Sedge Wren, yet another Connecticut Warbler and a few other notable birds seen by others

Connecticut Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Lincoln's Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Vesper Sparrows, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Grasshopper Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 16, 2016

Another banner day for birds in the valley (even if I didn't get to see all them all).  I had limited time this morning as I had a number of appointments so I spent just a short time at the Honey Pot with almost all of my time spent in one small section.  Highlights included yet another Connecticut Warbler, both 'western' and 'yellow' Palm Warblers, a Lincoln's Sparrow, at least three Vesper Sparrows and a Grasshopper Sparrow.  I then spent the next few hours not birding but when my appointments were all done I noticed a message from Bob B. and he had seen a Sedge Wren at Arcadia (plus other good stuff) so I headed over that way late morning and eventually caught a fleeting glimpse of the bird.  Sedge Wren is a tough bird to find in the county and this one became my third (others were in 2005 at Arcadia and 2007 in Amherst).  The Sedge Wren becomes species #223 for the county this year.  At least one Dickcissel was also still around (likely the one I had there yesterday).  I also got a call from Keenan who had a Clay colored Sparrow at UMASS (another species I need for the year).  The biggest surprise bird seen lately was an American White Pelican that was seen and photographed in the Oxbow in Northampton Thursday evening.  Unfortunately word of the bird didn't make it out until later today but I guess I would not have been able to chase it last evening anyway.  The pelican is quite rare anywhere in the state with just a few inland records...would be a new county bird for me if I'm lucky enough to find it again.  No one had any luck finding it today so it is likely far gone by now but you never know...worth keeping an eye out for.

The tropics are heating up once again with a few new named storms over the last several days.  Hurricane Ian has fizzled way out in the central Atlantic.  Tropical storm Julia which formed right on the south Atlantic coast of the US continues to slowly spin in the area but is not expected to gain much, if any, strength.  The newest storm is Tropical Storm Karl which is way out in the Atlantic but headed this way slowly.  It should pass north of the islands and then who knows.  It may get caught up and curved out to sea (which is the more likely scenario) or it could impact somewhere in the US.  Way to far out to say for sure right now but it bears watching.