Yesterday was an epic day of birding and made up for what had been a rather lackluster migration season so far with several species a bit behind in their arrival and overall numbers down despite what appeared to be decent migration conditions over the previous few nights. I did not start the day with intention of doing a big day but it morphed into one as the day wore on with my original focus on a big Hampshire County warbler day eventually becoming a big Hampshire County day. I was up before dawn and checked the radar and it appeared very busy and when I went outside I could hear some migrants calling overhead. I decided to head to Quabbin Park where I would spend just over four hours of time during which I would find an incredible 103 species just there. Predawn featured some singing Eastern Whip Poor Wills and calling American Woodcocks plus the beginning of the dawn chorus. I could tell right away there was a noticeable arrival of migrants. I anxiously waited for the gates to open to the park and once they did I started checking some areas I know to be productive and I was not disappointed. I added a few new warblers for me for the year with multiple Blackpoll Warblers and Tennessee Warblers. I also had multiple Bay breasted Warblers within mixed flocks feeding in the tall oaks. Besides the 24 species of warblers within the park I had many other highlights including my first Common Nighthawk of the year (which vocalized a few times), an Olive sided Flycatcher that sang a few times and a decent showing of thrushes plus lots of other good stuff. With all the warblers I had by just after eight in the morning I decided to turn the day into a big warbler day...more on the warblers for the day with lots more photos at the following link.
After my time at Quabbin Park I headed over toward Hadley with my main destination being Skinner State Park but before I got there I took a quick stop off to see the continued Brewster's Warbler hybrid. At this point I noticed there were still several species of shorebirds being seen along the Connecticut River and at this point I started thinking of the day possibly turning into an overall big day for Hampshire County. I arrived at the cove and quickly seven species of shorebirds as well as a late American Wigeon. I ended up with soaked feet from the mud but it was worth it for sure.
With my mind still on maximizing the diversity of warblers for the day a trip up to Skinner SP was a must to add Cerulean Warbler and Worm eating Warbler. I got both of these species rather easily at the top and watched a female Cerulean Warbler collecting nesting material (I was unable to spend time trying to track down the nest site). The summit was alive with birds with lots of song and a fairly diverse assortment of species and I added the breeding Dark eyed Juncos to the list for the day.
The timing for a big day was right with a big influx of migrants in mid May and weather that was overcast with no sun until later in the morning. These conditions keep the birds singing and more obvious later into the day compared to if it was sunny from the start. The late afternoon turned windy and eventually rainy so that part of the day was less than optimal but no complaints from me for the day overall. As with any big day attempt I had a number of misses including Barred owl, Great Horned Owl, Cooper's Hawk and Purple Finch. I could almost certainly have added a few more species (like Sandhill Crane, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finch, etc) if I had crossed over the river and spent some time in the hill towns or gotten out a little earlier to check for nocturnal species and marsh birds. Amazing the diversity of species here in May even when one limits themselves to one county (really just five towns in the east part of the county for me on this day).
I have a link to the eBird trip report for the day at the following link that lists all the species for the day.
Excellent!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteHi Larry - can you tell me more about why an overcast morning/no sun until later in the morning keeps the birds singing longer/later into the morning? I've always thought these conditions were less than optimal for viewing. You can DM me via Facebook/Quabbin photos on FB identify me. Thanks! Amy Loveless (we've spoken before).
ReplyDelete