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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Lincoln's Sparrow, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Lincoln's Sparrow, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Eastern Phoebe, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Chestnut sided Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| House Finch, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Blackburnian Warbler, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| House Finch, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Northern Flicker, Orchard Hill UMASS Amherst, Sep 14, 2013 |
I woke up well before dawn and did a little listening for flight calls and heard
a few so I had high hopes of finding some good stuff. I headed over to Orchard
Hill where I spent a few hours in the morning cold waiting for the sun to warm
things up. Had at least five Wood Thrush calling before dawn as well as a
Veery. One of the best birds up there today was a flyby Dickcissel that called a
few times right around 6:30. Had a few small groups of migrants in various spots but a handful of
raptors kept activity low in otherwise productive areas. Only had seven species
of warbler although more where certainly passing by overhead that were
additional species. Other migrants included a bright Philadelphia Vireo, three
other vireo species, at least three Scarlet Tanagers, Indigo Bunting and a few
sparrow species including a Lincoln's Sparrow. As the hill seemed to be getting
even more quiet I headed over to Sylvan Woods where I had a few more species of
warbler including a Canada Warbler plus another Lincoln's Sparrow. It had
gotten breezy and cloudy at this point so I decided to leave there around 9. I
almost headed for home but decided instead to make a stop at the honeypot to see
if the late staying swallows were still around (I was certainly happy about that decision later!)
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
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| Whimbrel, Honeypot, Hadley, Sep 14, 2013 |
I arrived at the honeypot around 9:30 and stayed on the dike scoping out the fields and along the
river. I picked up a handful of swallows working there way along the river
including at least five Bank Swallows, a Cliff Swallow, 11 Barn Swallows, a
couple Tree Swallows and others too far out to ID plus at least 14 Chimney
Swifts. Although quite a reduction from the hundreds just the other day, I was
still happy to find any. The raptor show was also in full swing with nine
species including a Peregrine Falcon that kept harassing a pair of Cooper's
Hawks, a Merlin that then harassed the peregrine and almost twenty Broad winged
Hawks in small kettles. Also still some Bobolinks 'binking' there way
overhead. As I was walking back to the car to leave I heard a bird call that
grabbed my attention as I noticed a large shorebird heading right at me from the
area of the transfer station. I knew immediately it was a Whimbrel and started
snapping off photos as it swept past the dike at a height of maybe 25 feet and
then gained a little altitude and headed south toward the Coolidge Bridge and
perhaps the East Meadows. The bird called over and over as it flew
by. Whimbrel is quite an unusual bird inland and I have only had one other
record in the county and that occurred in August 2011 at Winsor Dam during
Hurricane Irene. Not a bird I was expecting today as the few records of it
inland almost always occur with stormy, rainy weather. I'm not sure if the bird
was in one of the fields and was flying out when I saw it or if it was just
passing through. I had scanned the fields but came up empty just a little
earlier but the bird could have been hidden in the grass or in another field
further away. I was very excited to see the bird as it was so unexpected. The
Whimbrel added another species to my county list for the year bringing my total
to
224, just four shy now of my previous record of 228 from last year.
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