American Golden Plovers today and a Marsh Wren yesterday (plus lots of other stuff)

American Golden Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 12, 2016

American Golden Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 12, 2016

American Golden Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 12, 2016

With the northwest winds blowing all of yesterday afternoon into the overnight and a decent bit of migration on the radar I headed out in search of migrants, especially shorebirds.  I was up early enough to make a brief stop at Winsor Dam predawn before heading over to the fields along the river and I had a couple Barred Owls calling back and fourth, an Eastern Whip Poor Will still calling and an American Woodcock flying around.  It was very cool early on with temperatures in the upper 40's making it really feel like fall.  My plan was to make it to the East Meadows at first light and then head over to the Honey Pot looking for shorebirds and then try to catch up with more migrants at either UMASS or Conte NWR.  I arrived in the East Meadows and immediately had some shorebirds calling overhead including one unique sounding bird I could just not ID as it flew past.  There were a number of Killdeer around as well as a Semipalmated Sandpiper.  Unfortunately as it was getting light enough to see the fog rapidly moved in and obscured the fields.  I figured the Honey Pot area inside the area of the dike would be fog free so I headed there.  When I arrived it was clear and I started scanning the fields and came up with Killdeer but nothing more.  At this point Keenan and Isabel arrived and we decided to head back to the East Meadows again to try our luck there and hope the fog would lift quickly.  We arrived to find the fog hanging tough and nothing but a few Killdeer around.  We decided to head over to UMASS to try our luck on other migrants showing themselves as the sun warmed up the tree line at Orchard Hill.  I decided I would make one quick swing south through the meadows before heading out and I was glad I did as the fog lifted after about ten minutes and I immediately found a large plover in among the Killdeer that had me guessing at its identification.  The overall build of the bird seemed like golden plover but it seemed to have an extensive white belly and there was not a very prominent white supercilium contrasting with a dark cap that I usually see on golden plovers.  After some discussion with others more versed in shorebirds and a little more research it appears to be a dull juvenile American Golden Plover.  I also had an American Golden Plover fly past heading south while the other bird was still sitting in the field so there were at least two golden plovers around.  At this point it seemed more productive to stay in the meadows so I did.  I tried to relocate the fly by golden plover but no luck in that quest.  I then returned to the field with the Black bellied Plover and Killdeer and I eventually tallied a total of 39 Killdeer.  I also had a fly by Least Sandpiper that settled down briefly before taking off to the south.  There were also a few swallows around with most being Barn Swallows but at least a few Tree Swallows and a single Bank Swallow mixed in.  I then headed across the river to recheck the Honey Pot.  The American Golden Plovers added another new species to the county list for the year...#220.  Full list from the East Meadows:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31547678

Yellow Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Killdeer, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Bobolink, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Common Yellowthroat, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

Merlin chasing American Kestrel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

American Goldfinch, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 12, 2016

I checked all the fields in the Honey Pot and came up with a total of 39 Killdeer but no other shorebirds.  I then spent some time checking the fields for other migrants and had the following highlights:  22 Common Mergansers and a couple Great Egrets in the river, a Merlin repeatedly chasing an American Kestrel, a couple Yellow Warblers and decent numbers of Song Sparrows and American Goldfinches at 'That's a Plenty Farm'.  Full lists from the Honey Pot:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31547679

Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Prairie Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Nashville Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Approaching thunderstorm, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Winsor Dam after the storms, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 11, 2016

Yesterday I headed out before dawn to make it over to Hadley for sunrise and I spent the first hour or so of the day checking the Honey Pot and East Meadows for shorebirds and found a total of 24 Killdeer at the Honey Pot and 15 in the East Meadows.  Without too much in the way of shorebirds around I decided to try my luck once again over at Arcadia and my good luck over there continued when I turned up a very cooperative Marsh Wren along the trolley line.  I got some great shots as it worked its way through the low brush.  The Marsh Wren added yet another new species to the county list for the year (#219) and became the fourth new species in three days.  I didn't have any luck finding the chat or the Connecticut Warbler I had there a couple days ago but I did have three Yellow Warblers, a Prairie Warbler and a Nashville Warbler plus numbers of Common Yellowthroats.  With these species I had 22 warbler species in three days...not too bad.  Full list from Arcadia with many more photos:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31525117.
Some strong storms with gusty winds blew in around 8:45 and the heavy rain kept up on and off for about an hour or so.  I then worked my way south, dodging a number of downed trees on the way, to check out the Holyoke Dam but nothing out of the ordinary.  I also stopped at Winsor Dam just as the rain ended but I was not able to find anything downed by the rain.