Quabbin Park....lots of migrants

Philadelphia Vireo, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Eastern Phoebe feeding, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Lincoln's Sparrow, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Gray Catbird, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Yellow rumped Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Turkey Vulture, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

House Wren, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Enfield Lookout, Quabbin Park, Sep 21, 2013

Another spectacular day of fall migration.  Once again the fog was thick at times in the morning but it eventually burned off by late morning when it got breezy.  I spent three hours at Quabbin Park and had some really good birds and I'm sure if I had more time I could have found even more.  The highlights are many and I have included the full list below.  The variety of normally tough to find warblers continues to amaze me this fall.  The most impressive among them was an Orange crowned Warbler found among a mixed species flock in a scrub area near the tower.  The Orange crowned Warbler became species #226 for Hampshire County this year.  Full list for the morning is below (look at those warblers!).

Quabbin Park
7:11 AM - 10:10 AM

Canada Goose  12
Wood Duck  6
American Black Duck  2
Wild Turkey  4
Common Loon  1
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  5
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  3
Downy Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  3
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  1
Eastern Phoebe  12
Blue-headed Vireo  4
Philadelphia Vireo  1     Bright individual photos
Red-eyed Vireo  10
Blue Jay  29
American Crow  9
Common Raven  2
Black-capped Chickadee  31
Tufted Titmouse  5
White-breasted Nuthatch  9
House Wren  2
Carolina Wren  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  13
Eastern Bluebird  6
Swainson's Thrush  2
Wood Thrush  1
American Robin  3
Gray Catbird  16
Cedar Waxwing  11
Black-and-white Warbler  7
Tennessee Warbler  3  
Orange-crowned Warbler  1     Unusual migrant, Seen well in scrub below tower, yellow undertails, in mixed flock that included tennessee, nashville and yellowthroat for nice comparison.
Nashville Warbler  5     Including a very dull individual
Common Yellowthroat  14
American Redstart  19
Cape May Warbler  2     One bright and one dull individual
Northern Parula  18     Singing
Magnolia Warbler  12
Bay-breasted Warbler  3     Amazing number of this species, two together and a single,all with rufous, photos
Chestnut-sided Warbler  3     Minimum
Blackpoll Warbler  16
Palm Warbler (Yellow)  1
Pine Warbler  22     Some singing
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  12
Black-throated Green Warbler  27
warbler sp.  30     Minimum, most blackpoll like flight calls
Eastern Towhee  12
Chipping Sparrow  16
Song Sparrow  4
Lincoln's Sparrow  1
Scarlet Tanager  2
Northern Cardinal  7
American Goldfinch  8

Blackbirds in the fog, Covey WMA, Sep 21, 2013

Dawn at Covey WMA, Sep 21, 2013

Dawn at Covey WMA, Sep 21, 2013

Before heading to Quabbin Park I made a predawn stop at Covey WMA with the highlights including a large roost of blackbirds numbering several hundred birds.  I really wanted to see if I could find something unusual in among the more typical birds but the fog moved in and cut the visibility just as the birds were leaving...maybe next time.  The Wood Ducks leaving roost before dawn numbered at least 58 birds with a few breeding plumage males in among them.  The best bird was another one that escaped certain identification.  I had a wren dark through my view as I was scanning through the marsh which looked a lot like a Marsh Wren but could have been something else.  It seems like a perfect spot for them and I have had them here before but I can't be sure of this mornings sighting to confirm it.

A walk later in the morning at the Belchertown land trust trail produced another warbler species when I found a Prairie Warbler among the other species present.