Another year has come to an end and with it comes another end of year review. The Covid pandemic continued on but travel finally opened up a bit at the end of the year but only in a few spots. I was unable to travel internationally at all last winter with the only getaway in March to Florida. This fall was more friendly to travel and I made trips to southern Ecuador, Baja California Sur in Mexico, and Florida with the focus of the two international trips being warblers. It was nice to be able to travel again and I'm hopeful more countries will open up this coming year although with the latest surge that seems more of a wish than anything else. The only trip planned so far is a long overdue return to Costa Rica. Overall for the year I had 615 species with 83 of them being life birds which brought my life list up to 1664 (I gained a couple species with some splits this year). The life birds for the year were found in the following locations: Ecuador -75, Mexico -7, United States-1. The use of eBird has made it really easy to keep track of everything and I would encourage everyone to submit their sightings. I added over 4200 lists to the eBird database this year and I'm sure I will add many more next year.
I had a yet another record breaking year for species in Hampshire County with an amazing 250 species with one of those (a Western Meadowlark) being a new species for me in the county, bringing my Hampshire County total to 302.
A review of all the warblers for the year can be found at the following link.
The year began with sunny, calm weather and I spent the first day of 2021 catching up with a number of continuing rarities including Sage Thrasher and Red headed Woodpecker plus a couple Yellow rumped Warblers and finished the day with a record setting 67 species in Hampshire County and by the end of the first week I had found 87 species. I also made a trip north of the county to check out a few rare birds including an overwintering Tennessee Warbler and Harlequin Duck.
The middle of January featured several continued unusual species including Eastern Phoebe, several species of sparrows plus an odd Canada Goose. I had a great day out on the 20th when I had multiple unusual gull and waterfowl species and pushed my total to the month over the 100 species mark...the fastest I have ever made it to that total in the county by a wide margin (I usually don't reach 100 species until March).
Toward the end of the month I made a trip out to the Eastern part of the state primarily in search of warblers and had some great luck. By the end of the month the temperatures dropped substantially and we got some snow after an overall warmer and dryer than usual start to the year. With a number of irruptive species around plus some rarities and lingering species (and having more time locally as travel was not happening due to the pandemic) I ended January with an amazing 105 species in Hampshire County (my previous best January was 93 with most years averaging in the high 70's to low 80's for species).
February started off the same way January ended with very cold temperatures and snow. The increase in cold temperatures started freezing out more and more locations so the remaining species of waterfowl became more concentrated. By the end of the first week of the month I had found a few more new species for the year including a Common Yellowthroat overwintering in a greenhouse in Deerfield. With a decent amount of snow and cold temperatures (plus lots of work) I didn't make it out much in the middle and end of the month but I did manage to get out and relocate the continued Sage Thrasher. By the end of the month the weather started warming a bit which brought in the vanguard of waterfowl migration. I also managed another record breaking month for Hampshire County with a total of 97 species for the month.
The arrival of March brought in waterfowl to start the month and they continued throughout the month. There was a slight warm up for a few days around the middle of the month before it cooled once again. A number of lingering species continued through the month.
By the third week of the month waterfowl peaked and additional migrants arrived into the area as the grip of winter slowly weakened. With the change of season came the first hint of birds breeding with Hooded Mergansers once again using the nest boxes at the house.
We finally managed to get away to a warmer climate late in the month of March with a short trip down to Florida. Although not as nice as getting to the tropics it was a nice respite from winter and the pandemic.
The first week of April brought birds in the yard as well as a number of early season migrants among a total of 97 species for the week.
On April 8th I found intergrade Green winged Teal at Lake Wallace and the bird stayed around until the middle of the month. The middle of the month brought a snow storm with a few inches of snow but also produced both a Snow Goose and Snowy Egret! The cameras around the house continued to capture some good stuff including a great series of shots of a Black Bear.
As the end of April arrived there were a number of good days of migration with a really large influx of Yellow rumped Warblers on the 28th. The very end of the month brought in a few rarities including Black crowned Night Heron and Hooded Warbler.
The first week of May featured a big increase in migration (as expected) with highlights including Glossy Ibis, Lawrence's Warbler, Orange crowned Warbler as well as Caspian Tern and Black Tern and hundreds of swallows that showed up due to rainy, cool weather.
Toward the end of the second week of the month the Hooded Mergansers fledged from the nest boxes at the house. Migration conditions improved somewhat by the end of the second week as the cooler than normal temps relented a bit.
The third week of May was very productive for phalaropes with a Red necked Phalarope showing up and then multiple Wilson's Phalaropes all coming into a small puddle in the East Meadows. The third week of the month had the peak of migration arriving and multiple species already successfully breeding. Among the notable species for the third week was a White eyed Vireo.
The month of May ended on a cold note but the month overall produced my highest ever total for species in Hampshire County with 180 species! It is a shame May goes by so fast.
June began with a nice showing of late migrants including a number of shorebirds in a small puddle in the East Meadows as well as lots of breeding activity.
Although the annual Neighborhood Nestwatch stopped coming by the yard to band birds this year I was lucky to have a PhD student looking for a yard to band in and I readily offered up my yard. The banding took place on June 8 (he returned in July to band again).
Toward the middle of the month I caught up with a couple of species that are unusual around here that appeared to be trying to breed including Blue Grosbeaks (returning for a third year to Hadley) and Purple Martins (which have not bred in the area in a hundred years). I also found a large vulture roost at the Holyoke Dam that peaked out at 102 Turkey Vultures and four Black Vultures. On the 19th I completed my breeding bird survey for the 11th year in a row.
