The third week of May comes to an end with lots of birds around

Blackpoll Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2023

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2023

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2023

Yellow Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area. Amherst, MA, May 17, 2023

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Sweet Alice Conservation Area. Amherst, MA, May 17, 2023

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2023

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2023

Wilson's Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2023

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2023

Common Nighthawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 18, 2023

Mourning Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2023

American Redstart, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2023

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

American Redstart building nest, Hadley, MA, May 20, 2023

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 20, 2023

Turkey Vulture, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, May 20, 2023

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Wilson's Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Great crested Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Purple Finch, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Olive sided Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 21, 2023

Song Sparrow, Hadley, MA, May 21, 2023

The height of migration continued through the end of the third week of the month with every day during the last several producing 100+ species for me.  The weather continued to mainly sunny and pleasant although we did get a few inches of rain from midday Saturday into the overnight and we had a record setting cold morning (28 degrees) on Thursday.  Again I have limited time to post any great details but I have included a selection of photos and will mention some of the highlights in no particular order.  Warblers figured prominently in my bird outings and more on warblers can be found at the following link: Warblers to end the third week of May.  Highlights for warblers included a rather uncooperative Hooded Warbler, an Orange crowned Warbler, several Mourning Warblers and multiple hybrids.  Beyond warblers the highlights included the arrival of multiple new species of flycatchers, a close encounter with a Common Nighthawk at the house when I heard it calling, watched it circle the house and then land in a pine tree where it stayed for a few hours.  I got some video of it which can be found at the following link: Common Nighthawk video.  I also likely found a breeding pair of Merlin's at Quabbin.  Migration is still ongoing but the peak has arrived and it will trail off as we enter the end of May.  

Hooded Merganser nest remains after fledging from duck box #3, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 20, 2023

Hooded Merganser nest remains after fledging from duck box #1, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 21, 2023

All three duck boxes have now successfully fledged Hooded Mergansers with the last box empty when I checked it this morning...I think I just missed them as the feathers and egg remains were still warm!  This is my most successful year yet and among all three boxes only two eggs did not hatch.  I managed to get a video of the birds leaving the nest box on the 16th and the video can be found at the following link: Hooded Mergansers leaving duck box #3.  

Wilson relaxing at home, May 20, 2023

Also some bad news for my boy Wilson.  He was having a little trouble going up stairs for a few weeks and then a bit over a week ago he started limping badly.  We thought it might have been arthritis or perhaps he irritated something in the leg when playing or running around.  When it didn't get better it looked like it might be a torn cruciate ligament and that is indeed the case.  We had a consultation with a surgeon a couple days ago and we are moving forward with surgery.  The surgery is currently scheduled for June 8th but we are hopeful the date can be moved up if there is a cancellation.  This is a tough thing for a boy that loves to walk and run around.  Even through he is not a young boy anymore there was never really a question about doing what we can to get him back to normal so he can enjoy life again without limping around.  Fingers crossed the surgery goes well and he heals up within a couple months with no complications (Wilson always seems to have complications!).

Peak of migration has arrived

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 14, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 14, 2023

Ovenbird, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 14, 2023

Wood Thrush, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 14, 2023

American Redstart, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 14, 2023

Blackburnian Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 14, 2023

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Hooded Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Swainson's Thrush, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Common Loon, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Spotted Sandpipers, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Lincoln's Sparrow, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2023

Veery, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2023

Mourning Warbler, Hadley, MA, May 16, 2023

Hermit Thrush, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 16, 2023

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 16, 2023

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 16, 2023

American Redstart collecting nest material, Quabbin Park, MA, May 16, 2023

The last several days have brought in overall pleasant weather and some good migration conditions on multiple nights as the peak of migration arrives.  After a good day of birding on Global Big Day I spent a fair amount of time tracking down birds the last three days as my annual attempt to get a warbler big day in the county produced some great stuff. It is all about timing as you try to catch a big wave of migrants, hope for a lingering Palm Warbler, looking for early arriving Mourning Warblers and keep your fingers crossed for a rarity or two to show up. Lots more on the last three days of warbler searching at the following link: warbler big days.  Although my focus was warblers the last three days I also saw and heard a ton of other species, with each day exceeding a hundred species (My best day was yesterday with 117 species).  Many highlights with a very impressive thrush show, lots of warblers and more flycatcher diversity.  Again not a lot of time to spend writing up a detailed synopsis but I will attach a few representative photos from the last three days that should sum up the peak fairly well. There are still many birds that will come through over the next week.  Get out there if you can and enjoy it while it lasts as spring migration comes and goes so fast....turn off the Merlin app (or any other app), even for just awhile and actually listen, learn and enjoy the spectacle of bird migration.  The apps are great but it is worth just disconnecting from them for a bit.

Global big day

Swainson's Thrush, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Veery, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Blackburnian Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Black throated Green Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Barred Owl, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Indigo Bunting, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Today brought the annual Global Big Day and I started off my morning at Quabbin Park and was having a great morning with lots of stuff around and my original intention was to stay at the park for a few hours but a text from Jack changed my plans when he had a Hooded Warbler at Skinner SP.  I ditched my plans to stay at the park and headed over to Skinner SP where I arrived a bit before six and made the walk up the hill to the area where he had the Hooded Warbler.  I looked and listened for awhile but no luck.  I eventually caught up with Jack and we discussed the bird and where it seemed to be headed (upslope and further down the ridge).  I headed in the direction it seemed to be heading and yet again had no luck.  However a bunch of other migrants were showing well with a number of warbler species as well as a big influx of thrushes with really impressive numbers of Swainson's Thrushes and Veery...some of the biggest numbers of these species I can remember in a single location.  After getting caught up in the migration spectacle on the way to the summit I got another text from Jack saying he relocated the Hooded Warbler so I headed back down again.  It had gone silent again by the time I arrived and I then spent a significant amount of time trying to hear it or see and eventually I got rewarded with distant songs.  It only sang a few times again and then went silent.  Although I never saw the bird it was nice to hear it (even distantly) as I totally missed the species last year.  After three hours at Skinner I headed back over to Quabbin Park where I had a decent amount of migrants around but failed to relocate the Lawrence's Warbler I had at then location yesterday.  As a word of warning the ticks were extreme if one goes off trail in the park...I ended up with 38 ticks in going perhaps three hundred feet off trail...a crazy amount of ticks, even for Quabbin.  I didn't really try to maximize species for Global Big Day but I still managed to find 106 species with only a few stops...gotta love mid May!

Remains after fledging in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 13, 2023

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #3, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 13, 2023

I also checked duck box #2 today and found the Hooded Mergansers had fledged.  I immediately took the camera off the base of the nest box pole to see if I managed to capture any video of the birds leaving the nest.  I also checked duck box #3 (the next in line to fledge and found the eggs unhatched).  Once I checked the card from the camera I was very happy to see I got video of the Hooded Mergansers leaving the next box on the 11th.  A link to the video can be found here:  Hooded Mergansers leaving the nest