Record setting September ends with an American Coot

American Coot, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2020

American Coot, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2020

Dark eyed Junco with White throated Sparrows, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 29, 2020

Black throated Green Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 28, 2020

September has now come to an end and with it the peak of passerine migration. Certainly there are still warblers and vireos and others to be found in the next few weeks as well as the peak of sparrow migration but the big numbers and diversity of passerines are gone from the area until next May.  Overall September was sunnier than average with lots of nights of great migration conditions which probably was the cause in the low numbers of several species of warblers (more on warblers for the month at the following link). I think the great migration conditions just kept the birds moving on to the south in general. There were a fair number of unusual species around for the month (including an American Coot that arrived right at the end of the month) and this helped me reach my highest ever total for species in Hampshire County in September with a total of 169 species. This beat my previous high of 164 in 2018 and was well above the typical average September which is usually in the low to mid 150’s.   October looks to be starting out a little wet to be quickly followed by sunny and cooler conditions for the first few days of the month and generally cooling as true fall starts to set in.

The new water feature continues to attract new species with Dark eyed Junco and Black throated Green Warbler in the last couple days plus loads of White throated Sparrows.

The last several days as September nears an end

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2020

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2020

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2020

Least Flycatcher, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2020

Today was another warmer than normal day but yet another morning of low clouds and occasional drizzle which made photography a bit difficult.  Nonetheless it was a decent morning of birding at Arcadia with a few notables including a late Least Flycatcher and a couple of late Yellow Warblers plus a likely Connecticut Warbler (the view was too brief to be a 100% certain).  Overall the numbers and diversity of sparrows and warblers was down a bit from a couple days before but Lincoln's Sparrows continue to show in good numbers.

River Otters, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2020

I didn't have a lot of time in the morning on Saturday so I stayed close to home with visits to Quabbin Park and a nearby spot on Ware.  I tried to find a lingering Eastern Whip Poor Will before dawn but had no luck...they all appear to have finally migrated south.  I covered just a small portion of the park in the early morning gloom of fog and drizzle and the Red breasted Nuthatch numbers continue to impress.  Nothing too noteworthy as far as birds go beyond a nice selection of thrushes early on.  I did get to see a family of River Otters up close with one happily munching on a fish, which is always fun.

Barred Owl, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 25, 2020

Eastern Meadowlark, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 25, 2020

Eastern Meadowlark, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 25, 2020

Wood Thrush, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 25, 2020

On Friday morning I spent a few hours at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River covering a variety of different habitats.  It was another nice morning to be out and was thankfully not as cold as many recent mornings.  I started off with great views of a Barred Owl and a calling Eastern Screech Owl.  Other highlights included a number of vireos, several Wood Thrushes, a flyover Pine Siskin, half a dozen Eastern Meadowlarks and ten species of warbler including another decent count of Tennessee Warblers.

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2020

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2020

Scarlet Tanager, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2020

Woodchuck, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2020

Arcadia was my stop on Thursday morning with my main focus being finding a Connecticut Warbler and after a lot of effort I managed a fleeting view (only my second sighting of the species so far this fall which is way below average by this date)...sadly no chance for a photo.  The morning was quite productive and turned up species such as two flyby Pine Siskins (hopefully the beginning of an influx of the species), a very early Snow Bunting (perhaps brought in after days and days of northerly winds), half a dozen species of sparrows, at least nine Tennessee Warblers, four Yellow Warblers (getting late for the species), a few Scarlet Tanagers and a Dickcissel.  

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 23, 2020

Philadelphia Vireo, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 23, 2020

Sawfly larva, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 23, 2020

Wilson, Belchertown, MA, Sep 23, 2020

On the 23rd I started another frosty morning at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  Nothing too unexpected to report from that stop and overall it was a bit slow but still well worth the visit with half a dozen Wood Thrushes, a dozen flyby Purple Finches and five Tennessee Warblers among eleven species of warblers.  I then left there with the intention to hit the Honey Pot but when I arrived there the previously productive fields (as far as shorebirds go) where in the midst of being plowed under so I continued north with a stop along a right of way down to the river.  What was intended to be a short stop turned into an hour plus of looking around after I stumbled across a Yellow breasted Chat.  I searched for it for over thirty minutes after the initial sighting and never saw it again (amazing how stealthy chats around here can be compared to how obvious and loud they are in other parts of their range).

Blue headed Vireo, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 22, 2020

Scarlet Tanager, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 22, 2020

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 22, 2020

Dark eyed Junco, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 22, 2020

After getting out of work on Tuesday morning I headed right down to Arcadia where I spent a couple hours poking around the meadows.  Among the many highlights were continued numbers of flyover Purple Finches (quite an influx lately), a Clay colored Sparrow, my first Dark eyed Juncos and American Pipit of the fall, lots of other sparrows, a dozen Tennessee Warblers, a noticeable increase in Yellow rumped Warblers and at least 18 Indigo Buntings. 

Cape May Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 21, 2020

 Black throated Green Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 21, 2020

 Eastern Phoebe with leg band, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 21, 2020

Last Sunday I started off at UMASS and then headed down to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  UMASS was a little slow but still produced a whinnying Eastern Screech Owl, some obvious Blue Jay migration, a couple Philadelphia Vireos and several thrushes of various species early on.  Conte was a little more active as the morning warmed up and I turned up 15 species of  warblers including a Mourning Warbler and four Cape May Warblers.  I also came across a few banded birds and managed to get photos of one (an Eastern Phoebe).

Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 21, 2020

Scarlet Tanager and Northern Parula, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 26, 2020

White throated Sparrows, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 26, 2020

Chipping Sparrows, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 26, 2020

Tufted Titmouse and Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 26, 2020

The new water feature that I installed last week didn't have too many visitors in the first several days but on Saturday that all changed with nine species showing up.  The first species I captured was on the 21st when a Black capped Chickadee stopped in briefly.  I have been trying to come up with the best location for the camera to capture as many birds as possible but not get a ton of non bird shots caused by the cascading water.  

