A relatively quiet week plus the formation of a rare January hurricane in the Atlantic

East Meadows at dawn, Northampton, MA, Jan 12, 2016

The last few days have featured more January like weather with some snow (less than two inches) on Tuesday evening and then wind and cold Wednesday into Thursday. With weather like that I have not been out much so have not turned up anything too noteworthy.  Nonetheless I still managed to add one more new species for the county this year when I had a Barred Owl (#78) calling at home this evening.

A very unusual weather occurrence took place yesterday with the formation of a subtropical storm (named Alex) in the eastern Atlantic south of The Azores which then strengthened into a hurricane today with 85 MPH winds (thus becoming the strongest January Atlantic hurricane ever).  This is only the fourth time since record keeping began in 1851 that a named storm has formed in the Atlantic in January. A very unusual occurrence and one that requires above normal sea surface temperatures (among other reasons) for it to occur. More details about the storm and its formation can be found at the following links:

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/alex-becomes-the-atlantics-first-january-hurricane-since-1955

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/unprecedented-simultaneous-january-named-storms-in-the-atlantic-and-c

A rainy day with temperatures in the 50's...plus a Brown Thrasher in Amherst

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 10, 2015

I had hopes to get out a little early this morning before the expected heavy rain arrived and I did just that but I had very limited time before the rain did indeed move in. I managed to make it to Quabbin Park predawn and had a nice gathering of waterfowl including some high counts of a few species including 54 Black Ducks, 111 Mallards, 23 Common Goldeneyes, 56 Hooded Mergansers and 17 Common Mergansers plus a couple Horned Grebes. As the rain continued to increase in intensity I made a couple more quick stops but then decided to give up for the morning and run some errands. As I finished those up I got a message from Josh Rose that the Brown Thrasher he has had intermittently at his house was back. It just happened to be that the rain had let up quite a bit at that point so I figured I would try for it. When I arrived in the area the rain was starting back up again but I have good rain gear so I tried for it anyway. After about 20 minutes in the rain the bird showed briefly near the edge of a brush pile. The Brown Thrasher is quite unusual in January and it became species #77 for the county so far this year (raining way too hard to get any photos). Satisfied with finding the thrasher I headed back to the car and then it just poured. The rain kept up most the rest of the morning and into the afternoon although it got more sporadic later. It was a weird weather day with downpours at times, then quick peaks of sun, a rainbow, wind and temperatures reaching a recording setting 55...very strange for the 10th of January.

An 'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow in the East Meadows!

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow with typical Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

White crowned Sparrow (Juv), East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

White crowned Sparrow (adult), East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

Red winged Blackbird, East Meadows, Northampton, Jan 9, 2016

Although the morning started off with a little freezing rain it eventually turned out to be a fairly nice day. I didn't venture out right away but waited until the main roads got salted and I initially stuck close to home with some stops around Quabbin Park. The highlights there included 18 Black Ducks and a dozen Horned Grebes among the more typical waterfowl. As the morning wore on it appeared the weather was going to be better than predicted so I made a decision to head over to the East Meadows to try to catch up with the 'Ipswich' Savannah Sparrow found there by James a couple days ago. I arrived in the meadows around 8:30 and proceeded to where James had the sparrow but there were a few hunters in the area so after a brief, fruitless look I headed a bit west to check some hedgerows for sparrows (I did turn up a flock of 110+ American Goldfinches before leaving that area). The area near Hunt's Rd held a nice bunch of birds including a flock of seven Red winged Blackbirds (#73), a male Purple Finch (#74), two White crowned Sparrows (an adult and a juvenile of the typical eastern subspecies) and half a dozen White throated Sparrows plus lots of tree sparrows and cardinals. I then headed back over to look for the 'Ipswich' and the area was now a bit less hunter filled. I immediately had a large flock of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings working a large swath of the meadows and the flock contained at least one Lapland Longspur (#75) but I was never able to get a photo of the longspur. I then proceeded to scan the weedy field and I immediately noticed a very pale bird in among the more typical Savannah Sparrows...the 'Ipswich'! It was quite pale and larger overall with a larger bill compared to the typical savannah's. This individual is one of only perhaps one other western Massachusetts record of this distinct subspecies that typical winters along the immediate coast and breeds almost exclusively on Sable Island well off the coast of Nova Scotia. It is exceedingly rare inland away from the immediate coast.  It was considered a separate species until the last several decades and may indeed be a distinct species. Either way an amazing find by James who has now found two unusual sparrow subspecies in the last few days proving yet again that you never know what unusual bird is out there just waiting to be found. After getting some photos of the sparrows I started looking back through the lark and bunting flock and suddenly all the birds shot into the air...a Merlin was rocketing in from the east but it came up empty. The Merlin became species #76 for the county so far this year which puts me ahead of any previous year by this date.
Full eBird list from the East Meadows:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26788601

