Buff breasted Sandpiper and Upland Sandpiper!

Buff breasted Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Buff breasted Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Buff breasted Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Buff breasted Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Upland Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Upland Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Upland Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Upland Sandpiper, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Cooper's Hawk, Honeypot, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

I spent the morning birding with Jacob and what a great morning we had.  It started out a bit slow as we worked our way through the East Meadows.  We had high hopes with the rain of yesterday and good migration conditions overnight that we would find some good stuff with the focus being on shorebirds.  We scanned though several fields in the East Meadows but all we could come up with were three Killdeer in the field they have been in my last few stops down there.  Several hundred swallows moving through including loads of Tree Swallows and lesser numbers of Bank and Barn.  Without much luck so far we had to decide where to go next to try to find some shorebirds so we decided on the Honeypot, which turned out to be a great decision!  We checked a few fields when we arrived there with much luck until I picked out a Buff breasted Sandpiper in a field close to the dike.  We got great looks at this bird as it fed out in the open and occasionally stopping and crouching down when a raptor (and a cormorant!) came by.  After scanning around and watching the bird for some time we headed deeper into the Honeypot but not before getting an early flyby American Pipit that was calling (Jacob managed some shots of the bird).  We then came across our next great bird of the day when we heard an odd call that we could not identify.  A few minutes the call repeated and then we saw a bird in the air.  First impressions were of a large shorebird with a small bill, small head, large body and long tail.  I thought 'Upland Sandpiper' but I had never heard the call before.  The bird headed south and then east calling the entire time.  We managed lots of distant shots but nothing great.  We puzzled over the bird for a few minutes until listening to the flight call of an Upland Sandpiper...dead on match!  Only my second county record of this species and the first in seven years.  A very unusual species in western Massachusetts away from its breeding area at Westover ARB to our south.  We searched for the Upland Sandpiper in several fields to the east but could not find it again.  The Buff breasted Sandpiper remained in the area we had seen it in earlier and some other birders arrived and we were able to get them on it (a life bird for some).  The one individual was joined by a second Buff breasted Sandpiper after we left the area.  I managed to add two new species for Hampshire County this year with our stop at the Honeypot...Buff Breasted Sandpiper (#224) and Upland Sandpiper (#225).

Lesser Yellowlegs, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Solitary Sandpiper, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Spotted Sandpiper, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

Least Sandpiper, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Sep 7, 2014

We then took a quick spin through the Aqua Vitae Road area but no shorebirds due to all the fields being full of unharvested corn.  We didn't strike out completely here as we had a Dickcissel calling over and over for a couple minutes from a corn field along with Indigo Buntings and Chipping Sparrows.  Our final stop for the morning was along the Connecticut River in Hadley where we added four more species of shorebird including two Spotted Sandpipers, three Solitary Sandpipers, a Lesser Yellowlegs and a dozen Least Sandpipers.  Ended the morning with seven species of shorebirds...certainly a day of quality and not quantity...typical for the valley when it comes to shorebirds.

At home the warblers started to heat up late in the afternoon with both Bay breasted and Blackpoll Warblers in the yard.  After dark I went out to check out the migration and had quite a few flight calls as well as birds moving past the moon at a rate around 8-10 a minute.  Here are a few links to video of moon passing birds:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/15181395572/in/photostream
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/14995292947/in/photostream/

Species #200 for Hampshire County in 2013 (and #201)....plus Birdathon

Common Merganser, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2013

Eastern Whip-poor-will, Covey WMA, May 18, 2013

 

Common Merganser, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2013

Common Merganser, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2013

I managed to reach the 200 species mark for the year in Hampshire County today when I found a calling Black billed Cuckoo but more about that later. Today continued the annual Mass Audubon Birdathon fund raiser and I spent the day covering areas around Quabbin. I planned on starting at Covey WMA to look for marsh birds, owls and others but after seeing several hunters at various parking areas I changed plans to try to keep myself from ending up with any bullet holes today! However, before I did head over to Quabbin Park I had a great view (and photographed) an Eastern Whip-poor-will at Covey. It was really neat to see it close up and calling...one of the best views I have ever had of this species. I then headed over to Quabbin Park where I spent the next three plus hours and managed 20 species of warbler and 80+ species overall. There were many highlights here including a few mixed species flocks migrating through, four Spotted Sandpipers, six species of flycatcher, four vireo species, and lots of migrant and resident birds.

