Hurricane Matthew looks to completely miss the northeast and a morning visit to Arcadia and the Honey Pot

Hurricane Matthew projected path as of 5PM, Oct 5, 2016 (courtesy of NHC)

Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti and Cuba directly as a slow moving category 4 hurricane yesterday and is now in the southern Bahamas as a category 3 storm. The forecast has trended on bringing the storm northwest through the Bahamas and very close to and possibly into the southeast coast. Yesterday the forecast looked as if it would then skirt the coast and possibly have an impact on the northeast late Saturday into Sunday but the latest forecast now shows the storm going out to sea well south of the northeast and then perhaps even head back toward Florida. This is always subject to change over the next several days but it is very unlikely we will see any impact here.

Palm Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 5, 2016

Swamp Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 5, 2016

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2016

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2016

Chipping Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2016

I stopped by Arcadia on my way home from work today to once again check for anything noteworthy.  The place was really hopping with sparrows with some great numbers and variety.  Nothing unusual among them but my counts are on the conservative side.  The fog never lifted the entire time I was there but I still got some great looks at some of the birds.  I also ran into James and Susannah as I was leaving as they arrived to search for a Connecticut Warbler (which they eventually found along the old trolley line).  I then headed across the river to the Honey Pot and while I was there the fog finally lifted and it warmed up from the early morning temps in the 40's well into the 60's.

Full lists from my morning stops below.

Arcadia:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31901174

Honey Pot:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31902066