Bird Sightings: North winds disrupt early spring migration

1

Photo: North winds disrupt early spring migration
Courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
A green-winged teal

The Audubon Society has reported a variety of recent bird sightings in western Massachusetts.

North winds continue to keep migration numbers very low. Blackbirds and robins have still not arrived in normal numbers while ducks and geese are decidedly scarce. On the other hand, individuals of a few species were reported that do not usually arrive until April.

Two American wigeon, two green-winged teal, six wood ducks, three ring-necked ducks, five tree swallows, a yellow-rumped warbler and 10 savannah sparrows were seen in Longmeadow.

American woodcocks were reported performing mating flights in Agawam, East Longmeadow and Southwick, while killdeer were noted in Belchertown, Pittsfield and Stockbridge.

Twenty-four mute swans, 13 ring-necked ducks, seven common goldeneye, seven bufflehead, 10 hooded mergansers, 38 common mergansers and a red-breasted merganser at Turners Falls.

A day long survey of East Quabbin, Hardwick and Barre produced a pied-billed grebe, a great blue heron, a northern harrier, two killdeer, two winter wrens, a ruby-crowned kinglet, two yellow-rumped warblers, two white-crowned sparrows, an eastern meadowlark, a rusty blackbird and a very early broad-winged hawk.

Fish crows were reported in Northampton, Dalton and Southwick, four green-winged teal were seen in South Egremont, a northern shrike was found in Windsor and four black vultures were seen in Sheffield.

Four gadwall, five wood ducks, a northern harrier, 10 great blue herons and a fox sparrow were reported in Easthampton.

Two buffleheads were seen in Southwick, 92 common mergansers were found at Quabbin Park and 15 turkey vultures were seen in Westfield.

To notify the Voice of Audubon of a bird sighting, please call 781-259-8805 and leave a message.

Comments

Post new comment

HouseHealing
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <b> <i> <strong> <em> <code> <cite> <ul> <ol> <li> <img> <div>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options