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View of Moran WMA from Fobes Hill, Windsor, MA |
In the Berkshires overnight. Got up before dawn and arrived at Moran WMA just before sunrise. Northern shrike reported in the area. A nemesis bird.
A great area to visit in the winter. A thick walkable crust of snow with a new inch or so on top. Scrubby edge environment galore.
I started with Fobes Hill, still in shadow.
A dim glimpse of some sort of raptor. Size and shape of a merlin, but don't know for sure. Not much other activity. Moved on to the northern parking lot and started walking down the road. Immediately, familiar Zzzing sounds.
Waxwings! A gazillion (I counted around 50) in a crab apple tree. Some robins in there too.
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Cedar waxwing, Moran WMA, Windsor, MA |
They let me get pretty close.
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Cedar waxwing, Moran WMA, Windsor, MA |
Good views of waxwing crab apple eating styles.
And when you see cedar waxwings in the winter, especially in a boreal-like habitat such as Moran WMA, who might also appear?
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Bohemian waxwing, Moran WMA, Windsor, MA |
Yes. Their bohemian cousin. Check out the red under-tail coverts.
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Beaver dam on Windsor Brook |
Given such a snow-less winter in Eastern Mass., it was a delight to see snow-scapes. I made it down to the beginning of the spruce forest before I ran out of time and had to turn back.
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Spruce forest, Moran WMA, Windsor, MA |
As I trudged through the snow on the way back, I spotted a large gray bird with an up-and-down flight pattern. It landed atop a small tree in the snow-covered meadow and flipped its tail. Well I'll be darned--the northern shrike.
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Northern shrike (can't you tell?) |
A nemesis bird, finally spotted. Not exactly a high-quality encounter, but an encounter nonetheless. A great morning at Moran WMA.
2 comments:
Some nice birds, especially the Bohemian..very hard to come by this year.
Thanks. Judging from reports from the past two years, I would have expected many more Bohemians at Moran.
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