Common Loon swimming with deer, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2013

Common Loon swimming with deer, Quabbin Park, May 18, 2013

 

Perhaps the oddest sighting there this morning (one I have never seen before) was a Common Loon swimming along with a White-tailed Deer at Gate 52...very odd. One other unusual sighting was a female Common Merganser that flew around and around the headquarters building and tried several times to land on one of the chimneys before finally giving up and landing on the water.

 

Cooper's Hawk, Quabbin Gate 5, May 18, 2013

 

Black billed Cuckoo (species #200 for the county year), Quabbin Gate 5, May 18, 2013

After Quabbin Park I made a few other stops including Lake Wallace and Piper Farm Conservation Area before heading back to Quabbin with a stop a Gate 5. As I was heading in another person was heading out and warned me of a Black Bear along the road down to the water. I never did run into the bear but I did have some good stuff nonetheless. Highlights included a good look at a Copper's Hawk, a flyover Evening Grosbeak (heard only so maybe more than one) and flyover Pine Siskin. The best bird was a calling Black billed Cuckoo which became species #200 for the year in Hampshire County. I had set a goal to try to reach 200 before the end of May and I was able to reach the goal just over half way through the month. As a comparison to my previous best year (last year) I reached the 200 mark on the 7th of September. At this point last year (May 18) I was at 183 so obviously I'm a bit ahead of last year. I still have a few species I will hopefully pick up in the next week or two before I have to really start hoping for rarities to push up my totals. There certainly have been rarities around lately so perhaps more will show up soon.

Canada Geese (photo through binos), Belchertown Land Trust trail, May 18, 2013

Late in the morning found me along the land trust trail in Belchertown where I caught up with a few more new species for Birdathon. The Prairie Warblers, Field Sparrow and Eastern Kingbird were busy collecting nesting material. The small marsh held a Solitary Sandpiper and Killdeer. I thought I might have found an unusual bird when I had a Blue winged Warbler call coming from the same field area I had a Lawrence's Warbler in last year around this time of year but the bird was indeed a typical looking Blue winged Warbler.

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, May 18, 2013

I spent a lot of the afternoon at the house catching up with more species and getting some yard work done at the same time. Late in the afternoon I had at least eight Common Nighthawks (#201) feeding and calling over the house.  Always fun to see and photograph two nightjars in one day here around home.  Overall for the day I managed a total of 108 species today with a total of 21 species of warbler. (UPDATE-With my Prescott Peninsula whip poor will survey I added American Woodcock for the day so ended the day with 109 species...makes me wonder how many I could get with a concerted 24 hour effort...perhaps foreshadowing for another time?)

Today also opens up the first window for my two whip-poor-will surveys.  I will attempt my first survey this evening on the Prescott Peninsula as long as the weather cooperates.  Stay tuned!

Minor migration

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Cooper's Hawk, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Tree Swallow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 7, 2013

Although overall another quiet day I still managed to find a few noteworthy birds. It did turn out to be a very warm day with temperatures reaching 80 degrees by late morning. I visited a variety of locations in the valley during the morning starting with a brief stop at Winsor Dam. I then went to the East Meadows, Arcadia, Mitch's Way and then Skinner SP. I ended the day with 16 species of warbler and four species of vireo with a total of almost 90 species. Typically I would have been up over100 species covering these same areas in a normal year but this year is far from normal. Winsor Dam was quiet with not too much activity. The East Meadows produced a few warbler migrants but most were likely breeders. I also ran across one flock of Horned Larks numbering around 35 but could not find anything unusual with them. This area is extremely dry and dusty and driving the roads is like driving on the beach...a very dusty beach. At Arcadia I checked the rookery and the old orchard area. No sign of any unusual waders in among the typical herons. The old orchard was in full bloom and looked absolutely primed for migrants to be all over the place but I found just a single warbler in the area, a Magnolia Warbler, which became species #178. With little activity there I headed across the river to Mitch's Way to hunt for something unusual. I didn't find anything too unusual but got some good looks at a few migrants as well as resident birds setting up shop. After a fairly long walk at Mitch's Way I decided to make a quick stop at the base of Skinner SP to see if I could hear any Worm eating Warblers. I heard one fairly quickly so despite being tired I decided to hike up to the top to see if the Cerulean Warblers made it back too (the state still has gates closed for the season so the only way up is a steep hike). No luck with the Cerulean Warblers but the Worm eating Warblers became species #179.

