Nesting Red headed Woodpeckers and loads of Red Crossbills in Montague

Red headed Woodpecker, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Red Crossbills Type 12, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Common Ravens, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

Sunrise, Montague Sand Plains, Montague, MA, Jun 24, 2026

I did some more guiding this morning for a birder from India with the main goal being seeing a Red headed Woodpecker.  Initially we were going to try for the one that showed up at Quabbin Park on June 20th.  Although I had it the following day and it was very cooperative, subsequent visits the next two mornings failed to turn it up.  With the Quabbin Park bird far from certain we made the decision to make the drive up to the Montague Sand Plains instead where there have been multiple individuals for several weeks.  I seldom head up there but it is a very unique habitat in this area and a fantastic birding spot.  We arrived a bit after sunrise and were greeted by a family of very vocal Common Ravens and then started our walk out through the sand plains.  Beyond the usual species expected here in numbers (such as Field Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and Prairie Warblers) we had multiple flyover groups of Red Crossbills.  The vast majority were Type 12 but we did have at least one that almost certainly was a Type 4 (sadly my attempted recording failed to capture it so it will have to remain as unconfirmed).  Thanks to some fantastic directions we were able to find the Red headed Woodpecker at a nest site.  We were able to watch from a distance the largely silent birds move around the area and come out of the nest where they are very likely sitting on eggs (Red headed Woodpecker is a very rare breeding species here so having them likely nesting is quite notable).  After watching the Red headed Woodpeckers for a bit, as well as an active Northern Flicker nest nearby, we continued our walk and eventually had a couple Red Crossbills actual land so we could see them perched in a pine.  On our return walk we once again stopped briefly in the area of the nest and got to see the changing of the guard at the nest hole...very cool to see.

Red headed Woodpecker to finish off the third week of June

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Pileated Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Yellow bellied Sapsucker in nest, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

The third week of June ended with the sighting of a rare for area Red headed Woodpecker at Quabbin Park this morning.  I first heard about the bird through a sighting report from Lauren Jiang yesterday afternoon and through some brief correspondence got to see some video obtained of the bird and details on the location near Goodnough Dike.  The area it was reported in was managed in the last few years with the removal of a number of species of trees with the intention of making it more natural and although the short term 'destruction' can look bad, the change in habitat continues to attract new species.  As the gates to the park don't open until around seven or so I decided to arrive early and make the hike in to see if the woodpecker was still around.  It was a much better weather than yesterday with no wind at all until well after sunrise (compared to the windy conditions we have had the last few days).  Once I made it to the area I had a selection of species and as I was watching a nest of Yellow bellied Sapsuckers I heard the Red headed Woodpecker calling and saw it very briefly.  During the next 15 minutes I failed to hear or see it again but then I heard it calling once again a bit further to the north.  I made my way into the logged out area and thankfully it remained fairly vocal and I was finally able to get better views.  I got some photos, video and recordings as it moved around the area.  I got word out to others that the bird was still present and sent out some exact coordinates so even those with less than stellar abilities to read maps could easily find this rarity.  The entire area held a great selection of woodpeckers with a total of seven species present in a fairly small area...not something one gets to accomplish around here too often.  Red headed Woodpecker is a less than annual visitor to the area and this becomes just the seventh one I have had in Hampshire County with previous sightings including my first in July 2016 in Amherst at Larch Hill, a long staying individual at Lake Wallace that arrived in late October 2016 and stayed through May 2017, another long staying individual at Arcadia that arrived in late November of 2017 and stayed through April 2018, one in South Hadley from January 2020-April 2020, an overwinter bird in Florence from December 2020-February 2021 and one at Quabbin Park from May 2022-July 2022.  Breeding was never confirmed with any of these sightings.

Tree Swallow with fecal sack at nest, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Great Blue Heron, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black and White Warbler collecting spiders, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black Bear, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Wilson relaxing, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2026

I'm on a record setting pace for the month of June in the county with the Red headed Woodpecker becoming species #143 for the month.  This already puts me at my second total ever for the month of June here and just two species behind my best ever June which occurred in 2021.

Breeding in full swing including Cerulean Warbler cooperative breeding

Cerulean Warbler male with leg bands and female with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Cerulean Warbler adult male without bands with nestlings, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 17, 2026

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 16, 2026

Virginia Rail fledgling, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 16, 2026

Common Ravens, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 15, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2026

Looking southwest from peak, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2026

As mid June arrives and the longest days of the year are upon us here in western Massachusetts breeding activity rapidly reaches its peak.  Loads of species are on nest, feeding nestlings or feeding nestlings.  The next few weeks will bring more of the same as the next generation of many species head out into the big (and at times cruel) world.  A highlight for me today was seeing a Cerulean Warbler nest at Skinner SP being tended by two males and a female (cooperative breeding with this species is extremely rare).  

MAPS banding program in Hadley

Blue winged Warbler after banding, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 5, 2026

Common Yellowthroat during banding process, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 12, 2026

Common Yellowthroat after banding, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 12, 2026

I made another visit to the MAPS banding program in Hadley this warm, humid morning and got to see a number of birds get banded.  The MAPS program (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) consists of multiple banding locations throughout Canada and the US that collect data on breeding species.  The only location in the area is the banding location at the Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River in Hadley.  I made a visit to the location last Friday and returned again today.  Always interesting to see the species that get captured each week with the most common species being Veery, Wood Thrush and Gray Catbird.  The best species in my mind are the warblers that have gotten captured with a Blue winged Warbler last week and a Common Yellowthroat this week.  The banding takes place roughly once a week through the end of July.

