Migration peaks as the third week of September ends

Blue headed Vireo, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2026

Rainbow, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Sep 16, 2026

Green Heron, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Black Vulture, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Least Skipper, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Eastern tailed Blue, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 14, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12,  2026

American Redstart, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2026

It has been tough each and every day to get over the loss of my long term birding bud Wilson and I have tried to get out birding to get my mind off of him for awhile but as he was with me constantly most every place I go reminded me of him.  I sincerely hope it will get better with time and I think it will however at this point it is tough beyond words.  He was such a huge part of my life I feel empty without him.  To just add to the shitty last week and a half my camera broke and I had to send it back to Canon for a several hundred dollar repair.  I have tried to use my old Canon 7D without a lot of success.  Migration continues as the peak of diversity arrives and I have had some decent mornings and I reached a milestone on the 17th with my 500th species in the US this year with a Philadelphia Vireo (I have never had this many species in the US in a single year as I typically don't travel as widely in the US in a single year).  Hopefully I will get my camera back soon and can add some photos...for now the selection of photos is quite limited.  On a positive note I got to bird a little with former valley birders Devin and Aidan on the 14th at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.

Very hot start to July with a multi day heat wave

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Scarlet Tanager, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Peregrine Falcons, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 2, 2026

Common Yellowthroat during banding process, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 2, 2026

Blackburnian Warbler fledgling, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Turkey Vultures, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Downy Woodpecker, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Sun through the trees on a very humid morning, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

White spotted Skipper, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Eastern Bluebird nest construction underway, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler fledgling, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Wood Duck with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 4, 2026

White tailed Deer, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

A heat wave that started on the last day of June continued into the first four days of July with highs that reached the upper 90's with high humidity on multiple days.  I started the month by tracking down all the regularly occurring warblers in Hampshire County and getting lots of other species along the way.  After a number of thunderstorms overnight into the 2nd I headed out before dawn to track down more species for the month hitting multiple spots along the Connecticut River from the Holyoke Dam north to Hadley.  On July 3rd I started in Belchertown and then over to Amherst before ending my morning in Granby.  It was incredibly humid and the low temp to start the day was 72!  Really felt like being in the tropics.  Saturday was the last day of the heat wave and for that day I went after a few nocturnal species at Quabbin Park and nearby Ware before a longer walk along the rail trail in Ware.  I then spent a few hours in Quabbin Park plus a brief stop at Lake Wallace before heading home early to get Wilson a walk.  Lots of evidence of breeding around as expected for early July.  Despite the heat the first four days of the month have been productive in the county with 123 species so far.

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.

Migration update

Scarlet Tanager, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2026

Field Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Canada Goose with goslings, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with dark forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Northern Waterthrush, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Birds Foot Violets, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2026

Although overall cooler than normal with mainly unfavorable winds there continues to be birds pushing in with multiple new species over the last several days.  No other major rarities for the season that I have been able to track down.  As you can tell from the photos it has been mainly about warblers...more on those here.  Too many travels and sightings so the photos will have to tell part of the story.  The next few days look to be unsettled with multiple bouts of rain and at least some favorable winds.  This will hopefully entice a push of birds and the bouts of rain could ground some species that otherwise just fly right by.  Could be some interesting few mornings.