WESTERN MEADOWLARK continues in Hadley

Western Meadowlark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2021

Western Meadowlark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2021

Western Meadowlark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 16, 2021

Red throated Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2021

Just back from a trip to Ecuador (which I will post about extensively once I get the many photos downloaded).  I arrived back home in the early evening yesterday after a very long trip home. While I was gone there were a number of rare sightings in Hampshire County including a Western Meadowlark that was discovered in Hadley on November 11th and continued through Monday. (The other rare sightings included an unidentified ‘western’ type flycatcher seen and photographed at Arcadia and an unidentified shorebird at Winsor Dam...neither of those were definitively identified or relocated).  After getting some much needed sleep after being up for a day and a half I made it over to the Honey Pot around dawn to try to locate the meadowlark.  I scanned the area for awhile before finally hearing it call a few times from a grassy area but I could not see the bird.  A couple Northern Harriers and a Red tailed Hawk then cruised through the area and the meadowlark stopped calling.  About ten minutes later I finally saw the bird hop out into the open on the edge of a brushy strip and it started calling again.  A couple more birders arrived around this time and they both got to see it.  I managed to get some digiscoped photos and video.  The bird then disappeared and went silent again and after waiting a bit for it to reappear without success I headed elsewhere to bird for the morning.  I was very happy to see that the bird stuck around long enough for me to see it.  The Western Meadowlark became my 250th species in Hampshire County this year (setting yet another new high year count for me that was broken by a Cattle Egret I saw right before I left on my trip to Ecuador).  I birded a few other areas without too much in the way of anything unusual until I got to Winsor Dam where I had a Red throated Loon fly in and land on the water.  As I was discussing with Mary before I left  for my trip, November 11th holds a special place in Hampshire County birding for me as I have found two first county records on the date (King Eider in 2013 and Pacific Loon in 2015).  I was happy to see that yet another rare bird showed up on that date.  I guess being out birding on November 11th in Hampshire County is a something one should be doing.