After my time in the East Meadows I made a brief run through the Honey Pot mainly hoping for a kestrel but I came up empty. I didn't try for the 'Gambel's' White crowned Sparrow but hopefully it is still around. I also checked out the river in Hadley and had 26 Common Goldeneye but not too much else. The UMASS campus pond was over 3/4 frozen and featured just a few geese plus Mallards and a handful of Black Ducks.

'Gambel's' White crowned Sparrow at the Honey Pot and lots of other stuff

White crowned Sparrow (Gambel's), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

White crowned Sparrow (Gambel's), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

Dark eyed Junco, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

American Tree Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

White throated Sparrows, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 8, 2016

Peregrine Falcon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

American Wigeon, Swift River, Ware, MA, Jan 8, 2016

Canada Goose with odd markings, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jan 8, 2016

Winsor Dam at dawn, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 8, 2016

With the weekend forecast calling for freezing rain, freezing drizzle, maybe some sleet and then heavy rain and wind I figured I would take advantage of the nice weather today and cover several areas to see what I could find.

I started off well before dawn in a fruitless search for a Barred Owl around Covey WMA before heading over to Quabbin Park to try to catch up with waterfowl.  The amount of waterfowl around at the park was quite low but I did have some stuff around.  After Quabbin I headed over to areas along the river starting off in Hadley and then working across the bridge to the East Meadows in Northampton before continuing on to South Hadley.  I then headed for home to pick up Wilson and we headed out to a few spots.  After I dropped Wilson off I headed back to Quabbin Park as well as the nearby Swift River.  Highlights for my various stops included the following:  Honey Pot: a Peregrine Falcon devouring a kill on top of a telephone pole in full view of morning commuters, at least 43 American Tree Sparrows and a rare 'Gambel's' subspecies White crowned Sparrow (a subspecies from the west) which I was able to relocate after being discovered yesterday by James. CT River in Hadley: at least 27 Common Goldeneyes as well as hundreds of Canada Geese.  East Meadows: at least a hundred doves and nine White throated Sparrows.  Quabbin Park: a flyby Pine Siskin and 27 Black Ducks.  Swift River in Ware:  an American Wigeon male.  Also had Winter Wrens at a couple spots in Belchertown as well as a uniquely marked Canada Goose at the Holyoke Dam that had some white coloration on the top of its head and down its neck.

It was a very productive day with a total of 49 species including four new for the year: White crowned Sparrow (#69) at the Honey Pot, Great Black backed Gull (#70) at the Holyoke Dam, Brown headed Cowbird (#71) in Belchertown and the American Wigeon along the Swift River (#72).  .

First week of January

Northern Shoveler with Mallard, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2016

Northern Shoveler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2016

Hooded Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2016

Ring necked Ducks, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2016

Connecticut River at dawn, Northampton, MA, Jan 7, 2016

Although most mornings have started off quite cold (single digits) it has steadily warmed up during the day light hours as the week has gone on breaking the freezing mark on Wednesday and Thursday. The more January like temperatures have frozen up most of the small ponds and even started putting some ice on the Connecticut River. This has resulted in the waterfowl being concentrated quite a bit more. I have had some luck in finding some good stuff over the course of the week with several stops at multiple locations. Quabbin Park produced the most notable species (and three new species for the year) with a female Northern Shoveler (#66), three male Ring necked Ducks (#67), 18 Black Ducks, 172 Mallards, five Common Goldeneye, 68 Hooded Mergansers and 14 Common Mergansers plus a couple Red breasted Nuthatches (#68). The Connecticut River below the Coolidge Bridge has produced up to 900 Canada Geese as well as some Mallards and Black Ducks but not too much else during early morning visits.  The first week of January in the county has produced a total of 68 species, which is a great start to the year.

