Little Blue Heron at Arcadia

Little Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

Little Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

Little Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

Following up on a report of an adult Little Blue Heron at Arcadia in Easthamton/Northampton I made the trip over there this morning with Jacob Drucker.  The bird was last seen in the oxbow but given the boat traffic there we were not surprised it was not there when we arrived.  We thought it may have gone back into Arcadia itself and sure enough that is where we found it this morning around 6:30am.  The bird was actively feeding and still present when we left the area to continue birding the meadows area of Arcadia.  In addition to the heron there were 7 Greater Yellowlegs, 13 Wilson's Snipe, 21 Green-winged Teal, 16 Wood Ducks plus several each of Palm, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers as well as others. 

Vesper Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, April 16, 2012

In the Arcadia meadows the good birding continued with at least three Vesper Sparrows present plus 50+ Savannah Sparrows, dozens of Song Sparrows, 30+ Great Blue Herons at the rookery, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and more Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  We headed out of the area around 10am and the temperatures was already in the mid 70's heading toward an unseasonable high of 90.  It was like being back in Arizona again with morning temperatures in the 50's and getting up to 90!  Certainly unusual for mid April in Massachusetts in a typical year but this year is far from typical.

Back from Arizona...migration takes off!

Gila Woodpecker, Tucson, AZ, April 7, 2012

Just back from a week trip out to southeast Arizona.  Lots of good stuff and great weather.  I just downloaded the photos now so should have some more up soon.  Still tallying up the totals too so I don't have all that info yet.  Will post them up when I get them set.

As for migration here it seems to have picked up.  South winds last night brought in some migrants to the area.  I headed over to Quabbin Park this morning despite my jet lag and had some good stuff including Blue-headed Vireo, Eastern Towhee, ten Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, five Double-crested Cormorants, 30 Pine Warblers and a similar number of Chipping Sparrows plus a good variety of other birds.  I also went to Covey WMA late AM with Wilson and we had a singing Field Sparrow, a couple calling Broad winged Hawks and an Osprey.  Also had a Bobcat cross the road as we drove in.

Hooded Merganser nest in nest box at home, Belchertown, MA

At home the Hooded Mergansers are still on eggs in one the boxes and they should be getting close to hatching time.

Winsor Dam at dawn

Bufflehead (distant digiscope shot), Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2012

Bufflehead (distant digiscope shot), Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2012

A brief stop before work at Winsor Dam produced three Bufflehead, a Common Merganser, five Black Ducks, a Bald Eagle on the nest and a couple of very vocal Pine Warblers.  The only other birds of note the last couple days were five Rusty Blackbirds here at home first thing in the morning...three males and two females.

A new Quabbin bird and tagged goose from last week

Northern Shovelers, Quabbin Park, MA, April 4, 2012

Northern Shovelers, Quabbin Park, MA, April 4, 2012

On a brief stop this morning at Winsor Dam before work I had a species I had never seen at Quabbin before: Northern Shovelers.  I had a pair together out on the calm waters.  I managed a distant digiscope shot with my iPhone.  It is an distant, blurry but identifiable shot of the pair.  It is quite rare now that I get a new species for Quabbin.  It is indeed odd that I have had Sooty Tern and White-tailed Tropicbird at Quabbin before I had a Northern Shoveler!  In addition to the shovelers I had two pairs of Bufflehead, four Black Ducks, four Mallards and a single Canada Goose plus an immature Bald Eagle catching a large fish just off shore as well as an adult eagle on the nest.

Tagged Canada Goose, Barton's Cove, Turners Falls, MA, April 4, 2012

The information on the tagged goose I saw last week at Barton's Cove came back yesterday and here is what I found about the goose.  She was tagged on July 5, 2011 in Varennes, Quebec (about 10 miles northeast of Montreal).  She certainly has travelled around a bit so far.  Always interesting to see where various tagged birds came from. 

Connecticut valley birds plus Quabbin Park

Tagged Ring-billed Gull, UMASS, Amherst, MA, April 1, 2012

Tagged Ring-billed Gull, UMASS, Amherst, MA, April 1, 2012

Wilson's Snipe, Hadley, MA, April 1, 2012

Peregrine Falcon with prey, UMASS, Amherst, MA, April 1, 2012

Spent the early part of the morning through mid morning with Ian Davies exploring areas around Hadley and Amherst and then over to Hatfield before heading home and making a stop at Quabbin Park.  The day was cool and overcast but very calm.  We started along the rail trail at Station road and tried for the Sora but all we could find today was the starling giving a great impression of a Sora.  We next headed through the fields of Hadley around South Maple St and had a few American Kestrels as well as several singing Eastern Meadowlarks plus at least four Wilson's Snipe along East Hadley Road.  We next stopped off at Hadley Cove and had 29 Green-winged Teal plus a few Black Ducks and Mallards plus a Wood Duck.  We then crossed over the Connecticut River and headed up to Great Pond in Hatfield.  There was little in the way of waterfowl here but there were at least 40 Rusty Blackbirds plus a Yellow-rumped Warbler. The fields of Hatfield, Whately and Sunderland were very quiet except for a flock of Horned Larks near Pilgrim Airport.  Lake Warner in North Hadley was also quite quiet with a Wood Duck, a Mute Swan and a couple Canada Geese.  With little activity in many spots we headed back to UMASS to try our luck at the campus pond.  Just the typical waterfowl here plus a calling Peregrine Falcon carrying a prey item of some sort.  There was also a wing tagged Ring-billed Gull present at the pond.  I'll post more on the wanderings of this individual once I hear back from the state.  There is an interesting article about the wanderings of these gulls at the following link:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/study/gullsmasswildlife.pdf

