Info on tagged goose and eggs in a nest box

Canada Goose (E878), Rt 9 marsh, Quabbin, March 12, 2012

I found a tagged Canada Goose at the Route 9 marsh on February 28 and March 12  and forwarded the information to the USGS bird banding site www.reportband.gov .   The bird had a yellow neck collar with the ID of "E878" written in black letters.  I just got some info back about the bird.  The female was banded in Berlin, Connecticut by the CT Dept. of Environmental Protection on 6/29/2004 and was an adult at that time (born in 2003 or earlier).  It was interesting to see the journey the bird has made so far.

My weekly check of my nest boxes here at home turned up two eggs in one of the wood duck boxes.  I suspect the eggs are Wood Duck eggs as there was a female nearby when I went down to check the boxes.  She should lay several more eggs over the next few days.  I'll check it next week and see what progress she has made.  Very happy to see the boxes being productive.  No other activity in the other boxes yet but stay tuned.  I'll try to get a few photos when I check them next week.

Purple Finch at home

I had my first Purple Finch of the entire winter today at home in the evening as I came home from work.  It was a male singing...a nice sound to start what will be a weekend of no work and warm temperatures.  The forecast for the next several days shows sun, temperatures in the upper 60's to upper 70's with overnight lows in the mid 40's....truly impressive when you consider the typical high temperature this time of year is the mid 40's.  It will be interesting to see what migrants get pushed up here with these warm southerly winds.

A couple stops before and after work

Winsor Dam at Quabbin early evening, Mar 15, 2012

Although today was a bit cooler than the last few days the temperature near 50 was still above normal for this time of year and will only be one of a couple cooler days before it warms up again starting this weekend.  I was able to make a brief stop at Hadley Cove on my way to work and the only birds of note there were three Wood Ducks.  On my way home I stopped briefly at Winsor Dam to see if anything was around at the end of the day.  The 'gull patrol' boats were way out chasing gulls off the water so I was not expecting much.  However I did manage to pick out a flock of 59 Canada Geese heading north as well as a pair of Common Mergansers close into shore.  In addition the Bald Eagle was sitting on the nest with its head just barely visible.

A few minutes of waterfowl in the AM

Another warm day in the valley with temperatures yet again topping out around 70.  Truly amazing for March 13th!  The day began rainy and in the 40’s but eventually changed to a mix of sun and clouds with a breeze from the south.  I had only a limited time this morning so I stopped briefly in the rain at Winsor Dam.  I had a couple male and a female Hooded Merganser but little else.  I then headed to work stopping briefly at Hadley Cove which had at least 22 Green-winged Teal, three Northern Pintails and the usual assortment of Canada Geese and Mallards. 

Today also marks a sad anniversary for me. It has now been two years since I lost my good buddy Kody. He was a great dog and a true companion. It is hard to believe it has been two years. I certainly still miss him but now I have Wilson to join me on my walks so it does make it a bit easier. He is gone but not forgotten

Kody and his favorite toy

Wilson

Quabbin Park and areas around Hadley and Amherst

Eastern Meadowlark, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2012

Canada Goose (tagged), Rt 9 marsh, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 12, 2012

I spent the first part of my day off checking around Quabbin Park and then headed off to Hadley to run some errands and check a few spots for new arrivals.  The weather at Quabbin was perfect for viewing the water as it was clear and very little wind.  I arrived there right before dawn and had an American Woodcock 'peenting' a few times.  As far as waterfowl goes there were 7 Ring-necked Ducks, 18 Common Mergansers, 3 Hooded Mergansers,a few Mallards and a few Canada Geese (including a tagged individual..I reported this bird last week but have not heard back regarding the background of it).  Besides the waterfowl here I ran across a Great Blue Heron coming into the Route 9 marsh as well as a group of three red Fox Sparrows. 

Eastern Meadowlark, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2012

Eastern Meadowlark, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 12, 2012

As I was heading out of Quabbin I got a call from Jacob Drucker about a large goose flock near Moody Bridge Rd.  I needed run a few errands over that way so I headed over toward Hadley.  I ran into Jacob along the road and talked to him briefly.  We both had distant looks at the continuing western, dark morph Red-Tailed Hawk.  The light was terrible for photos so I didn't get any.  I then checked Moody Bridge Road and tried to catch up with Jacob again but got sidetracked looking at another Fox Sparrow.  Following my stops here I made a brief stop at Hadley Cove and had 29 Green-winged Teal (no luck finding anything different among them).  I then came back to Moody Bridge Road and had the flock of Canada Geese Jacob discovered this AM but there was nothing unusual with them.  There were at least three Eastern Meadowlarks singing in the fields and from the tops of the trees.  There seemed to be a marked increase in the number of Killdeer, Northern Flickers, blackbirds and grackles as well as Fox Sparrow.  Certainly some good migration last evening.  Before heading home I stopped briefly at the US Fish and Wildlife building but no Bohemians (only 22 cedars).  Once I got home I picked up Wilson and headed to Covey WMA and enjoyed the balmy conditions as the temperature soared into the high 60's to near 70.  I ran across a single Tree Swallow here plus my first butterflies of the season (two Eastern Comma's).

