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.