Another trip onto the Prescott Peninsula for surveys

Moose, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Cedar Waxwing, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

I made another morning trip up to the Prescott Peninsula to conduct more field bird surveys.  Today I was joined by four students from Smith College to conduct the surveys and show them the protocols for the surveys.  I was running a bit ahead of their arrival so I went it to get a couple quick surveys completed before we met up.  As I was headed back to the gate to meet them I ran across a pair of Moose lazily eating from maple leaves.  Always fun to see any Moose and two together is even better.  Once we all met up we spent about three hours on the peninsula.  Although we didn't see any more Moose we did see a Black Bear to add to the large mammal tally for the day.  We had some evidence of breeding at multiple stops it was overall slow in adding positive data on breeding.  Nonetheless it was a beautiful morning and we had some interesting sightings including at least one flyover Red Crossbill and a family of Ruffed Grouse right along the side of the road.  

Breeding Bird Survey completed this morning

Great Blue Heron, Breeding bird survey stop #9, Ware, MA, Jun 6, 2026

White tailed Deer, Breeding bird survey stop #21, Palmer, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Breeding bird survey stop #34, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Breeding bird survey stop #40, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Sawmill Brook, Breeding bird survey stop #42, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Farm fields, Breeding bird survey stop #31, Monson, MA, Jun 6, 2026

UMASS orchard, Breeding bird survey stop #3, Belchertown, MA, Jun 6, 2026

Although I usually try to run by annual breeding bird survey route on a Sunday the forecast looked better for Saturday so I ran it today.  With our weekends always seeming to produce less than stellar weather I did not want to take a chance and wait for a later Sunday in June.  Breeding bird surveys are long term studies to look at breeding species along a 25 mile route with three minute stops every 1/2 mile.  The survey starts early (4:42AM) so being a morning person certainly helps!  This was my 17th consecutive year conducting this route that starts in Belchertown and continues south to the Connecticut state line.  Although not a record breaking year for species I still had a good showing with a total of 75 species.  The top five species as far as being recorded at the most stops included  American Robin (40 stops), Gray Catbird (31 stops), Ovenbird (30 stops), American Crow (29 stops) and Red eyed Vireo (28 stops).  No new species for the route this year so my total whole conducting the route still stands at 114 species.  Full trip report at the following link: BBS 2026 trip report.

Below is table of each year I have conducted the survey with # of species seen and date of survey

year            # of species            date of survey 

2010             71                         June 20 

2011             64                         June 26 

2012             56                         June 3 

2013             67                         June 23 

2014             70                         June 15 

2015             75                         June 14 

2016             78                         June 19 

2017             73                         June 22 

2018             71                         June 22 

2019             83                         June 9 

2020             76                         June 14 

2021             71                         June 19 

2022             78                         June 5 

2023             77                         June 25 

2024             84                         June 2

2025             77                         June 8

2026             75                         June 6

An oddly plumaged bright yellow Scarlet Tanager found while conducting field bird surveys on the Prescott Peninsula

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Scarlet Tanager with pigment issue, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Indigo Bunting, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Black capped Chickadee carrying food to nest, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Black capped Chickadee nest, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

Post burn, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 4, 2026

First post surgery walk for Wilson, Belchertown, MA, Jun 4, 2026

I made it on to the restricted Prescott Peninsula at Quabbin to conduct the first of my field bird surveys for the year.  It is part of an ongoing study of the small remaining fragments of farm fields left on the peninsula.  On the vast peninsula some of these small fields hold the only populations of a number of species of bird on the peninsula that require more open areas.  It was beautiful weather with clear skies, no wind and low humidity.  I started my surveys a little before five and then stayed on the peninsula for the next two and half hours completing most of the field locations.  The usually most productive and largest field recently had a prescribed burn done.  It will be interesting to see the impact (if any) that comes from the burn.  Most of the species I would expect to be present were indeed present so no major impact for this year beyond the density of a few species are lower likely due to a reduction in available cover and breeding locations.  One of the oddest finds happened while surveying the fields where an old observatory once stood.  I saw a yellow bird flying high from tree to another and expected it to be an oriole but instead I saw a bright yellow overall bird with jet black wings...a male Scarlet Tanager with some type of pigment issue.  The yellow was not the dull yellow of a fall plumaged bird but instead seemed more like the bright yellow one would see on a Western Tanager.  I have seen a few adult male Scarlet Tanager over the years that have a less vibrant red color, to the point of looking more orange.  The individual today was unlike any I have ever seen.  I poked around a bit to see what I could find regarding the likelihood of this plumage abnormality and did not find much.  David Sibley wrote a short article about it...link here: yellow Scarlet Tanager and it is interesting he lives not too far away and his article also mentioned another one in Washington, MA the same year.  Perhaps this area of western Massachusetts hosts a population more inclined to have this abnormality?   A very cool looking individual and one I hope to relocate on subsequent surveys.  I made a couple other stops before heading home to pick up Wilson for his first real post surgery walk and he did well.