Several rarities continue in area through Christmas Eve

Cape May Warbler, South Hadley, MA, Dec 24, 2024

Wood Duck, Connecticut River, South Hadley, MA, Dec 24, 2024

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Dec 24, 2024

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Hadley, MA, Dec 24, 2024

After getting out of work on a snowy Christmas Eve morning I decided to make a slow journey toward South Hadley where I would be dropping off a heated birdbath to a house where a Cape May Warbler is overwintering.  Given that it was a bit slick I took my time with multiple stops along the way to look for some rarities.  I first stopped along Aqua Vitae Road and finally saw the Dickcissel there.  It was snowing too hard to take the camera out so no photos of that one today.  I then stopped along the river and was going to go for a walk but instead just stayed near the car and still had a good count of American Black Ducks and a couple Yellow bellied Sapsuckers.  Sadly a stop by McCray's Farm failed to turn up the Black bellied Whistling Duck.  I saw a report from the day before that someone was there watching it and noticed some workers clearing off the now frozen pond and there was a dog there too which seems to have flushed the duck.  It flew around and then disappeared to locations unknown.  It is sad to think it may have left but it is nice to know it can still fly and move around and has just been hanging around until now due to feeling comfortable and having a steady source of food.  I arrived at the Cape May Warbler spot and got to talk to the homeowners once again, drop off the birdbath and see the warbler in the snow (an odd sight to see for sure).  I also made a brief stop along the river in South Hadley and picked up a male Wood Duck on the river ice.  The snow was just about finished as I got back to Belchertown so I made a stop off at Lake Wallace and relocated the Eastern Phoebe that has been seen on and off for weeks there.  It was hovering around a small area of open water just outside the discharge from the main pond.  A later walk with Wilson on the land trust trail produced another Eastern Phoebe.  Hopefully these lingering phoebes can successfully make it through the winter.  As the year nears an end I'm keeping close tabs on these rarities and lingering species to try to start off 2025 with a good assortment of birds.

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Dec 22, 2024

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, South Hadley, MA, Dec 22, 2024

Hermit Thrush, Hadley, MA, Dec 22, 2024

Hermit Thrush, Hadley, MA, Dec 22, 2024

Red winged Blackbirds, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Dec 22, 2024

After my first day of work I got out on Sunday morning and decided to hit a few areas trying to track down some continuing rarities/lingering species and perhaps find some more.  I did not have a lot of confidence in having much luck as it was really cold.  Nonetheless I did indeed find some good stuff.  I started off along Aqua Vitae Road and once again struck out on the Dickcissel but I did find a Fox Sparrow and dozens of Red winged Blackbirds (it is another good year for blackbirds, grackles and cowbirds continuing).  I then made a stop along the river and had lots of woodpeckers including at least three Yellow bellied Sapsuckers (it has been a good fall for this species) plus a few Hermit Thrushes.  I then stopped at McCray's Farm and saw a very cold looking Black bellied Whistling Duck hunkered down at the edge of the ice covered pond.

BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK becomes species #307 for me in Hampshire County

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black bellied Whistling Duck, McCray's Farm, South Hadley, MA, Sep 28, 2024

After a morning of birding and then walking Wilson (more on that below) I was at home around noon and got a text from my friend Pat with a photo of a Black bellied Whistling Duck.  Pat is a waterfowl hunter so knows his ducks and knows a species that is unusual here.  I immediately texted him back on the location and it was at McCray's Farm in South Hadley on a small farm pond.  I grabbed my camera and headed out the door and made a few calls to some other birders on my way there.  This would be a second occurrence ever in Hampshire County (or any of the three counties in the Connecticut River valley).  The first was earlier this year in late June when seven showed up for a day in Amherst along the rail trail.  I missed those as I was on my way out to the Canadian Rockies and then over to Vancouver Island.  It was a tough one to miss and most every other birder in the area got to see them (except Scott who also was not around when they showed up...he was my first call today to let him know the species showed back up).  I arrived at the farm to find the place an absolute zoo with a fall festival of some sort going on with loads of people and little parking.  I eventually found a spot to scan the small pond and found the Black bellied Whistling Duck happily feeding among the other waterfowl.  It would occasionally be up on the land but as soon as people came along it would move down to the water or into the water itself.  I got a bunch of photos before leaving the area.  The species become #307 for me in Hampshire County (at least for now until the latest taxonomic update comes in October...more on that in an upcoming post).  This is my first new species for me in the county this year and the first one since the Say's Phoebe that showed up in December last year.  Full album of photos of the Black bellied Whistling Duck located at the following link.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Ware, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Ware, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Black throated Green Warbler, Ware, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown MA, Sep 28, 2024

River Otters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2024

Red throated Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2024

During the morning I birded several spots in Ware and Belchertown and there was certainly a decent amount of migration overnight with a noticeable increase in a few species like both species of kinglets, White throated Sparrows and Yellow rumped Warblers.  I also had a single Red throated Loon at Winsor Dam.  Overall for the morning I had just under 70 species so a good morning for sure for late September.

