The fourth week of the month and totals for all of May

Least Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 22, 2021

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 22, 2021

Vesper Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, May 22, 2021

Scarlet Tanager, Mt Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, May 23, 2021

Pileated Woodpecker, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 24, 2021

Yellow Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 24, 2021

Brewster's Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 24, 2021

Dawn, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 26, 2021

Spotted Sandpiper, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 27, 2021

The always exciting and too short month of May has now come to a close and with it the large influx of migrants coming in from the south to either spend the breeding the season here or just stopping briefly before continuing further north.  The fourth week produced multiple days of great late season migration conditions and many species heading further north flew past without any obvious sign of stopping over.  At the beginning of the fourth week of the month the small puddle in the East Meadows produced several more shorebirds (including both Semipalmated Plover and Semipalmated Sandpiper) before it was plowed under for the year.  Other highlights for the fourth week included a Blue Grosbeak in the same area the species has bred for the last couple years, multiple Vesper Sparrows in Hadley (one of the few reliable breeding locations in the state), a Grasshopper Sparrow in Amherst (where they have bred in the past), another Brewster's Warbler and a Gray cheeked Thrush.

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, May 31, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 31, 2021

The very end of the month featured a big cool down with some heavy rain and temperatures that never even made it to 50 degrees for multiple days (ruining Memorial Day plans for many).  I went out looking for grounded late season migrants when I could but failed to turn up anything of note.

Overall for the month in Hampshire County I had 180 species, which is the highest species total I have ever had for the month of May (previous best was 178 in 2019...the last ten year average for the month is 165).  As far as warblers go the month produced 31 species (with 30 of those in Hampshire County) plus a number of hybrids.  More details on warblers can be found at the following link: May warblers.  So far for the year I have now had a total of 223 species in Hampshire County, which is way ahead of any previous year at this time which I attribute mainly to the remnants of the major irruption of multiple species this past winter.  My best previous year to date total by the end of May in Hampshire County was 218 in 2019.  The previous ten year average total by the end of May comes to 201...with the last five years averaging 207 (so obviously this year has been great so far).  Does this mean I will exceed my record setting year of 2020 when I had 248 species?  Unlikely unless a tropical system dumps some unusual species and several rarities show up...but you never know.