More Cattle Egrets around plus more lingering warblers and Evening Grosbeaks

Cattle Egret, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Cattle Egret, Amherst, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Black capped Chickadee, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

White tailed Deer, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

White tailed Deer, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 9, 2018

After getting out of work this morning I headed over to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River once again and took advantage of some brief morning sun before the clouds moved in.  Some construction activity around the parking lot and entrance road kept that area quiet so I concentrated on areas that were a bit quieter.  During about an hour and a half of walking around I turned up a number of notable birds including a Common Yellowthroat (which appeared to be different from either of the two individuals of the same species I had in the same area several days ago), three Palm Warblers (all of the yellow subspecies), a couple flyover Evening Grosbeaks and several flyover Pine Siskins.  I also had a close encounter with a buck White tailed Deer that ran out through a grassy field right in front of me.

I next headed north a bit in search of geese and perhaps some of the lingering Cattle Egrets that have been reported in the area of North Hadley/Amherst since first arriving back on November 3rd.  I quickly found two Cattle Egrets feeding in the median of Route 116 in Amherst near UMASS (apparently the same two that originally showed up near Stockbridge Road and have been seen in various nearby locations the last several days).  I also found several hundred geese in some fields in Amherst but couldn't find anything unusual among them.

Cattle Egret, Austin's Farm, Belchertown, MA, Nov 9, 2018

Cattle Egret, Austin's Farm, Belchertown, MA, Nov 9, 2018

I saw a Facebook report of a Cattle Egret in Belchertown in the mid afternoon and since it was not too far from the house I made the quick trip down to see it.  I wonder how long this one has been around...I'm certain it is yet another bird that came in on southerly winds last weekend.  This makes at least half a dozen individuals in Hampshire County in the last several days...really unprecedented numbers.