Honeypot in the AM...lots of sparrows and other good stuff

Northern Harrier being chased by Cooper's Hawk, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

Swamp Sparrow (one of near 100), Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

Northern rough-winged Swallow, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

Vesper Sparrow (one of ten), Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

Sharp shinned Hawk (top) and Cooper's Hawk (bottom), Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

Northern Harrier being chased by Cooper's Hawk, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012

This morning I met up with Ian Davies and we headed over to the Honeypot in Hadley at first light and stayed until around 10:30 when Ian had to make it back for class. It was a another great morning of birding there with some great birds as well as some very high counts of some species. We only covered a portion of the area so with a few more hours we could have added substantially to the overall numbers but not today. I have included the entire list but I will briefly mention just a few of the highlights including a late Northern rough winged Swallow, a flyover Connecticut Warbler and a Clay colored Sparrow. Many other highlights can be found in the list below.
Canada Goose 2
Mallard 16    small flocks flying over following the river
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Northern Harrier 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2
Cooper's Hawk 3
Bald Eagle 1        adult along riverside
Red-tailed Hawk 4
Ring-billed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 7
Mourning Dove 35
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 8
Eastern Phoebe 4
Blue Jay 24
American Crow 75
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1 **late. Low flyover at That's A Plenty Farm, heading north. A square-tailed swallow with a dusky throat and head, stocky body, and all brown back and upper rump.
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Wren 2
Carolina Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 14
Gray Catbird 2
Northern Mockingbird 3
European Starling 45
American Pipit 69 *high count. Multiple flocks frequenting various fields.
Connecticut Warbler 1 *rare. A flyover bird at That's A Plenty Farm, initially heard and then seen overhead at ~40 feet. A large warbler with a dark hood contrasting with the yellow belly, giving a zeep note.
Common Yellowthroat 10 *high count
Palm Warbler (Western) 3
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 39 mostly calling flyovers throughout
warbler sp. 6 calling flyovers, all zeep calls and probably Blackpolls
Eastern Towhee 1 calling from treeline by That's A Plenty Farm
Chipping Sparrow 8
Clay-colored Sparrow 1 *rare. Teed up briefly in dense weedy area near corner of dirt road, a nice crisp CCSP with light buffy wash below, bold face pattern, and nice moustachial stripe.
Field Sparrow 3 one at transfer station, two at That's A Plenty Farm
Vesper Sparrow 10 **high count. Amazing number of these along the road near the row of planted trees, with nine in view at once! One at That's A Plenty Farm as well
Savannah Sparrow 259 **high count. Simply everywhere today. Large roadside flocks and throughout all weedy areas.
Song Sparrow 161 *high count
Lincoln's Sparrow 19 **high count.
Swamp Sparrow 101 *high count
White-throated Sparrow 162 *high count
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern) 5 one adult and four juveniles, throughout
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 6
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 *late. Both in area of That's A Plenty Farm
Indigo Bunting 14 *high count. Seen throughout.
Red-winged Blackbird 1 flyover at That's A Plenty Farm
Brown-headed Cowbird 3 flyovers at That's A Plenty Farm
Purple Finch 12 *high count. All flyovers
House Finch 4
Pine Siskin 2 *unusual. Flyovers calling.
American Goldfinch 52

The good birding continued after I got home and took Wilson for a walk at Covey WMA when I came across a Cape May Warbler in a mixed species flock. There were a good number of various species of sparrow around at this location too so it appears a large influx of sparrows into the valley has occurred.

Sunrise at the honeypot, Hadley, MA, Oct 1, 2012