Breeding Bird Survey route today

American Kestrel, Belchertown BBS stop 29, Monson, MA, Jun 25, 2023

Blue winged Warbler, Belchertown BBS stop 31, Monson, MA, Jun 25, 2023

Forest view Belchertown BBS stop 33, Conant Brook Reservoir, Monson, MA, Jun 25, 2023

Fields at Belchertown BBS stop 29, Monson, MA, Jun 25, 2023

Power line cut at Belchertown BBS stop 15, Palmer, MA, Jun 25, 2023

I finally got to conduct my annual breeding bird survey (BBS) route this morning.  I typically try to run the survey earlier in the breeding season but this year the weather, work and Wilson made it tough to complete any earlier than today.  I possibly could have run it on a weekday earlier but I always try to do it on a Sunday as the traffic is a minimum making birds easier to hear.  This marked the 14th year I have conducted the survey (I even did the route when the route was officially cancelled due to Covid).  The route starts at 4:42 in the morning in Belchertown and consists of 50 stops of three minutes duration each every half mile (which leaves little to no time to get photos so the ones attached are not the best).  The route travels down through Palmer and Monson to the Connecticut state line.  The conditions were really good despite some morning overcast as the winds stayed calm and the temps were warm (low for the morning was a balmy 69 degrees).  By the end of the route the sun was out and the temps warmed even more.  Despite my fear of not having as many species as usual given the later date I ended with a very respectable 77 species.  Highlights included a couple of Eastern Whip Poor Wills, a Barred Owl, an American Kestrel, an Eastern Meadowlark, 13 species of warblers and best of all, a new species for me along the route with a flyover Red Crossbill.  The Red Crossbill raised the total number of species I have had along the route in the last 14 years to 111.  The route has been active since 1967 so this marks the 56th year of the route. Below are the totals for species for each year I have conducted the survey plus the date the survey was conducted.

year                 # of species            date of survey

2010                 71                          June 20

2011                 64                          June 26

2012                 56                          June 3

2013                 67                          June 23

2014                 70                          June 15

2015                 75                          June 14

2016                 78                          June 19

2017                 73                          June 22

2018                 71                          June 22

2019                 83                          June 9

2020                 76                          June 14

2021                 71                          June 19

2022                 78                          June 5

2023                 77                          June 25

The ten most abundant species this year are listed in the table below (# of stops species present at)

American Robin                             43

Gray Catbird                                  34

Ovenbird                                        33

Red eyed Vireo                              30 

Northern Cardinal                          29   
Chipping Sparrow                          27

Tufted Titmouse                             23

Black capped Chickadee                22

Song Sparrow                                 22

House Wren                                    20

Waugh fields in the morning fog, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 24, 2023

Common Yellowthroat carrying food, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 24, 2023

Yesterday I finally made up to the restricted access Prescott Peninsula to conduct field bird surveys.  I usually try to make a few trips up there earlier in the nesting season but it just didn't work out this year.  I was not sure I would be able to make it up there yesterday with the prediction of early morning rain however the rain held off for a few hours.  No big surprises during my time on the peninsula beyond a handful of flyby Red Crossbills.  The overcast conditions with occasional drizzle probably kept some birds quiet.