Ruby crowned Kinglets, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Golden crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Golden crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Winter Wrens, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Winter Wren, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023
Today was windy and cool with a real fall feel. With the strong north winds I started my morning at
Winsor Dam where I spent a bit over an hour and a half watching waterfowl and raptors move south with the highlights including a group of 11 Brant, an unidentified small goose among a flock of Canada Geese, a Red breasted Merganser (possibly two) and five Surf Scoters. Not an epic day but a taste of things to come as fall rapidly progresses. I wanted to get out of the wind and look for warblers so I headed to a nearby spot in
Belchertown. As soon as I arrived I started noticing multiple Ruby crowned Kinglets and every mixed flock I found seemed to be primarily composed of this species as well as good numbers of Golden crowned Kinglets. At times I would have a dozen Ruby crowned Kinglets in view at once and my count of 60+ overall is likely an undercount and the highest count I have ever had in the county. There were also above typical numbers of Winter Wrens (with three together in a small area). It was certainly a morning of the tiny passerines. I also did run across some warblers with Yellow rumped Warbler being the vast majority plus a few Blackpoll Warblers and the biggest surprise of all being
a very late Cape May Warbler. The Cape May Warbler was my latest ever record for the species in the county, breaking a record I set just
a few days ago.
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