A few sightings from the last several days

Common Yellowthroat, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Aug 22, 2019

Song Sparrow, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Aug 22, 2019

Eastern Cottontail, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Aug 22, 2019

I headed out bright and early this morning into a foggy morning that never cleared out while I was birding.  I tried for shorebirds in some Hadley fields but the fog made viewing difficult and I only managed to find some Killdeer.  I then headed north with a stop at Lake Warner where I briefly relocated the Black crowned Night Heron that was originally found by Scott several days ago.  It was half hidden when I first saw it but it was then flushed by a cow coming down into the water at which point it flew up and landed briefly in a dead tree before flying east across the pond and disappeared into the fog.  The rest of my time out for the morning was spent around UMASS where I had the typical stuff one would expect for the end of August.  The biggest mystery for the day was a loud call I heard twice while at UMASS that I could not identify.  It was coming from a thicket and despite a lot of looking I never was able to find the bird.  It only called twice and the calls were separated by several minutes so no recording. 

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2019

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2019

Dawn, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2019

I made numerous stops at Lake Wallace first thing in the morning over the last several days with the highlights including at least 17 Green Herons on a couple days and a calling Virginia Rail multiple times.

White M Hairstreak, Cadwell Memorial Forest, Pelham, MA, Aug 20, 2019

White M Hairstreak, Cadwell Memorial Forest, Pelham, MA, Aug 20, 2019

On Tuesday I found a new butterfly species for me as I came across a White M Hairstreak while out walking with Wilson in the Cadwell Memorial Forest in Pelham.  The species is at the northern end of its range here in Massachusetts but has become more numerous as the climate warms (along with other species of butterflies).

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2019

Raccoons, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2019

Wild Turkey, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2019

The cameras at home continue to capture some good stuff including a Bobcat in the late afternoon, a family of Raccoons and a Wild Turkey.