I have had a good start to the month of February with a number of unusual species around including two species of warblers, the continued Say's Phoebe and many others that eventually got me to one hundred species for the year so far in Hampshire County. Being slightly obsessed with warblers the big story for me would certainly be the overwintering Pine Warblers at Winsor Dam that total at least seven individuals as of this morning. A number of birders came out to see the Say's Phoebe once again and from what I could tell many of them succeeded. Beyond the Pine Warblers and Say's Phoebe I have found a few decent species to begin February with the continued pale Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Iceland Gull, Ruby crowned Kinglet, Red Crossbill, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and Eastern Towhee. Reaching the first hundred species for the year in the county is always a milestone and although a bit ahead of the average this year I'm behind my record setting pace that I set in 2021 when I reached the hundred mark in late January. This does place this year in the top three for reaching the century mark with number two being 2023 when I reach the mark on February 5th. As linked above there is a lot more details on the Pine Warblers (with more photos) at the following link: Pine Warblers in February.
So do we assume this Phoebe was blown here with a storm and never gets back west? What a lovely bird. Thanks for the photo!
ReplyDeleteAlmost certainly not storm related...rarities such as these are typically a mess up in its head and it moves in the wrong direction from its typical migration path...think moving east instead of south...that's the simple answer to a complex issue in regards to rarities
Delete