Irruption of Red breasted Nuthatches (and other stuff)

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 25, 2020

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 25, 2020

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 25, 2020

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 25, 2020

Wild Turkeys, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 25, 2020

In addition to the Red Crossbills (almost all Type 10) that have irrupted into the area since the very end of July there is an ongoing and impressive incursion of Red breasted Nuthatches.  I have had double digit counts of the species in multiple locations the last several days and there are at least a few birds present in almost any suitable habitat.  On Tuesday I had a few hours available in the morning and decided to spend my time at Quabbin Park where I had an impressive 67 in just under three hours and this count is an absolute minimum as many counted were heard only and I'm sure there were silent individuals around too.  I wish I had a little more time as I'm certain I could have hit triple digits without too much more effort.  This count is my highest ever for Hampshire County but for western Mass overall it is eclipsed by a triple digit count that totaled nearly two hundred back in 2012 on the Prescott Peninsula during another irruption of the species.  Other notables around the park for the morning included an Eastern Whip Poor Will (plus a single Common Nighthawk giving me two nightjars for the morning), a Sharp shinned Hawk in an area they have bred in the past, a dozen Carolina Wrens (a somewhat unusual species here and part of a late summer incursion of the species I have noted at multiple locations), eight Red Crossbills, a few Purple Finches and seven species of warbler.  It will be interesting to see how the irruption pans out over the next several weeks and if it indicates an expected incursion of other irruptive species.

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 26, 2020

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 26, 2020

I hit Lake Wallace early on Wednesday morning before work mainly checking on the number of Green Herons coming in from their overnight roost.  I had a total of 36 Green Herons which is my highest total for the season so far and fell just short of my highest ever total of 37 of the species I had at the same location back in 2018.  Other notables around the lake included the continuing Little Blue Heron as well as at least a couple Virginia Rails.


A quick update on the tropics with the big story being Hurricane Laura which roared ashore overnight in far western Louisiana as a strong Cat 4 hurricane causing lots of damage to the area.  The storm continued north through Louisiana and into Arkansas and is forecast to hook east and come out into the mid Atlantic states Saturday and then redevelop as a post tropical low with tropical storm winds.  It will pass south of New England but will probably bring some rain on Saturday to the local area.  The chances is always there of the rain forcing down some species (especially shorebirds) so I will be out looking.  I have not heard of too many unusual species yet but I suspect there will be many birds falling out of the storm all along the track and I will update later.  Birdcast has ongoing updates on the storm at the following link.  There are more tropical waves coming off of Africa now that have the potential to develop but not for at least the next several days.

Birds the last few days (with some continued rarities), some bad thunderstorms and a tropical update

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Brown Thrasher, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Black and White Warbler, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

Red breasted Nuthatch, Robbins Rd, Ware, MA, Aug 24, 2020

With the power being out overnight (see below) I figured I would have to hang around the house to get the generator running and get the house back to some semblance of order but thankfully the power came back on a bit after five I was able to get out early and make my way over to Lake Wallace to check on the herons coming in from their overnight roost.  I had a count of 31 Green Herons (my highest for the season so far) and the continued Little Blue Heron.  In addition I had at least four Virginia Rails (two adults and two fairly young juveniles...videos of both at the links below), a Common Nighthawk over the marsh and a flyover Red Crossbill.  My plan was to then head over to bird a large part of Quabbin Park but the gates remained closed (probably due to storm damage) so I had to be content with just a few areas accessible and had a nice show of Red breasted Nuthatches (a theme for the entire morning in every area I stopped).  I then headed over to Ware and birded an area in the west part of town and had some mixed flocks as migration continues starts to really get underway. After dodging several roads blocks on the way home due to trees and power lines down I picked up Wilson and we went for a walk in Belchertown and had a double digit count of Red breasted Nuthatches...a really impressive incursion of this species is currently underway (more on that at the Birdcast link.)

