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| Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 27, 2016 |
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| Great Egret and Raccoon, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 27, 2016 |
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| Dawn, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 27, 2016 |
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| Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 27, 2016 |
On Saturday morning I made a quick check of the river and turned up a three
Great Egrets viewed from North Lane. A brief run through the fields of the
Honey Pot didn't turn up any shorebirds but I didn't look in too many spots. I had about 45 minutes to try for some
other stuff before going to work so I headed to Arcadia. I scanned the Oxbow
and didn't turn up too much and the fog was thick in spots. I was thinking of
heading over to Lower Mill Pond once again to check for shorebirds but I decided
instead to stay at Arcadia and spend a little more time checking a few areas in
greater detail. I walked out though one of the fields to check Ned's Ditch for
any waders and I was glad I did. In a relatively small area of low water and
mud I had a large gathering of waders that reminded me more of Florida then
around here. I only had a few minutes to scan through but in that time I
totaled up the following: 19 Great Blue Herons, 21 Great Egrets and 4 Green
Herons. There were also a number of Wood Ducks and Raccoons enjoying the
feast.
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| Little Blue Heron and Great Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Little Blue Heron and Great Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 28, 2016 |
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| Green Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, Aug 28, 2016 |
After work on Sunday morning I immediately headed back
to Arcadia to spend a little more time checking out the gathering of waders I
had yesterday and I turned up even more birds this morning with 24 Great Blue
Herons, 23 Great Egrets and 7 Green Herons. I tried to find something even more
unusual among them (like a Snowy Egret or nigh heron) but no luck. Given the
large numbers of waders there I almost expect something unusual to show up. I was very
tired from work but wanted to make a brief check at the Holyoke Dam and I was
glad I did as I turned up an immature Little Blue Heron once again (likely the same bird I had there a week ago). I got much
better looks at it this time as it flew up river and landed a couple hundred
feet north of me along the rivers edge. I also had eight Great Egrets and 11 Great Blue Herons. The numbers of Great Egrets continue to impress with at least
31 present at my two stops. With dozens being seen further south along the
river it makes me wonder once again how many there are in the entire valley
now....a hundred, maybe more?
Although I have posted about it
extensively in the past I will once again mention Tropcial Storm Irene as it hit
here five years ago today. It was a truly epic day of birding and one I will
never forget (full list from day here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S8750565 ). The hurricane season is
approaching the most active period historically so I will keep my eyes on
anything that might have an impact here. As of today there are a number of
tropical systems at varying levels of development but none will have any impact
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