The end of the first week of May

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2020

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2020

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2020

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2020

The first week of May has now come to an end and overall it continues to be a bit slow and behind schedule as far as migration is concerned.  The weather has continued to be cooler than normal but thankfully not quite as wet.  The winds have also not been very cooperative for migrants but with it being May the birds are still pushing in.  There does not seem to be a major break in the pattern for the next several days with record breaking cold (with some snow even possible) into the weekend.  When this pattern final breaks there should be a really impressive influx of migrants (hopefully).  The morning once again started off cool and I hit a variety of areas over the course of the morning from the rail trail to UMASS to Quabbin Park.  I was just about done with my morning of birding when I got a text telling me about an extreme rarity for the area so I headed back to Hadley but unfortunately the reported rarity ended up being a Savannah Sparrow singing an odd song.  Overall the morning was once again relatively lackluster given the date but I still found some good stuff nonetheless.

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Nashville Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Black throated Blue Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Baltimore Oriole, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2020

Wednesday I was out the door well before dawn to try my luck with some nocturnal species at Quabbin and I had some luck with a few owls and at least one Eastern Whip Poor Will although the cool temperatures (36 degrees at dawn) probably kept some birds quiet.  I then over to UMASS and then on to the rail trail.  The best sighting of the day was an odd Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid in almost the same area I had it last year (sighting from last year at the following link).  It is a unique looking individual with an odd mask.  Although still a bit slow as far as numbers and diversity I still managed 17 species of warblers with a noticeable increase in Nashville Warblers.  I also checked the camera I had set up on one of my duck boxes and found the ducklings jumped out that morning.  Link to the videos attached below:
Hooded Mergansers leaving duck box #1 (caught almost all in this video)
Hooded Mergansers leaving duck box #1 (video 2)

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2020

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler, Piper Farm Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2020

Pine Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2020

Orchard Oriole with leg band, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 5, 2020

On Tuesday I hit a variety of places in Hadley and Amherst in the morning before coming home to get Wilson to go for another walk.  I started the morning at the rail trail before making my way to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River (trying in vain to find a White eyed Vireo reported there a few days before).  Overall the morning was fairly quiet once again but the day still managed to produce a great sighting when I decided to head out briefly again late in the morning and came across a Lawrence's Warbler.

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2020

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2020

Scarlet Tanager, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2020

Northern Parula, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 4, 2020

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park,  MA, May 4, 2020

Baltimore Oriole, Quabbin Park,  MA, May 4, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park,  MA, May 4, 2020

Cape May Warbler, Home, Belchertown,  MA, May 4, 2020

With relatively calm winds overnight from Sunday into Monday and the likelihood of the last good migration night for a few days (at least) I headed out well before dawn in search of arriving migrants.  I started with a Sora in a marsh in a location that will not be disclosed.  I then headed over to Skinner SP to hike to the peak in search of Cerulean Warblers and Worm eating Warblers and I had success finding both with at least four Cerulean Warblers (three males and a female) and a couple Worm eating Warblers.  I had a nice selection of migrants including my first Great crested Flycatcher for the year in the county.  There were a number of other birders enjoying the birds too and I think they all got sightings of the above mentioned species.  I then headed back down the mountain and over to nearby Mitch's Way  I walked about a mile in and had a bit over fifty species including my first Ruby throated Hummingbird and Orchard Oriole.  I then headed back east with a quick stop at Sweet Alice Conservation Area before making it to my final stop of the morning at Quabbin Park.  I ran across Chuck not long after arriving and birded with him for almost my entire time there and got him several species for the year.  Overall the park was fairly slow given the date but i didn't cover many areas and the conditions were fairly breezy making it tough to find some of the birds.  Late in the day I picked out a Cape May Warbler feeding high in the trees around the house.

Sightings from the first few days of the month can be found at the following link.

Greater details on warblers for the first week of the month can be found at the following link.

Gray Catbird with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 4, 2020

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 4, 2020

Black and White Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 4, 2020

Opossum, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2020

Gray Catbird with leg bands with Tufted Titmouse, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2020

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 6, 2020

Besides the Hooded Mergansers fledging from box #1 and the Cape May Warbler mentioned above the yard has produced some additional good stuff with some resightings of banded birds including a Gray Catbird that was originally banded in 2017.  The cameras around the yard have also caught some good stuff from birds to mammals.  Below is a link to some of the videos captured.

Raccoon video
Beaver video
Beaver with tree video