Rainy and cool day grounds a few migrants

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

Bonaparte's Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

Olive sided Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

Today dawned cool (temps in the 40's) and a light rain falling.  In conditions like this there is lots of potential with gulls, terns and shorebirds being at the top of the list.  I made a dawn stop at Winsor Dam and didn't see anything of note so I headed elsewhere to take a walk in the rain in Ware.  After that stop I returned to Winsor Dam and this time I had three Bonaparte's Gulls.  I also saw reports from others a bit further west reporting more species downed by the rain and I spent more time at the dam in hopes of more stuff showing up without any luck.   Passerines can also be found in this weather and with this in mind I made my way into Quabbin Park and found a few pockets of migrants but then the rain just got too heavy so I made my way back to the dam.  The gulls continued in the same location with most of their time spent on the water or perched on a large buoy.  As the rain let up a bit I heard a distinct three part call coming from the west and heard it several times and got brief looks at a shorebird moving off to the northeast.  I recognized it as a Short billed Dowitcher and without a camera handy due to the rain I fumbled with my phone to try to get a recording but by the time I started recording the bird was too far away.  I had hoped the bird had landed along the dam but repeated scanning turned up nothing and I think it just kept moving off.  I had a similar experience on May 17, 2009 at Winsor Dam during another rainy morning when I had a flock of 32 Short billed Dowitchers fly in and actually settle along the dam.

Mourning Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 19, 2022

Magnolia Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 19, 2022

Bay breasted Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 19, 2022

Once I got home late in the morning I immediately noted some warblers singing including Blackpoll and Bay breasted.  I grabbed the binoculars and camera and headed out.  The rain continued to fall but the birds were active and vocal.  As I was walking along the driveway I heard a Mourning Warbler singing and got a recording to determine the regionlect.  I then spent a lot of time trying to get looks and a photo of the bird and had some success.

Olive sided Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 19, 2022

I made another brief trip to Quabbin Park and found the area much quieter than earlier in the morning but I did manage to get better looks at the Olive sided Flycatcher.  Winsor Dam was also quiet with no sign of anything unusual at all.

The next few days look to see a big warm up with temps on the weekend possibly breaking records with highs in the mid 90's.  It will be quite a change from temperatures today in the mid 50's!