A fruitless search for a Stilt Sandpiper (but success with lots of other unusual shorebirds) plus my first Connecticut Warbler of the year

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 11, 2023

American Golden Plover, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Northern Pintail, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper (and Pectoral Sandpiper), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper (and Pectoral Sandpiper), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

American Golden Plover, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Our on and off again rainy weather continued overnight into the day today thanks to the stalled front that broke our heat wave.  I initially did not have plans to look for shorebirds today after having some great luck the previous few days but when I got up and looked at the radar and saw waves of rain had moved through overnight and continued through the morning I decided to try to find birds downed by the weather.  I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam without finding anything too interesting.  Looking at the radar again it looked like there was a let up in the rain to the west so I headed over to some fields in Hadley and as soon as I got there and started scanning I found an adult American Golden Plover and a Black bellied Plover before my scanning was interrupted by a text from Ted letting me know he was looking at a juvenile Stilt Sandpiper in a different field in Northampton.  I immediately headed across the river and arrived just a couple minutes too late as the Stilt Sandpiper and the Lesser Yellowlegs it was with headed off to the south through the gloom.  It was a tough miss as I have never had the species in Hampshire County before and I missed an amazing group of nine that showed up in mid August when I was working.  I stayed around the area for a bit with just a few shorebirds around and none settling down thanks to a Merlin that perched on the edge of the puddle where shorebirds have been.  I then decided to head back across the river to Hadley to scan the fields there in more detail and turned up an American Golden Plover as well as a scattering of other more expected shorebirds.  I then got another message that a Whimbrel had flown over at Arcadia and then a (the?) juvenile Stilt Sandpiper dropped in briefly before flying off again to parts unknown.  I gave some thought to going to that area but decided to head back to the original location of the sighting of the Stilt Sandpiper and spent the next hour and a half walking the muddy roads.  As I walked around I turned up some great stuff including an early Northern Pintail in small pool, a flyover Black bellied Plover and a flyover Upland Sandpiper (my second and possibly third record of this species this fall...a great fall for them for sure), a few slightly late Bank Swallows and last but certainly not least my first Connecticut Warbler of the year.  Ted mentioned he heard and saw one earlier in the morning in the same area of cornfields.  As is typical with the species it was heard chipping first and after a lot of waiting on the road I got some killer looks as it worked through the cornfield.  My best looks in awhile of this normally very cryptic species.  Lots more photos and details at the following link.  A very nice consolation prize for missing the Stilt Sandpiper.

Record setting August in the county with 166 species

 

Common Nighthawks, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 27, 2023

Red Crossbills, Pelham, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Red Crossbill, Pelham, MA, Aug 28, 2023

Semipalmated Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 29, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dickcissel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 9, 2023

Long billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 6, 2023

My record setting month of August in Hampshire County has now about come to an end and I blew away my previous record for the month (set in 2021 with 152 species) with an amazing 166 species!  I made an extra effort this month and the arrival of a number of rarities really helped push the total up.  I started the month off with a fantastic start of 113 species in the the first two days, catching up with a number of species that start moving south early.  Shorebirds figured in prominently to the total for the month with 16 species including a very rare Long billed Dowitcher, multiple Short billed Dowitchers, Baird's Sandpiper, Black bellied Plover and American Golden Plover and great numbers of other shorebird species taking advantage of the habitat created by the floods of late July.  Warblers also added a lot to the total with 24 species for the month.  Other rarities/unusual species around included Sandhill Cranes, Bonaparte's Gull, Little Blue Heron, Marsh Wren, Red Crossbills (of four different Types), Blue Grosbeaks and Dickcissel.  I have included some photos from the last few days as well as photos of some of the rarities for the month.

Wilson checking out a bunny in the yard, Aug 28, 2023

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Wilson is now almost back to his old self after surgery almost 12 weeks ago.  Nice to have my boy back to his crazy self and up for walks again. 

Baird's Sandpiper today adds to the shorebirds for the month (and year)

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Sandhill Cranes. East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

I was able to add another unusual shorebird this morning with a Baird's Sandpiper that was originally found by Scott yesterday and it thankfully stayed through the night to be viewed by many today.  This adds to numerous shorebirds I ran across yesterday morning during the rain.  I thought I saw a Baird's Sandpiper at the location yesterday but the bird flushed before I could see it well and I was never able to relocate it again....certainly glad I could confirm it today.  The Short billed Dowitcher was still present along with lots of other shorebirds as well as the four Sandhill Cranes and a flyover Dickcissel.  I have now had 16 species of shorebirds for the month in Hampshire County.

