With a week off and plenty of time to look for birds, I was hoping the spring migration would kick into high gear this week with at least the arrival of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the city. That turned out to be wishful thinking. Factor in unseasonably cool temperatures on a few days, and other days when it seemed like it…
Early April along Holyoke’s canals
Early April brought the spring draining of Holyoke’s canals, and that — as usual — brought Great blue Herons into the city. This slight change in habitat has brought Belted Kingfishers downtown in the past, and this year one kingfisher hung around the intersection of Race and Dwight streets for a few days, along with two herons that prowled the…
New American Kestrel nest in downtown Holyoke
There appears to be a new American Kestrel nest in downtown Holyoke. Well, new to me, at least. It’s hard to say whether the nest I found near the canals on Lyman Street today is in its first year of occupancy, or if it has just escaped my notice until now. And is the male and female pair I saw…
Red-tailed Hawks settling into 2015’s downtown nest; mating behavior observed
The Red-tailed Hawks have been increasingly active at their High Street nest. And, Monday morning, they appear to have mated in a tree in Veterans Park. Photos from Monday morning below:
Nesting season 2015 approaches for downtown Holyoke’s Red-tailed Hawks
Downtown Holyoke’s resident Red-tailed Hawks have been spending a lot of time together over the past few days, and have been seen bringing nesting material to the fire escape they called home last year. The 2014 nest, on a building at the corner of Dwight and High streets, saw three chicks hatch. At least one didn’t survive the fledging period;…
In sub-zero wind chills, birds still abound in Holyoke
On one of the least-pleasant days of the year for birding, it was still worth spending a few hours squinting against stinging wind and sun. The Red-tailed Hawks were out and active, and a Cooper’s Hawk prowled Heritage State Park. Along Heritage Street I heard a faint squeaking in the trees above and, after several minutes of staring into the…
Merlin on Main Street, Springfield
Yesterday a very helpful co-worker showed me how to get onto the roof at work. Originally, this didn’t have anything to do with birds. I was just trying to find the right vantage point to shoot time-lapse video of the demolition of a building at Union Station in Springfield, part of a major project to bring the site back online…
Cooper’s Hawk with pigeon in Holyoke’s Churchill neighborhood
I’ve been anticipating the annual late fall / early winter return of Cooper’s Hawks to downtown Holyoke and, with that in mind, I set out today to see if I could find any. After striking out in Heritage State Park — a place where I often find at least one this time of year — I headed over to the…
Empty canals, low river bring Egrets and more to Holyoke
When I noticed this afternoon that Holyoke’s canals had emptied for the annual fall maintenance period, I knew it was time to spend a few hours birding. Small changes in the habitat downtown and along the Connecticut River often result in interesting sightings, and today offered two opportunities: the suddenly dry canal beds, and a particularly low water level on…