An interesting warbler and Black crowned Night Heron this morning

Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Black crowned Night Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Black crowned Night Heron and Great Blue Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Great Egret, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

One never knows what a day out and about will turn up but today was really fantastic with some great stuff around for the middle of August including an interesting Connecticut Warbler and a Black crowned Night Heron among some eighty species overall. I was unsure where exactly to start the humid summer like morning today but I decided on Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River where I hoped to find some warblers in the dense underbrush.  Although I didn't have too much luck with warblers there I did have a couple of Eastern Screech Owls calling back and forth.  Unfortunately the mosquitoes were a bit annoying so I decided to head out of there before I ended up with West Nile Virus and stopped over to Lower Mill Pond in Easthampton to try to catch up with a previously reported juvenile Black crowned Night Heron (a very tough species to find in the county, at least for me...I have only seen one other, back in 2015).  When I arrived at the pond there were three wader species around (Great Blue Heron, Green Heron and Great Egret) but initially no night heron.  After a few scans I walked a bit further up the road to view into a previously obstructed cove and there was the bird in all its dull brown glory standing in some shallow water.  A great day in the county when you can have four species of waders in the same spot!  This continues the great year for waders with the night heron bringing the total to nine species for me, a very good total for inland Massachusetts.  My eBird lists from these two stops: Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and Lower Mill Pond. After getting my fill of the waders and the few shorebirds around I then headed over to Arcadia to see what else I could turn up.

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Arcadia once again offered up some great birds with the best by far being a very interesting individual I initially identified as an exceptionally early Connecticut Warbler found along the edge of a field in some low brush.  The behavior was exactly what I would expect from a Connecticut Warbler including walking up a branch.  However the plumage details point more to a juvenile Mourning Warbler although I still cannot explain the odd behavior.  Besides the warbler I had lots of other good stuff with continued high numbers of Indigo Buntings and Song Sparrows.  Full eBird list with more photos here: Arcadia

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Late in the morning I made my way over to Quabbin Park where I was once again able to find one of the Mourning Warblers still hanging around...full list here: Quabbin Park.  I would have liked to explore some additional areas there but the day was rapidly getting hot and Wilson needed his walk so off to home I went to pick him up.

Red tailed Hawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Red tailed Hawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Red tailed Hawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2017

The afternoon was spent around the house enjoying the day and I was treated to lots of activity from a very vocal and active family of Red tailed Hawks.