Canal Park, South Hadley

It was mild, but damp and when the wind blew across the CT River, it felt downright cold.  That didn’t stop seven members from trying to find open water on the river, which was mostly frozen.  Craig spotted two Bald Eagles flying upriver from the parking lot of our meeting spot at the South Hadley Public Library.  

To find open water, we headed towards the Coolidge Bridge in Northampton.  On our way we stopped on Aqua Vitae Rd in Hadley and Craig spotted 18 Horned Larks, a male Northern Harrier, and a handful of Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. Heard birds at this location were Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal and House Sparrow.  

Arriving at the marina in Hadley, we found a female Northern Pintail nestled along the shoreline with a group of Mallards, two Buffleheads diving and popping up again downriver, and a Peregrine Falcon perched in a bare-branched tree across the river. En route we spotted the usual suspects, Rock Pigeons, Canada Geese, American Crows and European Starlings.  The birding turned out to be quite good, and it was very nice to chat with birding friends we had missed over the winter.  Spring is on its way - hooray!