First snow storm of the season today, Yellow rumped Warblers yesterday plus the return of a banded Black capped Chickadee

Wilson enjoying the first snow of the season, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2025

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2025

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 2, 2025

Long tailed Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 2, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 2, 2025

Today brought us our first snowstorm of the season with several inches of snow, sleet and then some rain.  I managed to get out at first light before the snow arrived and actually had a great assortment of waterfowl at Winsor Dam with ten species at least (some just too far away in bad light to ID).  I wanted to go into Quabbin Park itself for more waterfowl but they closed the park not long after I arrived due to the impending snow storm.  I then headed home and took Wilson for an early walk and the snow was just starting as we ended the walk a bit after nine.  I put out a few feeders for the first time just before the snow and the birds quickly found them.  I even caught sight of a banded Black capped Chickadee that was banded as an adult in the yard back in the summer of 2021.  I had not seen the individual since April of this year so was very happy to see it still around.  It is getting to be an old chickadee with the typical life span of the species being 2-3 years.  Wilson also got to enjoy the snow and was something I was glad to see him do.  Now we are in for below normal temps with more mid winter like with multiple days not breaking freezing and temps at night in the single digits.  Average highs now should still be in the low 40's but we don't look to be near that temp for the foreseeable future.

 

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

   

Eastern Bluebird, Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

Yesterday I also managed to find multiple Yellow rumped Warblers despite the breezy weather and the start of shotgun season for deer.  I only had a couple hours available to be out and I'm glad I tried for the warblers as it extended my consecutive streak of months of seeing at least one warbler species in Hampshire County to 104 months.  

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's' subspecies today to end a fairly productive November

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead and Mallard, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Common Loon, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 29, 2025

Hooded Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 29, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 29, 2025

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin gate 8, Pelham, MA, Nov 28, 2025

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Nov 27, 2025

Bald Eagle, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 26, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 25, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 24, 2025

White crowned Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 24, 2025

White throated Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Nov 23, 2025

A long and rather cold November has come to an end.  A slightly above average total for the month in Hampshire County with a total of 117  species (my third highest ever total for November here).  The very end of the month certainly felt more like winter than fall with cold temps and some flurries.  The highlight by far for me was catching up with an 'Audubon's' subspecies Yellow rumped Warbler that Ted found this morning in Hadley (much more on that bird can be found at the following link: Audubon's Warbler)

This subspecies should be elevated back to full species status at some point.  It is very rare in the area with just one other documented record in western Massachusetts (Greenfield in 1988) and no other records in the county.

With my commitments at home I have stayed fairly close to home most of the time to end the month, concentrating on the south Quabbin area which has gotten me a fair assortment of waterfowl.  There are a number of other lingering species around the area plus increasing numbers of multiple irruptive species.  The forecast looks to feature more winter like conditions as we enter December with a snow storm forecast for Tuesday into Wednesday.

Third week of November ends with a late Palm Warbler and increasing numbers of irruptives

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Song Sparrow, North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

House Finch, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

White throated Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Fox Sparrow, Ware, MA, Nov 19, 2025

Purple Finches, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Nov 19, 2025

Peregrine Falcon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 17, 2025

Northern Cardinal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Hooded Merganser, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Surf Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2025

Eastern Bluebird, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 15, 2025

The third week of November has now come to an end and our largely cooler than average and windy weather has continued with a few flurries on a couple days.  Given these weather conditions, the time of year plus the ongoing issues with Wilson (see below) I have concentrated on birds in the south Quabbin area (particularly around Winsor Dam).  Waterfowl is always the big draw here this time of year with gulls not far behind.  The best waterfowl species of the week was certainly the Barrow's Goldeneye at the Holyoke Dam on the 12th (and continued through the week).  No huge shows of waterfowl at Winsor Dam although the diversity has been decent overall with some mornings more productive than others.  The gull show has been good too with the best for the week being an Iceland Gull on the 17th.  Irruptives of multiple species continue to arrive into the area.  The best was a flyover White winged Crossbill on the 17th.  Evening Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills continue to be around in small numbers at multiple locations.  Pine Siskins and Purple Finches also continue to show quite well plus increasing numbers of American Goldfinches.  The Finch Forecast (which I contribute data to) called for the potential of a large flight of many species and so far the forecast is looking to be playing out.  It will be interesting to see what the rest of winter brings in.  With a little extra time away from home I covered a few spots the last couple mornings trying for late warblers and find a group of half a dozen Yellow rumped Warblers in an area they have overwintered in the past and a very late 'western' Palm Warbler today.