Wilson trying to round up grasshoppers

Later walks with Wilson around various areas produced a few more species but nothing unusual and few obvious migrants.  Wilson had fun trying to 'herd' grasshoppers for the first time this season.  His only real success came in picking up ticks!

Sunset at Quabbin, May 7, 2013

Another evening vigil at Winsor Dam didn't turn up anything unusual but the sunset was once again spectacular.

End of year wrap up and species #228 for the year in the county

Indigo Bunting, Quabbin

Time for the end of year posting once again.  This year was yet another good year to be out and about checking my local areas as well as places far from home for birds. 

Blue gray Tanager, Los Cusingos, Costa Rica, Dec 2012

Caspian Tern, Viera Wetlands, FL, Jan 2012

Cooper's Hawk, Sweetwater Wetlands, AZ, Apr 2012

I took a few trips this year including a trip to Florida at the end of January-early February, Arizona in April and Costa Rica in December.   Other shorter trips included day trips to the Connecticut shore and down to the Plymouth area.

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Hadley, Oct 2012

Rough-legged Hawk, Hadley Honeypot, MA, Feb 2012

Little Blue Heron, Arcadia, MA, Apr 2012
 

Brewster's Warbler, UMASS Amherst, May 2012

Golden-winged Warbler, Amherst rail trail, May 2012
 

Lawrence's Warbler, Belchertown, May 2012

The rest of the time I spent mainly in the local area trying to maximize my county list for the year.  My initial goal at the beginning of the year was to top the 200 mark for the county which I had oddly never done before.  I managed to go well past the 200 mark and finished with a total of 228.  Although I missed on some birds I would normally expect such as American Bittern, Acadian Flycatcher, and Black Vulture I still reached a higher number than I had expected to.  I added several county birds to my life list this year including Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Yellow headed Blackbird, Rufous Hummingbird and Hoary Redpoll bringing my overall county total to 272.  Overall some really great warblers including a couple hybrids including at least two Brewster's Warblers as well as a Lawrence's Warbler plus the unusual Golden winged and a singing spring Orange crowned Warbler. 

Pine Grosbeak, Quabbin , Dec 2012

Common Redpoll, Hadley, Dec 2012

There was also a big incursion of winter irruptive species this fall and winter that continues with most every possible species represented in numbers (except for Bohemian waxwings which were around at the beginning of the year). 

Black-legged Kittiwake, Quabbin, Nov 2012

Hurricane Sandy brought a large number of sea ducks down onto Quabbin over the course of several days and finally delivered a notable inland bird for me...a Black-legged Kittiwake almost a week after the passage of the storm.  Two years in a row with tropical systems impacting the area...amazing.

I tried one last run through the Hadley Honeypot midday today to try my luck at catching up with a Northern Shrike or perhaps (with lots of luck) a Gyrfalcon that was there a couple weeks.  Although there was no Gyrfalcon around I did finally catch up with a Northern Shrike (county species #228 for the year!)  I was very happy to add one final species for the year.  Other birds of note around the Honeypot and nearby Aqua Vitae Road included dozens of Horned Larks, a handful of Snow Buntings and a lone Lapland Longspur.  I also made a brief stop at Quabbin Park at Winsor Dam and at least seven Pine Grosbeaks continue in the crabapple trees.

