First week of June

Black and White Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 1, 2024

Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 1, 2024

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 1, 2024

Green Heron, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 1, 2024

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 1, 2024

The first week of June has now come to an end and so far for the month I have located 126 species despite being back to work and therefore not birding everyday.  I started out the month trying to relocate some continued rarities and found a few including the Prothonotary Warbler in South Hadley, the long staying Common Goldeneye at Winsor Dam, a slightly late Common Nighthawk at home and both Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills.  I ended the first day of the new month with 108 species.

Dawn at the UMASS orchard, BBS stop #3, Belchertown, MA, Jun 2, 2024

Chestnut sided Warbler, BBS stop #34, Monson, MA, Jun 2, 2024

On the 2nd I conducted my Breeding Bird Survey for my 15th year and reached my highest species count along the route with 84 species.

Brown Thrasher, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2024

Field Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2024

Prairie Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2024

Killdeer giving distraction display, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2024

Wild Turkey poult, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2024

Great Blue Heron at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2024

On the last day before I had to return to work I conducted a bird survey at a WMA that has had work done in the last couple years to create some pine barren habitat and I was very happy with the species diversity that has taken advantage of the change in habitat with several Eastern Whip Poor Wills before dawn and several species of scrub type species as the morning wore on including Brown Thrasher, Field Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Blue winged Warbler, Chestnut sided Warbler and Prairie Warbler.  It will be interesting to see how the next few years shakes out with species at the location.  I also spent some time at both Quabbin Park and Lake Wallace with both locations being quite active.

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 5, 2024

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 5, 2024

Wild Turkey with poults, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 5, 2024

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 5, 2024

I had to work on the 4th so only able to bird a bit before work and during that time I didn't have anything too unusual.  Once I was out of work on Wednesday morning I made a few stops on my way home including the East Meadows, Silvio Conte NWR (striking out on any Purple Martins), the rail trail in Amherst and then Quabbin Park.  Quabbin Park was fairly productive with the continued pair of Common Goldeneyes (likely that one of the pair in injured in some way and the mate is staying with them as the pair bond is quite strong...this species should be way into Canada breeding at this point).  I also had at least two Cerulean Warblers continuing but no sign of a female yet.

Worm eating Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jun 7, 2024

American Robin with white on right wing, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 6, 2024

I had to work on the 6th also and it was an overall rainy day so not much to report from that day.  I did get out to a few spots after work today to end the first week of June.  I failed to relocate the Prothonotary Warbler in South Hadley and I think it has moved on.  I took my first hike with some elevation since I got hurt a few weeks ago and I picked the Mount Holyoke Range SP in Granby to try to get some photos of Worm eating Warbler and I had some success.  There were a number of other species around too with nothing unexpected.  By the end of the first week of June I had found 126 species in Hampshire County.

More on warblers to start July can be found at the follow link: Warblers for the first week of June

The third week of April comes to an end

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Apr 21, 2022

To end the third week of April I made it out this morning after work and took a few short walks in Hadley.  There was the typical collection of expected residents and migrants with the only new species for me being a Northern Waterthrush.  At least it was a little warmer than the previous day but the breeze eventually picked back up and more clouds developed.  In addition I tried again to find some shorebirds in some puddles in the various farm fields in the area but could not find anything beyond some Killdeer.  It was the same story when I tried for shorebirds on my way into work on Wednesday.

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 19, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2022

After heavy rain that started on Monday and continued into Tuesday morning I had hopes that the weather might have grounded some migrants but multiple checks at Winsor Dam and a few nearby waterbodies didn't turn up anything of note.  It was cool and rainy for the morning but thankfully we missed out on any snow but the hills to the west ended up with a few inches of snow while areas further west into New York got over a foot of snow.  Even without anything storm related there was still stuff to be seen.

Glossy Ibis, South Hadley, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Glossy Ibis, South Hadley, MA, Apr 18, 2022

As I was heading out the door to run some errands in Granby on Monday afternoon I saw a report of a Glossy Ibis in South Hadley and I decided to go check it out and make sure it was not something even rarer.  The bird was in a small pool of water in a farm field and seemed content and was actively feeding.  Glossy Ibis can be a tough species to find some years so I was happy to see one show up nearby (thanks to May K. for the original sighting).

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Hooded Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Broad winged Hawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Savannah Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18, 2022

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18, 2022

After the previous days cold and wind, Monday was bright and sunny all day with temps that made it to the upper 50's with light wind for most of the morning.  I stayed around the local area with the main goal being to track down any early arriving warblers I could find and I was lucky to find an early Black and White Warbler at Quabbin Park (more on warblers for the day at the following link).  Once I got home and picked up Wilson we went for a walk and had two flyover Sandhill Cranes calling and heading east.  A check of several nearby fields failed to turn them up on the ground.

