Trip Highlights

We had a very nice bird walk today in the McDonald Nature Preserve.  There were 16 participants, 14 from the ABC and 2 from the Wilbraham Hiking Club.  

The list of birds seen included two Robins, a Red-winged Blackbird, Crows, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, Blue Jays, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Cardinal, 3 Flickers, a Towhee, two Field Sparrows, Titmice, 2 Bluebirds, 2 Cowbirds, 2 Chickadees, 2 Broad-winged Hawks, a Black-and-white Warbler, 4 Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Hermit Thrush, 2 Canada Geese, 12 Mourning Doves, a Cooper’s Hawk, one Goldfinch, one Song Sparrow, and a Great Blue Heron flyover.

The field trip was cold and windy, but seven members braved the weather to see how many arriving migrants we could find.  At the gate, two Creepers sang.  After the gate, the woods and ponds had Sapsucker, Pileated, Red-breasted Nuthatch and 2 singing Pine Warblers.  There were 2 Palm Warblers close in the small ponds and four swallow species were feeding over the calmer waters, mostly Tree and Bank, a few Rough-winged, and at least one Barn Swallow.  

From the walking road along the main pond we had 2 Common Loon, quite a few Canada Geese, a pair of Ring-necked Ducks, 2 Wood Duck and Mallards, almost all along the far bank. Along the bank of the reservoir, near the road, there were two Spotted Sandpipers, who blended well into the rocky edge of road as they foraged.  In flight there were two Great Blue Herons, an Osprey, and an accipiter.  We walked a short way across the railroad tracks and into the woods to find Black-and-white Warbler, both Kinglets, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.  The tally was 34 species for the day.

The trip turned out to be a very wet walk at Stebbins.  One hardy soul braved the wet trails with the leaders until the rains became torrential.  In spite of the weather, we managed 30 species, including many Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers, eye level Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and good views of a very soggy Swamp Sparrow.  

Pondside was quiet after weeks of hosting many migrating ducks.  Today, eight DC Cormorants proved to be the most exciting migrant to be seen.  One other highlight was the three coyotes that ran in the opposite direction as soon as they spotted us.

After the usual wonderful breakfast at Sylvester’s Restaurant in Northampton, we drove to Montague.  Most of the ice was gone and there were 150 Ring-necked Ducks, 3 Mute Swan, 42 Common and 7 Hooded Merganser, 6 Bufflehead, 4 Goldeneye, a pair of Wigeon, a few Black Ducks, 2 Wood Duck, and a dozen Mallards.  We were shocked and surprised by a Coyote tip-tip-toeing across the thin ice near far shore.  Two Bald Eagles flew over with one close carrying a long twig to the nest.  From the park we could see one eagle on the nest and one perched nearby.  We saw two Great Blue Herons fly over from there and the lingering Snow Goose.

The Rod & Gun Club was next with 8 Bufflehead, plus hordes of ducks migrating north high overhead.  Also there, was a Phoebe and few more Common Mergansers.  We stopped at the airport next and heard a Killdeer calling and flying past, eventually seeing it close and unmoving.  A Meadowlark was more unmoving and distant.  After a rest top at usual spot, we drove down along canal, where only a few Ring-necked Ducks were gathered.  At the turn-off, a Pine Warbler sang constantly and came into good view.  Two others were heard farther away.  It was a calm day with temps of 50-60.

It was a cloudy day with some rain and temps of 45-50.  The Pynchon Point area had 5-6 Wood Ducks in trees near an apparent nesting hole.  We drove to Eastern States, passing 2 Turkeys strutting on the landfill.  A Peregrine flew off as we arrived.  There were several Common Merganser pairs on both sides of entrance road and many Common Crows were gathered there and calling along with some Fish Crows.  A Kestrel flew south and a Red-shouldered Hawk circled.  Two Pileated Woodpeckers were in the trees.  With some brush clearing along the road, the old riverbed marsh was more visible with several more Common Mergansers.  There were only 2 Wood Ducks spotted on the swollen river from the dike.  

In Longmeadow, the Pondside waters were busy with ducks, and we counted 2 Wigeon, 12 Wood Duck, 60 Ring-necked Duck, 5 Goldeneye, 10 Bufflehead, a male Shoveler, 4 Hooded and 30 Common Merganser, a Pied-billed Grebe, and 3 Great Blue Heron.  A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over and a hundred Tree Swallows flew and perched along with 10 or more Rough-winged Swallows.