The first few days of August

Gray Catbird, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Aug 5, 2026

Common Yellowthroat, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Aug 5, 2026

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 5, 2026

Wood Duck, Rail Trail,  Amherst, MA, Aug 4, 2026

Red tailed Hawk, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Aug 4, 2026

 

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 2, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 2, 2026

Killdeer, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 2, 2026

Looking northeast from Gate 52 over a low reservoir, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 2, 2026

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2026

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Skinner SP, South Hadley, MA, Aug 1, 2026

House Wren nest with nestlings, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2026

It has been a somewhat average start to August with widely variable weather including some humidity, heavy rain and then more fall like days with cool mornings.  I got out at least a bit every morning and found a total of 126 species so far with the only somewhat unusual species being continued numbers of Red Crossbills in various locations, Grasshopper Sparrow, a slightly late Orchard Oriole and continued Blue Grosbeaks in Hadley.   We are forecast to warm up again with a possible heat wave starting tomorrow and lasting into the weekend.  I will get out early to beat the heat.  On a bird related note the American Ornithological Society (AOS) is in the midst of having their annual conference and this year it is occurring at UMASS!  Wish it was not so expensive to go as it would have been interesting to hear some of the talks and presentations.  

Red headed Woodpecker to finish off the third week of June

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Pileated Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Yellow bellied Sapsucker in nest, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

The third week of June ended with the sighting of a rare for area Red headed Woodpecker at Quabbin Park this morning.  I first heard about the bird through a sighting report from Lauren Jiang yesterday afternoon and through some brief correspondence got to see some video obtained of the bird and details on the location near Goodnough Dike.  The area it was reported in was managed in the last few years with the removal of a number of species of trees with the intention of making it more natural and although the short term 'destruction' can look bad, the change in habitat continues to attract new species.  As the gates to the park don't open until around seven or so I decided to arrive early and make the hike in to see if the woodpecker was still around.  It was a much better weather than yesterday with no wind at all until well after sunrise (compared to the windy conditions we have had the last few days).  Once I made it to the area I had a selection of species and as I was watching a nest of Yellow bellied Sapsuckers I heard the Red headed Woodpecker calling and saw it very briefly.  During the next 15 minutes I failed to hear or see it again but then I heard it calling once again a bit further to the north.  I made my way into the logged out area and thankfully it remained fairly vocal and I was finally able to get better views.  I got some photos, video and recordings as it moved around the area.  I got word out to others that the bird was still present and sent out some exact coordinates so even those with less than stellar abilities to read maps could easily find this rarity.  The entire area held a great selection of woodpeckers with a total of seven species present in a fairly small area...not something one gets to accomplish around here too often.  Red headed Woodpecker is a less than annual visitor to the area and this becomes just the seventh one I have had in Hampshire County with previous sightings including my first in July 2016 in Amherst at Larch Hill, a long staying individual at Lake Wallace that arrived in late October 2016 and stayed through May 2017, another long staying individual at Arcadia that arrived in late November of 2017 and stayed through April 2018, one in South Hadley from January 2020-April 2020, an overwinter bird in Florence from December 2020-February 2021 and one at Quabbin Park from May 2022-July 2022.  Breeding was never confirmed with any of these sightings.

Tree Swallow with fecal sack at nest, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Great Blue Heron, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black and White Warbler collecting spiders, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black Bear, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Wilson relaxing, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2026

I'm on a record setting pace for the month of June in the county with the Red headed Woodpecker becoming species #143 for the month.  This already puts me at my second total ever for the month of June here and just two species behind my best ever June which occurred in 2021.

New Years Day birds

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2026

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2026

 

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Jan 1, 2026

Snowy Owl, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 1, 2026

Horned Larks and Snow Buntings, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jan 1, 2026

Field Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2026

Eastern Bluebird, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jan 1, 2026

New Years Day is always a fun day to get out and bird as an annual count resets on January 1.  Despite cold, snow and wind to start off the new year I headed out to try to track down species to kick off 2026 before we headed south to warmer temps.  My main focus was warblers and more on those can be found at the following link: New Year's Day warblers.  I was out the door before dawn to try to track down owls before the arrival of a cold front with gusty winds and snow squalls.  I hit a variety of areas from Quabbin Park to Hadley before dawn and had the four typically occurring owl species here.  The snow squalls arrived a bit before dawn but the Eastern Screech Owls didn't seem to mind and were calling even during the snow.  Once it was light enough to see I started looking for warblers and found both the continued Audubon's as well as at least five Myrtle's, extending my consecutive streak of at least one warbler species in Hampshire County to 105 months.  During my search for the warblers I found a number of other notables along the river in Hadley over the course of an hour and a half including all the expected species of woodpeckers, a Ruby crowned Kinglet and Hermit Thrush.  As I was leaving the winds were really picking up so I knew it would be tough to track down passerines so decided to head to the East Meadows to see if any of the Snowy Owls were still around.  It was very tundra like there with strong winds and blowing snow and loads of Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and a couple Lapland Longspurs plus at least one Snowy Owl.  I didn't stay too long in the meadows before heading out with a brief stop near the Coolidge Bridge that produced multiple species of waterfowl including two male Ring necked Ducks.  I then headed to Hickory Ridge Conservation Area where I added multiple species of sparrows including at least two Field Sparrows and a Swamp Sparrow.  I then headed home and picked up Wilson for a walk and we added a few more species for the year.  The rest of the day was mainly spent cleaning up the snow and finishing up packing for our long trip south.  By the end of the day I had found 66 species to start the year...not too bad considering the conditions and my lack of time.  Now for a long drive south.

