Last day of September

Savannah Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Savannah Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

White crowned Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Swamp Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Swamp Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Vesper Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Northern Harrier being chased by crows, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Killdeer, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Northern Flicker, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

 

Indigo Buntings, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

Palm Warbler (yellow), Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 30, 2013

I started out the final day of September at the Honeypot in Hadley.  I almost turned around and headed back home as I ran into really dense fog on the way over but I decided to push on anyway and was rewarded with less fog right along the river.  Another productive morning there and I have included the entire list below:

 

Honey Pot

Canada Goose  5
Great Blue Heron  1
Northern Harrier  1     Hunting the fields and occasionally being harassed by crows
Cooper's Hawk  2     together
Killdeer  11     near that a plenty farm
Mourning Dove  4
Belted Kingfisher  1
Downy Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  16  
American Kestrel  1
Eastern Phoebe  3
Blue Jay  12
American Crow  33
Fish Crow  2
Horned Lark  2
Black-capped Chickadee  4
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
House Wren  2
Carolina Wren  3
American Robin  6
Gray Catbird  4
Northern Mockingbird  1
American Pipit  64     largest group of 55+
Cedar Waxwing  5
Common Yellowthroat  16
Palm Warbler (Western)  1
Palm Warbler (Yellow)  21     Minimum
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  8
Chipping Sparrow  1
Vesper Sparrow  3     Minimum
Savannah Sparrow  98     likely undercounted
Song Sparrow  48
Lincoln's Sparrow  11     Minimum
Swamp Sparrow  23
White-throated Sparrow  16
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)  9     Some singing
Northern Cardinal  1
Indigo Bunting  6    
Red-winged Blackbird  15
American Goldfinch  28

Jabish Canal marsh, Sep 30, 2013

Wilson, Jabish Canal, Sep 30, 2013

A walk with Wilson along Jabish Canal late morning produced more sparrows and a few warblers plus an Osprey, American Kestrel and a Winter Wren among other species.  A nice day out enjoying some nice fall weather.

 

 

As the month of September comes to an end I'll take a minute to review the year up until this point (at least as far as Hampshire County is concerned anyway). I currently stand at 227 species as of today. During my previous best county year (2012) I was at 206 species to begin October. This is a bit misleading as far as how many birds I could potentially add as I have already found many species that I got later in the year in 2012. Nevertheless it looks good that I will beat my previous best year total but you never know until it happens. To get to 227 last year it took me until mid December. The number of rarities and vagrant birds over the next couple months will be the big deciding factor on the overall total for the year. Just a couple more likely species to add (Surf Scoter and Northern Saw whet Owl being the most likely).  I also want to add in what a great month of birding September turned out to be with a total of 153 species in Hampshire County alone with some really impressive numbers of normally tough to find species (such as Cape May, Bay breasted and Tennessee Warblers).  I look forward to seeing what other birds turn up over the final quarter of the year. 

Covey WMA and Quabbin Park

Winter Wren, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

Blackbirds and grackles in fog, Covey WMA, Sep 29, 2013

Blackbirds and grackles in fog, Covey WMA, Sep 29, 2013

I had another productive day out and about the local area despite the fog that never burned off completely until almost 9:30. I started off predawn at Covey WMA where I had both a Great Horned Owl and Barred Owl calling. Lots of other noteworthy birds there including a Blue winged Teal, 36 Wood Ducks, a Green Heron, a Solitary Sandpiper, a couple of flyover Horned Larks (very unusual here), at least ten Swamp Sparrows with a few of them still singing, a large blackbird/grackle roost that included hundreds (or thousands) of birds including a unique looking individual I captured in a photo as the birds moved out through the fog (still trying to figure it out). Despite all of these good birds already mentioned the best bird was a Marsh Wren that I heard and then saw briefly at 6:55 at the largest marsh. Seen well from approximately 30 feet away working its way through the reeds and cattails. I attempted to coax the bird in and it did move closer briefly but then disappeared. Also tried to get some photos without success. The Marsh Wren became species #227 for my Hampshire County list this year, putting me just one species shy of my previous best year. 

Winter Wren, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

Winter Wren, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

Winter Wren, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

Pied billed Grebe, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 29, 2013

After Covey I headed over to Quabbin Park covering several areas with once again a decent selection of birds including a Ruffed Grouse drumming, six Common Loons, a Pied billed Grebe, a somewhat late Yellow billed Cuckoo that flew across my path at Hanks Meadow, a very cooperative Winter Wren (becoming my fourth wren species for the day), various migrant flocks that included increased numbers of both kinglet species, a Bay breasted Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and eight other warbler species plus singing Blue headed Vireos.

Odd bird in middle of photo (see comments below), Covey WMA, Sep 29, 2013

I picked out an odd bird among the blackbird, grackle, etc flock at Covey WMA that looked quite interesting.  I never saw the bird through binoculars but picked it out as I reviewed the few photos I took of the flock as it moved through the fog and briefly settled on some trees.  After having others take a look at it (thanks Ian) it appears to be a leucistic blackbird or cowbird.  Wish the fog had not been so thick!

The sparrows continue to arrive...