First weekend of the year brings more new birds

Bufflehead, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Jan 2, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 2, 2015

I spent both mornings this weekend out looking for some new species for the year and I had quite a bit of good luck.  On Saturday I stayed relatively close to home making stops at Quabbin Gate 5, Quabbin Park and Beaver Lake.  The Quabbin CBC was going on that day so I added a few species for the count even without being a formal part of it.  At Gate 5 I made it down to the water for first light and had 400+ gulls on the water (with Ring billed and Herring being the only ones I could ID).  Most left before it got light enough to really go through the flocks.  I also had a calling Northern Saw Whet Owl (which the CBC team covering the area also were able to hear) and a Ruffed Grouse.  Quabbin Park was fairly quiet with just a few Common Mergansers, a Horned Grebe and a flyby Pine Siskin with a group of goldfinches plus at least 110 Cedar Waxwings near Quabbin Tower (no Bohemian Waxwings with them that I could find).  Beaver Lake was fairly active with the highlight being two Bufflehead.  I missed two good birds seen on the CBC...Long tailed Ducks from gate 5 and a Blue winged Teal at gate 52...both would have been great to see but you can't see everything.

Snow Geese, UMASS pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Goldeneye species, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Northern Pintail, Swift River, Ware, MA, Jan 3, 2015

Today I headed over across the river to Arcadia to start the morning and then came back across the river and checked the river and fields in Hadley and Amherst before hitting the UMASS pond and then back south through Hadley and finally heading back toward home with stops at Winsor Dam and Covey WMA (and the nearby Swift River).  Arcadia produced a continued Short eared Owl plus a pair of Great Horned Owls plus two Wood Ducks in the oxbow.  Decent numbers of American Tree Sparrows were in evidence in the meadows at Arcadia (as well as other locations throughout the morning).  I finally caught up with a Savannah Sparrow for the year too.  The Honey Pot was overall fairly quiet but I did pick out a single White throated Sparrow among the hordes of tree sparrows.  The Connecticut River produced hundreds of Canada Geese, a calling Eastern Screech Owl plus 16 Common Goldeneyes and an intriguing goldeneye that may have been a Barrow's Goldeneye.  The bird was in view for a short time at a distance through the scope before it was flushed by an eagle.  I managed just a few iPhone digiscoped shots before it disappeared not be be found again.  I immediately picked the bird out as different in shape from the near Common Goldeneyes.  It had a steeper forehead giving in a more box like head that appeared pushed forward.  There was obvious yellow on the bill but not complete on the entire bill.  Really wish I was able to find it again as I had the bird in roughly the same area a Barrow's Goldeneye was seen during the Northampton CBC.  After trying in vain to find the goldeneye again I headed over to the campus pond and found the two Snow Geese back on the pond in the company of several hundred Canada Geese plus 17 Black Ducks and roughly a hundred Mallards.  The rest of the fields and areas of the river I checked on my way home were not too productive.  My visit to Covey WMA with Wilson produced several good birds including a Great Blue Heron flushed from a small frozen pond, a kingfisher and a female Northern Pintail.  Overall a very good day with several new species for the year bringing my county total to 65 for the first three days of the year...a very good start to the year.

New Year's birding in the valley

Snow Geese, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Snow Geese, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Peregrine Falcon, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 1, 2015

With the start of 2016 I went out bright and early to start the new year off right by exploring several areas looking for new birds.  I started off at the Holyoke Dam in South Hadley and then working north along the river before heading back east to the Quabbin area.  I managed to find 47 species with several highlights including a Wood Duck (my first bird of the year as it flew south calling predawn...a good start) and Fish Crow along the river in South Hadley, a couple of Snow Geese at the UMASS pond, a few Horned Larks and a Snow Bunting at the Honey Pot, a Northern Harrier along Moody Bridge Rd in Hadley and a Red shouldered Hawk along Bay Road in Hadley.  Overall a very productive morning with some nice birds.