 |
| Spotted Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Least Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Great Egret, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Least Sandpipers, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Great Egrets (including indvidual with dark bill), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Green winged Teal (with Mallard), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
 |
| Black and White Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2015 |
Proving that you never know what you will find while out exploring
I ran across a Summer Tanager late this morning when we were out for a walk
along the Belchertown Land Trust trail off Route 181. We were only a few
hundred feet from the car when I heard an odd call that made me stop and
listen. I heard it again within seconds and my mind started the process of
trying to place the sound to a bird...I knew I had heard the sound before but my
mind was racing to figure it out. I then heard it sing a bit of a song and my
mind then made the connection....Summer Tanager! Although very uncommon around
here I have seen (and heard) them quite a few times in other areas, especially in
Costa Rica. I started frantically scanning the trees for the bird and after a
couple of minutes I caught a glimpse of the front end of an the adult male as he worked his way
through the upper canopy. An overall red bird with large pale bill. He called a couple of more times with the 'pitituck' call
before going silent. There was a small mixed species flock in the general area (mainly chickadees, titmice and nuthatches) but the bird did not seem to be associating closely with the flock. As we were out walking the Wilson I had nothing beyond the
binoculars and my phone. No chance for a photo and I wasn't quick enough to get
a recording. After a few more minutes of searching we headed to the car and
back to home where I picked up my camera and raced back to try to find it
again. Despite looking for 45 minutes I did not manage to turn the bird back up
again. Always disappointing when you see a rare bird and can't get a photo or
audio recording of it. This species was not even on my radar as a possibility in mid August which makes the sighting even better.
 |
| Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
 |
| Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
 |
| Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
 |
| Bobolink, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
 |
| Tree Swallow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
 |
| Beattle, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015 |
On Saturday I stayed more
local with hour plus stops at Lake Wallace and Covey WMA as well as brief stops
at Winsor Dam. Nothing unusual but some interesting sightings including a
Merlin munching on a fresh kill. I watched the bird through the scope for
several minutes as it tore the other bird to shreds. Not entirely certain of
the species of the prey item but perhaps a Tree Swallow. Lake Wallace also held 50+ Wood Ducks, at least eight Green Herons, a couple Virginia Rails and a Great Horned Owl that flew across the marsh. Covey WMA had some swallows around plus a migrant group of 24 Bobolinks.
No comments:
Post a Comment