Lots of good stuff today including Northern Shrike and 'Oregon' Junco



Northern Shrike, North Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2013

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Feb 16, 2013

Snow Buntings in flight, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, Feb 16, 2013

I spent a good portion of the day birding various areas starting out at Quabbin near dawn. We got a few inches of snow overnight and it continued to snow for the first few hours after dawn. The snow kept Quabbin Park closed initially but it opened up later in the morning once it was plowed. The Winsor Dam area was still accessible and a few different including a Common Loon, a Common Goldeneye, two Ring necked Ducks, several Common Mergansers and 27 Snow Buntings.

Swift River with Hooded Mergansers in distance, Covey WMA, Feb 16, 2013

I then headed for Covey WMA and walked through the freshly fallen snow.   Along the way I found a Winter Wren, a Common Redpoll, 21 Hooded Mergansers and a Barred Owl.  I then made another stop back at Winsor Dam and most of the same birds seen earlier were still present. After almost an hour at the dam I headed home to get Wilson to take for a walk and we returned to Covey WMA. No new birds here this time but a handful of waterfowl were still hanging out in the Swift River. Once I dropped off Wilson I returned back over to Quabbin and headed into the now open Quabbin Park. Although most of the Goodnough Dike area was frozen and about 50% of the water at Hanks Meadow was frozen too a few birds were still to be found including a half dozen Common Mergansers, a Black Duck, two juvenile Bald Eagles, a couple Common Redpolls.

 

'Oregon' Junco, North Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2013

'Oregon' Junco, North Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2013

House Finch killed by Northern Shrike, North Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2013

 

Northern Shrike, North Hadley, MA, Feb 16, 2013

Just after midday I met up with Ian Davies and Keenan Yakola to head over to a private residence in Hadley to try to catch up with an 'Oregon' Junco (sub species of Dark eyed Junco normally found in the western US). The homeowner was gracious enough to allow us to attempt to view the bird but did not want the location made public. After almost an hour of waiting the male finally appeared and provided some great looks. This is the first 'Oregon' Junco I have ever seen on the east coast (seen many out west where they are common).  The homeowner had a great set up for feeding and was surprised the birds were so quiet and low in number compared to usual. Only after we were about to leave and were heading back to our cars did we figure out why the birds were skittish. A Northern Shrike was in the front yard and had recently killed a House Finch that was now stuck in a bush outside. The shrike flushed up to a tall tree and sat there allowing some fantastic looks.  The Northern Shrike made species #89 for Hampshire county so far this year.  A big 'thank you' to the homeowner for allowing us to check out the birds there.

I was very happy to take advantage of the nicer weather today as the next two days are forecast to be cold and windy with the chance of a little more snow.

 

 

Quabbin Park....and then some Bohemian Waxwings at dusk in New Salem

Snow Buntings, Quabbin Park, Mar 4, 2012

I decided to try again at Quabbin Park this morning after having little luck there yesterday morning during the foggy and rainy weather we had.  This morning was cool in the mid 20's, calm with a mix of sun and clouds.  I started at Winsor Dam and had a total of ten Hooded Mergansers, a pair of Mallards, three Common Mergansers and the Bald Eagle sitting on the nest.  A few groups of Red-winged Blackbirds moved by heading southwest.  I then headed over past route 9 marsh which is frozen again and had no waterfowl.  The number of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles here had grown the last few days and there was a lot of calling and staking out of territory.  I then made the loop through Quabbin Park with a few stops around the area.  There was little in the way of waterfowl besides a single Common Loon, a lone Mallard and a group of four Common Mergansers.  I did run into a group of Snow Buntings in the tower parking lot.  The birds were very skittish for Snow Buntings so I was not able to get any good photos.  As I was heading out of the park I noticed a Common Raven vocalizing in the trees above their typical nest site in the spillway.  I didn't notice any activity on the nest but I would expect them to nest here again.  After my trip through Quabbin Park I stopped back at Winsor Dam.  There were still seven Hooded Mergansers around plus I added a couple Horned Grebes that came in after being at the dam for several minutes.

Snow Bunting, Quabbin Park, Mar 4, 2012

Hooded Mergansers, Quabbin Park, Mar 4, 2012

Winsor dam at dawn, Mar 4, 2012

I returned briefly late morning to Winsor Dam and had just a pair of Hooded Mergansers plus another four Snow Buntings.

I got a message from Ian Davies around 4 that there was a group of 16 Bohemian Waxwings being seen at Hamilton Orchard in New Salem.  I decided to try my luck and made the drive up there.  When I arrived at 4:40 there were a group of 13 Bohemian Waxwings in a large maple tree over the road.  I looked at them for a few minutes and then grabbed out my camera setup.  When I looked back up the birds were gone and were not found again.  There were 40+ robins plus a group of 16 Cedar Waxwings but the Bohemian's were not to be seen again.  I assume they went to roost for the night so they may indeed be likely to show up there first thing tomorrow morning.  No photos of the birds for me but I was happy to at least see them.

More robins, waterfowl and Snow Buntings at Quabbin

Snow Bunting, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2011

Snow Bunting, five of seven present, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2011

Snow Bunting, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2011

Distant shot of Red-necked Grebe, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2011

Distant shot of Red-necked Grebe, Quabbin Park, Nov 26, 2011

I spent another early morning at Quabbin Park beginning at dawn at Winsor Dam where I spent 45 minutes watching the morning spectacle of American Robins leaving their evening roost.  Today the birds seemed to split into two groups with one heading nearly west and the other milling around and finally heading south to southeast.  It was difficult to get a good count as many were at the limit of sight even with a scope.  I counted just over 1100 this morning which is a bit lower than previous days.  The waters were quite still this morning as there was little wind which made looking for waterfowl a bit easier.  I found a handful of Common Loons, several Horned Grebes, a Red-necked Grebe, Hooded and Common Mergansers as well as Black Ducks, Mallards and Canada Geese.  No big numbers but with southerly winds the last few days I was not expecting a large influx of new waterfowl from up north.  I also had a Belted Kingfisher flying quite high over the reservoir.  The number of land birds was quite low but not really unexpected given the date and conditions.  The Snow Buntings in the tower parking lot continued today and I was able to get a few photos.  The day started around freezing but ended at a balmy 60 degrees as we continued our run of above normal temperatures.