Trip to Florida in late March

Least Bittern, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

We finally managed to get away for a little this year with a short trip down to Florida after being stuck in the north due to the ongoing travel issues from the pandemic. With some of the travel rules relaxed for travel in the US and with both of us being vaccinated we felt comfortable with going. Unfortunately there are still too many rules for international travel so no luck with going to more exotic locales for now. We flew down to West Palm Beach on Thursday and spent one night in that area before heading north to Melbourne Beach where we spent four nights before ending the trip with one night in Orlando.

Black bellied Whistling Duck, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

Green Heron, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

Anhinga on nest, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

Solitary Sandpiper, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

Ovenbird, Green Cay Wetlands, Boynton Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

Ocean view, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 26, 2021

On the first full day we spent about an hour and a half at the always productive Green Cay Wetlands before visiting with some family. Not much unexpected at Green Cay but I did finally add a new species with sightings of the now well established introduced population of Egyptian Geese in the nearby area. After lunch we started the drive north along the east coast of the state up to Melbourne Beach. 

Brown Pelican, Coconut Point Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 27, 2021

With three full days available to explore the local area around our lodging in Melbourne Beach I spent all of my time in the local area with multiple visits to Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Coconut Point Sanctuary and Pelican Island NWR (plus a few other spots).

Saturday morning I started off at Maritime Hammock Sanctuary before sunrise (sunrise at this time of year is not until 7:15 which is about 45 minutes later than it is at home at this time of year). I then headed to Coconut Point Sanctuary before a return trip back to Maritime Hammock. Nothing too unusual to report and in fact many areas were very quiet with little bird activity with warblers especially sparse.

Western Spindalis, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 28, 2021

Western Spindalis, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 28, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 28, 2021

Bobcat, Pelican Island NWR, Vero Beach, FL, Mar 28, 2021

Osprey, Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 28, 2021

On Sunday I decided to head a bit further south to Pelican Island NWR (the first NWR in the country). I arrived just as it was getting light enough to see and headed out on one of the trails. It was fairly quiet on the trail so I headed back toward the parking lot in the hopes of finding some birds elsewhere. I quickly noticed a bunch of birders and stopped to talk to them. Apparently a Western Spindalis was seen at the location yesterday afternoon and several birders had arrived to try to relocate it. This species occurs in The Bahamas and Cuba (and a few other islands) but is very rare in the United States with a handful of records in southern Florida. I had seen the species in the US once before back in February 2017 at Bill Baggs Cape Florida SP and on multiple occasions outside the US so not a new bird for me but to see one this far north would be nice so I spent some time looking. After a bit of looking someone else turned the bird up actively feeding and very occasionally calling. I got some great looks at it as well as some distant photos. I assume the bird came north courtesy of southeast winds the previous few days. Unfortunately the winds didn’t seem to bring in much in the way of other migrants and all the areas I checked for the remainder of the morning were quiet. I stayed out until midday enjoying another hot and sunny day. In addition to the birds I had a sighting of a Bobcat as well as a snake (racer species I believe). 

Cattle Egret, Indian River Lagoon Preserve SP, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 29, 2021

Snowy Egret, Indian River Lagoon Preserve SP, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 29, 2021

Raccoon, Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, Melbourne Beach, FL, Mar 29, 2021

Monday was a little cloudier and cooler but still in the 70’s for most of the day. I tried my luck once again at Maritime Hammock but it was once again very quiet. After my fairly short time there I headed back to the lodging and then we went nearby to kayak for a few hours along the Indian River where we saw some Manatees and dolphins as well as a decent selection of birds. After our kayaking time I went out for another few miles of walking at the nearby Indian River Lagoon Preserve SP. As it was midday and the breeze had picked up quite a bit it was not too active. 

Common Gallinule with chicks, Orlando Wetlands Preserve, Christmas, FL, Mar 30, 2021

Common Gallinule chick, Orlando Wetlands Preserve, Christmas, FL, Mar 30, 2021

Purple Gallinule, Orlando Wetlands Preserve, Christmas, FL, Mar 30, 2021

Little Blue Heron, Orlando Wetlands Preserve, Christmas, FL, Mar 30, 2021

Pied billed Grebe, Orlando Wetlands Preserve, Christmas, FL, Mar 30, 2021

On our last full day in Florida we left Melbourne Beach and headed north and west toward our final destination in Orlando. We stopped at the always productive Orlando Wetland Park for a few hours in the sun and heat and I walked a few miles adding typical species to my list for the trip. Waterfowl was a present in fairly low diversity as I'm assuming many species have already left for points north (with the main exception being Blue winged Teal). I also had loads of Common Gallinule and American Coots around and came across a few recently hatched Common Gallinule chicks. After finishing up at the park we headed west to Orlando and I got a couple of short walks in late that afternoon and the following morning.