Shorebirds in the wake of the remnants of Hurricane Ida

 

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 3, 2021

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 3, 2021

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 3, 2021

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 3, 2021

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 3, 2021

The remnants of Hurricane Ida moved through the area starting on Wednesday and continuing into early Thursday (ending prior to sunrise).  Ida came ashore in Louisiana as a Cat 4 hurricane and then headed north and then northeast.  We received between 3-5 inches of rain in the local area with much more in areas to the south where major flooding occurred.  I hade hopes the weather would ground some migrant shorebirds or entice them to stop following the rain with all the flooded areas.  I had to work on Thursday morning so only had a limited amount of time to bird and I debated on where to spend my time and decided on the Honey Pot over the East Meadows as I figured access would be limited in the East Meadows due to muddy conditions.  I checked many flooded fields in the Honey Pot that looked perfect for shorebirds but came up totally empty.  I had a feeling birds would show up somewhere but without time to check other areas it would be up to others to find them.  The first text I got was from Mary letting me know she had an incredible selection of shorebirds including a first county record for Red Knot, Baird's Sandpiper and White rumped Sandpiper.  More and more birders arrived and more and more shorebirds showed up with other notables including Buff breasted Sandpiper and American Golden Plover.  All of the above mentioned species would be new for me this year with the Red Knot being a potential new species for me in Hampshire County (or for anyone else as it appears to be a first county record).  It really killed me to not be able to try to get the Red Knot but I was stuck at work.  Typically shorebirds take off after dark if the migration conditions are decent and last night was perfect for the birds to continue their journey south and those trying the next day are usually met with disappointment.  Nonetheless I had plans to try my luck this morning after work.

As soon as I got out of work I headed over to the East Meadows with a little bit of hope that at least some of the rarities decided to stick around.  I initially tried the area just south of the red barn but the light made viewing tough and there was not too much to see.  I noticed a few cars on the opposite side of a large potato field so decided to head in that direction as at least the sun would be behind me and made viewing easier.  A note on trying to find shorebirds in the large potato fields in the area...it is damn frustrating and difficult as the keep furrows can retain water (and birds) but make viewing the birds damn near impossible unless they pop up.  Moving just a few feet along the farm fields can open up new areas to view and completely block others.  It can be really tough to keep moving birds in view as they drop into the dips to feed.  I made it over to the eastern side of the field and started scanning and turned up a number of species fairly quickly including Baird's Sandpiper and White rumped Sandpiper (which was really tough to keep track of) as well as multiple Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers.  The birds would occasionally flush and some would return with others seeming to head out to other locales.  During the two plus hours I spent there birds would drop in and leave from time to time while other stuck around for the duration of my stay.  I eventually turned up ten species of shorebirds but I failed to find the rarest birds that apparently took advantage of the great migration conditions overnight.  I was certainly happy to turn up at least some Baird's and White rumped Sandpipers but it was tough to miss out on the Red Knot, Buff breasted Sandpiper and American Golden Plover.  I have now missed out on at least five species in the last couple weeks due to work that I almost certainly would have had otherwise for the year.  Even with these huge misses I still stand at 233 species for the year which is my highest ever total for the year at this point with the closest being a total 223 by September 3rd in 2020, 2018 and 2015.  I also checked a few other fields for shorebirds on my way home with the Honey Pot producing just a few Killdeer and a single Lesser Yellowlegs.  A nice addition for the year was a flyover Dickcissel.

The question is if the shorebirds were forced down by the weather or if they showed up to take advantage of the decent feeding habitat courtesy of all the rain.  I suspect it is a mix with most probably taking advantage of the good habitat which would help explain why more and more birds turned up over the course of the day yesterday.  In addition the rain was extremely heavy overnight and started prior to dark on Wednesday night so many birds were likely not airborne to be grounded by the weather.

The tropics continue to be active with two more storms since Ida that made it to tropical storm status before fizzling out in the Atlantic (Julian and Kate).  Hurricane Larry is currently about midday between Africa and the Lesser Antilles.  The storm is expected to become a major hurricane but should continue northwest before curving harmlessly out to sea although Bermuda could see some impacts.

