae Road was fairly quiet with only a couple of Savannah Sparrows noteworthy.  At the Honeypot I had a light morph Rough legged Hawk teed up in a small tree right near the dike.  It then flew to one of the large trees near the transfer station were I got a few digiscoped photos.  The rest of the Honeypot was fairly quiet so I headed over to the Mill Valley Road/South Maple St/Moody Bridge Rd area.  Fairly quiet here also but I did find a new species for the year when I found four Brown headed Cowbirds (#83).  Also had an adult Red winged Blackbird in the area of Moody Bridge.

Bufflehead (poor photo but the bird was hardly ever on the surface...and it was damn cold!), Quabbin Park, Jan 26, 2013

Horned Grebes (2 of 12), Quabbin Park, Jan 26, 2013

Hanks Meadow at Quabbin Park, Jan 26, 2013

In the early afternoon I headed over to Quabbin Park and the road was open.  The reservoir is starting to freeze up with the Goodnough area totally frozen, the Hank's Meadow area 3/4 frozen and the area below Enfield Lookout frozen solid.  The area at Winsor Dam is mainly ice free at this point but due to the strong winds I didn't have too much here beyond a few Mallards and Common Mergansers.  Hank's Meadow was the most productive (and coldest) with a dozen Horned Grebes, a Bufflehead, a Hooded Merganser and seven Black Ducks.

Another day in pursuit of the Gyrfalcon

Lapland Longspur, taken at first light, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 5, 2013

Merlin, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Jan 5, 2013

Despite much effort on my part to try and catch up with the elusive (and becoming mythical) Gyrfalcon, I once again failed to find the bird.  On the upside (I guess) the only other report of the bird all day was a brief flyover in the AM so at least I was not in the wrong place and missing the bird while others saw it (like has happened before).  I tried to check the East Meadows but the snow made checking this great habitat impossible.  I briefly checked the Coolidge Bridge as a roost spot but found nothing.  I then made a brief run past Aqua Vitae Road finding the Vesper and Clay colored Sparrows there as well as Snow Buntings.  I spent a large portion of the rest of the morning standing atop the dike at the Honeypot.  Although no sightings of my main target I did manage Lapland Longspur, Hoary Redpoll in a large flock of Common Redpolls, a Merlin, a Northern Harrier (adult male), Cooper's and Sharpshinned Hawk, Bald Eagle, and several Red tailed Hawks (lots of raptors).  Also groups of Snow Buntings and Horned Larks and the largest number of birders I have seen around here.  With no luck by late morning I decided to try over by S. Maple St.

Rough legged Hawk, S. Maple at Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 5, 2013

South Maple Street failed to produce the falcon I was in pursuit of but I did find several more Red-tailed Hawks (one eating prey at the corner of Mill Valley and S. Maple), a Merlin and a light phase Rough-legged Hawk. 

A false alarm about the falcon found me back over at the Honeypot for another hour in the early afternoon.  Will I try for it again tomorrow or take a break?...I'll decide tomorrow.

End of year wrap up and species #228 for the year in the county

Indigo Bunting, Quabbin

Time for the end of year posting once again.  This year was yet another good year to be out and about checking my local areas as well as places far from home for birds. 

Blue gray Tanager, Los Cusingos, Costa Rica, Dec 2012

Caspian Tern, Viera Wetlands, FL, Jan 2012

Cooper's Hawk, Sweetwater Wetlands, AZ, Apr 2012

I took a few trips this year including a trip to Florida at the end of January-early February, Arizona in April and Costa Rica in December.   Other shorter trips included day trips to the Connecticut shore and down to the Plymouth area.

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Hadley, Oct 2012

Rough-legged Hawk, Hadley Honeypot, MA, Feb 2012

Little Blue Heron, Arcadia, MA, Apr 2012
 

Brewster's Warbler, UMASS Amherst, May 2012

Golden-winged Warbler, Amherst rail trail, May 2012
 

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, May 2012

The rest of the time I spent mainly in the local area trying to maximize my county list for the year.  My initial goal at the beginning of the year was to top the 200 mark for the county which I had oddly never done before.  I managed to go well past the 200 mark and finished with a total of 228.  Although I missed on some birds I would normally expect such as American Bittern, Acadian Flycatcher, and Black Vulture I still reached a higher number than I had expected to.  I added several county birds to my life list this year including Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Yellow headed Blackbird, Rufous Hummingbird and Hoary Redpoll bringing my overall county total to 272.  Overall some really great warblers including a couple hybrids including at least two Brewster's Warblers as well as a Lawrence's Warbler plus the unusual Golden winged and a singing spring Orange crowned Warbler. 

Pine Grosbeak, Quabbin , Dec 2012

Common Redpoll, Hadley, Dec 2012

There was also a big incursion of winter irruptive species this fall and winter that continues with most every possible species represented in numbers (except for Bohemian waxwings which were around at the beginning of the year). 

Black-legged Kittiwake, Quabbin, Nov 2012

Hurricane Sandy brought a large number of sea ducks down onto Quabbin over the course of several days and finally delivered a notable inland bird for me...a Black-legged Kittiwake almost a week after the passage of the storm.  Two years in a row with tropical systems impacting the area...amazing.

I tried one last run through the Hadley Honeypot midday today to try my luck at catching up with a Northern Shrike or perhaps (with lots of luck) a Gyrfalcon that was there a couple weeks.  Although there was no Gyrfalcon around I did finally catch up with a Northern Shrike (county species #228 for the year!)  I was very happy to add one final species for the year.  Other birds of note around the Honeypot and nearby Aqua Vitae Road included dozens of Horned Larks, a handful of Snow Buntings and a lone Lapland Longspur.  I also made a brief stop at Quabbin Park at Winsor Dam and at least seven Pine Grosbeaks continue in the crabapple trees.

I managed to add a total of 69 new species to my life list this year with two each coming from Arizona and Massachusetts and the remaining 65 species coming from my recent trip to Costa Rica.  The highlights are many and a look back through the last year of postings will revel most of them.  A total of 556 species for the year and a total life list that now stands at 766.  Many of the highlights were captured on film and can be found at my flickr site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/

I continue to use eBird to record my sightings and I passed a few milestones this year including adding my 10,000^th list and submitting almost 2400 lists this year with over 2175 of those lists from Massachusetts.  Yet again I will mention what a great resource eBird is for recording sightings and researching information of various species.  With the many advances made in accessing information and providing easy ways to submit data, more and more people will hopefully embrace the use of eBird and make the information even more useful to both the public and researchers.  The website to start your journey on eBird is here:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird