October comes to an end

LeConte's Sparrow, Deerfield meadows, Deerfield, MA, Oct 14, 2019

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2019

Marsh Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2019

Carolina Wren, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Oct 6, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 14, 2019

Bobcat looking at a Gray Squirrel, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2019

Although I didn't manage to top my record setting October from last year I nonetheless had a great month with a total of 140 species in Hampshire County and some really great birds.  The highlight of the month was a first state record of a Pacific slope Flycatcher that showed up in Hadley.  More on that saga can be found at the following link.  I also added a life bird for the month when a LeConte's Sparrow showed up in a field in Deerfield in the middle of the month.  I found a total of a dozen sparrow species and 18 species of warblers for the month.  A few other sightings for the end of the month can be found below.

Gray Catbird, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Oct 29, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 29, 2019

Red breasted Mergansers,Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2019

After work on Tuesday morning I headed down to the East Meadows to see if I could find the Nelson’s Sparrow that Ted had there a few days before. This time of year can be a bit dicey down there with lots of hunters around so I did a quick check on the exact area the bird had been seen but didn’t explore widely. No luck with the sparrow but the area I checked featured lots of other sparrows. I then headed across the river and back over to Huntington Road to try my luck again with the Pacific slope Flycatcher and try to get some photos of it. Although I heard it calling several times I never got a look at it.  A brief stop at Winsor Dam on my way produced two close in Red breasted Mergansers.

White throated Sparrow, Huntington Rd, Hadley, MA, Oct 30, 2019

Eastern Phoebe, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 30, 2019

Blue headed Vireo, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 30, 2019

Fox Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 30, 2019

Wednesday was another day of low clouds and occasional drizzle but I was still able to get out a bit with a morning stop at Arcadia where I had a few late species including two Eastern Phoebes, a Blue headed Vireo and a 'yellow' Palm Warbler as well as eight species of sparrows.  A quick stop in search of the flycatcher did not produce the bird but it was seen by others later in the day.

To end the month we had another rainstorm move in with strong southerly winds and heavy rain at times.  The forecast shows a big cool down coming in after the storm so I tried one last time during the morning looking in vain for the Pacific slope Flycatcher once again.  I suspect the big cool down could finally move the flycatcher along.