MA - winter hits back for a few more days

Pine Warbler - male, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2016.

After last Friday's balmy 70 degree temperatures, winter hit back with a vengeance on Monday bringing about 5 inches of fresh snow followed by a very cold night with temperatures of around 13 deg F at dawn this morning. Even the hardiest of early migrants will shiver, or perhaps even perish under these conditions. But even so, Pine Warblers can still be heard singing from the woods around Gill and I heard two along a snow-covered Barney Hale Road this morning. Otherwise, it's been exceptionally quiet and migration, understandably, seems to be on hold for the moment.

 Pine Warbler - male, Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2016.

Exceptionally confiding male, much more often heard than seen in the Gill/Turner's Falls area.

Barney Hale Road, Gill - Franklin Co., MA. April 5th, 2016. 

Two singing Pine Warblers could be heard from this spot despite the wintery scene.

Song Sparrow - Unity Park, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2016.

Foraging during snowstorm.

Fish Crows continue to expand around Turner's Falls and on Sunday I came across pairs on I Street and at the Turner's Falls power canal, that's in addition to the regular birds around the Cumberland Farm gas station and at Unity Park. Oddly, I'm not finding Fish Crows on the Gill side of the Connecticut River though they seem easy enough to find in Greenfield, especially along Federal Street.

Fish Crow - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2016.

All Fish Crows in Turner's Falls can be identified by their unique nasal vocalizations.

Fish Crows - I Street, Turner's Falls, Franklin Co., MA. April 3rd, 2016.