Overall for the trip I found a total of 110 species with three new for Florida and one new life bird bringing my life total to 1580.  Warblers were relatively sparse with only ten species seen during the week (more on warblers on the trip at the following link)

Short trip to Florida

Black bellied Whistling Ducks, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Melbourne Beach, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Just back from a short trip down to Florida arriving down there late on Saturday and coming home in the evening on Tuesday.  Even though it was a short trip it was nice to escape the cold once again and get some tropical heat.  After our night near the airport in Orlando we headed out with our destination being the coast at Melbourne Beach.

Black necked Stilt, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Glossy Ibis, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Gull billed Tern, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Black Skimmer, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Northern Parula, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 24, 2019

Our first stop on our way to the coast was over to Orlando Wetlands Park about a half hour away from the airport.  It is a large area with many water impoundments of various sizes and a spot that I usually never get to visit during previous visits due to hunting there.  The city of Orlando recently purchased the hunting rights so the park will now be open year around to the public.  There were recent reports of a Gull billed Tern at the location and I hoped to catch up with it but with no reports in a few days I wondered if I could still find it.  After walking numerous trails there I finally found the Gull billed Tern working a distant impoundment...life bird #1429.  After so many trips to Florida it is tough to turn up a new species so I was quite happy to see the tern.  The wetlands also produced a couple of Black necked Stilts (unusual at the location).  After our time at the park we headed south to Melbourne Beach with a quick stop on our way to our lodging at Coconut Point Sanctuary  As it was mid afternoon and very hot when we arrived the walk was not surprisingly quite quiet.

Yellow throated Warbler, Pelican Island NWR, FL, Feb 25, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler, Pelican Island NWR, FL, Feb 25, 2019

Melbourne Beach, FL, Feb 25, 2019

On Monday I got up before dawn to head out and immediately noticed it was very windy but thankfully not too cold. The wind stayed strong throughout the morning which made finding birds a bit difficult. I tried a short loop at Sebastian Inlet SP (stop #1, stop #2) a couple times but the wind was just too strong. The area around Pelican Island NWR proved to almost as windy but at least it was a bit more sheltered. I tried the Jungle Trail (an historic dirt track that passes through the refuge but found it to be too quiet so I decided to give the refuge itself a try. The most active area was actually around the parking lot of the Bird's Impoundment Trail with large numbers of Yellow rumped Warblers around but no more unusual warblers. By the time I finished up on my stops for the morning it was nearly lunch time so I headed back to the lodging for a quick lunch before heading back out. After lunch I headed a bit north to try my luck at Maritime Hammock Preserve but the parking lot was already full so I headed a bit further north for a return trip to Coconut Point Sanctuary and walked the same trails we hit yesterday. Once again the wind made viewing difficult but I did manage to find an Ovenbird working through the dense scrub. I then figured I would make a return trip to the parking lot at Pelican Island NWR as that spot seemed to be the most active and held the best chance of turning up stuff I had not yet seen on the trip. After quite a bit of effort I found a number of new species for the trip in among the hordes of Yellow rumped Warblers including my first Prairie Warbler, Yellow throated Warbler and Blue headed Vireo of the trip.

White eyed Vireo, Pelican Island NWR, FL, Feb 26, 2019

Barn Swallow, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 26, 2019

Black bellied Whistling Ducks, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 26, 2019

Caspian Tern, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 26, 2019

Glossy Ibis and White Ibis, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 26, 2019

Black necked Stilts, Orlando Wetlands Park, Christmas, FL, Feb 26, 2019

On Tuesday I was up early again to enjoy another warm day before heading back to the arctic like north.  I started out along the Jungle Trail before heading a bit further north for a brief return visit to Pelican Island NWR.  Nothing too unusual but it was great to have less wind compared to the previous day.  After packing up our stuff we headed back toward Orlando for a late afternoon flight home.  We stopped back at Orlando Wetlands Park for a couple hours to end our quick trip down to the Sunshine State and it once again was a productive place with the Black Stilts continuing as well as at least a couple early Barn Swallows.  Overall the trip produced a total of 104 species with one lifer.  I also found a total of nine warblers (more about the warblers at the following link)