Another trip onto the Prescott Peninsula for surveys

Moose, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

Cedar Waxwing, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 8, 2026

I made another morning trip up to the Prescott Peninsula to conduct more field bird surveys.  Today I was joined by four students from Smith College to conduct the surveys and show them the protocols for the surveys.  I was running a bit ahead of their arrival so I went it to get a couple quick surveys completed before we met up.  As I was headed back to the gate to meet them I ran across a pair of Moose lazily eating from maple leaves.  Always fun to see any Moose and two together is even better.  Once we all met up we spent about three hours on the peninsula.  Although we didn't see any more Moose we did see a Black Bear to add to the large mammal tally for the day.  We had some evidence of breeding at multiple stops it was overall slow in adding positive data on breeding.  Nonetheless it was a beautiful morning and we had some interesting sightings including at least one flyover Red Crossbill and a family of Ruffed Grouse right along the side of the road.  

A hundred species so far for December in Hampshire County

Field Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Cedar Waxwing, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Hermit Thrush, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2025

Gray Catbird, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Dec 18, 2025

On a beautiful, sunny day I reached 100 species for the month of December today in Hampshire County with a Clay colored Sparrow and Red necked Grebe.  This now ties me for the second highest total I have ever had for December in the county and just two species behind my best ever.  With a week and a half left in the month I certainly have a chance to add new species although it is tougher and tougher as I have seen most of the expected species.  Sadly no photos of either the sparrow or the grebe for the day. However I did get photos of a number of notable species for the day including Ruby crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Field Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow and both subspecies of Yellow rumped Warbler.  We look to have a bit of a warm up overnight into tomorrow with strong southerly winds and rain which hopefully will get rid of a lot of snow and ice.

First week of November and an update on Wilson

American Wigeons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

American Black Ducks (and a few Mallards), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

American Black Ducks (and a few Mallards), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 6, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Red winged Blackbirds, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Barred Owl, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

American Tree Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Savannah Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Savannah Sparrow with large bill, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Fox Sparrow and Northern Cardinal, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 3, 2025

Northern Cardinal, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2025

Cedar Waxwing, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2025

Wilson resting, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 5, 2025

 

Wilson out walking, Belchertown, MA, Nov 6, 2025

The first week of November has overall been cool and mainly windy with multiple bouts of rain as an active pattern has set up as we slide rapidly toward late fall.  At times the wind has been quite strong with the direction changing from southwest to west to northwest and back again.  I have spent a lot of time in the south Quabbin area looking for waterfowl and staying close to home for Wilson (more on that below).  With so much windy weather trying to track down late passerines has been tough but I have tried when the wind calms a bit and I have managed to find just two species of warblers.  Waterfowl migration has been hot or miss with a few mornings producing little and a couple being decent, including this morning at Winsor Dam with ten species including nearly 200 American Black Ducks.  Irruptive species continue to show up with continued large numbers of Purple Finches and increasing numbers of Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks 

Now for some sad news concerning my best bud Wilson.  The cancer on his foot has returned to the point that the tumor has ruptured on a small part of the foot and the remainder of the tumor continues to grow rapidly. We knew the tumor would be back at some point as the removal of two of his toes two years ago was not enough to get all of the tumor but we just could not go through with a full amputation at that time. With all these recent changes for all of us we have had to cancel our trip down to south Texas we had scheduled for mid November. He has thrived the last couple years and does not act his age of 14 1/2. He is in no pain right now but he has to wear the booty to keep him from licking at the foot. Unfortunately there are not any good options going forward and we are still deciding on what to do. In the end it will be quality of life for him, as it has always been. He is convinced he can just lick the cancer away if we just gave him a chance! He still runs around when it is play time, even with the boot on. Fuck cancer.

Third week of September ends

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Belchertown, MA, Sep 21, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Belchertown, MA, Sep 21, 2025

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Sep 21, 2025

Cedar Waxwings, Ware, MA, Sep 21, 2025

Gray Catbirds, Ware, MA, Sep 21, 2025

Red tailed Hawk, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Sandhill Cranes, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Red Squirrel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Sliver of a moon, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Wilson taking a break, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Sep 20, 2025

Connecticut Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 19, 2025

The third week of September ended with even more great migration conditions but most birds seemed to have moved right on by without stopping with the last couple mornings being much more quiet than anticipated given the number of migrants in the air overnight.  Nonetheless I still found some birds with some unusual ones for the last week including a continued pair of Sandhill Cranes at Arcadia, a couple Connecticut Warblers and a Mourning Warbler.  Overall migrants were around in lesser numbers than expected and this may be due to weeks of mainly good migration conditions and drought conditions to the north which both combined to make some birds move earlier than typical.  To end out the week I spent my morning yesterday at Arcadia before moving on to Hickory Ridge.  All of the typically sparrow filled fields have been mowed down at Arcadia...not exactly good management for birds.  Today I started off in Ware and then worked my way back to Belchertown.  Certainly a few pockets of birds including a rather cooperative Yellow bellied Flycatcher (I have had a great fall for this species around here).  

Good start to September

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Red breasted Nuthatch, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Ring billed Gull with leg bands, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Ring billed Gull with leg bands, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

American Redstart, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Wood Ducks, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Northern Waterthrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Red necked Phalarope (really!), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Wilson sleeping, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Magnolia Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Red eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Wilson's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Cedar Waxwing nest with nestlings, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

I have been able to get out quite a bit during the first few days of September and have tracked down quite a few birds, including some continued rarities as well as newly arriving migrants.  On the first I stayed around the south Quabbin and Belchertown area and among the highlights were a few Virginia Rails, Red Crossbill and a distant Red necked Phalarope at Winsor Dam.   Also had three Yellow bellied Flycatchers (a migrant that can be tough to find sometimes) plus 17 species of warblers with the most unusual being multiple Cape May Warblers.  

On the second I started off at the Holyoke Dam and had one of the two Sanderlings that have been there for several days plus a color banded Ring billed Gull.  I sent the info out to the banding lab and they got back to me right away with the details of the bird.  It was banded in June 2013 as an adult (so born in 2010 or earlier) in Varennes, Quebec just upriver from Montreal.  I then worked north with stops off at Arcadia, Silvio Conte NWR and Hickory Ridge with the highlight of these stops being a slightly late Willow Flycatcher calling and seen at Arcadia.  I added several other new species for the month but overall it was quite quiet as far as migrants were concerned.  I also made a stop at Winsor Dam and was quite happy to see a Red necked Phalarope in a bit closer than the previous day (although still quite distant).  Certainly an incursion of both Red Phalarope and Red necked Phalaropes into the area for the past few days...very cool given there were no storms forcing them down.

Today I stayed again in the Ware and Belchertown area and concentrated again on warblers with 19 species seen for the day including multiple new species for the month.  I added a few non warblers for the month as well but nothing too unusual.  So far for the month in Hampshire County I stand at 121 species which puts me well above average for the first three days of the month.