Record setting August in the county with 166 species

 

Common Nighthawks, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 27, 2023

Red Crossbills, Pelham, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Red Crossbill, Pelham, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Semipalmated Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 29, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dickcissel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 9, 2023

Long billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 6, 2023

My record setting month of August in Hampshire County has now about come to an end and I blew away my previous record for the month (set in 2021 with 152 species) with an amazing 166 species!  I made an extra effort this month and the arrival of a number of rarities really helped push the total up.  I started the month off with a fantastic start of 113 species in the the first two days, catching up with a number of species that start moving south early.  Shorebirds figured in prominently to the total for the month with 16 species including a very rare Long billed Dowitcher, multiple Short billed Dowitchers, Baird's Sandpiper, Black bellied Plover and American Golden Plover and great numbers of other shorebird species taking advantage of the habitat created by the floods of late July.  Warblers also added a lot to the total with 24 species for the month.  Other rarities/unusual species around included Sandhill Cranes, Bonaparte's Gull, Little Blue Heron, Marsh Wren, Red Crossbills (of four different Types), Blue Grosbeaks and Dickcissel.  I have included some photos from the last few days as well as photos of some of the rarities for the month.

Wilson checking out a bunny in the yard, Aug 28, 2023

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Wilson is now almost back to his old self after surgery almost 12 weeks ago.  Nice to have my boy back to his crazy self and up for walks again. 

Baird's Sandpiper today adds to the shorebirds for the month (and year)

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Sandhill Cranes. East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

I was able to add another unusual shorebird this morning with a Baird's Sandpiper that was originally found by Scott yesterday and it thankfully stayed through the night to be viewed by many today.  This adds to numerous shorebirds I ran across yesterday morning during the rain.  I thought I saw a Baird's Sandpiper at the location yesterday but the bird flushed before I could see it well and I was never able to relocate it again....certainly glad I could confirm it today.  The Short billed Dowitcher was still present along with lots of other shorebirds as well as the four Sandhill Cranes and a flyover Dickcissel.  I have now had 16 species of shorebirds for the month in Hampshire County.

Rainy weather brings in shorebirds today

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Sandhill Crane, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

With the rain that started last night and continued into the morning and intermittently through the day today I had hopes in finding some shorebirds (and perhaps other migrants) downed by the weather.  I made it over to a very muddy East Meadows around dawn and started looking and listening.  The shorebirds were around in good numbers and variety with a total of at least a dozen species present plus another individual I'm fairly certain was a Baird's Sandpiper but the bird flushed up with a bunch of others and I could never relocate it to confirm.  Unusual shorebirds included a couple of flyby Black bellied Plovers and a Short billed Dowitcher and above normal counts of Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers (180+), Spotted Sandpipers and Solitary Sandpipers.  I also had a single Sandhill Crane when I arrived that was working a large puddle along with a Great Egret and a few Great Blue Herons.  Eventually the single crane started calling and was joined by three others.  After my time in the East Meadows I headed across the river to the Honey Pot and added another shorebird species with three flyover American Golden Plovers that flew around for a bit but never settled down (got some decent recordings as they flew around).  Not a bad morning with at least 13 and possibly 14 shorebird species.  I also tried Quabbin in the hopes of finding a tern or gull of note but missed on that.  Scott did find a Common Tern from Winsor Dam but multiple attempts by me later in the day to relocate it failed.  The Black bellied Plovers and American Golden Plovers added both new species to the month and the year and I now stand at an amazing 162 species for August and 223 for the year...not bad for not trying for a big year in the county.

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Baltimore Oriole, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Red Crossbill, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 23, 2023

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 23, 2023

The previous couple morning I have concentrated on warblers and have had some great luck with a total of twenty species including more early arrivals with my first Cape May Warblers of the fall leading the pack.  My stop at Quabbin Park yesterday was particularly productive with 16 species of warblers and other notables including a couple Yellow bellied Flycatchers, loads of Red eyed Vireos, a couple Red Crossbills collecting nest material and lots of Baltimore Orioles.  

Record setting pace for August continues

Worm eating Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Tennessee Warblers, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dawn, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Spotted Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2023

Blue winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Semipalmated Plovers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

My record setting pace for August in Hampshire County continues and as of today I have already exceeded any August with a total of 156 species (old record was 152 species in 2021).  The last few days have produced several new species for the month including more early arriving warblers.  After my last post on Friday the 18th where I looked at more new arrivals and the good news from Wilson's 10 week post surgery checkup where he got a clean bill of health from the surgeon I got some terrible news that one of my uncles was killed in a car crash.  It was obviously a totally unexpected loss and one that is tough to take.  It is certainly a very difficult loss for his immediate family.  I was glad to be able to get out and bird a bit to clear my mind and I caught up with continued numbers of shorebirds (and others) on Saturday and Sunday produced some great warblers (both early fall arrivals and my latest fall record for Worm eating Warbler by two weeks!).  I also checked for shorebirds on my way to and from work on Monday and Tuesday and the East Meadows continued to produce.  

