Strong north winds brings in waterfowl including Brant and three species of scoter

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Northern Pintails, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Bald Eagle getting harassed by Ring billed Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Yellow billed Cuckoo, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Yellow billed Cuckoo, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Turkey Vulture, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2026

After the passage of a cold front yesterday evening the winds switched around to the north and continued strong through the morning of today.  In the middle of October conditions like that are likely to cause waterfowl to move into the area and they cooperated this morning with three new species for me for the year in the county during the just less than three hours I spent at Winsor Dam in the company of Ted, Jack and Mary for a bit.  It was a bit cold at times with the strong north winds but nothing like it will be in the upcoming weeks when the temps continue to drop.  We had a dozen species of waterfowl with the highlights including 25 Brant (in two flocks early), 36 American Black Ducks, 10 Northern Pintails, a single male Surf Scoter, 21 White winged Scoters and 65 Black Scoters.  There were also a few raptors around including one Bald Eagle getting harassed by a gull.  Away from the dam the winds were not nearly as strong and I took a few short walks before a brief return to the dam before heading home.  A very productive morning thanks to the north winds.

October Big Day yesterday

Dawn, Amherst, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Amherst, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Northern Flicker, Amherst, MA, Oct 10, 2026

White throated Sparrow, Amherst, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Black throated Green Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail,, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Black Bear, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Northern Water Snake, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Woodchuck, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 10, 2026

Yesterday was the annual October Big Day (as well as the one month mark from losing Wilson) and with fantastic weather (despite a cold start in the 40's) I spent all morning out tracking down birds (focusing on warblers but checking out everything).  I covered areas from Amherst back to Belchertown and found a total of 63 species with the notable species being a couple late warbler species (Magnolia Warbler and Cape May Warbler).  It was a stunningly beautiful morning with a fantastic sunrise and loads of sunshine with little wind until later in the morning.  Beyond the birds I had some mammal and reptile sightings along the way.

End of first week of October brings first frost

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Black throated Green Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2026

Today started off cold with the first frost of the season and just a hint of the hell of winter to come.  I decided to head across the river to Arcadia to start my morning.  When I arrived it was sunny and cold (31 degrees) but then the fog moved in and kept activity somewhat subdued until in finally burned off.  There were loads of sparrows around as well as lots of Yellow rumped Warblers.  Once it warmed a little I started getting some other species with the most notable being a slightly late Black and White Warbler and at least three Tennessee Warblers. After about three hours in the cold I moved on to run a few errands and then headed toward home with another stop at a spot in Belchertown where I turned up more species for the day despite the increasing wind.  By the end of the day I had around 65 species with eight species of warblers.

Two great nights of migration brings in loads of birds

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2026

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2026

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Oct 4, 2026

Red eyed Vireo, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Turkey Vultures, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Sandhill Cranes, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Blue headed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Gray Catbird, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2026

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2026

After a record setting warm up for the first two days of the month the last two nights have featured big nights of migration with millions of birds on the move.  Yesterday was fantastic with three hours at Arcadia producing almost 75 species and I added several more before the morning was over.  A bit of a breeze picked up around 9 and the activity trailed off quickly but not before having 87 species.  I have a feeling I could have made it to 100 species if the conditions had remained calm and I hit a couple more spots.  There were a few rarities as well as lingering species. Today was not quite as productive with overcast conditions and morning fog hampering birding a bit.  Nonetheless it was still a good morning with a few new species and more lingering species.  I continued to mainly concentrate on warblers and more on those over the last couple days can be found at the following link.