A big warm up and multiple nights of good migration conditions

Purple Martin and Tree Swallows, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Northern Cardinal with nest material, Bachelor Brook Conservation Area, South Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Mourning Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Gray cheeked Thrush, Belchertown, MA, May 19, 2026

Raccoon swimming, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2026

Lawrence's Warbler, Hardwick, MA, May 18, 2026

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, May 18, 2026

Butterfly species, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher constructing nest, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2026

Rainbow Scarab, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2026

Solitary Sandpiper, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Tree Swallow with nest material, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Bay breasted Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 17, 2026

We have had multiple nights of great migration conditions thanks to southerly winds that also ushered in record setting temps in the 90's.  As expected I have been out as much as I can each morning before returning to take the Wilson for his required walk.  Even with some species still moving through to points to the north breeding activity around here is in full swing with the first waterfowl young out and about and many species collecting nesting material and building nests.  I have added several new species for the year in the county as well as some rarities.  The highlights included Purple Martin, Gray cheeked Thrush, Yellow breasted Chat, two new species of warbler for the year as part of my warbler big year in the US and a Lawrence's Warbler.  Migration has now peaked at this point and now we begin the downhill slide of another spring migration.  

Mid May with some good migration conditions coming up with a warm up

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 15, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 15, 2026

Hooded Merganser with young, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, May 15, 2026

Today would conclude our three days of overcast conditions, cooler temps with on and off rain (at least it was not as rainy as yesterday!).  Today actually started off with some early sun but the clouds quickly built in and there was some sporadic light rain later in the day.  We have now reached mid May which is usually the peak of migration and despite some less than stellar migration conditions the diversity of species is approaching their highest point for the spring.  Most days exceed a hundred species now without a ton of effort.  I spent lots of time outside today covering areas from Hadley to Amherst and then eventually back to Quabbin Park (sadly the roads are closed into the park for a least a week due to roadwork so lots of walking is involved to get to different spots).  I was mainly after warblers and had a total of 24 species.  The forecast shows warming temps over the next several days with some likely great migration conditions on at least a few nights.  I will be out as much as possible tracking down everything I can.  

Wilson's Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 14, 2026

Yesterday was mainly a rain out.  Although with some south winds I had hopes of finding some grounded migrants I had no luck.  I got a little walking in before the rain really moved in and had birds around in typical numbers.  I made multiple checks of Winsor Dam during the morning without anything unusual noted.  No rarities showed up in the county although a flock (nearly fifty individuals) of Brant in nearby Franklin County showed some unusual stuff did get forced down.  Despite my birding being curtailed by the weather I did add my 19th warbler species in the yard with a Wilson's Warbler as the rain poured down.

Veery, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Spotted Sandpiper, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 13, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with black forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 13, 2026

On Monday I headed out before dawn after what had been the biggest night of migration for the spring.  It was overcast and cool and some light rain started as the morning wore on.  The amount of bird song was certainly less than I expected and a fair number of species I had for the day were silent and were only picked up as they moved through the still not quite leafed out trees.  I started at Mitch's Way where I met up with Jack.  We had some good stuff including an odd singing Blue winged Warbler, at least half a dozen Tennessee Warblers and a Canada Warbler singing at the tops of the trees.  I then moved on to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River as the intermittent rain continued.  Again there was not as much song as I would expect after a great night of migration but there were birds around including an early Yellow bellied Flycatcher.  My last stop before heading home was to the rail trail in Amherst where I had a number of species with the notables including an early Willow Flycatcher (getting me to 200 species in the county for the year), the Brewster's Warbler and the continued Blue winged Warbler with a black forehead.  The rain continued to pick up and I had to wait it out a bit before taking Wilson for a wet walk.  Once back home the rain had stopped and the sun even tried to poke through and when this happened the activity increased a lot and I had 51 species in the yard in just over ten minutes...not too bad...list here.

Migration update

Scarlet Tanager, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2026

Field Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Canada Goose with goslings, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with dark forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Northern Waterthrush, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Birds Foot Violets, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2026

Although overall cooler than normal with mainly unfavorable winds there continues to be birds pushing in with multiple new species over the last several days.  No other major rarities for the season that I have been able to track down.  As you can tell from the photos it has been mainly about warblers...more on those here.  Too many travels and sightings so the photos will have to tell part of the story.  The next few days look to be unsettled with multiple bouts of rain and at least some favorable winds.  This will hopefully entice a push of birds and the bouts of rain could ground some species that otherwise just fly right by.  Could be some interesting few mornings.

A couple nights of decent migration brings in the birds

Black throated Blue Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 5, 2026

Blue Jay, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 5, 2026

Baltimore Oriole, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 5, 2026

White throated Sparrow, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 5, 2026

American Redstart, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2026

Bald Eagles, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2026

The last couple nights have featured the best migration of the spring so far with loads of birds arriving including some rarities.  Yesterday I was guiding for a birder from India and we had a very productive morning. I birded a bit before I picked her up and then we started at the rail trail where we had a number of lifers for her and a few new species for me for the year here.  It was certainly obvious an influx of species had occurred overnight.  After about an hour and half along the rail trail we decided to head a bit south to Mitch's Way to look for more migrants and a Hooded Warbler.  We successful found more migrant species and heard the Hooded Warbler.  With the Hooded Warbler and an earlier Canada Warbler I ticked off two more species on my way to a warbler big year in the US.

Black and White Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2026

American Redstart, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2026

Northern Parula, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2026

As an indication of the influx I had three new warbler species at the water feature for the day.  

Black and White Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Veery, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with black forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Gray Catbird, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2026

Eastern Towhee, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2026

Blue winged Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2026

Raccoon, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 6, 2026

Today was not as nice as yesterday with mainly overcast and breezy conditions until midday when rain got added to the mix for the rest of the day.  Although a bit too windy at times I still got out to cover a few areas and caught up with a few good ones today including the continued Hooded Warbler (still not photogenic, the Brewster's Warbler, an unusually plumaged Blue winged Warbler, two new species of warbler in the county for the year (Tennessee Warbler and Wilson's Warbler) and a total of six new species for me in the county for the year.  The main areas I hit for the morning before the rain included Mitch's Way, rail trail in Amherst and Herman Covey WMA.