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.

A brief warm up for the first couple days of October

Lincoln's Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 2, 2026

Brown Thrasher, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 2, 2026

Green Heron, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 2, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 2, 2026

Barred Owl, Belchertown, MA, Oct 2, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Mallards, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Hermit Thrush, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Amherst, MA, Oct 1, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Amherst, MA, Oct 1, 2026

After many days of rain and below normal temps we finally got some warmer temps the last couple days with the low 70's yesterday and a record setting mid 80's today to kick off October.  With the arrival of a new month I was out early to add species and I hit a number of areas in Amherst and Belchertown yesterday.  I had a few slightly late species yesterday including Green Heron, Common Nighthawk, Northern Yellow Warbler and Cape May Warbler as well as a few flyover Red Crossbills.  By the end of the day I had a total of 79 species...a decent start to the month.  Today I started off my day at Silvio Conte NWR in Hadley and then onto some spots in Amherst and Belchertown.  The wind today made it tough tracking down some birds.  Nonetheless I added 13 more species for the month.  Tonight the winds should switch around to the north after a cold front moves through and hopefully gets more species migrating into the area.  

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.