Longmeadow and Agawam

Mother Nature provided what turned out to be a glorious spring morning for the 13participants on the scheduled "Ducks and Early Arrivals Trip". There was no wind, blue skies, and temperatures that continued to rise from nearly freezing when we started out at Pynchon Point Park to the mid-50's when we finished at Stebbins at noon.

Highlights were watching a pair of Ravens busily nest building on the cell tower visible from the Pynchon Point Park parking lot. Later there were Wood Ducks flying down to the river from their perches in the trees. Near the Big E Lagoon, a single tree had a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, and a Flicker. From a treetop high above the Westfield River, a Northern Mockingbird belted out songs of nearby birds.  Moving on to Longmeadow and Stebbins there was an Osprey on the cell tower nest and a mate nearby. The Bald Eagle pair has two chicks in the nest at Pondside. Pine and Palm Warblers flitted about on Pondside and Bark Haul Trail, as did both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets. Another spring treat was a Hermit Thrush and also a life bird for some in the group - a Wilson's Snipe resting in the warm sun on top of a beaver house.

Total species for the morning was 49 - a cooperative effort.