One the the cooler experiences of the whole year was eventually catching up with a Cerulean Warbler along the Mount Holyoke Range that sang both a Black throated Blue Warbler and Black and White Warbler song! It took a very long time to track the bird down but was totally worth the time and effort...more on that at the following link.
Overall the month of June was very warm and produced the highest total for species for the month I have ever had in Hampshire County with 145 species!
July began with rainy weather and that pattern continued for most of the month. A number of rarities continued through the beginning of the month with Purple Martin and Blue Grosbeak among the highlights. The cool weather concentrated swifts along the river and I had a high count of 580 on the 4th of July. We also had a tropical storm (TS Elsa) brush past us early in the month. Some shorebirds arrived though the middle of the month as well as confirmation of breeding by the Blue Grosbeaks in Hadley.
On the 18th we took a short trip out to the Finger Lakes where we spent four days and despite it not being a birding trip I still managed to get out a bit each morning with the main goal of tracking down new warblers I had not yet seen in New York.
The remainder of July featured more rain (setting a record as the rainiest July) but at least we got some sunny days between the bouts of rain. The influx of post breeding waders as they disperse before migration south got underway with a nice showing of Great Egrets. The end of the month also featured another visit from Sebastian to band birds in the yard as part of his PhD work.
I started off the month of August with some continued rarities including both Purple Martins and Blue Grosbeaks as well as a record early arrival of a Northern Parula.
Around the middle of the month I was mainly focusing on finding dispersing waders and had some great luck with Black crowned Night Heron and Little Blue Heron among the highlights. Successful nesting of the Purple Martins in Hadley was also confirmed.
Hurricane Henri hit the area on August 22nd and despite it looking great to produce some epic birds here it was a letdown overall with almost no storm driven species. I did manage to find a Lesser Black backed Gull at Winsor Dam but that was it during the storm. The flooded areas after the storm were a bit more productive with shorebirds being the main players with a Whimbrel being the most unusual species. I also had a Snowy Egret at the Holyoke Dam on multiple visits.
The month of September began with the remnants of Hurricane Ida moving through and bringing down some shorebirds (I unfortunately missed a Red Knot that showed up as I was working). The rest of the first week of the month brought more shorebirds and passerines.
The second week of September brought in a number of unusual species including Western Kingbird and Buff breasted Sandpiper plus a Sanderling. The fall migration continued in earnest through the second week of the month with loads of birds around with the most notable being a Yellow headed Blackbird.
The third week of September brought lots of migrants through including some unusual species with Dickcissels, Clay colored Sparrow, Connecticut Warblers and multiple lingering species. I spent the last three consecutive days of this period at Arcadia during which it was interesting to see the turnover of species from one day to the next as the peak of fall migration came to an end.
The end of month brought in more unusual species including another Buff breasted Sandpiper, Yellow breasted Chat, more Dickcissels and a number of lingering species. Overall September was another record setting month for me in the county with 171 species
The first week of October produced a variety of bird in the first few days and then produced a Yellow headed Blackbird by weeks end. By the middle of the month waterfowl had started to arrive in numbers and I also had a record late date for Connecticut Warbler. The end of the third week brought a nice warm up and some nice birds.
October also brought some devastating news with the diagnosis of cancer for my buddy Wilson. He continues to act as if nothing is wrong and is still a happy dog that loves to be outside sniffing stuff.
The end of the month brought multiple days of rain with a strong nor'easter that produced multiple Black legged Kittwakes as well as a selection of waterfowl.
November started off with a number of rarities showing up with a Common Gallinule and Cattle Egret. The Cattle Egret became species #249 for Hampshire County for the year which broke my previous record for a year that I set just last year.
I finally made a trip back to the tropics in mid November with a trip to southern Ecuador with the main focus being a number of warbler species. I got all my target species as well as loads of others for a total of 75 life birds on the trip. The entire trip is chronicled in the following posts: Part 1, Part 2 and warblers.
While I was down in Ecuador I saw posts about a Western Meadowlark that was found in Hadley. Thankfully the bird stayed around until I got back and I was able to see it on the 22nd. The meadowlark became species #250 for the year in Hampshire County (plus a new county bird for me). The remainder of the month I spent some time out and about and turned up some late species as well as some interesting ones including a pale Canada Goose.
I started off the month of December with another trip south, this time heading to the southern end of Baja California Sur in Mexico. The main target species was the Belding's Yellowthroat and I had success in finding both this species as well as six other life birds on the short trip.
After my trip to Mexico I flew to Florida to meet Sherri to continue the vacation in Florida. We spent most of our time in the Jupiter area and had the typical species one would expect in southern Florida in December although I was able to add a new species to my Florida list with a late Tennessee Warbler.
After getting home from Florida after a late vacation medical issue I stayed close to home but still made it out a little while running errands and making it to doctor appointments. There were a number of unusual species around and I also managed to catch up with a few Yellow rumped Warblers.
I was able to take part in the annual Northampton Christmas Bird Count, at least for a little while. It was actually the longest I had been away from home since getting home from vacation. Nothing rare but some decent numbers of a few species.
I finally got around to checking the game camera along the brook at the house and had lots of captures. The year overall produced lots of captures from the various cameras around the yard and above is a small selection. There is an entire Flickr album of all the captures at the following link.
