September comes to an end

Yellow throated Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Magnolia Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Bay breasted Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Northern Mockingbird, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2022

Sun halo, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2022

The last couple nights have featured the largest number of migrants for the fall so far (according to Birdcast) with an estimated 2.2 million birds last night and 3.0 million the night before.  Due to work the only morning I could get out for an extended was today after finishing my shift and I headed right over to Arcadia.  Overall it was slower than I expected but I still found 63 species in a bit under a couple hours.  I was really surprised by the lower number of sparrows as I expected a huge increase in number given the date and migration conditions.  Among the highlights for my time there included continued numbers of Blue Jays migrating, my first Dark eyed Junco in the valley and eleven species of warbler (more on warblers to end the month at the following link).  I then headed over to a spot in Belchertown in the hopes of turning up a continued Connecticut Warbler that had been present at the location for a few days.  I had no luck with that warbler but did have a decent mixed species flock that held a late Yellow throated Vireo and eight species of warblers among other species.  

Overall for the month I had 158 species in Hampshire County, which is around average for the last several years for me but well off my best September which occurred last year when I had 171 species.  October will certainly see less species overall as the peak of diversity of fall migration is past us but it will feature the peak of sparrow migration, a large amount of waterfowl migration and the increased chance of rarities.  

Dawn, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 29, 2022

I had very limited time on Thursday morning before work so made a stop in the Honey Pot area of Hadley but the birding was slow.  I'm sure it got better once the sun came up and warmed it up a bit.

Blackpoll Warblers, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 29, 2022

Red breasted Nuthatch, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 29, 2022

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 29, 2022

Swainson's Thrush, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 30, 2022

The camera at the water feature has caught both migrants and some resident species the last couple days....nice to have something watching for birds when I'm not there.