Breeding Bird Survey completed for another year

I completed by annual Breeding Bird Survey route this morning under sunny and somewhat cool conditions early on.  The route runs from Belchertown south to the Connecticut line in Monson.  I normally conduct the survey on a weekend to avoid traffic noise but for a variety of reasons I had to run the survey route this morning.  The start time for the route is a very early 4:42am and I typically finish the 50 three minute stops a little after 9:00am.  I had a total of 73 species (with 1210 individuals) this year including a very surprising flyby Sandhill Crane at my fourth stop in Belchertown.  The top species seen this year consisted of the following with percentages of stops the species were present at:

Chipping Sparrow (70%)
Red eyed Vireo (64%)
Gray Catbird (60%)
Tufted Titmouse (58%)
Northern Cardinal (58%)
Black capped Chickadee (56%)
American Robin (56%)
American Crow (50%)
Ovenbird (50%)
Common Yellowthroat (40%)
American Goldfinch (40%)

Compared to previous years my total of 73 is fairly decent and slightly above last year with the species make up fairly typical. The last several years of species totals are listed below:

2010- 71
2011- 64
2012- 56
2013- 67
2014- 70
2015- 75
2016- 78

The damage being wrought by Gypsy Moth caterpillars this year is even worse than last year with large areas nearly devoid of leaves and looking more like late fall/winter instead of summer.  At least the cuckoos seem to be having another good year with at least one cuckoo present at ten different stops with a total of five Yellow billed Cuckoos and nine Black billed Cuckoos tallied.

While I was on my way back home after the survey I took a detour to the east over to Brookfield to follow up on a report of a Yellow throated Warbler seen and heard at Quaboag WMA.  I don't normally venture out east but I figured I would give it a try for the warbler.  No luck for me late morning but it could still be in the area.  I guess I will just have to wait until another day to add that warbler to my state list.

Two Eastern Whip Poor Will surveys completed

Black Bears, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 12, 2017

Black Bears, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 12, 2017

I recently completed my second Eastern Whip Poor Will survey on Monday night on the restricted access Prescott Peninsula at Quabbin. Although I was tired from work the day before the conditions were right so I decided to give it a try before the window of opportunity closed for the season. The surveys have particular conditions that must be met before they can be run including fairly clear conditions, no wind, moonlight and within the time period at the end of May through mid June. Getting all these conditions to line up can be quite difficult but Monday night met the criteria. I was joined this year by Devin...always nice to have another person along when exploring the rather remote peninsula. The survey starts about 15 minutes after sunset and covers ten count locations located one mile apart. Each stop involves passive listening for six minutes before moving on to the next stop. During this survey we tallied a total of 15 Eastern Whip Poor Wills with 11 of those at one of the ten designated stops (the others came midway between stops). This is the highest overall total I have ever recorded on this now six year old survey route. Once again the birds were concentrated on the lower end of the peninsula. The following were recorded during previous surveys:

2012- 9 total individuals with 7 at survey stops
2013- 9 total individuals, all at survey stops
2014- 7 total individuals, all at survey stops
2015- 10 total individuals with 7 at survey stops
2016- 10 total individuals with 7 at survey stops

Besides the Eastern Whip Poor Wills we had a number of other notable sightings including calling Barred Owl, Northern Saw Whet Owl and Common Loon at stop #7 just before 10PM. Mammal highlights included a family group of Black Bears with a radio collared mother bear and three cubs, a single Moose and a few White tailed Deer plus a very vocal Red Squirrel scolding at something after it was dark.

I completed my other whip poor will survey at Quabbin Park and points south last Thursday night. This survey also produced a record setting total for the route with 19 total whips heard with 15 of those at established survey stops. Totals for the now five year old route are listed below:

2013- 6 total individuals with 5 at survey stops
2014- 14 total individuals, all at survey stops
2015- 13 total individuals with 11 at survey stops
2016- 6 total individuals, all at survey stops
2017- 19 total individuals with 15 at survey stops

American Robin with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2017

Eastern Phoebe with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 12, 2017

American Robin fledgling, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 11, 2017

Opossum, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 12, 2017

The motion camera at home continue to capture lots of activity at the water feature, both night and day.

Fruitful search for Hooded Warbler and yet another Mourning Warbler

Hooded Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 12, 2017

Hooded Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 12, 2017

Hooded Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 12, 2017

Hooded Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 12, 2017

I got out of work this morning in the midst of our second heat wave of the season and headed right for home to take the Wilson for an early walk before the temps climbed into the 90's.  Not long after getting home I saw a report of a Hooded Warbler showing itself again at Mount Tom State Reservation where I had looked for one without luck  a few times last week.  I took Wilson for a walk and debated about trying for the bird today and finally decided to give it a try late morning despite the heat.  I made it over there around 10:30 and almost immediately had the bird calling in perfect habitat for it to breed.  It showed fairly well and allowed for some distant photos.  Hopefully he eventually finds a mate and breeds here.  It was great to finally catch up with this striking southern warbler after quite a bit of effort.  Full list with additional photos and audio at the following link:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S37549104

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, June 8, 2017

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, June 8, 2017

Brown Thrashers (adult feeding fledgling), Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, June 9, 2017

Elsewhere over the last several days I managed to find yet another Mourning Warbler at Quabbin Park as well as lots more evidence of breeding success for a multitude of species including the fledgling Brown Thrasher pictured above.

