Big snow storm

Feeders waiting for action in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2019

Jabish Brook, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2019

Wilson with his favorite outside 'ball', Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2019

Dark eyed Junco with breast stripes, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2019 (date is off by 12 hours for some reason)

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 3, 2019

Carolina Wren, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2019 (date is off by 12 hours for some reason)

Wilson enjoying the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2019

Wilson as the snow moves back in on Monday evening, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2019

Wilson as the snow starts, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 1, 2019

We continue to dig out from one of the largest storms we have had in awhile and probably one of the biggest December storms ever.  It started snowing Sunday afternoon and continued overnight into Monday and we ended up with about 8" of snow and sleet from that part of the storm.  Light snow was with us almost constantly Monday but didn't amount to much until the evening when the storm off the coast really cranked up.  The forecast for Monday night into Tuesday was for perhaps 3-5", maybe less.  It was quite a surprise to wake up on Tuesday morning to at least another 18" of fresh snow!  The snow finally quit late in the morning on Tuesday and it took hours to dig out the yard and feeders from our 2+ feet of snow.  It looks more like the middle of winter after multiple storms....at least Wilson was happy!  I didn't venture too far from the house the last couple days beyond a quick stop at Winsor Dam today (lots of Bald Eagles but not much else).  The feeders were active throughout my time at home and although there was nothing too unusual I did see one of my banded Black capped Chickadee and the partially leucistic Tufted Titmouse (neither of which fed on the suet so no captures on the camera).  The camera did capture a unique looking Dark eyed Junco that had striping on the breast.  Hopefully I will be able to get out a little tomorrow although access to most locations will be limited or nonexistent due to all the snow.  Surprisingly the Pacific slope Flycatcher was seen and photographed in the snow on Monday in between our bouts of heavy snow (eBird list here).

Birding before the storm

Yellow rumped Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2019

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2019

I headed out this morning to begin the month trying to track down lingering species with the main focus being any warblers and the long staying Pacific slope Flycatcher.  The day started off cold with lows around 15 and rapidly increasing clouds as the oncoming nor'easter approached.  I started off the morning before dawn at Arcadia where I checked out the waterfowl gathered in the rapidly icing up marsh and had mostly the same selection I had there yesterday with nothing too unusual.  The waterfowl got excited once when a Great Blue Heron flew past squawking the entire time as it headed out to the oxbow.  As the sun came up I caught up with my first group of Yellow rumped Warblers of the day, marking the second full year I have had a warbler in Hampshire County for every month of the year (much more about this at the following post: warblers into December).  I turned up another single Yellow rumped Warbler elsewhere along with two Ruby crowned Kinglets travelling together and a selection of woodpeckers.

Yellow rumped Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2019

After Arcadia I headed over to the East Meadows where I found another group of Yellow rumped Warblers and at least three Northern Harriers working the fields and occasionally flushing small groups of Horned Larks.

Greater White fronted Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 1, 2019

Cackling Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 1, 2019

Canada Goose with white on neck, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 1, 2019

Bald Eagle, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2019

I then made a stop to the Pacific slope Flycatcher spot to see if the hardy bird was still hanging on before the storm.  Unfortunately I struck out on the bird but the breeze was starting to pick up and the temperatures were still in the low 20's.  Hopefully it is still around and hunkering down for the storm.   I then drove over to the nearby UMASS campus pond where I had three species of geese including a Greater White fronted Goose and a Cackling Goose plus the hordes of Canada Geese.  I made one last stop along Moody Bridge Road looking for vultures before heading home but had no luck turning up any vultures.  There were a few raptors around and a flock of 75+ Horned Larks that were very wary and almost constantly in flight.  Overall found a total of 53 species for the morning...not too bad at all.

Wilson enjoying a previous snow storm

The forecast calls for anywhere from 6"-24" of snow depending on what outlet you look at with fairly strong winds on Monday as the storm really explodes off the coast.  We have been lucky to escape anything beyond a light dusting so far but it doesn't look like our luck will continue....at  least Wilson will be happy.

The end of November

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 30, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 30, 2019

Canada Geese, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 30, 2019

Common Mergansers (plus some Ring billed Gulls), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 30, 2019

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 30, 2019

November has now come to an end and I have had a few decent sightings over the last week or so, with most of those detailed below.  Overall for the month in Hampshire County I found 112 species which is just shy of my best ever November around here when I had 113 species last year.  Although the month has averaged well below average as far as temperatures were concerned with a number of record setting cold days we have so far escaped with just a dusting of snow but if the forecast holds true for the end of the weekend into early next week that snow free streak looks to be coming to an end in a big way.  I got out a bit after work this morning and headed to Arcadia where I had at least three Yellow rumped Warblers still hanging around as well as some decent numbers of waterfowl but nothing unusual.  I also made a brief stop at Winsor Dam but the water was totally devoid of birds.

