Breeding Bird Survey and eBird

I ran my Breeding Bird Survey route from Belchertown down through Ware, Palmer and Monson starting at 4:42am. The overall number of species was down from last year with 64 compared to 71 last year. The overall number of individual birds varied very little with 859 this year and 855 last year. Some nice birds including Bobolinks in a couple spots, Yellow-throated Vireo, Barred Owl and a host of other species. I was glad to finally be able to get the route down for this year. The route goes through the area of Monson that was devastated by an EF3 tornado at the beginning of the month. The damage is complete and total and absolutely amazing to see. The power of nature when it is unleashed is beyond what you think possible.

In addition I have reached a milestone with my reporting to eBird. I recently tallied my 1000th list for the year and my 7000th list overall. It is a great tool to keep track of records with and adds to the knowledge of bird distribution throughout the seasons. I encourage anyone to try it and submit some records.