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| Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
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| Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
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| Cape May Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
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| Red tailed Hawk, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
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| Prairie Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
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| Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017 |
September has started off great with the first two days of the month producing 102 species already! The weather has been unseasonably cool which has certainly encouraged some migrants to move. This morning the temperature dipped down into the upper 30's, which was a near record low and had me wearing gloves and a winter hat to start the day over at Arcadia. Tomorrow is forecast to be somewhat rainy and a bit cool but we should get a warm up for the first couple days of the week. Today I spent several hours from dawn to mid morning at Arcadia and had some great stuff including a Dickcissel, another Cape May Warbler (a male this time and my third Cape May in just the last few days), good numbers of House Wrens, Song Sparrows, Bobolinks and Indigo Buntings. Overall a total of 67 species with the full list here:
Arcadia. I also made brief stops at Lower Mill Pond (which was very quiet with no shorebirds at all) and the Holyoke Dam before heading home to get Wilson to go for a walk around midday.
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| Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
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| Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
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| Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
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| Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
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| Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
Yesterday I stayed around the south Quabbin area spending almost all my time in Quabbin Park (with a quick diversion to Lake Wallace around dawn). My morning started at Winsor Dam where I had at least one Eastern Whip Poor Will calling despite the cool temps and decent breeze. Lake Wallace had a Virginia Rail plus the expected species around...my stops there will likely be coming to an end soon as the waterfowl hunting season will begin on September 5 and the lake gets hunted quite heavily. Quabbin Park itself was fairly active in spots but the breezy conditions made it a bit tough to bird in some spots. Highlights were many and included at least six Tennessee Warblers among 16 species of warblers...list from the morning there with more photos here:
Quabbin Park -morning. I made an afternoon return to Quabbin Park to meet a few people to discuss Cerulean Warblers in the area and to take a couple short walks. Despite the late hour and continued wind we still found some decent birds including a Cape May Warbler in a mixed species flock...full list here:
Quabbin Park-afternoon
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| Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2017 |
Around the yard I came across a banded Black capped Chickadee I had not seen since September 1, 2016...a year to the day! I think the bird likely nested nearby but I had not seen it again until yesterday. It was banded back in June 2016, so he has a few years under his belt.
Now for the latest discussion regarding the tropics and the status of Hurricane Irma. The storm has fluctuated between being a Category 2 and 3 storm the last couple days as it moved through some cooler ocean waters. The storm is now headed to warmer waters and in all likelihood will strengthen further as it moves southwest for a time before turning back northwest. It looks to potential impact the northern Lesser Antilles but even that is not a certainty yet. Lots of players in the forecast but it certainly should be watched closely. The model runs out past the five day mark hint at a possible impact on the US but the accuracy that far out is low. One thing for certain is the storm will continue to be a strong hurricane and if it does hit anywhere the impact will be major. Over the next several days if it looks like the storm may indeed head in this direction I will update on here. Here is a link to the various hurricane season sites I like to look at to get a feel of what may come.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html
http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/
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