Northampton Christmas Count- This is the first Christmas count I ever participated in and haven’t missed it in the last 33 years. My area is along the river in Hadley, and includes such notable locations as the Hadley Cove, Aqua Vitae Rd, Honey Pot and North Hadley. The forecast for the count was anything but encouraging, up to 10” of snow was expected to hit us in the early hours of the count. I got up around 3:45 am to see what was happing- NOTHING! We had dodged a big “Snowstorm” bullet. The storm pulled a little farther to the east, sparing us the white stuff. Along the coast they got hammered with 15” of the white stuff.
One thing we did get from the storm was the WIND! Walking across the corn fields in Hadley at times was tough, eyes watering and facial muscles locked into place was not a pleasant experience. Because of the wind, many birds were hunkered down, but we did manage to pull out 44 species, and a couple of them were somewhat note worthy.
Like the year before, I was joined by my friend James Smith of Amherst. James keen eye and ear were a tremendous help birding in the blustery conditions. Visit James blog page @ Pioneer Birding to view photos.
Happy Holidays,
Scott
Location: Hadley, Hampshire County, MA, US
Observation date: 12/20/09
Notes: Northampton C.B.C.- Hadley Cove- Aqua Vitae Rd-Honey Pot & North Hadley.
Number of species: 44
Snow Goose- One bird in with hundreds of Canada Geese along the Connecticut River in Hadley.
Canada Goose 1100
American Black Duck 9
Mallard 15
Northern Pintail 1 –female. (North Hadley)
Common Goldeneye 4
Common Merganser 21
Bald Eagle 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 10
Ring-billed Gull 2
Rock Pigeon 65
Mourning Dove 20
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1-
Downy Woodpecker 12
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 15
American Crow 165
Horned Lark 40
Black-capped Chickadee 16
Tufted Titmouse 13
White-breasted Nuthatch 13
Carolina Wren 2
Eastern Bluebird 6
American Robin 3
Northern Mockingbird 6
European Starling 71
American Tree Sparrow 110 Canada Geese- 1100 seen on the river in Hadley.
Clay-colored Sparrow 1- At the end of Meadow Street in Hadley. 3rd one I’ve had on the count. See James Smith Blog for photos…”Pioneer birding” James was able to get some pretty decent pics of the Clay-colored, considering this bird was not cooperating at all!Savannah Sparrow 6
Song Sparrow 50
White-throated Sparrow 30
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 30
Lapland Longspur 1
Snow Bunting 1
Northern Cardinal 30
House Finch 6
American Goldfinch 7
House Sparrow 10
(below) Eastern Bluebird in the Honey Pot.
Sunset at the East Meadows- looking towards Northampton, Mass.
