Long duration nor'easter continues

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2026

Lesser Black backed Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2026

Lesser Black backed Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2026

The early season nor'easter continues to impact the area with rain and winds out of the northeast.  We have now had northeast winds for over a week and rain for three plus days.  I have spent a fair amount of time mainly checking Winsor Dam for any birds associated with the storm during the last three mornings and certainly managed to get soaked.  The only birds of note were two Lesser Black backed Gulls that showed up briefly yesterday morning.  The coast was much more productive with loads of pelagic species forced close to shore (as expected with a strong nor'easter).  I have also tried to find some passerines despite the rain and wind and as expected I found few.  The rain is forecast to come to an end overnight and then the sun may actually return with a warm up starting on Wednesday.

Early season nor'easter for the weekend could bring in some birds

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 24, 2026

View to northeast from Gate 52 showing very low water level, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 23, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 22, 2026

We look to be impacted by an early season nor'easter for the upcoming weekend and the potential certainly exists for a rarity to get blown in with the strong northeasterly winds.  In fact the winds have been fairly strong out of the northeast for several days and a rarity has already shown up thanks to the winds with a Leach's Storm Petrel flying over the Mount Holyoke College campus during Ted's bird migration class walk on Tuesday morning.  I checked multiple spots for it (or another) the last few days without any luck.  I will try to drag myself out to check a few areas during the weekend and with a lot of luck perhaps I will find something interesting to add some brightness to this crappy month.

Migration peaks as the third week of September ends

Blue headed Vireo, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2026

Rainbow, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Sep 16, 2026

Green Heron, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Black Vulture, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Least Skipper, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Eastern tailed Blue, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12,  2026

American Redstart, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

It has been tough each and every day to get over the loss of my long term birding bud Wilson and I have tried to get out birding to get my mind off of him for awhile but as he was with me constantly most every place I go reminded me of him.  I sincerely hope it will get better with time and I think it will however at this point it is tough beyond words.  He was such a huge part of my life I feel empty without him.  To just add to the shitty last week and a half my camera broke and I had to send it back to Canon for a several hundred dollar repair.  I have tried to use my old Canon 7D without a lot of success.  Migration continues as the peak of diversity arrives and I have had some decent mornings and I reached a milestone on the 17th with my 500th species in the US this year with a Philadelphia Vireo (I have never had this many species in the US in a single year as I typically don't travel as widely in the US in a single year).  Hopefully I will get my camera back soon and can add some photos...for now the selection of photos is quite limited.  On a positive note I got to bird a little with former valley birders Devin and Aidan on the 14th at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.

A huge loss with the passing on my best buddy Wilson

Wilson resting on his last morning, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 10, 2026

Wilson enjoying one of his favorite things one last time...deck water!, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 10, 2026

Wilson checking out the geese, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 9, 2025

 

Wilson ready for Halloween, Belchertown, MA, Oct 31, 2025

Wilson exploring in the snow, Belchertown, MA, Jan 8, 2024

Wilson ready for the eclipse, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 8, 2024

Wilson getting a laser treatment after surgery, Jul 5, 2023

Wilson in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2022

Playing ball with Wilson, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2022

 

Wilson enjoying a fall day, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2022

Wilson playing with the deflated soccer ball, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 2, 2022

Wilson, Belchertown Land Trust trail, Belchertown, MA, Dec 4, 2019

Wilson surveying the world from on top of a snowbank, Home, Mar 7, 2015

Wilson ready for the 4th of July, Belchertown, MA, July 3, 2015

Wilson trying to find something under the snow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Feb 7, 2014

Wilson trying to figure out what a Painted Turtle is, Belchertown, July 15, 2013

The post today is all about my boy Wilson.  We had to make the very difficult decision to end his suffering yesterday.  He had declined fairly rapidly the last couple weeks and we always said we would never let him suffer and the decision would be based on his quality of life.  He was part of our family for over 15 years and he made it to just shy of 15 1/2 years on this planet.  Wilson came to us via an Australian Shepard rescue group from a farm in West Virginia.  We met him in Connecticut in early July 2011 when he was a four month old pup named Wally (we knew that name just didn't fit him so after lots of discussion he became Wilson).  After losing our old boy Kody in March 2010 we had tried a few other dogs briefly but none fit in (or we were just not ready for a new dog at the time).  We were not totally convinced on taking a chance on this pup but we did anyway because he was so damn cute.  He was a difficult boy to deal with early on as he not been socialized properly early on so had a variety of behavior issues when dealing with new situations or people and he would go on 'walk strikes' when he would refuse to continue on a walk!  We dealt with his issues and eventually he became a great dog that loved those closest to him.  He had a laundry list of medical issues over the years and was on various meds for almost his whole life.  In the last five years he fought a cancer diagnosis and multiple surgeries and always seemed to bounce back.  We had many difficult medical decisions to make over the years for him and in the end we feel we made the right choices with the goal always being quality of life for him, even if it meant less time with him.  He had quite a life and was my constant companion on our daily walks.  We had so many adventures over the years that to recall them all would fill volumes.  I spent more time with him over the years then I spent with anyone else by a fair margin.  Our only disagreement was the fun that winter and snow provided...he loved it and I hated it!  I already miss him beyond what words can express and I feel completely and totally lost without him.  He is now free of pain and I hope he had met up with Kody and they are playing and running around.