September comes to an end

Yellow crowned Night Heron, Lake Warner, Hadley, MA, Sep 26, 2018

Baird's Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Sep 1, 2018

Yellow breasted Chat, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Clay colored Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 19, 2018

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 23, 2018

Lincoln's Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 26, 2018

American Kestrels, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 26, 2018

Philadelphia Vireo, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 22, 2018

Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 20, 2018

Brown Thrasher, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2018

American Golden Plover, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 10, 2018

Wilson's Snipe, Hadley, MA, Sep 18, 2018

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 19, 2018

Marsh Wren, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Sep 30, 2018

September has now come to an end and it was an epic month of birding around here despite a number of rainy days.  I blew away any previous September total for species in the county, ending the month with 164 species (average for the last five years was 155 species).  The biggest highlight of the month was a Yellow crowned Night Heron that I eventually caught up with after quite a bit of looking (and kayaking).  The heron added a new species for my county life list, bringing that total up to 295.  There were a number of other notable species for the month including a Baird's Sandpiper, Yellow breasted Chat, Pine Siskin, Clay colored Sparrow, several Dickcissel, Black crowned Night Heron, Whimbrel, White rumped Sandpiper and Marsh Wren.  Shorebirds were around in decent variety with fifteen species total for the month.  Warblers also gave a good showing with 27 species with several notables (more on warblers for the month at the follow link).  Sparrows have just started to show up in force and the numbers and variety should increase as October begins. With all of these species I found myself ahead of any other year in the county at this point so I think I will try a bit to see if I can break my big year record for Hampshire County (my current best is 238 in 2016).  I'm currently at 232 for the year with at least a few more relatively expected species to go and lots of potential for rarities as fall turns to winter.

Bobcat, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 27, 2018

Ruby cfrowned Kinglet, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 29, 2018

Bay breasted Warbler and banded House Wren, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 19, 2018

The house game cameras captured two new species at the water feature in September (Bay breasted Warbler and Ruby crowned Kinglet...species #43 and #44).  The camera near the brook captured my first ever Bobcat...in the middle of the day no less!

Baird's Sandpipers and Yellow breasted Chat (and many others) to start off September

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2018

Baird's Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Sep 1, 2018

Peregrine Falcons, Hatfield, MA, Sep 1, 2018

Baird's Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Sep 1, 2018

The first two mornings of the month have produced some spectacular birds including a number of rarities.  I spent the morning yesterday covering a variety of locations on either side of the river and turned up a number of notables including the following: two Eastern Whip Poor Wills at Winsor Dam predawn, a half dozen Common Nighthawks, two Virginia Rails, a Sora and a number of Green Herons at Lake Wallace, a pair of Baird's Sandpipers in Hatfield and a Yellow bellied Flycatcher and at least 112 Chimney Swifts at the Holyoke Dam.  The Baird's Sandpipers were the rarest for the day...I have only had the species on two other occasions in the county before (one in the East Meadows back in 2004 and a flyby during Hurricane Irene in 2011...all sightings have occurred in the narrow window between very late August and very early September).  Overall a very productive morning and a great way to start off the month of September.

Yellow breasted Chat (really!), Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2018

Today I decided to stay closer to home spending a few hours at Quabbin Park which proved to be a great decision as I ran across a rare Yellow breasted Chat among decent numbers of other migrants in mixed flocks.  I was not really expecting to turn up a chat but you never know what you will find when you go out.  I had a number of mixed species flocks throughout the morning but came upon the chat in among some dense vegetation mostly by itself.  I was scanning the bushes and noticed a flash of bright yellow that popped out into the open briefly revealing the chat.  They can be notoriously tough to get good looks at as they stay down in the dense undergrowth and I only managed a few out of focus photos before the bird disappeared.  The chat sighting today was only my fifth in the county (2005 and 2014 at Arcadia, two in 2016 with one at Arcadia and one at UMASS plus the one today).  It was also the first time I have seen this species at Quabbin becoming species #239 for Quabbin Park and #246 for Quabbin overall...I bird Quabbin quite a bit so finding a new species is certainly noteworthy for me.  The year list for me in Hampshire County is on a record setting pace so far with 223 species year to date...we shall see what the rest of the year brings.