White eyed Vireo and Clay colored Sparrow this morning after a huge migration overnight

White eyed Vireo, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

White eyed Vireo, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Field Sparrow, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

White throated Sparrow, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Red winged Blackbirds feeding on white pine cones, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Blue headed Vireo, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Golden crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Before going to bed last night I noticed the radars were lit up with migrating birds and a quick check of the birdcast website showed ever increasing numbers of birds lifting off thanks to great migration conditions following multiple days of subpar conditions. When I got up and check the site again the estimate of birds that moved over Hampshire County topped over 3.6 million birds…the biggest night of migration by far for the fall season. After getting Wilson settled I headed out to a spot in Ware on a rather cool morning with temps in the upper 30’s. I started walking and immediately noticed loads of White throated Sparrows along with a few other species of sparrows including a Clay colored Sparrow hanging around with a few Chipping Sparrows. It was still rather dark and the light fog didn’t help in my attempt to grab a photo. After waiting a little for the Clay colored Sparrow to reappear without luck, I continued down the trail for another mile and continued racking up new species. At the end of the trail I found a mixed group of birds with lots more White throated Sparrows and Yellow rumped Warblers along with a few others. As I was picking through the birds I turned around a noticed a bird with some yellow on it down low and quickly took a look through the binoculars and saw the bird was a White eyed Vireo! A very unusual species during the warmer months but almost unheard of this late with only one other record I could find in the time frame of October-December and that was one at Arcadia in mid November of 2017. I tried to get a photo when it was close but the vegetation was too dense and I could not get a focused shot. The bird then flew across a small marshy area and popped in and out of view a few times on the far shore and I was able to get some photos to document this sighting. I then walked my way back to the car and looked again for the Clay colored Sparrow without any luck. Another interesting sight was watching a large group of Red winged Blackbirds feeding on cones in a stand of White Pines like a bunch of Red Crossbills.  During just over an hour and half at the location I picked up 43 species. I made a few other quick stops on my way home and added a few more species without any more rarities. Certainly a good mid October morning for sure with two new species for the year in the county for me. I wish I could have spent more time out and about but wanted to get home so Wilson did not have to wear the cone of shame any longer than necessary. 

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Grasshopper Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 11, 2023

Swamp Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 11, 2023

Wilson's Warbler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Cedar Waxwings, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Song Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Beaver Pond, Quabbin Gate 49, Ware, MA, Oct 9, 2023

The previous few days I got out a bit between work and other obligations. As mentioned above I had to curtail my typical time out birding as I wanted to get home to watch over the Wilson has he continued his recovery from surgery. Nonetheless I still found some good stuff as I continued to concentrate on tracking down late warblers. I managed two new record late dates for warblers with Ovenbird and Cape May Warbler yesterday. Much more on warblers the last few days can be found at the following link: warblers.  Beyond warblers the numbers and variety of sparrows continued to increase with a Grasshopper Sparrow (found by Mary) topping the highlight list among a total of ten species with the most abundant species being White throated, Song and Savannah Sparrows.  I also had some other late species around including a Semipalmated Sandpiper, a Philadelphia Vireo, Red Crossbills and Rose breasted Grosbeaks.  There has been a large influx of both species of kinglets the last few days too.  We now enter a period of increased chances of rarities showing up and I will certainly be out looking and listening as much as I can.  Sadly our warm weather with highs in the upper 60's and 70's is now gone and more seasonable temps have arrived.

Wilson in the sun, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 13, 2023

Deck time, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Wilson continues to slowly recover from the surgery he had last Thursday to remove the remainder of the tumor that ruptured a few weeks ago.  The wound is slowly healing but it will take a few weeks.  He is starting to get a little sick of being stuck inside so I have tried to get him some time outside even if he can't go on walks yet.