Some birds for the first three days of May despite poor migration conditions

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2026

Orchard Oriole, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2026

Red winged Blackbird, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Pine Warbler collecting nest material, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Gray Catbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Blue winged Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 1, 2026

Blue Jay, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 1, 2026

Chipping Sparrow, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Wild Columbine, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

The first three days of May have overall been slower than usual for species with the weather being poor for migration with less than ideal winds, some bouts of rain and cool temps.  Nonetheless birds continue to push in as the desire to move north to breed can overcome some less than ideal conditions for migration.  To start off the month I headed out mainly looking for warblers and found some including my first Cerulean Warblers and Worm eating Warblers for the year.  I stayed mainly in the Hadley/Amherst area for morning and then spent the afternoon doing stuff around the yard.  Tuesday the 2nd started off rainy and I got as much birding in around Quabbin Park as the bouts of rain would allow.  Although birding conditions were tough at times, I did add one new warbler for my big warbler year in the US with a Chestnut sided Warbler that became warbler species #41 for the year.  With more north winds overnight I didn't expect to find too much this morning and was pleasantly surprised to have a number of good sightings including a Glossy Ibis I flushed out of a small pond at Silvio Conte NWR at Fort River, a Northern Harrier doing a courtship flight (also at Conte) and a Brewster's Warbler that showed up in the same spot in Amherst for a third year in a row and possibly a fourth year.  By mid morning it was getting too windy to see much and I headed home to take Wilson for a walk.  Overall not a terrible start to the month with 117 species so far for the county.

The next few nights look to feature some good migration conditions with strong southerly winds and some warm temps.  I expect a big influx of birds during the period before the weather turns less conducive for migration for multiple nights. 

A cold and windy Veteran's Day

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Common Goldeneyes, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Chipping Sparrow, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Wilson with a bit of snow on his back, Belchertown, MA, Nov 11, 2025

Despite the winter like feel today with well below normal temperatures with highs in the 30's, strong winds and occasional flurries I had to be out in it to try to track down something unusual for the day around the south Quabbin area.  November 11th has consistently held more unusual birds in Hampshire County for me than any other single day for the entire year (a look back at previous Veteran's Day sightings below).  I started off before dawn at Winsor Dam where it was rather slow for birds so after about half an hour I headed into Quabbin Park to check a few spots for waterfowl and found a few species with nothing unusual among them.  I then returned to Winsor Dam multiple times over the course of the morning with most of my time spent checking the water where I turned up some more waterfowl with the most abundant species for the day being Bufflehead.  I also spent some time around the thickets near the administration building and turned up a somewhat late Chipping Sparrow...not the best rarity but certainly better than nothing!  The wind out of the west continued to increase throughout the day and made it feel even colder and winter like.  Wilson was at least happy to see some snow come down although he wanted more so he could eat it!.

Now for a little history of previous Veteran's Day.  This date has produced two of the five first Hampshire County records I have ever found with a King Eider in 2013 and a Pacific Loon in 2015 (with both of these at Winsor Dam).  I have also had some incredible rarities around the date so I always try to get out and bird on and around the date.  

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS the last few nights

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2024

Venus and Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2024

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2024

A fairly bright comet has graced the skies here the last few nights.  It is a comet that came from the Oort Cloud and has an 80,000 year cycle to get back here again.  It is visible in the western sky at sunset to the right of Venus.  The now full moon and some high clouds made getting photos a bit tough but the view was spectacular.  It will be around for a few more nights before it disappears as it heads back out away from earth...a cool astronomical event for sure.

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Amherst, MA, Oct 15, 2024

White throated Sparrow, Amherst, MA, Oct 15, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 16, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 16, 2024

Migration has been fairly heavy with more late season migrants showing up (mainly sparrows and juncos plus some waterfowl as well as others).  The diversity continues to drop with each passing day although the numbers are still fairly high (especially for sparrows).  As fall moves along the chances of rarities continues to go up and I will certainly try my best to track down something noteworthy.

Mid April update

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Song Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Black capped Chickadee, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Great Blue Heron at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Pileated Woodpecker, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Barred Owl, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Bald Eagle and Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Mourning Dove on nest, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 15, 2024

The mid part of April has now arrived and with each day comes more and more in the way of somewhat early season migrants.  Overall the migration conditions for the month have been less than perfect although there was a big influx of birds overnight on Tuesday the 9th into Wednesday the 10th and more arrivals have come in the last few days in lesser numbers.  Nonetheless I have managed to add a few new species over the last few days with many more to come as migration increases as we press toward May.