I managed to add a total of 69 new species to my life list this year with two each coming from Arizona and Massachusetts and the remaining 65 species coming from my recent trip to Costa Rica.  The highlights are many and a look back through the last year of postings will revel most of them.  A total of 556 species for the year and a total life list that now stands at 766.  Many of the highlights were captured on film and can be found at my flickr site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/

I continue to use eBird to record my sightings and I passed a few milestones this year including adding my 10,000^th list and submitting almost 2400 lists this year with over 2175 of those lists from Massachusetts.  Yet again I will mention what a great resource eBird is for recording sightings and researching information of various species.  With the many advances made in accessing information and providing easy ways to submit data, more and more people will hopefully embrace the use of eBird and make the information even more useful to both the public and researchers.  The website to start your journey on eBird is here:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird

 

 

 

Weekend birding...sparrows, waterfowl, Pine Siskins and Pine Grosbeak

Bald Eagle, Quabbin Park,  Oct 7, 2012

Cooper's Hawk in fog, Arcadia Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2012

I had to work on Saturday but I had a little time before work so I headed to Arcadia for about an hour.  The sparrow numbers were great here and I only wish I had more time to spend and could have covered more territory.  Nothing too unusual but some nice numbers nonetheless.  The fog was fairly thick again which made viewing a bit of a challenge at times.  Here is the list from the morning:

Canada Goose 2
Mallard 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue-headed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 9
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 6
Northern Mockingbird 1
European Starling 19
American Pipit 2
Common Yellowthroat 2
Palm Warbler (Western) 2
Palm Warbler (Yellow) 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 17
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 5
Savannah Sparrow 51
Song Sparrow 116 minimun count, these guys were everywhere
Lincoln's Sparrow 5
Swamp Sparrow 9
White-throated Sparrow 105
Northern Cardinal 11
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 5
Pine Siskin 2
American Goldfinch 19


Despite the forecast of rain by afternoon the day ended up being sunny in the morning once the fog burned off with increasing clouds through the day.  Eventually the cold front come through late in the afternoon with no rain at all.  The high topped out in the low 70's and then started dropping after the front and bottomed out in the high 30's by Sunday morning.  Right before the cold front came through we were out for a walk at Winsor Dam and saw a large group of Turkey Vultures (16) plus a few Osprey attempting to fight the wind and not succeeding very well.

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

White winged Scoter, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Lesser Scaup, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Green winged Teal, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Red necked Grebe, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Double crested Cormorant, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Blue winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2012

Bald Eagle, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

On Sunday morning I headed over to Quabbin Park with the thought of catching up with some waterfowl.  I started at Winsor Dam predawn and had Pine Siskins already flying over at 6:10am before there was hardly any light at all.  The only waterfowl here first thing were a few dozen Mallards moving south.  I then headed over to Lake Wallace to take advantage of a no hunting day to see what was around.  Little in the way of numbers here but some good stuff including at least two Blue winged Teal, several Wood Ducks and Mallards and Canada Geese.  I then headed back to Quabbin Park with stops at Route 9 marsh, Goodnough Dike, Gate 52 and Hank's Meadow.  The marsh held a fair number of Canada Geese and a handful each of Mallard and Wood Duck.  The other areas were fairly quiet but Hank's Meadow was active but most birds were quite far out.  Waterfowl here included White winged Scoter, Lesser Scaup, Green winged Teal, Black Duck, Horned Grebe, Common Loons, and a Double crested Cormorant plus a few Mallards and a flyby group of Canada Geese.  I then headed back over to Winsor Dam and had a Red necked Grebe as well as another Common Loon.  I had a total of twelve species of waterfowl for the morning and managed some photos with most being digiscoped (so you have to use a little imagination at times with some of them!).  The warbler diversity continues to drop off with the vast majority of warblers being Yellow rumped Warblers now.  Other birds of note included a couple of Northern Harriers, more Pine Siskins, lots of White throated Sparrows and the bird of the day...a Pine Grosbeak (#208) that was heard several times calling while I was at Winsor Dam.  I tried to find it (or them) but could not.  I did manage to get some video with audio on my iPhone but the quality is poor with a lot of background noise.  I have included one video below...the bird can be heard faintly in the distance but there is a lot of 'extra' noise including a talking child.  I tried again to find the bird in the afternoon but had no luck. 

American Kestrel, Quabbin Park, Oct 7, 2012

Pileated Woodpecker (with Northern Flicker below), Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2012

Video with audio of Pine Grosbeak in background...poor quality with lots of background noise, Quabbin Park,Oct 7, 2012