Eastern Towhee in Heritage State Park

As much as I grow attached to the neighborhood regulars — the Red-tailed Hawks, the Canada Geese, the American Kestrels — it’s always exciting to see a new bird in the city. The Eastern Towhee above is the first I’ve seen in Holyoke. It flew into a tree right in front of me at the end of an afternoon of…

Red-winged Blackbirds, Mallards along South Canal Street

With steady rain starting to fall this afternoon I stopped by South Canal Street to see if the Red-winged Blackbirds had returned for the spring.

The canal here is still mostly iced over — but, indeed, there were a number of male blackbirds hanging around, along with a pair of Mallards. I’ll have to start making regular stops here, to see when the females return.

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