The last couple mornings plus an update on Hurricane Dorian

Wilson's Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 6, 2019

Ovenbird, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 6, 2019

Magnolia Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 6, 2019

Northern Harrier, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 6, 2019

Solitary Sandpiper, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 6, 2019 (my only shorebird for World Shorebird Day)

American Redstart, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 6, 2019

Conditions overnight looked to bring in some migrants with light northerly winds.  The radar was lit up and there were a number of flight calls overhead last night and into the morning when I checked.  I originally was going to start at UMASS but it was already breezy there when I arrived there which usually makes finding stuff there difficult.  I decided instead to head down to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River where I spent almost three hours exploring.  It was not as active as I had hoped but there were still some obvious migrants around.  The clouds being pushed north courtesy of Hurricane Dorian made photo ops less than ideal and the ever increasing breeze didn't help either.  I also made a brief stop by Sweet Alice Conservation Area before heading back home.

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 5, 2019

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 5, 2019

House Wren, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 5, 2019

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 5, 2019

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the morning exploring Quabbin Park and turned up a few notable species and some good counts for several species.  A number of highlights for the morning including at least one Eastern Whip Poor Will, a couple of Eastern Screech Owls calling back and forth, at least four Yellow throated Vireos and ten species of warblers.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 5, 2019

I also found one of my banded Black capped Chickadees that was banded this spring and I got a marginal photo through the binoculars....my first sighting of this individual in months.

Hurricane Dorian projected path as of 11AM, Sep 6, 2019 (courtesy of the NHC)

Hurricane Dorian finally moved north from the Bahamas after causing catastrophic damage to the northern part of the country including the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco.  The storm stayed offshore of Florida then just skimmed South Carolina before making a brief landfall on the outer banks of North Carolina last night (just missing Alabama!).  The storm is projected to continue moving northeast offshore of the northeast and then into Nova Scotia and other parts of Atlantic Canada while maintaining hurricane strength (there will almost certainly be some crazy bird sightings up that way).  The only impact here should be breezy conditions and some rain overnight tonight into Saturday morning.  The cape and islands could see tropical storm conditions and are under a tropical storm warnings.  Will the storm bring any birds our way?  Probably not too likely as the storm will be too far away from us to have any great impact but one never knows.  Depending on the amount of rain and how strong the winds get here will determine if anything unusual gets pushed in or forced down.  Worth checking water bodies and any flooded fields just in case.  There is always the outside chance of something along the lines of a frigatebird showing up so worth keeping an eye out.  To check on bird sightings related to Dorian follow the link from Birdcast (Hurricane Dorian birds.).  More on the impact on  the birds of the northern Bahamas can be found at my earlier post about it here.  Birds Caribbean has started a fundraiser to assist the Bahama National Trust as they attempt to try to assist the birds that survived and begin to restore damaged habitat...fundraising link to assist the Bahamas