Gates 22, 16 and 11

Philadelphia Vireo, Gate 11, September 5, 2010

I made yet another early morning trip up the west side of Quabbin. I began this morning at dawn at Gate 22. My first sighting of the morning was a large bull Moose that crossed my path a couple times before heading off into the woods. The light was not good enough for photos. I walked down the road to the water and was greeted there by a few shorebirds foraging along the shoreline. A pair of Semipalmated Plovers fed quite close to me as they worked the shoreline going south. In addition I had a flyby Greater Yellowlegs and a couple Spotted Sandpipers. I managed a total of five Common Loons with one calling a few times. Just before I started my walk back up the hill from the water I spotted a mother deer with fawn swimming across the reservoir. The woods along the way held a few mixed species flocks with the highlights being a Yellow throated Vireo, my first Northern Parula of the season and two Tennessee Warblers together. I also had a fairly high total of five Veery's on this stop. A pair of juvenile Yellow bellied Sapsuckers rounded out the highlights

Semipalmated Plover, Gate 22, September 5, 2010

Semipalmated Plovers, Gate 22, September 5, 2010

My next stop was at Gate 16 which held a few nice birds including a total of nine warbler species including another Northern Parula, plus another Yellow throated Vireo. The breeze continued to pick up so I decided to move down to Gate 11 to try and get there before the wind got any worse. However by the time I started down Gate 11 road the breeze had turned into a wind with gusts over 30 mph. I almost gave up on finding anything in these conditions but thought I would give it a try anyway. I'm glad I tried as I came across a nice mixed species flock feeding both high and low and moving down the road. I found a bright Philadelphia Vireo, four Northern Parula's including one still calling plus good numbers of other warblers. I finished the day with a fly over Common Raven fighting the continued windy weather.

Black and White Warbler, Gate 11, September 5,2010

Northern Parula, Gate 11, September 5, 2010