Blue Grosbeak carrying food, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 22, 2020

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 22, 2020

Merlin, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 22, 2020

On my way to work on Saturday morning I stopped off at the Honey Pot and had at least five Blue Grosbeaks still present including a juvenile still being fed by an adult male.  Another neat sighting was a Merlin that came cruising in and almost managed to get a Mourning Dove.

large hail, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 23, 2020

We got hit with some sever storms in the early evening yesterday with lots of lightning, wind and heavy rain and the biggest hail I have ever seen at home (up to quarter size).  We lost power around six and never got it back until around dawn this morning.  Areas just a few miles to the east had even more extensive damage while areas just to the west didn't even get a drop of rain.


A quick update on the tropics as of today.  Tropical Storm Marco is nearing a landfall in Louisiana but thankfully it has been greatly weakened by wind shear and will hit as a weak tropical storm at best.  Tropical Storm Laura on the other hand is currently a strong tropical storm sitting on the south side of Cuba and predicted to head off into the Gulf of Mexico and develop into a potential strong hurricane and landfall somewhere in the area of the Texas and Louisiana border late Wednesday into Thursday.  More on the avian potential with both storms can be found at the following Birdcast link.

American Redstart, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Blue Jay, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Northern Flicker, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Common Grackle, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2020

The camera at the water feature has started picking up some increased activity after being fairly quiet for a few weeks.

Black crowned Night Heron among five species of waders this morning plus other sightings the last two days

Black crowned Night Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Black crowned Night Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Great Egret, Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2020

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2020

After a long night at work I had a little under two hours to explore before I had to made it to an appointment in Hadley.  I decided to try my luck at Arcadia trying to relocate a Black crowned Night Heron seen near the Oxbow a couple days before.  I looked around a few promising areas but had no luck but I was not too surprised as this species can stay very well hidden and there were lots of places for the bird to hide.  Without any luck with the night heron I headed across the river to Hadley where I stopped at the Honey Pot to check on the Blue Grosbeaks and any shorebirds that might be around.  I had at least four Blue Grosbeaks including a stunning adult male but no shorebirds.  Other birds of note there included hundreds of swallows feeding over the fields and river.  I then made a short ride over to the Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area and quickly scanned the river and found a distant Great Egret and a flock of 39 Common Mergansers hauled out on a small sandbar.  I was then going to head over further into Hadley but noticed a text from Mary saying she had relocated the night heron so I changed plans and headed back over to Arcadia where I was able to view the night heron as it roosted in a tree just off the road in an area with lots of activity but it seemed relatively oblivious to it all.  After getting some great views of the bird I headed back across the river again to Hadley.  Once my appointment was done I headed over to Lake Wallace where the Little Blue Heron continued to show as did a number of Green Herons bringing my waders for the morning to five species, which is quite unusual around here.

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2020

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 20, 2020

On my way to work yesterday I made it to Lake Wallace before dawn to catch the fly in of herons coming in from their overnight roost.  Before the herons arrived I had a single Common Nighthawk coursing over the marsh, at least two calling Virginia Rails and some begging juvenile Great Horned Owls.  The Green Herons started arriving around 5:45 and my count reached a season high total of 30 individuals.  Near the tail end of the arrival of the Green Herons the Little Blue Heron came in once again.  All the herons seemed to be enjoying the bountiful number of frogs around and all seemed to be feeding quite successfully.  A brief stop at the Honey Pot produced at least four Blue Grosbeaks.


The tropics continue to remain hot with two systems of short term interest.  The first is a newly named tropical storm (Laura) nearing the Greater Antilles and forecast to move northwest and possibly have an impact on Florida and then the Gulf of Mexico.  The second is Tropical Depression 14 that will likely become a named system soon.  The depression is located off the Yucatan and is forecast to make it into the Gulf of Mexico and possibly impact the US as a tropical storm.  Having two named systems within the Gulf of Mexico at the same time likely to landfall in the US is without precedent.  In addition there is another wave coming off Africa that has a low chance in the next five days of developing into a tropical system.

Morning looking for waders and a continued influx of Red breasted Nuthatches and Red Crossbills

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2020

I had a full morning to bird so I decided to see how many waders (and perhaps shorebirds) I could find in Hampshire County.  I started my morning at Lake Wallace in the hopes of finding the continued Little Blue Heron.  I arrived before sunrise to catch the waders coming in from their overnight roost.  The gathering of Green Herons at this location in late summer is impressive and this morning I had at least 26 (not quite as high as the 37 I had back in 2018 but still a great morning!).  I also had a couple Great Blue Herons and at least one Virginia Rail still calling from the marsh.

