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| Common Merganser, Winsor Dam, May 8, 2012 |
Now that there is a rainy, cool day I will take some time to
try to sum up the last several days of spring migration around here. There were many great days with so many
highlights I cannot hope to touch on them all.
Some days, like May 5th, were truly memorable. It seemed like everywhere we went there were
new birds and good numbers. Without
trying very hard I managed to get 110 species in just three towns in Hampshire
county. I could have certainly added
several to the total by starting earlier in the day and going past mid
afternoon and/or visiting other areas.
As another illustration to how much diversity showed up in
just a few days I have included below a list of the number of first of year
birds here in the state during the first week of May.
Date Number
of first of year birds
5/1 3
5/2 3
5/3 12
5/4 10
5/5 11
5/6 1
5/7 2
The dates of May 3 -5 were very impressive with double digit
first of year birds each day. The
diversity was matched by good numbers as many species arrived in force. There is nothing quite like a good migration
day (or days) in May.
Now I will take a look at where I stand on my way to
observing at least 200 species in the county this year and where I am compared
at this point compared to other years.
As of end of the first week of May my total stands at 171. Below is a comparison of the previous five
years in regards to how long it took to reach my current position for totals and year end
totals:
Year Date
to obtain 171 Year
end totals
2011 late
August 197
2010 early
October 182
2009 mid
August 187
2008 mid
July 187
2007 late
May 199
I appear to be on track to meeting my goal of 200 and will
likely exceed it with any luck. I will
attempt to maximize the number for the year as a sort of ‘big county year’ type
goal. It will be interesting to see the
total at the end of the year. Stay
tuned.
Despite the rainy, cool weather
(high of 50 degrees today) I still managed a couple of brief stops to bird
before and after work. On my way to work
I stopped at Winsor Dam in the hopes of finding something grounded by the
weather. I had some 50+ gulls but they
were all Ring-billed. In addition there
was a group of three Common Loons together as well as seven Common Mergansers
cruising along the dam itself. On my way
home I stopped by the dam again and had a large group of Common Loons numbering at least 29! The second large gathering of loons I have had here in the last week. The birds were probably put down by the inclement weather and will continue their way north once the weather improves. Try as I might I could not find any terns.
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