Trumpeter Swan to start March plus a decent selection of other birds

Trumpeter Swan, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Trumpeter Swan, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Turkey Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Bald Eagle, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Black Vulture, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Eastern Coyote, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Eastern Coyote, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 1, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 1, 2025

I started off March with a very rare Trumpeter Swan that showed up at the UMASS campus pond yesterday and continued through today.  It was the latest in a long line of odd waterfowl that has shown up at the small pond in the middle of the campus.  It may indeed be the same individual that has been seen in various part of the Connecticut River on and off since mid January.  Very cool to get point blank looks at it today.  I tried (and failed) to turn up an arriving American Woodcock on the southern winds overnight into the morning.  However I did find some good stuff as I visited multiple spots on the east side of the river with the highlights being an Eastern Meadowlark in Hadley and a single Snow Goose among a flock of Canada Geese headed northeast at Winsor Dam.  The open water way out at the dam also produced five other species of waterfowl.  It was a good day for unusual waterfowl in the area beyond what I found with Ted finding Cackling Goose, Pink footed Goose, Greater White fronted Goose and a Tufted Duck in Longmeadow.

Trumpeter Swan at Holyoke Dam

Trumpeter Swan, Holyoke Dam, Holyoke, MA, Jan 13, 2025

Trumpeter Swan, Holyoke Dam, Holyoke, MA, Jan 13, 2025

Trumpeter Swan, Holyoke Dam, Holyoke, MA, Jan 13, 2025

Trumpeter Swan, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jan 13, 2025

I got a text from Ted late yesterday letting me know he had either a Tundra or Trumpeter Swan at the Holyoke Dam and he was trying to determine which one it was.  I had other commitments and was not feeling up to trying to make it down to the dam before the light of the day would be gone.  Ted eventually got some great views and photos in the rapidly decreasing light and confirmed the bird as Trumpeter Swan.  I figured I would try today as I would be able to bird close to the car (and even from the car).  The swan was last seen very close to the shore on the South Hadley side at the end of the day yesterday.  I made it down there fairly early and after viewing a bit from the South Hadley side with no luck I went across the river to the Holyoke side and quickly got the Trumpeter Swan among a group of four Mute Swans.  A return to the Hampshire County side to get the species for the county found me checking a few spots to finally get a view of the bird and eventually I found a spot and got some marginal photos through the trees.  As I tried to get better views I came across a few other new species for me for the year including an Iceland Gull and a Great Black backed Gull.  Trumpeter Swan is very rare in the state with just a few recent records, with most of those in the last 20 years, likely a result of some of the reintroduction programs for the species.  This is my second Hampshire County record for the species with the last one being one around the valley in a few spots in late March into early April in 2004.

I have added several more species to end out what is nearly the end of the second week of the new year and I now stand at an impressive 97 species for the year so far in Hampshire County...my highest total for this point in the year ever.

Finger Lakes from Aug 24-27

Taughannock Falls, Ithaca, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Just returned from a quick four day getaway to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Although it was not a birding trip I still managed to get some birding in including a walk around the trails at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Friday and a morning trip up to Montezuma NWR with Ian. The remainder of the time was spent with quality visits to the many wineries in the area and a few waterfalls.

Trumpeter Swans, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Red headed Woodpeckers, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Stilt Sandpipers, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Wilson's Phalarope, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

The Saturday visit to Montezuma was the most productive with a total of 86 species from just before dawn until mid/late morning including some truly impressive numbers of swallows, starlings, blackbirds and grackles leaving their roost at dawn (see the following list: Montezuma NWR at dawn ). Also a good showing of shorebirds with eleven species including a Wilson's Phalarope, a few Stilt Sandpipers and several White rumped Sandpipers. The marsh complex is quite impressive and covers a very large area with a wide diversity of species...it would be such a great spot to visit on a regular basis as the opportunities for rarities is high. After parting ways with Ian around 10:30 we walked a little more at Montezuma before spending the afternoon checking out some more wineries plus making a hike up to Taughannock Falls.

Lucifer Falls, Robert H. Treman SP, Ithaca, NY, Aug 27, 2017

The last day was mainly spent making the long drive back home but before we headed out we stopped at Robert Treman SP to take a short hike.  Overall for the trip I ended up with 103 species with 16 of those being new for my New York list (which now stands at 140).

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Wilson's Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Before leaving on the trip on Thursday I spent a few hours in the morning exploring a few areas at Quabbin Park. I once again tried to find the Mourning Warblers in the area they bred this year but they appeared to have moved on. I did however run across a Mourning Warbler in an area well away from the breeding area and this individual was almost certainly a migrant. Other notables around included my first Wilson's Warbler of the fall and a few other pockets of migrants.


The hurricane season heated up a bit the last several days with the biggest story being Hurricane Harvey that struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 storm and it continues to sit just inland as a tropical storm dumping massive amounts of rain and leading to catastrophic flooding.  As far as birds are concerned there seemed to be some major displacement of both pelagic and near shore birds with the biggest influx noted so far being frigatebirds.