First weekend in May brings in lots of new species

Clay colored Sparrow, Belchertown, MA, May 2, 2015

Clay colored Sparrow, Belchertown, MA, May 2, 2015

Brown headed Cowbird, Belchertown, MA, May 2, 2015

Eastern Bluebird, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 2, 2015

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2015

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2015

Orchard Oriole, UMASS Amherst, MA, May 3, 2015

A nice, warm first weekend in May produced lots of new birds as the migration conditions over the past few days have been great. I managed to get out for most of each morning this weekend and found a dozen new species total for the weekend (five on Saturday and seven on Sunday) including Ovenbird, Least Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Chestnut sided Warbler and Common Yellowthroat on Saturday and Bobolink, Great crested Flycatcher, Nashville Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, Blackburnian Warbler, Orchard Oriole and Prairie Warbler on Sunday.

My biggest miss of the weekend was a Hooded Warbler that was seen both before and after my visit to Silvio Conte NWR on Saturday (it was also a no show on Sunday when I checked again). Other notable birds seen included the continued Clay colored Sparrow at a private residence in Belchertown (it has been there since late fall) and a Horned Grebe that continues to be seen at the UMASS campus pond. The bird is obviously in distress but has eluded capture so far. It was partially hidden when I was there this morning and I didn't get any photos. This time of year is great as new stuff shows up everyday and the potential is always there for something unusual.

I don't have lots of extra time to go into more detail on sightings this weekend but below are links to my major stops (I'll spare you the entire list of stops!)

Saturday
Quabbin Park
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23173040

Covey WMA
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23174094

Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23177828

Sunday
Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23192893

Mitch's Way
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23193460

UMASS
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23194577