A couple rainy mornings to start off September downs a few shorebirds

Pectoral Sandpiper, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 1, 2026

Two mornings of rain produced a great assortment of shorebirds with the most productive morning by far being the first day of the month.  On the first I woke up before dawn and saw the heavy rain predicted overnight had not materialized as much as predicted.  Nonetheless I headed out at first light to check Winsor Dam (which was quiet) and then did some local birding as the rain steadily moved in and eventually I got rained out on my final walk.  I then returned home and waited for someone to come by to give me an estimate on some work at the house.  I saw a text that a few American Golden Plovers showed up in Hadley.  A rarity but not unexpected on the date.  By this time the rain had stopped and was not planning on heading out again but the pull of something even rarer found me making a drive over to the Honey Pot.  When I arrived I scanned a variety of fields and turned up loads of Killdeer plus a few Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers plus at least one Blue Grosbeak.  A slug of heavy rain then arrived and as I was making a final scan and getting soaked I heard a Buff breasted Sandpiper calling overhead.  I continued scanning from the car and then once the rain let up a little I scanned more fields with never finding the bird.  I was certain it set down due to the weather although there is a chance it continued on (or dropped down and then took off without being seen when the rain let up).  All was not lost as a had at least two (possibly three) American Golden Plovers so added two new species for the year in the matter on an hour (species #497 and #498 for the US this year and species #223 and 224 for Hampshire County).  Once I retuned home I got a text from Ted letting me know he found a Baird's Sandpiper at the Holyoke Dam and also got an email about a Ruddy Turnstone found by some UMASS students on the Hadley/Amherst line.  I didn't try for either as I had some obligations at home.

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Wild Turkey, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Between the mornings of rain I was able to get out with the main focus being warblers (and other passerines) and I had some stuff despite poor migration conditions and a bit of a breeze at times.

Spotted Sandpiper, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 3, 2026

American Redstart, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2026

Today the rain had largely passed by overnight with just a few sprinkles early in the morning.  The winds were not really conducive for great migration but I figured I would give it a try to find grounded migrants (spoiler alert I found little of note).  I tried the Honey Pot first and found just Killdeer and a few Least Sandpipers.  I then headed down to the Holyoke Dam and the only shorebirds present were a couple Spotted Sandpipers.  Despite the lack of shorebirds I did find a good selection of species to add to the month total for the county.  I expect some good stuff once the winds change to a more northerly direction heading into the weekend.

Decent migration to close out August

Wilson's Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 31, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 31, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 31, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 29, 2026

Blackburnian Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2026

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2026

White dotted Prominent Caterpillar, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 29, 2026

I have had some decent luck the last few mornings catching up with some mixed flocks and having slightly less mosquitoes stealing my blood.  The migration so far has been rather slow although it certainly picked up lately.  I added four new warbler species for the month in just the last two mornings with one being a Wilson's Warbler.  Just the sign of things to come as the month of September starts and with it the peak of fall migration.  

15th Anniversary of Hurricane Irene and an epic day of birding at Winsor Dam

Sooty Tern, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 28, 2011

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the arrival of Hurricane Irene into western Massachusetts and with it one of the most epic birding days I have ever had in Hampshire County.  The following eBird list sums it all up quite well (day long list for Irene).  So many fantastic birds and great memories that seem much more recent than 15 years ago!  I had seven new Hampshire County species during that incredible day with the highlights including an adult White tailed Tropicbird I spotted as it came in to settle on the water (a first county record), a group of a dozen Hudsonian Godwits, a Parasitic Jaeger and a Sooty Tern.  Given the conditions and distances it was tough to get photos but I at least managed some photos of the Sooty Tern.  Likely a once in a generation (or even lifetime) occurrence. With a record setting strong El Nino in place the Atlantic will likely have few storms as conditions are typically unfavorable for tropical systems during El Nino years.  With that said there is still a chance of a tropical system having an impact here before the season ends in November.