First Snow at Breakneck Hill

Today we had our first significant snowfall, just barely coating the ground but enough to cause problems on the roads.  Still, it made my hike a pretty winter wonderland.

I walked at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land at lunch and even my own tracks were nearly covered by the time I doubled back to leave.  I saw one hawk, although I heard one Eastern Bluebird (but never saw it), heard one woodpecker sp. but never saw it, and heard two American Goldfinches fly overhead.  I did catch a glimpse of them, but they were just gray specks against the falling snow.  Right as I reached the last hill before the parking area, what I believe to be a juvenile Northern Harrier flew overhead, and I managed to catch a couple photos of it.

The coating of snow gives things an entirely fresh look, after the landscape was getting a little dull from weeks of only earthy autumnal colors.

Birding at Dorchester Harbor Walk

It was a cold, steel grey day, but I chose to walk along the Dorchester Harbor Walk, hoping for some nice sea bird sightings.

Winter:  grey sky, grey cityscape, grey water

Red-Breasted Merganser (female)

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye (female)

Belted Kingfisher

White-Winged Scoter

House Sparrows

Common Eiders

Bufflehead

Horned Grebes

Herring Gull

Recognize this?  That's today's excuse for sun in Massachusetts.

Old Section of Sudbury Reservoir Trail

Today I spent my lunch hour at my regular portion of the Sudbury Reservoir Trail, which is between Middle Road and Deerfoot Road.  Today was misty, dark and grey, but during my break it was a mild 48 degrees.  The water was quiet.  I did see one Mute Swan (the banded one) and 3 Hooded Mergansers.

The trail itself was a little more active.  In addition to Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals and Dark-Eyed Juncos that refused to cooperate for photos, I saw:

Wild Turkeys

Song Sparrow (one of several)

American Tree Sparrow (one of four)

American Goldfinch (one of two)

After crossing Parkerville Road, heading west, I stumbled upon a berry buffet filled with American Robins and Cedar Waxwings.  

American Robin (prob. at least 30)

Cedar Waxwing (prob. at least 10)

The Cedar Waxwing is one of my favorite birds, so please forgive the number of photos.  I can't resist them!

New Section of the Sudbury Reservoir Trail

It was 42 degrees and grey at lunch time, but I had seen some diving ducks over in the reservoir the other day so I thought I'd stop at the causeway on Route 85 (Cordaville Road).  I parked by the gate on the East side of the road and spotted a nice group of waterfowl in the water:  Common Mergansers (about 20), Hooded Mergansers (3) and a solo mystery duck which was a I guess to be a Ruddy Duck. 1st year drake Bufflehead.  Thanks to Alan M. of the Forbush Bird Club for help with the correct identification.

Common Mergansers

Hooded Mergansers

1st year Bufflehead (drake)

After all the ducks scattered, which they normally do as soon as a human walks anywhere near them, I drove over to the small muddy parking area next to the Rural cemetery and walked the Sudbury Reservoir Trail west towards Middle Road, seeing only Song Sparrows, Dark Eyed Juncos and Blue Jays along the way.  There was nothing in the water on this side of Route 85, probably because the water had started to freeze over.

Song Sparrow

I retraced my steps, crossed Route 85 and walked east towards White Bagley Road.  This section of the trail was much prettier.  The Bufflehead had flushed over to this side of the water, so I got another look at him.  More Hooded Mergansers.  A Hairy Woodpecker.  Blue Jays.

Hairy Woodpecker

It was a pleasant walk in spite of the weather, so I'm glad I forced myself to get out of the house!

Lunch at Waseeka

I was surprised to see a new, larger "No Pets" sign at the entrance to the trails.  Not long after I started down the trail, a deer spooked and rushed right to left across the path in front of me.  It stayed just off the trail for a little while cautiously watching me, but after I stopped to look back at it, it rushed off  with a flash of its white tail.

The water is freezing over, although there is still plenty of open water, but no waterfowl were visible.  I heard at least two Carolina Wrens, some Song Sparrows and lots of Black-Capped Chickadees.  Otherwise, it was quiet and uneventful.  There were a few moths flying about, and one of the Song Sparrows pursued one of them.

It was a warm 47 degrees, a pleasant surprise.  The sun did peak out today, which was another pleasant surprise since it wasn't predicted until tomorrow.

Back to Blogging

While others were seeing Snowy Owls, the only birds of note that I saw were far more common, were way off in the distance, or were heading quickly away from me!   The weather wasn't terribly cooperative either, so I have not been motivated to post to my blog.

Thanksgiving morning, we did see a flock of about 20 wild turkeys on the way to Grammy's house.  Glad they survived the day!  But, we were on a tight schedule, so the only photos were from the car window!

Thanksgiving Day, up in the Portsmouth NH area, I checked out a few beaches, hoping for a Snowy Owl.  No such luck.  I did see quite a few Common Loons, swimming in coves nearer the shoreline.  The ocean was very rough, and there were quite a few crazy human surfers enjoying the waves.

The day after Thanksgiving, while hiking the Urban Forestry Center trails in Portsmouth, NH, I flushed a Great Blue Heron.  Don't you just love photos of birds as they fly away from you?  Ahem.  Not so much!  I also saw Blue Jays, American Crow, Black-Capped Chickadees, gulls, sparrows, a White-Breasted Nuthatch.  Nothing terribly exciting.....

Saturday, while hiking with my husband at Great Meadows NWR, about all we saw were Canada geese, until a Black-Capped Chickadee (impressive, huh?) flew in close as we returned to the car.

Today,  I hiked slowly at Breakneck Hill Conservation Land because I started the day with a migraine and hoped the fresh air would help rid me of it once and for all.  There were quite a few birds flying around, which was nice to see on an otherwise dark, gray day.

Bittersweet

If you click on the above photo to enlarge it, you might notice that you can see the forest in the two larger water droplets.  

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Dark-Eyed Junco

Cedar Waxwing

again

It's very dark and damp around here.  Everything looks drab and gray....kind of reflects the way I was feeling.  Not a single bluebird was around to brighten up the day.

The only potential sunshine is predicted for Wednesday.  In the meantime, I guess we just have to enjoy the raindrops.  What I'd really like to enjoy is a Snowy Owl sighting.....!