Trip Highlights

Clouds and comfortable conditions greeted the eight members for the first fall trip to Berkshire Lakes.  It was a slow start at Laurel Lake with only Mallards in view, but Stockbridge Bowl had 6 Green-winged Teal and a Great Blue Heron in the marsh.  We rode over Stockbridge Mountain to find 10 more Green-winged Teal in Fairfield Pond.  Richmond had 3 Ravens and a Coot, in the marsh , while on the pond was a Red-breasted Merganser.  Going overhead we noted a flock of a hundred Cedar Waxwings and four flocks of Bluebirds totaling about 50.  The count of Ring-necked Ducks at Mud pond was a cool 1100.  The south end of Onota Lake had a Common Loon and a Bonaparte’s Gull while the north end had 20 Hooded Mergansers, 8 Green-winged Teal, a Pied-billed Grebe, and another lone Coot.  The northwest corner of Pontoosuc had small groups of Common and Hooded Mergansers, along with another Red-breasted Merganser.  We were welcomed to Ann Connors house for views of a young White-crowned Sparrow and a Fox Sparrow.  Northeast Pontoosuc had another Common Loon and a third Red-breasted Merganser, this one a young male.

Eight participants turned out for the trip through Quabbin Park, where we tallied 16 species on a clear, cool but blustery day.  The only woodpecker was a Flicker and the only sparrows were a few flocks of Juncos.  Whatever was there seemed to stay in the shelter of the bushes.  We had a few Crows but no Ravens, the reverse of what we usually get at Quabbin.  Goodnough Dike was the best spot for waterbirds - two Common Loons, four Surf Scoters and two close Horned Grebes around the corner at Gate 32.  The water here didn't have the whitecaps that were on the rest of the reservoir and the wind didn't blow us over.  We had three Bald Eagles, one adult right over us at Windsor Park and two just floating above us at Goodnough (an adult and a 4th year bird).  These two seemed to kettle with five gulls, enjoying the wind.  We had a nice look at an adult Red-tailed Hawk which landed about 100 feet away, and a Golden-crowned Kinglet also gave us a close view.  The few birds we found were very nice and the scenery was great, bright multicolored trees and a blue sky with fast moving cotton ball clouds.  The company was great too!

The frigid, freezing weather kept numbers down to 7 people for this venture.  At the main gate, the first of many Wood Ducks were studied in the thick lily pads that covered the shallow cove.  Just across the road, beneath a high canopy of pines, was a hidden pond that held a big surprise, two ducks of different sizes, the smaller one a female Green-winged Teal and the other a female Northern Shoveler. They stuck together as if mated, but they were only temporary mates. The large coves farther along held mostly Wood Ducks and Mallards, but a little patient searching revealed a pair of Ring-necked Ducks, a Pintail, and a Pied-billed Grebe. A large flock of Yellowrumps and some Palm Warblers gathered seed at the edges of the pond and a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds stalked the muddy edges and the exposed lily pads.  A Bald Eagle arrived as the fog finally cleared, and later it caught and ate a fish before our eyes.  Other birds at the far end of the main pond were a single Rusty Blackbird, a lone Phoebe, a Merlin mobbed by a flock of crows, and a calling Killdeer.

Five members joined me for the walk on the bike trail and we found 19 species, including the pair of resident Common Loons.  Three Double-crested Cormorants were also on the water and a Belted Kingfisher was fishing the edges.  The birds were not too active so soon after first light and fog hampered us at well.  When the sun came up we noted some Golden-crowned Kinglets in the pines and four Phoebes in the brush along the shore.

There were plenty of migrants and lingering species to see on this day for nine people.  We started with Wood Ducks, Common Mergansers and a Green Heron in the wetland, where a Red-tailed Hawk was perched on a branch protruding from the surface.  A Bald Eagle flew over as well as a falcon, too briefly and far away to identify.  We enjoyed looks at two Phoebes, a Catbird, some Mockingbirds and six Flickers.  A Black-and-white Warbler was added to the usual Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, while Savannah Sparrows lurked in the grasses and brush.