Breezy, overcast conditions coupled with occasional
periods of windswept drizzle characterized dawn
viewing at Winimusset Wildlife Management Area.  As
the murk of early morning began to recede, a
substantial mixed flock of Common Grackles, Red-winged
Blackbirds, and Brown-headed Cowbirds plunged out of
the heavens, populating every tree bordering the south
side of Hardwick Road.  Modest numbers of birds took
turns separating themselves from the screeching din of
the collective flock, alighting upon the furrows of
jagged cornstalks, gleaning what sustenance could be
had from the terrain.  Returning to their treetop
perches, countless sets of gleaming eyes took
advantage of a brief burst of sunshine, studying the
horizon and assessing the prospective feeding grounds
several hundred yards southwest of the highway before
departing in a noisy swarm.  Bulky wings flapped out
of the eastern clouds and suddenly contracted, a
two-toned silhouette plummeting earthward.  Ripples
pulsed outwards from the marsh’s near shore,
accompanied by an audible splash.  A fish clenched
firmly in its talons, an Osprey pressed on,
disappearing with its catch over the evergreens to the
southwest.   Mysterious spiky blobs of feathers
adorning the tops of a nearby stand of Cattails
coalesced into a pocket of Song Sparrows.  Their
fervent singing alternated with the execution of
spirited sorties against one another, the competition
for prime breeding territories well underway.  Nearby,
clusters of American Robins trotted earnestly from one
blotchy smear of green grass to another, wresting
earthworms from the soggy ground with great success. 
The birds advanced steadily over the turf, arriving at
a lush stand of Staghorn Sumac.  Landing upon its
branches, they soon departed, understandably
disappointed by the paucity of available berries. 
Training my scope upon the tangled vegetation abutting
the three-way intersection adjacent to the parking lot
produced a Fox Sparrow, bathing contentedly in a pool
of water at the edge of Hardwick Road.   

Modest numbers of waterfowl peppered the surface of
the distant gray waters.  Brilliant male Common
Mergansers primped and preened with much braggadocio,
their strident gurgling easily heard.  Compact
squadrons of Hooded Mergansers drifted out of the
Tussock Sedge, the animated rise and fall of the
males’ crests accompanied by vigorous wing-flapping
and rearing out of the water.  Both species fed with
much success, the wriggling shapes of countless small
fish vanishing down bottomless gullets.  Pleased with
the detailed views had at such short distance, I
shifted my scope to the horizon in hopes of locking on
to arriving waterfowl.  Frenetic movement grabbed my
attention.  Feverishly pumping wings tipped with
gigantic bills soon filled my optics.  Careening out
of the northeast, striped crowns plunged earthward
with such intensity I fully anticipated the feathered
shapes to remain forever skewered in the moist earth
once their bodies made contact with it.  Snowy white
bellies snapped into view, a final spasm of wing beats
a mere blur.  The collective impact of myriad stout
bodies shattered the surface of a distant mud puddle,
its rear edge dispersing in a wave of glistening
droplets.  Thick flanks muscled their way into its
depths, grotesque bills hammering in and out of the
muck.  The gleaming water’s surface quickly vanished
under a heaving blanket of brown and tan feathers. 
Satiated, the flock of Common Snipe whirred aloft,
expanding and contracting for a short distance until
converging into a flock once more, a steady course at
last secured through the stiffening wind.  

Hiking to the top of the sloping fields immediately
east of the intersection of Hardwick, Ravine and
Mackay Roads produced exemplary viewing of a pair of
Northern Harriers, each bird twisting and turning in
its own graceful orbit over adjacent hunting grounds. 
The male provided an especially riveting show. 
Unfazed by the rising wind, the svelte hunter absorbed
every irregularity of the turbulent air.  Propelled
over my head by a particularly violent tail wind, it
sank earthward in a steep dive when the current of air
suddenly abated.  Appearing to welcome the opportunity
to better scrutinize the countryside below, its head
rotated smartly left and right, eyes drinking in the
withered grass rising to meet it.  The bird swooped
upwards in the unexpected calm, flapping only once in
order to level off inches above the vegetation. 
Tracing the extremities of the hillside’s steep
contours, it bolted across the roadway below me.
Darting through a gap between two huge oaks, it
vanished from sight.  Narrow brown wings tipped with
finger-like primaries drifted above the tree line, the
female harrier returning to gauge the progress of her
mate.  A silver form immediately followed, deep wing
beats pushing it along the treetops.  Rejoining the
female, the dapper male quickly paralleled its mate,
the pair flapping in unison towards a farmstead
situated on the western horizon.

My appetite for viewing raptors whetted, I remained in
the area, scoping slowly from the eastern to the
southern horizon for half an hour, a pair of Bald
Eagles the fruit of my labors.  Strangely uninterested
in the waterfowl below, they gradually spiraled out of
sight. 

A hike to Dana Commons from Gate 40 of Quabbin
Reservoir revealed a family of Eastern Bluebirds
enlivening the bleak expanse of the old orchard on the
north side of Petersham Road.  Continuing on some five
hundred yards and plodding down the road’s treacherous
embankment bordering Pottapaug Pond’s northernmost tip
yielded outstanding views of loafing Green-winged Teal
and sprightly Bufflehead.  Four compact,
chocolate-colored blobs proved to be female Ruddy
Ducks, their collapsed tails producing a startling
degree of anonymity until chalky face patches and
spatulate bills revealed themselves when “napping” was
concluded and feeding was undertaken!  Keening, nasal
calls rapidly passing overhead turned into a trio of
Wood Ducks, rocketing northwest towards the
Cotton-Grass swamp abutting Greenwich Road.  


American Black Duck        11
American Crow        72
American Goldfinch        9
American Robin        82
Bald Eagle        2 (one 2nd-year juvenile, one adult)
Belted Kingfisher        2
Black Duck        11
Black-capped Chickadee        8
Blue Jay        8
Brown Creeper        3
Brown-headed Cowbird        51
Bufflehead        7
Carolina Wren        1
Common Flicker        3
Common Grackle        829
Common Merganser        18
Common Snipe        14
Dark-eyed Junco        6
Downy Woodpecker        2
Eastern Bluebird        5
Eastern Phoebe        2
European Starling        22
Fox Sparrow        2
Green-winged Teal        17
Hairy Woodpecker        3
Hooded Merganser        17
House Finch        2
House Sparrow        13
Mallard        38
Mourning Dove        15
Northern Cardinal        5
Northern Harrier        3
Osprey        2
Pileated Woodpecker        2
Red-bellied Woodpecker        2
Red-breasted Nuthatch        3
Red-tailed Hawk        2
Red-winged Blackbird        253
Rock Pigeon         28
Ruddy Duck        4
Song Sparrow        8
Tufted Titmouse        5
Turkey Vulture        14
White-breasted Nuthatch        4
White-throated Sparrow        5
Wild Turkey        1
Wood Duck        3