Poverty Mountain bird survey ends out May

Red tailed Hawk, Pelham, MA, May 31, 2026

Eastern Phoebe, Pelham, MA, May 31, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, Shutesbury, MA, May 31, 2026

Pink Ladyslippers, Pelham, MA, May 31, 2026

Adams Brook, Shutesbury, MA, May 31, 2026

As is always the case May has gone by too fast and I ended the month assisting with the 21st year of the Poverty Mountain bird survey at Kevin and Cynthia's fantastic property in the corner of Amherst, Pelham and Shutesbury.  I stuck around the house longer than usual this morning to make sure Wilson was doing well enough after some surgery he had yesterday.  It was a tough afternoon and overnight for him (and us) but he had improved quite a bit so I headed out for a few hours to assist with the count.  It was not the highest count but not too bad given the cold weather to start the day.  I found a total of 50 species for the count and I'm sure a few other species got added by others elsewhere.  

Eastern Bluebird nestlings, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 31, 2026

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 31, 2026

Eastern Bluebird fledglings, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 31, 2026

Once back home late in the morning I checked the nest boxes and found some very freshly hatched Eastern Bluebirds and the Hooded Merganser still sitting on eggs in duck box #2.  I also have a Gray Catbird on a nest in some of the low bushes near the house.  A check of the camera on the water feature turned up a number of captures including at least three Eastern Bluebird fledglings.

Overall the month was fairly productive with 168 species in Hampshire County, which is slightly below usual but it did produce my first new Hampshire County species for the year with a Loggerhead Shrike a couple days ago.