 |
| Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Aug 11, 2013 |
 |
| Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Aug 11, 2013 |
 |
| Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Aug 11, 2013 |
Yesterday I stopped briefly at Lake Wallace on my way to work and
was surprised to find the three young Great Blue Herons still in the nest
there. I really thought they would have
been long gone by now. Not much else of
note beyond the usual species. I hoped
for an unusual egret or heron but no luck today. There were several Killdeer on the nearby soccer fields but no other shorebirds.
 |
| Tree and Bank Swallows, Hop Brook, Amherst, MA, Aug 12, 2013 |
I spent a few hours this morning checking various spots around the
area with the main focus being waders and perhaps shorebirds. I started at
Covey WMA, then over to the Route 9 marsh, Winsor Dam, Lake Wallace, the rail
trail in Amherst and finally to Wentworth Farm. No waders at Covey but did have
a roost of grackles and blackbirds numbering several hundred that lifted off
near dawn heading northeast. The Route 9 marsh and Winsor Dam were both fairly
quiet with nothing unexpected. Lake Wallace itself was quiet but with the
mowing going on nearby I was not surprised. The Great Blue Herons were still
hanging out in the nest. A Yellow Warbler was still singing occasionally too.
The nearby soccer fields held at least 24 Killdeer but not much else. The rail
trail had a flyover Greater Yellowlegs calling as well as a few Killdeer. The Hop Brook
marsh held a couple Great Blue Herons as well as at least five Green Herons plus an assortment of swallows. I
managed to find a rather late Orchard Oriole at Wentworth Farm. Overall nothing
too unusual this morning but still a nice morning to be outside.
 |
| Olive sided Flycatcher, Home, Aug 12, 2013 |
 |
| Olive sided Flycatcher, Home, Aug 12, 2013 |
 |
| Olive sided Flycatcher, Home, Aug 12, 2013 |
After finishing up some yard work Wilson and I headed down to get
the mail and noticed a flycatcher at the very top of a large dead pine. It
behaved like an Olive sided Flycatcher so I headed back home and pulled out the
scope to get a good look at the bird. It was indeed an Olive sided Flycatcher
and one of the earliest I have ever had in fall. It was the first one I have had at home in fall ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment