The flood gates open up.

Worm eating Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2014

Black Vultures (top) with Turkey Vultures (bottom), Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2014

As expected (and hoped for) the flood gates finally opened and the birds have arrived in decent variety.  I spent from before dawn until a bit before 10 AM with Jacob and we hit a few areas starting at UMASS and then sailed down to Mitch's Way and then to the Hadley/South Hadley line and finally over to Silvio Conte NWR.  Highlights from the day as follows: UMASS -Eastern Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Wood Thrush, Nashville Warbler, two Yellow Warblers, a Northern Waterthrush, a Common Yellowthroat and a few Rose breasted Grosbeaks. Moody Bridge Rd - two Black Vultures with Turkey Vultures at roost. Mitch's Way- 22 Black Ducks, 62 Green winged Teal, two flyby Common Loons, four Spotted Sandpipers on debris in river, three Great crested Flycatchers, an Eastern Kingbird, three Blue headed Vireo, a Warbling Vireo, a couple Wood Thrush, a couple Gray Catbirds, three Blue winged Warblers (checked them all to make sure there were no hybrids),  two Nashville Warblers, four Northern Parula, three Yellow Warblers, an American Redstart, a Worm eating Warbler (my first record here but somewhat common at nearby Skinner Park), Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, two Common Yellowthroats, four Rose breasted Grosbeaks, flyby meadowlark and two Baltimore Orioles. A Chestnut sided Warbler elsewhere in Hadley and at least four Bobolinks and a Yellow Warbler along Moody Bridge Rd.

I headed back home and we took Wilson for a walk along the land trust trail and turned up yet another new species for the county this year...an Indigo Bunting.  Later in the day I headed over to hit a few spots at Quabbin Park and turned up four more new species for the year including Yellow throated Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler and Prairie Warbler.  Other notables there included a Black throated Blue Warbler (singing a Cerulean Warbler like song...a oddly somewhat common occurrence at Quabbin), a half dozen Black and White Warblers, three American Redstarts, two Ovenbirds, several towhees, another Indigo Bunting and more Rose breasted Grosbeaks. 
Nice selection of birds at home including my overdue Louisiana Waterthrush that finally arrived today...lots of other good stuff too but nothing way out of the ordinary for this time of year.

I finished the day with a total of 101 species with fifteen of those being new for Hampshire County this year bringing my total for the year up to 176. A total of twenty warbler species was great as far as I was concerned.

Tomorrow could be good and there is a chance of some showers and thunderstorms overnight and tomorrow so perhaps something noteworthy will get forced down?