Mid August continues my record pace for the month with a number of rarities around

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

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

House Wren nestlings in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Ovenbird, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Dawn, Pelham Overlook, Pelham, MA, Aug 12, 2023

White tailed Deer, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Blue headed Vireo, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 13, 2023

Least Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

The middle of August has now arrived and my record setting pace for the month in Hampshire County continues with an amazing 147 species so far.  This total is only five species away from my highest total ever for August, which I reached back in 2021, with half the month remaining to find more species.   I have continued to work a bit of overtime through the middle of month but I try to get out at least a little each day (even if just for a few minutes before work).  There have been a few rarities around including the continued Blue Grosbeaks in Hadley that have had another successful year of breeding as well as a very early Dickcissel (also in Hadley) plus a Marsh Wren in Belchertown and an early Northern Shoveler in Northampton.  The large influx of Red Crossbills of multiple calls Types also continues unabated (more on the ongoing irruption at the Finch Research Network).  Fairly good numbers of shorebirds have continued to take advantage of the habitat created following the floods in later July and it is just a matter of time before more unusual shorebirds show up. 

The tropics continue to be very quiet in the Atlantic but the latest prediction from NOAA actually upped the projected number of storms in the Atlantic despite the onset of El Nino.  We shall see how this pans out over the next couple months.