Brown Thrasher, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 17, 2022

Tree Swallow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 17, 2022

Great Blue Heron nest building, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2022

Wilson ready to eat some snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2022

Sunday started out sunny but it clouded up quickly and by the afternoon we had a few snow showers move through (which Wilson enjoyed).  I hit a few spots in Hadley and Amherst before heading back home and the most productive spot was a flooded field in Amherst that held several species of shorebird including a somewhat early Spotted Sandpiper.  I also had a few passerines including my first House Wren of the season.

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 16, 2022

Pied billed Grebe, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 16, 2022

Great Blue Herons nest building, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 16, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 16, 2022

On Saturday I started the morning at Winsor Dam where I had all three species of mergansers including three Red breasted Mergansers.  I then headed over to Lake Wallace where I had a decent selection of species with several recently arrived migrants plus a few Great Blue Herons building nests.  It has been a few years since the species has nested here so it was good to see them back.  My next stop was over to the rail trail in Amherst which turned out to be fairly quiet compared to the day before but the Pied billed Grebe continued to show very well.  I got a message late in the day from Theresa about a Great Egret at Lake Wallace and after dinner and in between bouts of heavier rain I made a quick stop and easily found the Great Egret (the species is fairly common in fall but less so in the spring).

More Purple Martins in Hadley

Purple Martins (three in view at once), Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Purple Martins (three in view at once), Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Barn Swallow and Bank Swallow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Black Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

Brown Thrasher on nest, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 27, 2021

I headed out this morning before the extreme heat arrived with the beginning of our second heat wave of the year.  We have had fairly strong southerly winds for a couple days and the temperatures have started to respond with highs today in the low 90's with increasingly high humidity.  The highs for the next few days loom to reach the mid 90's with high indexes in the 105 degree range.  My morning started off around dawn at Lake Wallace (which was fairly quiet...I think mainly due to the drawdown on the water levels this season).  I'm forever hopeful that someday Black bellied Whistling Ducks will make an appearance at Lake Wallace but today was not the day.  I then made my way down to the Holyoke Dam which held a few dozen vultures including at least four Black Vultures.  The Chimney Swift count was down a bit from just a couple days ago when it peaked at over 400.  As I had some errands to run in Hadley I headed north next with stops at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and the Honey Pot.  I was stopping at Silvio Conte NWR mainly to check on the ongoing pair of Purple Martins that first showed up in mid June.  I arrived to find one sitting outside the gourd the pair has been favoring the last couple weeks.  As I was watching the single bird I heard some martins calling and noticed the bird sitting on the gourd was looking skyward.  Within a few moments two more Purple Martins arrived!  At this point the individual sitting outside the gourd quickly entered the gourd and I didn't see it leave.  I thought I heard another martin calling but could not be sure.  There are now at least three (and possibly four) Purple Martins present.  One of the remaining martins started investigating one of the other gourds.  Really amazing to have even one Purple Martin around but to have more than that is crazy given how rare the species is in the western part of the state.  My stop at the Honey Pot was mainly to try to find the ongoing (but sporadically seen) Blue Grosbeaks.  There were a few other birders present and despite our best efforts we struck out on the grosbeaks.  Nonetheless we still had some good birds with nesting Brown Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird as well as a flyover Northern Harrier (unusual in the county in June).

Blue Grosbeaks back in Hadley

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Blue Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

After a few unsuccessful attempts lately to relocate a/the Blue Grosbeak I had in the Honey Pot section of Hadley I finally found a pair today.  I originally had one singing very distantly at the location on May 22 and then briefly heard it again perhaps a week later.  A few others were able to get views and photos of a male in the last few days so I decided to spend some time trying again to track them down and perhaps get some evidence of breeding once again.  This species is very rare here in summer and only in the last couple years has it bred here with the first suspected record in 2019 and the first confirmed record last year.  After a bit of looking this morning I eventually had a pair of silent birds moving around quite a bit.  Hopefully they will breed successfully here once again.

Brown Thrasher, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Brown Thrasher building nest, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Common Merganser with ducklings, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

As I looked around for the Blue Grosbeaks I came across quite a few other species with a family of Common Mergansers in the Connecticut River and a number of Brown Thrashers including a pair building a nest.

House Wren with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Eastern Bluebird nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Gray Catbird nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

At home the Eastern Bluebird and Gray Catbird nest continue to host rapidly growing young with the adults coming and going fairly constantly.  I also caught up with a few of the birds recently banded in the yard.