Wilson continues to occupy my time and thoughts as we struggle through what we will do with him.  For now we are just in monitor mode of the tumor and trying to stay on top of him making things worse.  As I said before there are no good options available for us and it continues to be some stressful times.  Thankfully he is still acting happy (although he really wants to lick at his foot every chance he gets!).

Recent taxonomic update with eBird nets me six new species

Hudsonian Whimbrel, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, Aug 23, 2021

Pale-mandibled Aracari, Reserva Buenaventura, El Oro, Ecuador, Nov 13, 2021

Collared Aarcari, Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica, Mar 6, 2024 

Western Warbling Vireo Lighthouse Country Regional Trail, Qualicum Bay, BC, Canada, Jul 1, 2024

Eastern Warbling Vireo,  Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Aug 23, 2025 

Western Red legged Thrush, Garden of Grand Bahama Birders B&B, Freeport, Grand Bahama, Feb 7, 2017 

Mangrove Yellow Warbler, Reserve Naturelle de La Caravelle, Martinique, Dec 13, 2017 

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 25, 2025

With the recent taxonomic update with eBird I gained six new species with a variety of splits.  One of the more important ones to me was the split of Yellow Warbler into Northern Yellow Warbler and Mangrove Yellow Warbler which added another species of warbler for me (always a big accomplishment).  The other splits that gained me new species included Whimbrel (split into Hudsonian Whimbrel and Eurasian Whimbrel).  The Hudsonian Whimbrel is the expected species in the new world and Eurasian Whimbrel is in the old world.  The next split was Collared Aracari which was split into Collared Aracari of central America into northern South America and Pale mandibled Aracari of Colombia and Ecuador.  The fourth split was Black headed Antshrike into Black capped Antshrike of Costa Rica and Panama and Black hooded Antshrike of Colombia and Ecuador.  The fifth split was Warbling Vireo which was split to Western Warbling Vireo and Eastern Warbling Vireo.  The final split Red legged Thrush (a thrush species of the Caribbean) that was split into Eastern Red legged Thrush and Western Red legged Thrush.  With these new species I have added to my life list and the total now stands at 2184 species.  

Barrow's Goldeneye today

Barrow's Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Barrow's Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Barrow's Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Nov 12, 2025

As I was getting back home after a walk with Wilson and getting him settled in for a bit I got a text from Ted letting me know he was able to relocate the probable Barrow's Goldeneye he had yesterday at the Holyoke Dam.  He only had limited time yesterday to get any photos of the bird and some looked great for Barrow's while others were less definitive.  Thankfully he went back today and confirmed it.  As I said in my post from yesterday November 11th has a great history of rare birds and it happened again.  Once I was sure Wilson was okay for a little while I made the drive down to the dam and had the bird almost immediately.  It kept its head tucked in a lot of time but would then move around a bit from time to time and show its blocky head and small bill.  It is a unique looking individual as it looks a little ratty and still has the dark eye of a juvenile.  Very happy to add this species for the year as they are quite rare in Hampshire County.  This is only my fifth Barrow's Goldeneye I have ever had in the county with my previous records being Nov 29, 2006 at Quabbin Park, January 29, 2016 along the Connecticut River in North Hadley, January 20, 2021 at Quabbin Park and late January into early February at the Holyoke Dam.  This becomes species #242 for the county this year...this is just one behind 2022 for my third highest total ever with only 2020 (with 245) and 2021 (with my best ever total of 249) having higher year end totals.  I could have chased a few other species earlier in the year if I had known I would have the potential of threatening my best year ever.  It will be tough to add new species at this point but we are in rarity season so one never knows.

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Hooded Mergansers, Bufflehead and Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Horned Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2025

 

North from Hank's Meadow, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 12, 2025

Before getting the Barrow's Goldeneye I spent a couple hours around the south Quabbin area with a couple of stops at Winsor Dam and a short ride through Quabbin Park before getting home to make sure Wilson was okay and to take him for a walk.