I attended the Forbush Bird Club's trip to Lake Quaboag and vicinity this past Sunday . The morning air was brisk to say the least and even more so on the water which is just where we all wanted to be to search for ducks now that the waters are no longer frozen. We went many places and saw quite a few ducks including Ring-necked, Wood Ducks, American Black Ducks, Bufflehead , some Green-winged Teal and of course the usual Mallards but for the most part the waters were quiet and most of the ducks were far away so I didn't get much for pictures.
The passerines were out there somewhere, but very quiet because what bird in their right mind would want to sing in the temps we had on Sunday!! With that said, Rodney did a great job getting some of them to pop up out of hiding with his Screech-owl imitation. We also were treated to seeing an Eastern Phoebe, which was a first of the year for quite a few folks on the trip. Another thing worthy of mention would be the scores of Common Grackles we would see at one spot. There were so many of them that the sound was deafening.
We would also have our fair share of some raptors who love the winds and had ample opportunity to play in it as the winds at the waters edge were fierce. Nice way to spend a Sunday morning and catch up with everyone and am looking forward to the Bolton Trip this upcoming Saturday when temps are supposed to be in the 70's (only in New England).
After that Alan and I stopped in Sutton to look at some trails along the Midstate Trail with one area looking promising for exploration when the weather gets nicer. On our way back toward Millbury, I spotted a male Eastern Bluebird perched on a telephone wire so we pulled over to look at it in the warmth of the car.
He was soon joined by a female and he would land on the ground in search for food. Such beautiful birds, especially this time of the year.
I decided to head to the Millbury Cemetery this morning before work, despite the dreary weather to search to see if any Chipping Sparrows have come back yet as this is one of their favorite spots. I wouldn't see that many birds, except for some American Robins, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays and one lone Red-winged Blackbird. I decided to check one more area and I spot one lone Wild Turkey walking around the grounds. I put my car in park and proceed to whip out my camera as I didn't have the turkey on my Worcester County list yet. Not too bad if I do say so myself. ;-)
We would also have our fair share of some raptors who love the winds and had ample opportunity to play in it as the winds at the waters edge were fierce. Nice way to spend a Sunday morning and catch up with everyone and am looking forward to the Bolton Trip this upcoming Saturday when temps are supposed to be in the 70's (only in New England).
After that Alan and I stopped in Sutton to look at some trails along the Midstate Trail with one area looking promising for exploration when the weather gets nicer. On our way back toward Millbury, I spotted a male Eastern Bluebird perched on a telephone wire so we pulled over to look at it in the warmth of the car.
He was soon joined by a female and he would land on the ground in search for food. Such beautiful birds, especially this time of the year.
I decided to head to the Millbury Cemetery this morning before work, despite the dreary weather to search to see if any Chipping Sparrows have come back yet as this is one of their favorite spots. I wouldn't see that many birds, except for some American Robins, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays and one lone Red-winged Blackbird. I decided to check one more area and I spot one lone Wild Turkey walking around the grounds. I put my car in park and proceed to whip out my camera as I didn't have the turkey on my Worcester County list yet. Not too bad if I do say so myself. ;-)Take care all.
2 comments:
Phoebes and Bluebirds! You're making me jealous! :) I finally saw a Phoebe yesterday and I'm just waiting for Mr & Mrs B to come and claim their nestboxes. Looks like you had a fantastic day!
Sounds like a good club trip and a nice day of birding, Kim! Our local club had a duck trip yesterday too. Actually they call it a Loony or Looney Trip since we can catch Common Loons on our lakes as they are on their way north. Well done on the turkey pic.
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