Hampshire Bird Club trip to Quabbin in the rain

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, May 11, 2013

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, May 11, 2013

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, May 11, 2013

Although far from a beautiful day with rain on and off  and windy at times there were still some birds to be found.  Today was the day of the annual Hampshire Bird Club trip to Quabbin Park and the east side of Quabbin.  As the club trip didn't start until 7am I had a couple hours to spend trying to find some good stuff perhaps knocked down by the overnight rain.  The best I could turn up was a group of eight Spotted Sandpipers at the ramp in front of the headquarters building at Quabbin.  There were about 90 gulls on the water and in the air but nothing besides Ring billed and Herring Gulls.  I had a few pockets of warblers but nothing unusual.  Once the rest of the members taking part in the club trip arrived we headed off through Quabbin Park.  Once again we ran into a few pockets of birds but nothing unusual.  We had a dozen warbler species, a couple more Spotted Sandpipers, a few species of waterfowl and other migrants.  Once we finished up at Quabbin Park we headed behind the gates at Quabbin starting at Gate 49 and going north.  The rain trailed off a bit but the winds picked up and the light was terrible for getting good views of the birds.  In addition most birds stayed hidden from view and would not come in very often for us to get close looks.  With the continued rain and lack of activity in many spots the decision was made to end the trip a bit after midday.  Overall a fairly slow day with little pockets of activity.  During the club trip we had fourteen warbler species with the best being a Wilson's Warbler that was seen briefly and became species #189 for me in the county this year.  We ended the abbreviated trip with a total of around 75 species, which considering the conditions was not too bad.

Once I got home the yard had some warbler movement during the intermittent rain in the afternoon with my first redstarts and a Magnolia Warbler among several other species.  In addition I finally got a Ruby throated Hummingbird at the house...latest arrival of the first one here I think I have ever had.

I also made a few trips over to Winsor Dam throughout the day to try to catch up with something unusual associated with the rain and south winds (like a tern) but had no luck.  The next few days should see less rain but fairly strong winds out of the west.  Perhaps another push of migrants later in the week?  (Not a true prediction, just a hope)