Palm Warbler 'western', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2020
White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2020
American Redstart, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2020
Swainson's Thrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2020
Vesper Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2020
With the forecast of sunny conditions and lighter wind compared to yesterday I decided to head back to Arcadia before dawn. Unfortunately the forecast was wrong and the winds were blowing throughout the day (thankfully not as bad as yesterday but still fairly strong at times). The sparrows were still around in good numbers but slightly reduced from the last couple mornings. Unusual species around including a Brown Thrasher and an America Redstart. As the winds continued I decided to cut my time short at Arcadia and start heading toward home but after hearing that Aaron relocated the Nelson's Sparrow in the East Meadows I decided to try my luck with relocating it. I arrived to find a few others looking for it but not finding it. I walked the general area it was seen in and turned up lots of sparrows (including a Grasshopper Sparrow) but as expected no sign of the Nelson's Sparrow. As I was once again about to pull the plug on the morning of birding I got a text from Scott saying he had a Brewer's Blackbird in North Hadley (a very rare bird anywhere in the state and one I have never seen around here). I immediately left the meadows and headed across the river and up to the fields in North Hadley. I arrived to find Scott still there trying to relocate the bird. A few other birders arrived not long after and we all spent a hour plus waiting in vain for the bird to return. The bird could be anywhere in the local area as there is a number of farms in the area that would be attractive to the species. As we were waiting a number of other sparrows made appearances as well as an obvious migration of raptors and geese.
Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2020
White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2020
White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2020
Purple Finch, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2020
Saturday dawned sunny and warm and with strong southerly winds that picked up early the high made it into the high 70’s. I went right to Arcadia after getting out of work and checked a few areas. The winds made picking out stuff a bit difficult but I nonetheless turned up some good stuff early on including a late American Redstart and Magnolia Warbler as well as an Orange crowned Warbler. Although the sparrow numbers were down compared to what I saw early on Friday morning there were still impressive numbers and diversity with an obvious influx of birds including double digit counts of White crowned Sparrow (including my first adults and a few birds singing). There were also loads of Purple Finches and Pine Siskins moving with the calls of both present almost constantly.
Fox Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 9, 2020
With the northerly winds continuing overnight into the morning on Friday I knew there would be an influx of species and I decided to spend the few minutes I had at dawn at Arcadia before I had to head to work. The sparrows were everywhere and I wish I had more time to explore the area. The best species I had during my limited time there was an early Fox Sparrow.
Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2020
Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2020
Brant with Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2020
Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2020
Blue Jays, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2020
After a strong cold front came through on Wednesday afternoon (with lots of tree damage and power outages in the area) the weather turned cooler and windier with fairly strong northwest winds on Thursday. I headed to Winsor Dam as soon as I got out of work and spent a little time there and oddly there was not much for waterfowl. I tried nearby Beaver Lake and the Route 9 marsh and both of those spots were also fairly quiet. The road through the park was closed due to tree damage so I elected to stop back at Winsor Dam. Almost as soon as I arrived I noticed a couple of Brant flying around as well as two female Northern Pintails. They flew around the area for several minutes and then I lost track of them. Scott and Mary arrived not long after and while scanning the area Scott picked the two Brant back up again and we got good looks as the Brant joined a trio of Black Ducks moving south. We stayed for awhile after that sighting but not much else for waterfowl was moving. There was an obvious migration of Blue Jays occurring as well as multiple Purple Finches and Pine Siskins flying south.
The remnants of Hurricane Delta (which came ashore in Louisiana on Friday) looks to bring some rain into the area from Monday into Tuesday with the heaviest rain overnight Monday into Tuesday. There is always a chance of the rain grounding some migrants (especially waterfowl) so it will be worth checking out some areas for those days.
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