Connecticut River valley waterfowl

Common Mergansers, Arcadia near Oxbow-Easthampton, MA, Mar 11, 2012

I began the first day of daylight savings time by heading out predawn toward the Connecticut River to see what I could find for waterfowl.  I made a few stops before dawn to see if I could find any owls.  No luck with the owls but I had several 'peenting' American Woodcocks at various places.  My first stop for waterfowl was Hadley Cove which had a nice selection of birds including a pair of Wood Ducks, a doze Green-winged Teal, a few Black Ducks and Mallards and 550+ Canada Geese.  There were likely even more birds but I could not view the entire cove.  I then headed over the river to the oxbow in Northampton and had 106 Common Mergansers, a couple Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and a couple hundred Canada Geese.  The nearby Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary had a few hundred more Canada Geese, some Mallards, half a dozen Hooded Mergansers, five Wood Ducks and a dozen Common Mergansers plus a Mute Swan.  All the geese lifted off heading north and east at around 8am. 

Pied-billed Grebe, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 11, 2012

Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2012

I then headed north through Hatfield stopping at Great Pond where I had a Pied-billed Grebe, seven Wood Ducks, four Common Mergansers, seven Hooded Mergansers and eight each of Black Duck and Mallard.  In addition there were three River Otters following each other around on the far end of the pond.  I checked fields in Hatfield, Whately, and Deerfield as I headed north but found no fields with any waterfowl at all...none of the fields later in the morning in Sunderland, Hadley or Amherst had any waterfowl either...odd.  I made it as far north as Turners Falls stopping first at the power canal which had a half dozen Ring-necked Ducks, a Common Mergansers, a Hooded Merganser and six Common Goldeneyes plus a single Canada Goose.   I then made a brief stop at Barton's Cove which was relatively quiet birdwise as there were boats out on the water.  Even with the human activity there were six Mute Swans, 40 Ring-necked Ducks, 28 Common Mergansers and a few mallards and geese.  I then headed south stopping at Lake Warner in Hadley and finding seven Hooded Mergansers, a few Common Mergansers, 28 Wood Ducks, five Green-winged Teal, a Mute Swan and a few Mallards and Canada Geese.  There were also three very vocal Killdeer following each other around and a calling Golden-crowned Kinglet. 

Canada Geese (one with odd coloration), UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Mar 11, 2012

Canada Geese (one with odd coloration), UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Mar 11, 2012

Cedar Waxwing,  UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Mar 11, 2012

Cedar Waxwing, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Mar 11, 2012

I then made a stop at the UMASS campus pond and had the usual Mallards as well as a large group (1100+) of Canada Geese including a few with some additional white coloration on their heads and necks.  The Peregrine Falcon was perched right next to its nest box during my entire time here.  I tried for the reported Bohemian Waxwings found here yesterday but only found Cedar Waxwings.  Although I didn't see the bohemians the number of Cedar Waxwings totalled at least 134.  A brief stop at winsor dam right before I got home was uneventful.  Overall a nice day to be outside as the temperatures made it into the 50's, the sun shined throughout and the wind didn't kick up as much as I expected it to.

Quabbin Park

Common Loon, Quabbin Park, Mar 10, 2012

Common Loon, Quabbin Park, Mar 10, 2012

I got out early to get over to Quabbin Park to take a look around before the winds picked up today.  Winsor Dam had no waterfowl at all and the only bird I found on the reservoir was a Common Loon near Goodnough Dike.  I took a couple of distant digiscoped photos with my phone of the loon at full zoom to try and get better with obtaining documentation photos if I don't have my usual camera with me.  The most productive spot for waterfowl was the route 9 marsh which had eleven Hooded Mergansers, four Mallards and ten Canada Geese plus a very vocal kingfisher (one of two seen today).  The flocks of blackbirds and grackles have also increased during the last few days with hundreds of birds seen this morning.