UPDATE:  I got the information back on the wing tagged gull pictured above.  Here is the reply I received from Dan Clark from DCR:

Captured 2/27/12 at the Walmart in Ware, MA

Captured using a rocket net baited with bread and chips

Adult female ring-billed gull

Florescent yellow wing-tags: A290

Blue leg band: 052

Federal band: 0994-21466

Released on site

Sightings:

This is the first sighting of the bird since capture, so it is particularly important.

It will be interesting to see if I come across this bird again as the year goes on.

Belted Kingfisher on weather station, Quabbin Park, MA, April 1, 2012

After dropping off Ian I headed over to Quabbin Park.  At Quabbin I had a handful of good birds including a Red-necked Grebe, three Common Loons including two in full breeding plumage and one juvenile bird plus lots of Pine Warblers singing on territory plus the Belted Kingfisher pictured above.

Quabbin Park in the snow

Greater Scaup, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Greater Scaup, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Greater Scaup, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Greater Scaup, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

With the predictions of a bit of snow I decided I would stay close to home today.  Despite the predictions there was no snow until just after dawn.  Although a far cry from the near summer weather of a week ago it still was not too bad and the only real hassles from the snow were the occasional reduction in visibility and the snow getting on the optics.  I started and ended at Winsor Dam with a quick trip through Quabbin park itself.  First thing in the morning there were 16 Black Ducks, a Common Loon plus a single male Bufflehead and a pair each of Common and Hooded Mergansers as far as waterfowl goes at the dam plus the first of what would turn out to be at least ten calling Pine Warblers for the day.  The route 9 marsh was productive once again with ten Wood Ducks, a couple Hooded Mergansers and mallards and Canada Geese.  In addition the beavers were quite active and continue to add to one of the larger beaver lodges I have ever come across.  Quabbin Park itself produced my first of year Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, several Eastern Phoebes and a immature Bald Eagle feeding on a large fish while two crows looked on.  My return to Winsor Dam found a new selection of waterfowl present and an uptick in the amount of snow and sleet.  I found a Common Goldeneye female and then a scaup species that was initially on the water and then took off and flew past me a few times.  It turned out to be a Greater Scaup or so it would appear.  The overall structure and the coloration points to that ID but the best looks I got of it were in flight so I'm open to other suggestions.  The other birds of note here were a couple of Horned Grebes.  The birds were in an odd transitional plumage that I do not typically get to see here.  One of the birds was a bit odd and had me thinking it may be something besides a Horned Grebe but in the end they both appear to be Horned Grebes.  Again I'm open to others thoughts on the grebes.  The snow, light and distance made it tough to get good looks as well as good photos.  The grebe photos are below.

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 31, 2012

Amherst to Turners Falls and back

Song Sparrow singing at dawn, rail trial, Amherst, MA, Mar 30, 2012

Wood Duck, rail trial, Amherst, MA, Mar 30, 2012

I spent the morning travelling from Amherst/Hadley up through Hatfield to Turners Falls and back down through Amherst.  I began at dawn on the rail trail in Amherst beginning at Station Road and going up to Hop Brook and back.  The morning started off quite cool with a slight breeze.  The best bird was a Sora that whinnied once.  Oddly in the same area was a Starling that gave a perfect imitation of the short Sora call.  I believe the actual Sora used this call once in response to the Starling...very unusual to witness!  You don't need to use playback, you just need a starling with you!  I next travelled over to Hadley Cove and had a total of 33 Green-winged Teal here plus several Wood Ducks and a few mallards.

Rusty Blackbird, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 30, 2012

I then crossed the river and headed up to Great Pond in Hatfield. There was little in the way of waterfowl here (a pair each of Green-winged Teal and Wood Ducks). There were however some good birds around. One of the first birds I saw was a Yellow-rumped Warbler (the third warbler species for the month of March). Once down at the pond I started hearing Rusty Blackbirds and had a few fairly close for a short time before they flew across the pond. There were at least sixteen rusties here and almost certainly more as they moved around quite a bit and the bad light made it tough to view some areas. Glad to see there are still some around. 

I then headed north up to Turner's Falls to check Barton's Cove and the power canal.  When I arrived on the Gill side I ran into James Smith.  There was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks, a few Mallards, a couple Mute and 80+ Canada Geese including a neck tagged individual.  It was too far away to see well from the Gill side so I headed over the bridge.  The goose had a red neck tag with white writing with the code "F5C4" plus a federal leg tag I was unable to read.  I reported the bird to the federal banding website http://www.reportband.gov/  and will update when and if I get info back.  There was also a leg banded goose in the group that I could read partially.  The numbers on the aluminum band on that individual was "1078" but that was all I could see...not enough to report. 

A quick stop at the power canal produced little waterfowl but did find 49 Tree Swallows feeding low over the water.

Other brief stops on my way south produced little of note.  There were oddly no groups of geese found in any of the fields I passed during my entire morning.  I assume a large number of the geese have already moved north.