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Baltimore Oriole and Gray Catbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

I wish I could have gotten out early this morning as the overnight produced the largest movement of birds so far this fall migration season (according to birdcast).  I checked the camera at the water feature and found a number of migrant species showed up including Rose breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.  By the time I got out of work the wind had picked up quite a bit so looking for passerines would have been tough so I stuck to looking at shorebirds.

As mentioned in a previous post Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hillary impacted southern California and Arizona (and a few other western states) and brought in a haul of rarities that are still being tallied.  More on the birds seen can be found at the following links at Birdcast...Part 1 and Part 2.  The Atlantic has finally got active with multiple storms present now but none are a threat to the east coast of the US.

More shorebirds and Red Crossbills, a Wilson update, a new camera on the water feature and a tropical update

Bobcat, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2023

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2023

Northern Shoveler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2023

Blue winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2023

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2023

The shorebird extravaganza has continued in the East Meadows.  During some heavy rain on the morning of the 15th I (along with Ted) got soaked as we looked for something unusual among the hordes.  Although we had great numbers of a few species we found nothing rare and I couldn't stay longer looking as I had to work.  Later in the morning Joe found a group of nine Stilt Sandpipers (only properly identified the next day) as well as a Short billed Dowitcher (Stilt Sandpiper is a really rare bird in the county and I have never seen one here).  I stopped by the meadows on Wednesday after work but the Stilt Sandpipers and Short billed Dowitcher had moved on.  It was still a fun stop with a Bobcat walking past plus above average numbers of a number of species (Blue winged Teal, Mourning Dove, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and Yellow Warblers) plus a few rarities including a continued Northern Shoveler and Dickcissel.  

Red Crossbill Type 12, Quabbin Gate 49, Ware, MA, Aug 17, 2023

Red Crossbill Type 12, Quabbin Gate 49, Ware, MA, Aug 17, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 18, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 18, 2023

Yesterday and today I stayed mainly local and caught up with a number of species including a Mourning Warbler in Ware, a few lingering Virginia Rails and a number of Red Crossbills in the Quabbin area.  As of today I know stand at a total of 150 species in Hampshire County for the month with new additions since the end of the second week of August including Blue winged Teal, the above mentioned Mourning Warbler and Yellow billed Cuckoo.  Even if I get no more species for month, which is highly unlikely, I'm already tied for the best August I have ever had in the county.

Wilson back home after a check up, Aug 18, 2023

Wilson back home after a check up, Aug 18, 2023

Today was the 10 week check up for Wilson following his surgery and he passed with flying colors.  All seemed to be healing well and no complications.  It was a tough day for Wilson as all the things he hates came together for the morning.  He didn't get to eat breakfast, there were thunderstorms around in the morning, he had to take a long car ride and had to go to the doctor....a real perfect storm!  Thankfully I was able to pick him up earlier than initially scheduled.  Although he was groggy and a bit out of sorts I know he enjoyed getting back home.  I got him home and settled him in on one of his beds and then he promptly got up and laid down at my feet.

Pine Warbler, Red breasted Nuthatch and Tufted Titmouse, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 17, 2023

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2023

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2023

After years of steady service and a couple years of less than stellar service my cameras that I have had trained on the water feature have finally stopped working altogether and I have had to come up with an alternative.  The results have been good so far with a number of bird species and some mammals showing up so far.  Fingers crossed for some great stuff as fall migration heats up. 

Although the tropical activity in the Atlantic has been nearly non existent the Pacific Ocean has been very busy with several impactful storms the last several weeks and a very strong storm (Cat 4) named Hillary is now poised to impact southern California which is a very rare occurrence.  Currently the storm has winds of 145 MPH and that may increase slightly to just below Cat 5 before a rapid weakening occurs as it moves north into cold water.  Even with the rapid weakening it may still hot southern California as a tropical storm and the NHC has issued a tropical storm watch for the area (something that has never been done before!).  The storm is currently near Socorro Island off the coast of Baja California and is certainly causing major damage to the small island which is home to a number of endemic birds.  The main hazards for California will be heavy rain.  Will the storm blow in some birds into the southern California area?  The answer is almost certainly yes with a number of incredible rarities possible.  The longer range forecast shows some potential storms forming in the Atlantic but time will tell if any of these amount to anything impactful.