Cackling Goose, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 28, 2019

Cackling Goose and Mallard, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 28, 2019

Snow Geese with Cackling Goose (lower right) and Canada Geese, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 28, 2019

Wild Turkey, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 28, 2019

I visited a few spots on my way home from work on Thanksgiving morning with my first stop over to the campus pond at UMASS.  Among the several hundred Canada Geese was a single Cackling Goose that spent almost all of its time with its head tucked in plus a couple of juvenile Snow Geese that flew in not long after I arrived.  No sign of the Great White fronted Goose that has also been around so had to settle for three goose species (the GWFG showed up later in the morning).  I also made a brief stop at Winsor Dam to see if the strong northwest winds brought in any waterfowl but the only bird on the water was a single Common Loon.  The five Wild Turkeys that have been around the dam for months made an appearance for Thanksgiving.

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 26, 2019

Downy Woodpecker, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 26, 2019

Common Goldeneye, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 26, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 26, 2019

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Boardman St power line cut, Belchertown, MA, Nov 25, 2019

White tailed Deer, Bay Road power line cut, Belchertown, MA, Nov 25, 2019

Dawn, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Nov 25, 2019

Both Monday and Tuesday featured mainly sunny conditions with temperatures that were actually slightly above normal (a very uncommon occurrence during our record setting cold November).  On Monday I stayed relatively local starting my morning predawn with a trip to Gate 5 at Quabbin with the intention of catching up with a Northern Saw Whet owl but I didn't find one.  Lots of logging activity in the general area may have moved the birds from what is usually a fairly reliable spot for them.  I also hit a couple power line cuts in Belchertown with the best sighting being a late Ruby crowned Kinglet.  On Tuesday I headed over to Arcadia where I started out by checking the marsh which held loads of Canada Geese and a smattering of other waterfowl but nothing too unusual.  I then heard and found a small group of lingering Yellow rumped Warblers in the same general area.  I found two more individuals at another location in Arcadia bringing my total for the species to a half dozen.  The only other unusual species was a Ruby crowned Kinglet.  I had an appointment late in the morning in Hadley so I had more time to check a few spots before having to end my birding.  I made a brief stop at the nearly frozen Great Pond in Hatfield and it was fairly quiet.  The bright sun was starting to warm things up so I thought I would try again to see if the Pacific slope Flycatcher was still around and I found it showing well once again (full list).  After my appointment I stopped along Moody Bridge Road and had a large flock of Horned Larks (180+) that got flushed by a Cooper's Hawk.  In among the larks were several Snow Buntings and at least one Lapland Longspur.

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 4, 2019

Black Bear,  Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 14, 2019

Eastern Coyote, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 3, 2019

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 22, 2019

Beaver, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 27, 2019

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 27, 2019

I checked the game camera I have set up near the house and had a number of captures over the last few weeks including Bobcat, Black Bear, Beaver, Raccoon and Eastern Coyote.

A day out with Devin looking for birds in the valley

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Ruby crowned Kinglet, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 23, 2019

On Saturday I caught up with a migrant from the south (and recent western mass resident) when Devin arrived for a brief visit.  He contacted me a few days prior and said he wanted to get out for a morning of birding in the area and hopefully pick up the Pacific slope Flycatcher.  I picked him up before dawn and we were off on our adventure.  Our first stop was down to the East Meadows in Northampton where we donned some high visibility gear to announce that we were not looking to get shot and made a walk through an area that typically holds some lingering species (and few hunters).  We not only managed to not get shot but also turned up some good species including at least five Yellow rumped Warblers (fingers crossed they stick around at least into next month) and a Ruby crowned Kinglet.

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Pacific slope Flycatcher, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Hairy tailed Mole, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

By the time we finished up in the East Meadows it was around nine and the sun was starting to warm things up a bit.  We then headed over to the Pacific slope Flycatcher spot in Hadley where we arrived and started walking down the path and almost immediately had the flycatcher fly right up to us and perch in the open, allowing fantastic looks and photos.  The bird still looked healthy and was feeding actively but with it showing itself out in the open more and more over the last several days I highly doubt it will be long before a predator gets it...hopefully I'm wrong but it is a fate that many rarities meet.  There were several other birders present and all got fantastic looks at it as it fed at or below eye level along the main path.  Besides the flycatcher we came across a Hairy tailed Mole that looks to have recently died...not too rare a mammal but not one you get to see too often.

Greater White fronted Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Canada Goose with white on neck, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Canada Goose with white on neck, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Nov 23, 2019

With the flycatcher seen and photographed we decided to head over to the UMASS campus pond to see what might be around.  The pond has recently held both Great White fronted Goose and Cackling Goose among the much more numerous Canada Geese.  A scan of the pond turned up a Greater White fronted Goose and a few runt looking Canada Geese but no Cackling Goose.  The only other notable species was a Great Blue Heron hunting the middle of the pond among several hundred geese.  There were also a few Canada Geese with white on their necks...full album of unusual Canada Geese can be found here.

Black Vulture, South Maple St, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Turkey Vulture, South Maple St, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

Turkey Vultures, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2019

With our time for birding rapidly dwindling we headed back down through Hadley and still managed to turn up more notable birds including a mixed flock of vultures circling over South Maple Street near the malls that held three Black Vultures and nine Turkey Vultures.  After see the vultures there we continued on to Moody Bridge Road where we found ten Turkey Vultures.  I'm sure some of the vultures were the same at both locations but there were also some new ones too but tough to know exactly how many were new.  Either way any vultures around the area in late November is noteworthy.