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2020

I next headed down to the south to the Holyoke Dam in search of the Glossy Ibis that had been present at the location a few days ago.  Unfortunately no luck turning up the ibis bit I did have 120+ Chimney Swifts, a few Spotted Sandpipers and eight Great Blue Herons.  I had thought about possibly going down to Fannie Stebbins in Longmeadow to try to turn up a night heron and/or check the sandbar but I decided to stay in the county instead.

Wood Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Spotted Sandpiper, Bashin area, Hatfield, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Great Egret, Bashin area, Hatfield, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Bashin area, Hatfield, MA, Aug 19, 2020

After the dam I headed north and checked out Lower Mill Pond and then Arcadia with just a single Green Heron and a couple Killdeer at Lower Mill Pond and nothing too noteworthy at Arcadia.  The lack of Great Egrets around this year so far is surprising seeing how many have been present the last few years as well as the large number being seen just to the south in Hampden County. 

I next headed further north to Great Pond and then to the Bashin area of Hatfield.  Great Pond held at least 82 Wood Ducks, a briefly seen Virginia Rail and a few each of Green Heron and Great Blue Heron.  The Bashin area produced a half dozen Spotted Sandpipers along the muddy edge of the river plus my first Great Egret of the day.  I also made a brief stop at Lake Warner but didn't turn up anything noteworthy.  With the Great Egret I had found a total of four species of waders for the morning.  Shorebirds were not around in any great variety with just a couple species around.

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 19, 2020

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 19, 2020

With a little more time available after walking Wilson I headed over to Quabbin Park to try to turn up some passerines and came across a few groups of Red breasted Nuthatches plus at least one flyover Red Crossbill.  Both species seem to be undergoing a fairly large influx into the area since around the beginning of the month with nuthatches showing up almost everywhere lately.  More on the influx can be found at the following Birdcast link.


The hurricane season is entering peak time for storms and the tropics are getting busy.  Two weak tropical storms formed last week (Josephine and Kyle) and quickly fizzled out with no major impacts.  There are now three tropical waves moving across the Atlantic with two labeled as invests at this point (97L and 98L) and the third just coming off Africa.  Both invests are given a high probability of forming into a tropical system over the next several days and both need to be watched for impacts.  Neither is a direct threat here at this point but 98L will have to be watched carefully.

Little Blue Heron this morning at Lake Wallace

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Little Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Little Blue Heron and Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2020

I started off a rather cool and cloudy morning by visiting Quabbin Park where I had at least three Eastern Whip Poor Wills still calling and singing plus a drumming Ruffed Grouse.  I then headed over to nearby Lake Wallace primarily looking for waders and waterfowl.  I started panning around the lake with the scope and found a variety of interesting species including at least 14 Green Herons and three calling Virginia Rails as well as both Barred Owl and Great Horned Owl.  I then noticed a white heron that flushed up when a Red tailed Hawk came by.  I quickly got on the bird and found it to be a juvenile Little Blue Heron.  After perching in a tree for a few minutes it dropped down into the marsh and began to actively hunt.  I got the word out quickly and over the next couple hours a few other birders showed up to see what is a less than annual visitor to Hampshire County.  Mid to late summer is the typical time frame for dispersing post breeding waders to show up and a group of species to certainly have in mind when out this time of year.  All of my records for Little Blue Herons have been juvenile birds in August (with the exception of an adult in April in 2012 at Arcadia).  My August records for the species include one along the Connecticut River in 2014, one that stayed around for over a week at the Holyoke Dam in South Hadley in 2016 and one that showed up at Fitzgerald Lake in 2017 (initially discovered by someone else there in late July).  There have been a few present just to our south in Hampden County in the last few weeks but this is the first one this far north in western Massachusetts this year.

August has so far been a great month for rarities and I'm on a record setting pass for the month with 139 species at the mid month mark (with 123 of these in the first week).  My best August ever was 143 species in 2018 so it looks quite likely I will break that record with half the month still to go.  Although I'm not trying for a big year in the county I'm at 221 species for the year which puts me a couple species ahead of my previous high total for this date so who knows where the final year end total will end up.