I spent a good portion of the morning exploring the Mt. Holyoke Range SP with the main goals being tracking down any possible Hooded Warblers and checking on the density of Worm eating Warblers. I arrived a bit before six and started walking up toward the ridge. Not long after arriving I was stopped and heard some movement in the woods and I turned around expecting to see a squirrel but instead had a Fisher. I think I was as surprised as the Fisher as we both looked at each other for a few seconds before the Fisher quickly ran away. I had no luck finding any Hooded Warblers as I walked around four miles all the way up to Rattlesnake Knob and then back down to the parking lot in Granby. I had much better luck with Worm eating Warblers with multiple individuals present. I suspect there are a few dozen pairs of this species along the entire ridge. There were also good numbers of other typical forest species as well as great looks at a Porcupine.
Before making my way to Granby I stopped by Lake Wallace again to check out what might be around at dawn (still hoping a Black bellied Whistling Duck will show up some day). Nothing too unusual but good evidence of breeding species.
I made the long drive up to Prescott Peninsula last night to complete my second Eastern Whip Poor Will survey of the season. I was unable to get the route done last year for a variety of reasons so was looking forward to getting up there this year. I checked the route the day before and the road was clear. I arrived at my first stop at the lower end of the peninsula just after sunset and then waited until around quarter of nine to start the route. As I was waiting I heard some branches cracking and looked up to see a large Black Bear ambling past. Unfortunately the light was not great so I could not get any good photos but I got some great looks. I then ran the route as I worked my way north at one mile increments. Unfortunately the numbers were down from previous years with just a single bird at each of the first five out of six stops and then none after that plus a single individual between stops 2 and 3 giving me a total of just six birds. Not sure why the numbers are down but perhaps due to the later date for the survey or maybe some subtle changes in the land. There are some recently logged areas that may be good for the species in the upcoming years so something to look forward to.
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