Glossy Ibis in Northampton plus other stuff for the end of July

Glossy Ibis, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

Glossy Ibis, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

Glossy Ibis, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

Great Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

House Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 31, 2017

I ended July by heading out before dawn over to Arcadia to try to catch up with some early migrants. I worked my way through a few hedgerows and turned up decent numbers of Yellow Warblers, Song Sparrows and Indigo Buntings. The early morning fog burned off relatively quickly and the day started to warm from the mid 50's into the 70's. Tall grass (almost certainly filled with ticks) kept me from exploring as much as I wanted to in the meadows so I made my way to the shore of the oxbow to see if anything noteworthy was hanging around. A quick scan turned up four Great Egrets and an Osprey plus other typical stuff. Right after I got some digiscoped shots of the Osprey an eagle came in and flushed everything. Among the birds flushed were a pair of Glossy Ibis that flew around the oxbow a few times before heading off to the north...a rare species for the area and one I have not seen in any season here except spring. I tried my best to relocate them but I didn't have any luck. There has been a decent influx of post breeding southern waders into north and east over the last couple weeks including a variety of herons, egrets, ibis and spoonbills so perhaps these two came up from the south.

Great Egret, Lower Mill Lane, Easthampton, MA, July 31, 2017

After exhausting my efforts at Arcadia I decided to try a few other spots in the area to see if the ibis stopped in or if any other unusual waders were out there waiting to be found. My next stop was over to Lower Mill Pond were I found another Great Egret but not too much else. I then headed back to Northampton and stopped off at Fitzgerald Lake where a possible Little Blue Heron was seen yesterday but it was no where to be found today.

Great Egrets and Great Blue Heron, Hadley, MA, July 31, 2017

Great Egrets, Hadley, MA, July 31, 2017

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, July 31, 2017

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 31, 2017

Once I was back across the river I stopped at Hadley Cove and had four more Great Egrets (making at least nine for the day). Although it was a bit of trek I headed down to the Holyoke Dam where I have had a variety of unusual waders in the past but could only find Great Blue Herons this morning. Other notables below the dam included 16 Double crested Cormorants and at least 120 Chimney Swifts. I decided on one more stop on my way home to check for additional waders and that stop was Lake Wallace. The only wader around there was a single Green Heron.

Overall for the morning I found four species of wader among a total of 81 species. For the month I found a total of 128 species for the county which is the best July I have ever had despite being gone on vacation for just over a week. A few of the lists from the morning here:

Oregon trip July 15-22, Part 2- Oregon coast

Looking north toward Cape Lookout, Tierra Del Mar, OR, July 18, 2017

Looking south toward Haystack Rock, Tierra Del Mar, OR, July 18, 2017

We finally arrived out on the coast north of Pacific City in the late afternoon on Tuesday after a long drive over the coastal range. We arrived at our beach house and after dropping our stuff off we made a beeline to the nearly deserted beach to stretch out legs. Not much in the way of bird diversity there but it was nice to see a vast stretch of nearly empty beach in the USA...not something I have seen outside of Costa Rica!

Wilson's Warbler, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 19, 2017

Wilson's Warbler, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 19, 2017

Double crested Cormorant, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 19, 2017

Chestnut sided Chickadee, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 19, 2017

Looking south toward Haystack Rock from Cape Lookout, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 19, 2017

Looking south at dawn, Tierra Del Mar, OR, July 19, 2017

Our first full day on the coast was spent exploring a few areas north of our beach house. We started off with a long hike out to the end of Cape Lookout which provided some spectacular views and some great birds. The full list from our stop there can be found here: After a break for lunch we headed back up north to Cape Mears and a few stops around the area of Tillimook. A bit too late in the day and too many people around to turn up much in the way of bird life but it was interesting seeing the large nesting cliffs at Cape Mears again.

White crowned Sparrow, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 20, 2017

Song Sparrow, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 20, 2017

Orange crowned Warbler, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 20, 2017

Orange crowned Warbler (showing its orange crown), Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 20, 2017

White crowned Sparrow, Cape Lookout SP, OR, July 20, 2017

The original plan for Thursday was to go out on a whale watch out of Depoe Bay but the forecast called for a clouds and a chance not rain so we put off the whale watch until Friday. The day did indeed begin a bit showery but it didn't last too long and the sun was already poking through the clouds by 7AM. I went out first thing despite the rain but stayed close to the car during a stop at Whalen Island which featured a nice showing of herons and egrets feeding on the mudflats. Once the weather had improved a little we took a long walk along the sand spit at Cape Lookout before making a couple more stops late morning into the early afternoon at various stops including Cape Kiawanda and Nestucca Bay NWR.

