Arcadia early morning

Great Blue Herons on nest, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Great Blue Herons on nest, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Great Blue Herons on nests, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Bald Eagle nest, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Brown Thrasher gathering nest material, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

Brown Thrasher gathering nest material, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

 Arcadia meadows, Northampton, MA, June 17, 2013

With a little extra time this morning before taking a class in Northampton I headed over to Arcadia to check on the herons and some of the field birds. The area has been flooded for several days but was totally accessible today. I headed out along one of the fields and came across a dozen plus Savannah Sparrows as well as several Bobolinks and an Eastern Meadowlark. Once I got at the rookery I checked out the eagle nest and found an adult perched above the nest containing two young. The heron young were also present and quite vocal. I had around 50 Great Blue Herons present with many being young birds of various ages. Some nests contained just one young bird while a few others had more with at least a couple with three birds crowded in the nest. I tried once again to find an egret among them but the only other wader I had was a Green Heron flyby. I walked further out along the field edges and added several Willow Flycatchers, more Savannah Sparrows and Bobolinks plus other species. I also had a Brown Thrasher gathering nest material along the roadside. With my time running out I headed out after about an hour and a half there.

Green Heron (taken through binos with iPhone), Belchertown Land Trust trail, June 17, 2013

A bit after lunch I got home and picked up Wilson to head out for a few walks with stops at the land trust trails and a section of Covey WMA. The breeze picked up during these walks which limited some bird song but we still managed to find quite a few species but nothing unusual.

I also got a report from another birder of a Black crowned Night Heron along the rail trail in Amherst during the morning today. I still have not caught up with that species yet so I may try for it tomorrow if I can. It is a long shot as there is a lot of good habitat for it over there and I will only have a limited time but it is worth a shot.