More rare breeders in the valley including Blue Grosbeak and Least Bittern plus other odd and ends over the last few days

Blue Grosbeak, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 21, 2020

Blue Grosbeak, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jul 21, 2020

Least Bittern fledgling, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 19, 2020

Least Bittern fledgling, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 19, 2020

This summer has continued to feature more breeding records of rare species in the valley with Blue Grosbeaks in Hadley and Least Bitterns in Amherst (and possibly other locations) being the latest.  The Least Bitterns along the rail trail produced at least three young this season and I managed to catch up with them (plus one adult) this past Sunday morning.  In typical bittern fashion they didn't show very well but at least I got to see them.  Unfortunately at least one of the young bitterns was seen being taken by a Mink by other observers later that same morning.  The Blue Grosbeaks look to have successful bred in either the Honey Pot and/or along Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley.  Multiple individuals have been present for several days in both locations.  Last year at least three grosbeaks were present in the Honey Pot and were also suspected of breeding that year.  Prior to last year Blue Grosbeaks were hardly ever present in summer and would only occasionally show up in the spring and fall.

The tropics have started to become more active once again with a recently formed tropical storm (TS Gonzolo) developing out in the Atlantic and heading down through the southern Lesser Antilles.  It is a small storm and is forecast to reach hurricane strength possibly by tomorrow.  The forecast track and strength look to have it move through the southern Lesser Antilles as a strong tropical storm around Saturday although confidence in the strength is low as various models show a wide variations in strength.  After it gets past the Lesser Antilles the long range forecast is even more up in the air...time will tell.  There is also an invest (Invest 91L) in the Gulf of Mexico that has about a 50% chance of developing into another tropical system in the next few days before moving inland somewhere in the western gulf.  Beyond that there is another tropical wave coming off of Africa that some models are pointing toward developing into another storm but that is still ten days off at least so not a worry at this point.

In non birding news there has been a comet (Comet Neowise) gracing the early evening sky in the northern hemisphere.  I finally got to see it for a bit last night before some high clouds moved in and obscured it.  It was an impressive sight through binoculars and could even be made out with the naked eye.  It is only visible for a couple more nights and those look to be cloudy around here so I was lucky to get a look at it last night.  Once it disappears from view it will not return to earth for another 6800 years.

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2020

White tailed Deer, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 20, 2020

Ruby Meadowhawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 14, 2020

A check of the cameras at the house turned up some nighttime visitors during the past week including Bobcat and White tailed Deer.  The number of butterflies and dragonflies have also been on the increase lately, enjoying out latest heat wave.