Birdnotes: {BIRD NOTES} ~ December 07, 2013

Bird Notes

Snowy Owl Invasion in Massachusetts

Indications are that SNOWY OWLS are currently staging a significant fall movement into New England, with a few owls already reported in several neighboring states as well as in Massachusetts. SNOWY OWL reports received in Massachusetts this week included 4 at Cranes Beach in Ipswich, 2 at Hanscom Field in Concord, 2 at North Beach on Cape Cod, and reports of single birds at Salisbury, Plum Island, Marblehead Neck, Duxbury Beach, Plymouth Beach, Gooseberry Neck in Westport, and Martha's Vineyard.

---Eastern Massachusetts RBA

Colorado Specials

We just got back from CO where I saw my first Steller's Jays - wow! I haven't found a source that tells whether the female has the same plumage or I was seeing a different bird that had blue on its back and light underneath without a tuft. ???? Another new bird for me was the Gray-headed junco. A productive trip (as well as seeing 15 family members from both coasts and CO).

---Lerna, West Brattleboro, VT

( Note: Male and female look alike. The second bird with the blue back, no crest and light underneath could have been a Western Scrub-Jay. See “The Sibley Guide to Birds”)

Turners Falls, MA

A SNOW GOOSE and 4 AMERICAN WIGEONS were at Turners Falls.

---Western Mass. RBA

Marlboro Feeder Visitors

Red-breasted Nuthatch and a deer that loves bird seed.

---Hollie Bowen, Marlboro, VT

West River Bald Eagle

Meg and I drove up Rte. 30 to Newfane and back this morning. On the way up, I saw a mature Bald Eagle in a tree just south of the ski area. On the way back down, it was flying over the West River between the ski area and the covered bridge.

---Ned Pokras, West Brattleboro, VT

Remember Pearl Harbor