Common Murre, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Pelagic Cormorant, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Gray Whale, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Pigeon Guillemot, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Common Murre, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Gray Whale, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Harbor Seals, Depoe Bay, OR, July 21, 2017

Savannah Sparrow, Siletz Bay NWR, OR, July 21, 2017

On our last full day we headed south down to Depoe Bay to go on a whale watch. Before we made it to Depoe Bay we stopped off briefly at Siletz Bay NWR which was quite active, especially with passerines...I just wish I had more time to explore the area but we had to make it down to the whale watch by 9:30. We arrived and immediately headed out of the small harbor aboard a small zodiac which provided some nice close to the water views (and photos) of the whales, seals and birds. It was nice to not have to go too far offshore to get the whales (in fact you could probably see them fairly well from shore)...certainly much different then the typical whale watch at home.

Overall for the trip I managed to find a total of 107 species for the week, which was fairly decent for a non birding focused trip.  No new species for me but I have been out to this area of the country several times so not a whole lot of new potentials.

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, April 30, 2016

I also had one of my photos (a Blue winged Warbler) featured in the latest article from eBird/Cornell on the eBird homepage....link to article:  eBird article

Mourning Warblers breeding at Quabbin Park

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Prairie Warblers, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Black billed Cuckoo, Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Winsor Dam,  Quabbin Park, MA, July 26, 2017

Another cool morning for July (low 50's) started off a little foggy but eventually turned sunny and warm.  My main focus was to make it over to Quabbin Park to check on the Mourning Warblers.  After quite a bit of looking I eventually found the female working low through some ferns carrying some food.  She disappeared and was not seen again.  Around twenty minutes later I found the male about 150' away.  He was largely silent except for a few chip notes and didn't show too well.  It does indeed look as if the warblers have indeed bred here which is unprecedented for this low an elevation and this far east and south in the state.

Besides the Mourning Warblers I had a decent selection of species with quite a few young birds around and a noticeable lack of bird song.  Link to eBird list with more photos:  Quabbin Park list

Oregon trip July 15-22, Part 1: Mount Hood and Columbia Gorge

Mount Hood from plane, OR, July 15, 2017

Mount hood from Lost Lake, Mt Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

We just spent the last week or so out in Oregon on a little getaway. Although not a birding trip I nonetheless still managed to get some birding in most days. We flew out to Portland on July 15 and then drove east out to the Hood River area where we spent three nights before driving out to the coast for four nights. We had fantastic weather throughout with sunny skies and pleasant temperatures.

Bewick's Wren, River Rush Ranch, Odell, OR, July 16, 2017

Mule Deer, River Rush Ranch, Odell, OR, July 16, 2017

Bridal Veil Falls, Bridal Falls State Scenic Area, OR, July 16, 2017

Multnomah Falls, OR, July 16, 2017

The first full day was spent along the Columbia Gorge exploring various parks as well as a few wineries and pick your own fruit farms...some damn good raspberries and cherries were obtained and quickly consumed. Before venturing down to the gorge I spent a couple of hours first thing in the morning around the 125+ acre ranch we were staying at. Nothing too unexpected but a nice selection of expected species.

Mount Hood viewed from Lost Lake, Mount Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

Hermit Warbler, Lost Lake, Mount Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

Steller's Jay, Lost Lake, Mount Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

Red breasted Sapsucker, Lost Lake, Mount Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

On our second day we headed up toward Mount Hood to hit some higher elevation areas. We began bright and early with a trip up to Lost Lake which provided some great birds as well as spectacular views of Mount Hood. We walked around the lake before many people began to stir for the day so we had it mostly to ourselves. Nothing too unusual but some good stuff nonetheless...full eBird checklist here:  Lost Lake eBird list

Mount Hood, viewed from Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood NF, OR, July 17, 2017

By late morning we stopped to grab an early lunch before heading out to drive up to the Timberline Lodge to get some up close views of the mountain and hopefully some new birds. The lodges area was very busy but did indeed provide some great views of the mountains south slope plus a few higher elevation birds including Clark's Nutcracker and Mountain Chickadee.

MacGillivray's Warbler, River Rush ranch, Odell, OR, July 18, 2017

MacGillivray's Warbler, River Rush ranch, Odell, OR, July 18, 2017

American Dipper, River Rush ranch, Odell, OR, July 18, 2017

Western Tanager,  River Rush ranch, Odell, OR, July 18, 2017

California Quail, River Rush ranch, Odell, OR, July 18, 2017

Latourell Falls, Guy Talbott SP, OR, July 18, 2017

On Tuesday we drove out to the coast after a midday stop in the Portland area to catch up with my uncle but before making it over there around I spent a few hours at first light exploring the area of the River Rush Ranch. Mostly the same species there once again but a couple American Dippers along the Hood River were a nice addition.  Also got some better looks (and photos) of species seen the first morning there...full list with additional photos here: River Ranch eBird list. We also made another waterfall stop along the way through the gorge which was at the stunning (and quiet) Latourell Falls.