Another notable sighting around the house occurred today when I found two banded Black capped Chickadees in a mixed flock around the house.  Both of the birds were banded in 2019 and I had them around all winter and into the spring but had not seen them in several weeks.

The tropics look to finally be quieting down (at least for a few days) with no new areas of development expected in the next five days per the NHC.  Hurricane Teddy hit the eastern end of Nova Scotia on Wednesday before continuing off to the northeast and into Newfoundland.  It will be interesting to see what unusual species turn up in Canada during and after the storm.  More on the storm can be found at the following link from BirdCast.  Despite the current lull in tropical activity there is still a lot of tropical season left and there is certainly the chance of more storms to come into October and possibly beyond.

A great morning of migration

                                                   Northern Parula, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2020

                                           Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2020

Eastern Phoebe, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2020

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2020

                                            Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2020

This mornings trip to Arcadia finally produced a good show of migrants following several mornings lately that looked promising but were rather slow.  There was an obvious influx of migrants that arrived on northerly winds overnight.  The morning started off cold with a few patches of frost but once the sun came up it warmed up a bit and thankfully the strong winds from yesterday were not present until much later in the morning allowing much better viewing of birds.  Most any area that the sun was hitting and warming up produced birds with a nice mix of species spread throughout the fields and hedgerows of the meadows.  Among the 82 species I found for the morning were multiple highlights including a big flight of Broad winged Hawks that started kettling around nine and moving down the ridge toward Mount Tom (I will be interested to see the numbers the hawk watches had for the day but I'm sure they were high), lots of Purple Finches flying over, half a dozen species of sparrows with a large influx of Lincoln's Sparrows, 19 species of warblers including at dozen plus Tennessee Warblers, a Connecticut Warbler, three Cape May Warblers, at least four Yellow Warblers, both subspecies of Palm Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler (more on warblers for the morning at the following link) plus at least 32 Indigo Buntings and a flyover Dickcissel.

Black Vulture, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 19, 2020

New water feature Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 19, 2020

At home while working around the yard and trying to finish up the new water feature I had a couple of Black Vultures fly over and I actually managed to get a marginal photo of one.  This is only my third time ever seeing Black Vultures from the yard and the first time of there being more than one.

The last few days of mid September

Palm Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 18, 2020        

                                             Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 18, 2020  

 Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 18, 2020  

After northerly winds last night I held out hope for some great arrivals but the forecast of light winds in the AM was way off and I arrived at Arcadia to a steady north wind that made finding birds very tough.  It even rained a bit for about 15 minutes.  I almost left but decided to stick it out in the hopes of finding something good.  The best I could come up with was a flock of ten Great Egrets that arrived around 7:30 along with some Great Blue Herons.  I searched through the flock fighting the wind in the hopes of an unusual egret but no luck (last year around this time I had a Snowy Egret arrive with a group of Great Egrets).  I also had at least three Swainson's Thrushes feeding together and a slightly late Yellow Warbler (among some nine species of warblers for the morning...not bad giving the conditions and the poor showing of warblers so far this fall). 

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 17, 2020

Philadelphia Vireos, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 17, 2020

                                                      Black Bear, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 17, 2020

On Thursday I stayed close to home with a few stops in Ware and Belchertown including a too short visit to Quabbin Park.  The density of Red breasted Nuthatches have increased and I'm sure with a little more time I would have gotten well into a triple digit count once again for the species.  Red Crossbills and Purple Finches were also around in decent numbers.  Beyond the birds I had a close encounter with a rather pissed off Black Bear at Quabbin Park. I also had at least two Eastern Whip Poor Wills still singing before dawn at Quabbin Park...getting late but still not my latest date ever for the species in the county which is Sep 25th.

                                                  Black bellied Plover, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2020

                                 Traill's Flycatcher, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 16, 2020

On Wednesday I started my morning at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River in the hopes of finding a Connecticut Warbler (I had no luck with that species).  I was joined for part of my time there by Sebastian.  Highlights for the morning there included a Traill's Flycatcher (Alder or Willow), a couple Philadelphia Vireos, a Veery and several Wood Thrushes and Northern Parulas.  After parting ways with Sebastian I made brief stops at the Honey Pot and then at the Huntington Road access to the CT river.  A scan at the river turned up a Black bellied Plover (that was apparently previously found by Mike L).  

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 15, 2020

                                        Palm Warbler 'western', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 15, 2020

                                              Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 15, 2020

                                        Swainson's Thrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 15, 2020

On the ides of September I spent a few hours in the morning at Arcadia where I had 59 species including my first White throated Sparrows and Palm Warblers of the season as well as the continued Dickcissel.  Overall it was rather slow considering the date and the good migration conditions.

Yet another update on the incredibly busy tropics which has already used all the typical names for tropical systems and is now into the Greek alphabet with both Alpha and Beta being named today.  The biggest immediate threat to land is major Hurricane Teddy which is forecast to make a very close approach to Bermuda and then head north and impact Atlantic Canada around Tuesday of next week.  TS Wilfred should exhaust itself well east of the Lesser Antilles.  Post tropical storm Alpha made landfall in Portugal today and TS Beta is in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to reach hurricane strength by Monday and then meander around the gulf just off the south Texas coast as a tropical storm. There are two more areas that may develop in the next five days including an area around the Azores and another wave coming off of Africa.  A truly record setting tropical season that still has several weeks ahead of it.  To give an indication on how busy this season has been we are about six weeks ahead of 2005 as far as named storms go and that year was a record setting year for storms.