Christmas Bird Count to end the second week of December

Gray Catbird, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

American Goldfinches, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

American Tree Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Eastern Bluebird, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Northern Harrier, Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Hadley, MA, Dec 14, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Hadley, MA, Dec 13, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 13, 2025

Bald Eagles, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 11, 2025

 

Eastern Towhee, Granby, MA, Dec 9, 2025

Wilson on a very cold walk, Belchertown, MA, Dec 9, 2025

The annual Northampton Christmas Bird Count occurred despite a light snow that continued first a good portion of the day despite the forecast it would stop much earlier.  I didn't initially have a specific location to check for the count so I decided to head to a typically birdy area along the river in Hadley.  The roads were not great due to the snow but passable and not too stressful due to lack of traffic on a Sunday morning.  I spent about two hours in the snow and got quite a haul of unusual species with the best being the continued 'Audubon's' subspecies of the Yellow rumped Warbler.  Other notables included a male Northern Harrier (not too common at the location), all six species of woodpeckers here, a Ruby crowned Kinglet, a Gray Catbird, a couple Hermit Thrushes and at least eight 'Myrtle' subspecies of Yellow rumped Warbler.  I'm glad I then ran into the team covering the area and gave them all the info on the birds, distance covered, time, etc so they could include it in the data for the day in their area.  I then headed home to walk the Wilson and start cleaning up the couple inches of snow.  

I have had some other good stuff the last few days despite the continued cold and at times very windy weather.  Yesterday was one of the better days with my best looks yet of the 'Audubon's' warbler.  I also added Eastern Towhee for the month at a private residence in Granby a few days ago.  With the addition of the above mentioned species as well as others not specifically mentioned I now stand at 97 species for the month in Hampshire County which puts me at the highest point ever for the first two weeks of December ever here by several species.  I have only reach the 100 species twice before in December (2018 with exactly 100 species and 2022 with 102 species).  Even if I didn't add any species for the remainder of the month it will already put me in third place ever for the month of December here.

Record setting pace to end the first week of December

Pine Siskin (with American Goldfinches), Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 7, 2025

Pileated Woodpecker eating poison ivy berries, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Snow Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Snow Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Snow Geese (white morph adult and juvenile blue morph), East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Northern Shovelers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Northern Pintails, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Black Vultures, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Dec 6, 2025

White winged Scoters, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2025

Looking west from Gate 52, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 5, 2025

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Hadley, MA, Dec 4, 2025

American Tree Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Dec 4, 2025

Wilson killing another ball, Home, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2025

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2025

River Otter, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Dec 3, 2025

The first week of December has featured mainly mid winter like conditions with a few bouts of snow, cold mornings and cold days with some highs not reaching the freezing mark.  Nonetheless I have managed to set myself on a record setting pace for the month with 90 species so far.  Some mornings I had to stay fairly close to home for Wilson and a few others I was able to explore a bit more afield.  I'll cover each day since the second below with the highlights for each day.

Today I stayed around the south Quabbin area with a predawn start looking for owls on a calm morning and found three species.  I then spent some time looking for waterfowl (and finding little) and some other species I had not yet had for the month.  

Yesterday I awoke to find it had snowed a bit overnight and continued to flurry a bit.  I was initially going to stay in the Quabbin area but decided to head east to try to get out of the snow and headed down to the Holyoke Dam to add Mute Swan for the month.  I not only had the swans but also a group of White winged Scoters just above the dam.  I then headed over the mountain and stopped at Lower Mill Pond for Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail and Black Vulture before heading to a small part of Arcadia where I found a couple more overwintering Yellow rumped Warblers.  I was having a great morning so hoped to extend that with a stop in the East Meadows and I had good luck there too with a Lapland Longspur, Rough legged Hawk and a large group of Snow Geese (with a great selection of plumages including adults and juveniles of both color morphs plus a number of oxide stained birds).  I made a few more stops for the morning and by the end had added nine new species for the month.

On Friday the 5th I stayed around the Quabbin area and froze my butt off with very cold temps.  I added a few species of waterfowl as well as a flyover Evening Grosbeak.

I had some time on the 4th to head over to Great Pond where I found the pond nearly totally frozen solid.  Although waterfowl was in short supply I added a number of sparrows as well as others..unfortunately no luck relocating the Common Yellowthroat I had there at the end of November.  

The third found me staying close to home with the most productive stop being Lake Wallace where I had the continued Eastern Phoebe, flyover Red Crossbills and a very inquisitive River Otter.