Big influx of birds yesterday and some other good stuff to finish out the first week of May

Lincoln's Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Great Blue Heron, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Chestnut sided Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Brewster's Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Brewster's Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2022

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2022

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2022

The end of the first week of May has now arrived and with it the first big push of migrants coming in yesterday thanks to great migration conditions (more on yesterday below).  Yesterday was a pleasant day to be outside with light winds, cloudy conditions and temps in the upper 60's.  Today was not a repeat unfortunately with strong northerly winds and cool temps in the low 50's.  Even without great weather I figured it would be worth being out this morning after the arrival of birds the previous day.  I decided to head over to the rail trail in Amherst where I spent about two and half hours.  The birds were not nearly as plentiful or as vocal as yesterday and I only managed a bit over fifty species with 11 species of warblers.  The highlight was probably my first Lincoln's Sparrows of the year.  The day was great for hybrid warblers with both Brewster's and Lawrence's Warblers found (a more detailed recap of the warblers at the following link.  Unfortunately the windy and cool weather looks to last the remainder of the weekend into Monday but then it is suppose to warm up in a big way and I'm sure that will bring in another pulse of migrants as the peak of migration nears.

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2022

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2022

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2022

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2022

Canada Geese, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2022

Magnolia Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 6, 2022

Wilson's Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 6, 2022

Wood Duck, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2022

Yesterday was the first big influx of migrants with a noticeable increase in both diversity and overall numbers.  I decided to spend a good portion of the morning at Quabbin Park and was not disappointed with 86 species in just under five hours. Nothing too unusual but I had my first Hooded Merganser ducklings around and 18 species of warbler.  I then made a few brief stops in the nearby area and then headed home.  After walking Wilson I figured I would make a stop over to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and I timed my arrival to hear news of Purple Martins back again for a second year.  I checked the martin houses but didn't see any but a nearby pond had at least one flying around (others had seen two).  The migrants were in evidence once again and I got a few more species for the day including a Wilson's Warbler.  I also heard about a Black crowned Night Heron showing well along the river but I failed to see it as it had dropped out of sight before I got to the location (I always thought the river would be a perfect spot for the species but had not heard of one being reported here prior to the current sighting).  I hung around a but but the heron never reappeared (I wonder if it is the same one I saw along the rail trail a few days ago...possible but just as likely a new individual). 

The house has also featured some good stuff with a Cape May Warbler yesterday and groups of Wood Ducks (up to a dozen plus) feeding on the abundant acorns still in the yard.  I managed to break the 100 species mark for the first time this spring without too much effort.

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2022

Black and White Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2022

White breasted Nuthatch at nest, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2022

Fog in the valley, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2022

Pileated Woodpecker, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2022

I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam at first light in the vain hope that something of interest would be on the water but no luck.  I then made my way through some valley fog to make a walk to the peak at Skinner SP.  There were certainly some birds around but no big influx.  I did have my first Worm eating Warbler as well as at least three Cerulean Warblers with one actually dropping out of the tree tops after being chased by a chickadee and landing on the ground to feed (more on the warblers at the following link.  My next stop was down to Mitch's Way and then onto a few other spots on the way home.  A very pleasant day even if the birds were a bit light given the date.  

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 4, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2022

The fourth was a showery day and I had hopes that the weather would ground some migrants but the rain moved in a little too late to ground stuff at Quabbin beyond a couple Bonaparte's Gulls.  The oxbow had better stuff including two Common Terns but I didn't bother making the drive over for them.  The passerines around were mostly fairly low and afforded some great looks.

The first three days of the month were covered in an earlier post.