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Nashville Warbler, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Great Egret flying through fog, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 28, 2013

I decided to try my luck once again over along the Connecticut River in my quest to find some new birds for the year.  Although I didn't find anything new, there were still lots of birds around with a large increase in the number of sparrows.  Luckily the fog was not quite as thick and persistent today as it has been the last several day.  The full list for both Arcadia and the Honeypot are below.  In addition to these two locations I made a stop along the river in Hadley and had three Solitary Sandpipers.  Later in the morning a walk with Wilson along the Jabish Canal produced more sparrows, a few warblers and great looks at a Merlin.


Arcadia

Canada Goose  17
Wood Duck  5
Mallard  1
Hooded Merganser  2
Great Egret  1
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Cooper's Hawk  1
American Woodcock  1     Flushed
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  6
American Kestrel  1
Eastern Phoebe  3
Blue Jay  10
American Crow  8
Black-capped Chickadee  3
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
House Wren  3
Carolina Wren  2
Eastern Bluebird  7
American Robin  4
Gray Catbird  7
Brown Thrasher  1
American Pipit  4
Tennessee Warbler  1
Nashville Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  19
Palm Warbler (Western)  2
Palm Warbler (Yellow)  11
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  8
Black-throated Green Warbler  1
Field Sparrow  1
Savannah Sparrow  34
Song Sparrow  57
Lincoln's Sparrow  7
Swamp Sparrow  26     High count, Big influx of this species
White-throated Sparrow  21
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)  2
Northern Cardinal  4
Indigo Bunting  6     One singing
Bobolink  5
Red-winged Blackbird  17
American Goldfinch  53

Savannah Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Savannah Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Savannah Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Vesper Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

White crowned Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Palm Warbler (yellow), Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Palm Warbler (yellow), Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 28, 2013

Honey Pot

Canada Goose  3
Northern Harrier  2
Bald Eagle  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Killdeer  2
Mourning Dove  2
Northern Flicker  3
American Kestrel  1
Eastern Phoebe  1
American Crow  42
Fish Crow  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  2
Carolina Wren  1
Gray Catbird  2
American Pipit  42
Common Yellowthroat  10
Palm Warbler (Yellow)  8
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  3
Field Sparrow  1
Vesper Sparrow  2
Savannah Sparrow  48
Song Sparrow  31
Lincoln's Sparrow  5
Swamp Sparrow  7
White-throated Sparrow  7
White-crowned Sparrow (Eastern)  2
Northern Cardinal  1
Indigo Bunting  1
American Goldfinch  42
passerine sp.  1     Heard in flight, still trying to figure it out

White crowned Sparrow, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 27, 2013

With very little time yesterday morning I made a quick run through the Honeypot in an unsuccessful attempt to catch up with the Nelson’s Sparrow seen there yesterday morning.  Despite not finding my target I did manage to find some stuff before I ran out of time including nine species of sparrows with highlights including a Vesper, Field, half a dozen Lincoln’s, seven White crowned and large numbers of Song and Savannah Sparrows.  Still a few Indigo Buntings around plus well over 30 American Pipits flying overhead. 

Arcadia meadows

Clay colored Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 26, 2013

Clay colored Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 26, 2013

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Sep 26, 2013

White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 26, 2013

I spent a little time this morning exploring a few spots at Arcadia and was rewarded with some decent birds.  The biggest surprise was a Clay colored Sparrow that popped up along the trolley line.  I also had a Grasshopper Sparrow in the same area.  Other notable birds included seven Lincoln's Sparrows, two White crowned Sparrows, two Bobolinks, a few flyover American Pipits and Horned Larks plus a Yellow Warbler, Tennessee Warbler and lots of Palm Warblers.  Once again I wish I had more time as I barely started covering the area before I ran out of time.  Late in the morning I got a report from Bob Z that he had a Nelson’s Sparrow in the Honeypot among other migrants.  He saw it briefly and then was unable to relocate the bird.  It could be anywhere down there or long gone at this point but I will try to catch up with it.

The last few mornings

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

I have stopped at a few locations briefly on my way to work the last couple of mornings and have had some decent birds despite the very cool morning temperatures, occasional thick fog and my lack of time.  On Tuesday I stopped at the Silvio O. Conte NWR in Hadley and had a junco, a few Field Sparrows (including one singing before dawn with the temperature at 38!), a Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrel and a flyover Bobolink.  Just a few species of warbler around there yesterday morning.

This morning I headed over to Arcadia to hit parts of the meadows.  The fog was very thick at times and made viewing and photography difficult.  I still managed some noteworthy birds including a Connecticut Warbler that kept chipping and then flew across low to chip from another area before going silent never to be found again.  A somewhat late Yellow Warbler was still in among the weedy fields.  A total of eleven species of warblers present, but none in large numbers.  Also had a half dozen species of sparrow including my first of season White crowned Sparrows and at least four Lincoln’s Sparrows.  The area looks so good for a wide assortment of birds to show up in over the next few weeks.  Also had a flyover American Pipit as well as two Horned Larks among other species.  The ongoing north winds continue to move birds around but it does appear that more have moved out than have moved in to replace them.  It could also be that I’m usually looking too early before the activity peaks after the sun rises.  Wish I had more time to scour through some the areas more completely.

Arc formed by sun shining through fog, Arcadia, Sep 25, 2013

In addition to the birds I had a unique fog/cloud formation as the sun started burning though and created a neat looking arc.  I have seen this a few times in the past with my most memorable occurring when I was out in Point Reyes in California.