Tuesday, February 25, 2014

MA - more Scaup - 02/25

The numbers of Greater Scaup along the Connecticut River continue to impress. Though not unprecedented by any means, being this far inland I tend think of Greater Scaup as late fall and early spring migrants through 'the valley'. I enjoyed the scaup at Turner's Falls on Sunday (8 on Turner's Falls power canal and 2 at Barton Cove) and this morning I found two more flocks in Northfield; one flock of 9 off Caldwell Road, West Northfield and another flock of 12 off Bennett Meadow. Both flocks were loosely associating with Common Goldeneyes, the flocks of which included a high proportion of males. Despite thorough checking, I failed to dig up a Barrow's Goldeneye at any of my stops which was at least some of my motivation for checking sites along the CT River today.

Elsewhere, passerines of note included 35 roadside Horned Larks at Walnut Grove Dairy Farm in Vernon, VT. My early morning run also produced a fly over Red Crossbill at Derby Hill in Gill, my first this year.

Common Goldeneyes - CT River at Caldwell Road, West Northfield, Franklin Co., MA.
February 25th, 2014. 

Greater Scaup - flock of nine, CT River at Caldwell Road, West Northfield, Franklin Co., MA.
February 25th, 2014. A further flock of 12 were downstream at Bennett Meadow, Northfield. 

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