Pied billed Grebe, Sora and the start of a heat wave

Pied billed Grebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 21, 2016

Pied billed Grebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 21, 2016

Red tailed Hawk, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 21, 2016

Turkey Vultures, Hadley, MA, July 21, 2016

Common Merganser, Connecticut River, Northampton, MA, July 21, 2016

Willow Flycatcher, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, July 21, 2016

Raccoon, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, July 21, 2016

Least Sandpipers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, July 21, 2016

Least Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, July 21, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, July 21, 2016

I covered lots of territory this morning in search of waders and shorebirds and turned up three species of waders (Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and Green Heron) and four species of shorebird (Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper).  There is very little in the way of decent shorebird habitat to be had this year in the valley but hopefully that fill improve as more crops get harvested.  The river is quite low with some exposed sandbars but the high level of activity on the river makes finding shorebirds there difficult.  Besides the waders and shorebirds I had a number of highlights including a Pied billed Grebe (a juvenile...possibly from breeding activity here but tough to say for certain) and Sora at Lake Wallace, 42 Turkey Vultures in Hadley and 14 Common Mergansers in the river in Northampton.  Despite a dramatic drop off in bird song I still managed a total of 77 species over the course of the morning.

Today begins what looks to be a long duration heat wave in the area which will last through at least early next week.  The southerly winds bringing in the heat also have the potential to bring in some unusual birds from the south and west dispersing after breeding.  The possibilities include but not limited to Black bellied Whistling Ducks, various marsh birds, waders and even shorebirds.  Time will tell if anything noteworthy shows up.