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.  

Record setting July in Hampshire County comes to an end with 147 species

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 26, 2024

Prairie Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jul 26, 2024

Common Goldeneye, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Great Egrets, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Bobolink, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Sedge Wren, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jul 28, 2024

Wilson amongst the raspberries plants, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 28, 2024

Spotted Sandpiper, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 29, 2024

Eastern Kingbirds, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 29, 2024

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 30, 2024

Snowy Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2024

Snowy Egret and Great Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2024

The very hot month of July has now come an end and with it a total of 147 species in Hampshire County, which beats my previous highest total ever (which was 144 that I reached in 2022).  I managed to do this despite not being around at the beginning of the month and working multiple overtime shifts.  Having several continued rarities in the area helped reach the impressive total and I caught up with most of them during the end of the month.  The rarities this month included Northern Pintail, the long staying Common Goldeneye, Sanderling, Bonaparte's Gull, Least Bittern, Snowy Egret, Purple Martins, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, a very early Swainson's Thrush, Red Crossbills and Blue Grosbeaks.  July also featured lots of breeding activity and there are more and more fledglings around each day.

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. 

Record setting pace for August continues

Worm eating Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 20, 2023

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

Tennessee Warblers, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2023

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

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dawn, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Spotted Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2023

Blue winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Semipalmated Plovers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 22, 2023

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

My record setting pace for August in Hampshire County continues and as of today I have already exceeded any August with a total of 156 species (old record was 152 species in 2021).  The last few days have produced several new species for the month including more early arriving warblers.  After my last post on Friday the 18th where I looked at more new arrivals and the good news from Wilson's 10 week post surgery checkup where he got a clean bill of health from the surgeon I got some terrible news that one of my uncles was killed in a car crash.  It was obviously a totally unexpected loss and one that is tough to take.  It is certainly a very difficult loss for his immediate family.  I was glad to be able to get out and bird a bit to clear my mind and I caught up with continued numbers of shorebirds (and others) on Saturday and Sunday produced some great warblers (both early fall arrivals and my latest fall record for Worm eating Warbler by two weeks!).  I also checked for shorebirds on my way to and from work on Monday and Tuesday and the East Meadows continued to produce.  

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Baltimore Oriole and Gray Catbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

I wish I could have gotten out early this morning as the overnight produced the largest movement of birds so far this fall migration season (according to birdcast).  I checked the camera at the water feature and found a number of migrant species showed up including Rose breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.  By the time I got out of work the wind had picked up quite a bit so looking for passerines would have been tough so I stuck to looking at shorebirds.

As mentioned in a previous post Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hillary impacted southern California and Arizona (and a few other western states) and brought in a haul of rarities that are still being tallied.  More on the birds seen can be found at the following links at Birdcast...Part 1 and Part 2.  The Atlantic has finally got active with multiple storms present now but none are a threat to the east coast of the US.