Quabbin Park and surrounding area

Broad winged Hawk, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Winsor Dam, May 12, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Winsor Dam, May 12, 2013

Another good morning of migrants and probably the last good one for a few days as the winds turn to a more northerly direction and get gusty and the temperatures cool down. Last night the winds continued out of the southwest and delivered another good morning of birding. With the occasional rain overnight I had high hopes once again to find a tern or other species grounded by the weather but no luck. I spent a good portion of the morning at Quabbin Park and I will let the list below speak for itself. Suffice it to say it was a good morning to be out looking around. As far as new birds for the county this year I managed to add three: Eastern Wood Pewee (#190), Tennessee Warbler (#191) and Bay breasted Warbler (#192). My big 'miss' for the day was a possible Philadelphia Vireo in with a large mixed flock in the early morning. I feel the bird was indeed this species but without being 100% certain I will have to leave it as unknown.  Although I'm sure I will catch up with this species in the fall it would have been a great record to get in spring! Here is the list from Quabbin Park.

Quabbin Park   (84 species)

Canada Goose 16
Wood Duck 16
Mallard 4
Ring-necked Duck 1 Late, Female. Photographed
Hooded Merganser 2
Common Merganser 4
Wild Turkey 5
Common Loon 8
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Bald Eagle 1
Ring-billed Gull 33
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3
Belted Kingfisher 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 8
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 4
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Least Flycatcher 4
Eastern Phoebe 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Yellow-throated Vireo 8 Minimum
Blue-headed Vireo 6
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 21
vireo sp. 1 Seen with large group of migrants, called with red eyed like call but not quite right for red eyed, seen at top of tree in poor light. Seen from back with head turned and appearance looked like Warbling Vireo but then it sang song like red eyed...thoughts are Philadelphia Vireo but without better looks not 100% sure...not really sure what else it could have been but very unusual in spring here
Blue Jay 26
American Crow 10
Common Raven 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Tree Swallow 9
Barn Swallow 7
Black-capped Chickadee 11
Tufted Titmouse 3
Brown Creeper 1
House Wren 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 3     Seen well at different areas, late
Veery 8
Hermit Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 9
American Robin 13
Gray Catbird 23
European Starling 1
Ovenbird 38
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 15        minimum
Tennessee Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 10
Common Yellowthroat 26        minimum
American Redstart 33          minimum
Northern Parula 16             minimum, likely many more
Magnolia Warbler 11          minimum
Bay-breasted Warbler 1 Male
Blackburnian Warbler 5
Yellow Warbler 5
Chestnut-sided Warbler 18      minimum
Blackpoll Warbler 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler 12      minimum
Pine Warbler 13
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 9
Prairie Warbler 6     a few migrants
Black-throated Green Warbler 54+    Large movement of this species
Eastern Towhee 24 Minimum
Chipping Sparrow 27
Song Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 7
White-crowned Sparrow 2         singing
Scarlet Tanager 10
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 7
Indigo Bunting 1 Flyby
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Common Grackle 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Baltimore Oriole 12
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 3

Broad winged Hawk, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, May 12, 2013

 

I then went over to Covey WMA to meet up with Wilson for a walk. Yet again I ran across some great groups of warblers (and others) migrating through. I found another Tennessee Warbler among the fourteen species of warbler plus at least four Blue winged Warblers (one with a somewhat odd song but it looked like a regular Blue winged). Further walks at a few other locations on the west side of Quabbin didn't turn up anything too unusual. At home the yard had groups of migrants passing through the oaks and singing throughout the afternoon.  A total of 99 species for the day, with 20 of those being warblers all within Belchertown and Ware is not too bad at all.  If I knew I was so close to 100 I probably would have stayed out a little longer to get one more species!

Labor Day birding

 

Northern Waterthrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sept 3, 2012

Northern Waterthrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sept 3, 2012

 

 

I got up early today so I decided to travel over to Arcadia in Northampton arriving there just before dawn. I first started at the marsh but other than a couple Wood Ducks and a Great Blue Heron it was quiet there.  No mud flats visible at all.  It was a bit cool with temperatures in the 50's and a low fog hanging around the area. I then went over to the meadows area and walked for a couple hours. It was surprisingly quiet in many areas with few obvious migrants around. There were however a few good birds to be had today with the best being a heard and then seen Dickcissel that landed somewhere along the old trolley line. Despite a bit of effort I was never able to relocate it. There were very few warblers (only three species) around but I did manage to get good looks at a Northern Waterthrush that flushed out of one of the fields.  Although slow today the fields and hedgerows look primed for some great sparrow activity a little later in the fall.

Northern Harrier in field, East Meadows, Northampton, Sept 3, 2012

 

I then decided to take a ride through the east meadows to see if any shorebirds were around and check on the fields to see which ones have been harvested.  Little luck with shorebirds today in the East Meadows (a Least Sandpiper and a few Killdeer) but still some birds around with several flyover Bobolinks, Yellow Warbler, Northern Harrier, Peregrine Falcon and American Kestrel as well as several Savannah Sparrows plus flyover Bobolinks and a little over a dozen Barn Swallows feeding low over the corn fields.   Although the east meadows were fairly quiet there are several fields that may prove productive if the predicted heavy rain in the next few days pans out. Time will tell.

I then headed for home stopping along Moody Bridge Road in Hadley to try my luck once again with Black Vultures...yet again no luck for me with them!

Once I got home we took Wilson for a walk along the Jabish Brook with the best bird being a somewhat cooperative Olive-sided Flycatcher working its way around a large marsh. There was also a jay giving a perfect imitation of a Cooper's Hawk.  After midday I decided to take advantage of the continued good weather and went for an afternoon walk at Gate 10 at Quabbin as well as a walk at the Reed Conservation area in Belchertown. Again a lot of very quiet areas with pockets of activity. At Gate 10 there was a Tennessee Warbler among a few other common warblers in a mixed flock. At the Reed Conservation area I had a mixed flock which contained a half dozen warbler species as well as three species of vireo (Red-eyed,Blue-headed and Yellow-throated). 

Finally a productive nighthawk watch tonight with a total of 36 birds feeding fairly low over the trees.  No birds until just before 7pm.

Common Mergansers, Gate 16, September 26, 2010
Common Merganser, Gate 16, September 26, 2010

Common Loons, Gate 16, September 26,2010

Nashville Warbler, Gate 16, September 26, 2010

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Gate 10, September 26, 2010

I made another trip up to the western gates of Quabbin this morning starting at dawn at Gate 22. Despite the cool temps in the high 40's birds were active. I had Wood, Swainsons and Hermit Thrush here plus the best bird of the day, a Cape May Warbler. In addition I had several other warbler species, calling Common Loons and Barred Owl plus a nice influx of White throated Sparrows and Junco's. I next went to Gate 16 and walked to the water. I had some close looks at both Common Mergansers and Common Loons at the end of the road. In addition a Nashville Warbler plus others made themselves visible even if only for a brief time. It appears alot of warblers and vireos moved out last night to be replaced by sparrows and thrushes. My next stop at Gate 10 produced many of the same species as seen earlier in the morning but again I got some great looks at various migrants. My final stop at Reed Conservation area produced a few more migrants plus a handful of raptors overhead including a Bald Eagle being pursued by a pair of Red tailed hawks plus an Osprey. At home the raptors continued during the afternoon with a single eight bird Broad winged Hawk kettle noted plus an American Kestrel, Cooper's and Sharp shinned Hawks, Turkey Vulture and an intriguing falcon that went out of view shortly after being seen.

Hermit Thrush, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, September 26, 2010