Early migrants arriving with better migration conditions

Pine Warbler, Fitzgerald Lake, Northampton, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace,  Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, Lake Wallace,  Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Garter Snake, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Pine Siskins, Photo through window, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2024

Migration conditions finally improved a bit the last couple days and various species took advantage with a number of new arrivals and increased numbers of others.  Sadly I was stuck at work yesterday when the temps made it into the 70's with sunny conditions.  I got out this morning and headed to Fitzgerald Lake where I had at least one Marsh Wren, an American Bittern and my first Louisiana Waterthrush of the migration season.  I was going to stop by Silvio Conte NWR on my way home to try to get looks at the two American Bitterns found there yesterday but when I arrived there were way too many people for me so I skipped it and headed to Lake Wallace where I had 20+ Palm Warblers and my first snake of the year.  I also made a brief stop at Winsor Dam where I quickly located the long staying Say's Phoebe (now present for four full months after being discovered by Mary on Dec 10th).  Once I got home and did some work around the yard I had a number of good birds including three species of warblers and loads of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches.  I'm now at a respectable 101 species in Hampshire County for April.

February comes to an end

Cedar Waxwing, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

American Robin with partial leucism, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

February has now about come to an end and I will take a look at what I was able to find the last several days.  On Thursday the 22nd I stopped by Arcadia after another long shift at work and had some waterfowl, a partially leucistic American Robin, some close looks at Cedar Waxwings and a couple Yellow rumped Warblers.  A couple other stops during the morning were fairly quiet with the most notable species being more Red Crossbills.

Turkey Vultures, Hadley, MA, Feb 24, 2024

Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures and Common Grackles, Hadley, MA, Feb 24, 2024

After work on a windy Saturday morning I checked a few spots on my way home with several species of waterfowl along the river on my first stop.  A field in Hadley featured a very large mixed flock (8000+) of Common Grackles, Red winged Blackbirds, European Starlings and Brown headed Cowbirds with the majority being Common Grackles.  I tried to find a Yellow headed Blackbird in among the hordes without any luck.  Other notables around the field included my first Killdeer of the year, an Eastern Meadowlark, five Black Vultures and 28 Turkey Vultures.  A stop off at Winsor Dam failed to turn up either Pine Warblers or the recently relocated Say's Phoebe with the most notable sighting being a couple Red Crossbills.

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Eastern Bluebird, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Sunday I had just a short period of time in the morning before having to travel up the the Berkshires for some family obligations.  It was one of the coldest mornings of the winter season with a temp around 10.  I decided to my time at Quabbin with a visit to Quabbin Park and then Winsor Dam.  Quabbin Park featured a Common Loon, five Red Crossbills and a couple Eastern Towhees.  Winsor Dam had more loons and Red Crossbills plus five Pine Warblers.

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warblers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Ring necked Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warbler, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Hooded Mergansers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

White throated Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warbler, South Cemetery,  Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, South Cemetery,  Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Monday was another sunny day with a cool start, although not as cold as the previous day.  It warmed up nicely by the end of the day with highs in the low/mid 50's.  The big story for Monday was Pine Warblers  with at least eleven at three different spots in Belchertown with seven at Winsor Dam, one at Lake Wallace and three at a cemetery in Belchertown.  I can't understate how unusual it is to have any Pine Warblers in the area in the winter, much less double digit counts.  The Say's Phoebe also made its presence known again at the dam and I added a Eastern Phoebe at Lake Wallace, making it a two phoebe day.  I also added three Chipping Sparrows for the day.  More on the Pine Warblers for the day at the following link.

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Feb 27, 2024

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 27, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 27, 2024

On Tuesday I headed out to check a few spots along the river in Hadley and South Hadley for possible Yellow rumped Warblers and found none.  There were other birds around for sure and eventually the temps reached a record breaking high around 60...very nice for late February.  I then headed back over to Winsor Dam where I had several notable species (the Say's Phoebe, Pine Warblers, Red Crossbills and a couple Common Loons).  Most other stops didn't feature anything too unusual. 

Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

My last free day to bird for the month was today and it was a rainy, windy and warm day to start and I stayed close to home with multiple visits to Winsor Dam where I had some waterfowl brought in by the weather including a female Northern Shoveler flying past with some Mallards and a dozen Common Goldeneyes that put on some nice displaying.  The Say's Phoebe, Pine Warblers and Red Crossbills also continued to show at the dam.

I ended the month with a total of 96 species, which is above a typical February here and is the third highest total I have had for a February in the county...my best was 2022 with 108 species and second best was 2021 with 97 species.