Fruitless search for Hooded Warblers

Worm eating Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 7, 2017

Worm eating Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 7, 2017

View of damage from microburst, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 7, 2017

View of damage from microburst, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 7, 2017

View of damage from microburst, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, June 7, 2017

On Monday evening I noticed a post on the Facebook page about a Hooded Warbler seen and heard along the road at Mount Tom State Reservation.  It was in an area that was hit by a microburst a few years ago with most large trees toppled over but with lots of thick undergrowth.  It was too late in the day to try on Monday and although the forecast was for rain and cool temps on Tuesday I nonetheless headed over that way early in the morning and walked the road in the rain without having any luck finding it.   Despite the rain I did manage to find two Worm eating Warblers plus a few Prairie Warbler but not much else of note.  On my way to Mount Tom I stopped briefly at the Holyoke Dam and had at least 13 Double crested Cormorants.

With better weather forecast for today I headed back to Mount Tom to try again for the Hooded Warbler.  I arrived to find the skies still cloudy with a breeze out of the north making it a bit on the cool side (but still better than yesterday!).  I walked over a mile up the entrance road but had no luck locating the bird but by this point the trail was getting a bit cold so I was not too surprised.  The area looks like a great spot for a Hooded Warbler to hang out in so it may indeed still be around.  I found even more Worm eating Warblers today with a least five around including one carrying food upslope to an unseen nest or fledgling.  Seeing I was already fairly far west I decided to take the opportunity to try for the Hooded Warbler(s) at Mount Tekoa on the Montgomery/Westfield line.  Despite covering the area there was one reported in I had no luck finding one today.  Perhaps the bird(s) have moved elsewhere this year.  I then headed back east and north back into Hampshire County where I made a brief visit to the top of the mountain at Skinner SP where I had a single Cerulean Warbler singing quite far downslope from the parking lot plus at least two Worm eating Warblers.

Neighborhood Nestwatch banding

American Robin with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Black capped Chickadee with egg, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Black capped Chickadee in net, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Gray Catbird with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Black capped Chickadee and American Robin, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Gray Catbird with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Eastern Phoebe nestlings, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Tree Swallow nestlings, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

American Robin nestlings, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 5, 2017

Snapping Turtle laying eggs, Home, Belchertown, June 5, 2017

Despite the less than ideal conditions we had a productive day banding in the yard during our third season of the Neighborhood Nestwatch program. A total of eight birds of four species were banded (three Gray Catbirds, three Black capped Chickadees, an American Robin and an Eastern Phoebe) plus a Tufted Titmouse that didn't get banded. Highlights included an American Robin caught early on with an obvious egg which was caught again later in the morning after she returned to the nest and laid the egg plus a Black capped Chickadee also carrying an egg. We also had a Snapping Turtle wandering around the yard which eventually found a place to lay its eggs. Many thanks to Arthur, Jess and the UMASS intern (I'm blanking on her name) that came by to do the banding.  A few of the nests in the yard were also checked and nestlings were in each nest (American Robin, Eastern Phoebe and Tree Swallow).
Full album on my Flickr page (link below).
https://www.flickr.com/…/54277284@…/albums/72157681661367934

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, June 4, 2017

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, June 2, 2017

I also want to update on the Golden winged Warbler I found at Quabbin Park last Wednesday.  The bird was seen for the entire day on Thursday in the same area so I stopped by there after work on Friday morning and the bird was still present along with a number of birders.  It was continuing to call nearly continuously but showing itself very sparingly.  Around 8:30 or so it flew up to the top of trees and then launched itself off to the south and did not return for the remaining hour and half while I was there.  I thought it might have moved to the power line cut off to the south but I didn't have a lot of time to go looking.  Apparently I was right as the bird was reported along the power lines on Saturday but has not been relocated there since.  It could still be in the same general area but the going there can be tough and the ticks are horrible in addition to the weather being cool, rainy and breezy.  A consolation prize on Friday was a Mourning Warbler in the same area which called quite a bit and showed briefly.  It appears this individual is from the Nova Scotia group according to the researcher up in New Hampshire who is studying the different vocal groups of Mourning Warblers.  The hybrid Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler also continues to be seen in the same area it has been for weeks.