Latest update on Hurricane Henri and some birding today before the storm

Hurricane Henri forecast track as of 5PM, Aug 21, 2021

I have been watching the changing forecast all day today for Hurricane Henri and after a forecast jog over to the west this morning the latest forecast from the NHC has it coming right over the valley, which would put us in the sweet spot for unusual species to show up.  The storm is currently a Category 1 storm with winds of 75MPH with higher gusts.  It is forecast to gain a little more strength but should still stay a Category 1 storm before making landfall on Long Island.  It will rapidly lose intensity but should still be a tropical storm as it moves through inland Massachusetts.  The exact track will almost certainly change somewhat but the cone of uncertainty continues to tighten up as the storm gets closer and the potential is there for some really good stuff to show up in the area.  I will be out looking starting tomorrow morning and especially tomorrow afternoon into the evening as the worst of the storm moves in.  This will probably be the last update here on the storm until after it passes.  If you can get out there and hit bodies of water and flooded fields (if it is safe to do so) and try to get photos if you can to document any rarities and get positive identifications on species you do not know.  A great article on what to look for with the storm can be found at the following link.

Solitary Sandpiper, Granby, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Solitary Sandpiper, Granby, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Killdeer, Granby, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Northern Parula, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Damage from breached beaver dam, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Winsor Dam (the calm before the storm), Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 21, 2021

I headed out this morning and you would never know a hurricane was on the way.  It stayed very humid all day with temps into the 80's with a mix of sun and clouds (with the sun winning out).  I made a dawn stop at Lake Wallace and then down to check out a small puddle in Granby that has produced some shorebirds lately (and hopefully will attract more from the storm moving through).  Nothing unusual there but a count of eight Solitary Sandpipers was nice.  I then headed to Herman Covey WMA mainly to see if the large beaver dam that failed resulted in some good mud flats for shorebirds....it did not.  I did come across a decent mixed species flock there including another early Northern Parula and a Mourning Warbler among eight species of warbler.

Common Nighthawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Common Nighthawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2021

Common Nighthawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2021

In the evening while going out to grill I noticed a few Common Nighthawks moving north and they just kept coming.  Over the course of around 40 minutes I had at least 406, which is my highest count ever at the house (previous high count was 388 on August 24, 2009).  

February ends and March begins with more warm weather bringing in more early migrants including an unusual Canada Goose

Canada Goose x ? hybrid or leucistic Canada Goose, Hadley, MA, Feb 28, 2017

Canada Goose x ? hybrid or leucistic Canada Goose, Hadley, MA, Feb 28, 2017

Fox Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Feb 28, 2017

Although today did not quite reach the mid 60's as forecast the temperature around 59 was still close to setting a record and well above normal.  Winter will make a short lived comeback starting tomorrow with wind and highs on Friday and Saturday around freezing and lows in the single numbers before the warmer air returns by early next week.  I spent the last couple mornings out trying to catch up with waterfowl and I had some decent luck with 11 species yesterday and 13 species today. Highlights for waterfowl yesterday including an American Wigeon, three Northern Pintails and an odd Canada Goose (either a hybrid or a leucistic individual) along Aqua Vitae Rd and a couple Common Loons at Winsor Dam.  Other non waterfowl highlights yesterday included my first Fox Sparrow at Covey WMA and continued large numbers of Red winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. 

Canada Goose x ? hybrid or leucistic Canada Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2017

Canada Goose x ? hybrid or leucistic Canada Goose, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2017

Lesser Scaup, Lake Warner, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2017

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2017

This morning I once again had the odd Canada Goose among 1000+ geese along the river in Hadley plus a Lesser Scaup at Lake Warner.  Other notables during my trip around the area east of the river included two Black Vultures among 17 Turkey Vultures at the roost on Moody Bridge Rd and a very early Virginia Rail calling from the marsh at home (early by a few weeks!)

PINK FOOTED GOOSE plus a Greater White fronted Goose set a new Hampshire County record for me

Pink footed Goose, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Pink footed Goose, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Pink footed Goose, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Pink footed Goose, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Greater White fronted Goose, Hadley, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Pink footed Goose, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Just back late yesterday from a brief trip down to Puerto Rico (much more on that in a later post) and today I was out birding in the cold weather and found a second Hampshire County record of a Pink footed Goose when I ran across one in a goose flock in Hadley.  I must have some ability to attract this rare goose from Greenland as I found the first county record of the species back in the spring of 2014.  I certainly hoped to find some unusual waterfowl today and I hit the jackpot.  I found the large flock of geese in a farm field in Hadley and I initially scanned through the flock and saw nothing unusual but on my second scan through to start counting them I found the Pink footed in relatively close and I started taking digiscoped shots and getting the word out to a number of other birders.  The Pink footed Goose became species #237 for Hampshire County this year, which tied me for my previous best years back in 2014 and 2015.  I was very happy to tie my record and was not expecting to break the record today but I did after getting a call from Devin who told me he also found a Greater White fronted Goose in with the same flock that held the Pink footed.  I made another run over to Hadley and did indeed find the Greater White fronted Goose and broke my record bringing my total for the year so far for the county to 238.  I was not sure I would ever break over the 237 mark without a tropical system but I did.  Very happy these two new species decided to wait until I was back from Puerto Rico to show up!  During my second stop in the afternoon most of the geese were sleeping but as a C-5 flew past they all flushed up and headed toward UMASS where I caught up with most of them on the campus pond (minus the GWFG)...another new species for the UMASS campus. Another banner day of birding in the valley.

Northern Shrike, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Dec 6, 2016

Earlier in the morning I followed up on a report of a Northern Shrike at Covey WMA and I found the adult bird relatively quickly.  Hopefully it stick around for a bit...although I'm sure the local bird population would rather see it move along.

A Summer Tanager in Belchertown plus more shorebirds and waders over the weekend

Spotted Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Least Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Great Egret, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Least Sandpipers, Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Great Egrets (including indvidual with dark bill), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Green winged Teal (with Mallard), Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown Land Trust trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2015

Proving that you never know what you will find while out exploring I ran across a Summer Tanager late this morning when we were out for a walk along the Belchertown Land Trust trail off Route 181. We were only a few hundred feet from the car when I heard an odd call that made me stop and listen. I heard it again within seconds and my mind started the process of trying to place the sound to a bird...I knew I had heard the sound before but my mind was racing to figure it out. I then heard it sing a bit of a song and my mind then made the connection....Summer Tanager! Although very uncommon around here I have seen (and heard) them quite a few times in other areas, especially in Costa Rica. I started frantically scanning the trees for the bird and after a couple of minutes I caught a glimpse of the front end of an the adult male as he worked his way through the upper canopy.  An overall red bird with large pale bill.  He called a couple of more times with the 'pitituck' call before going silent.  There was a small mixed species flock in the general area (mainly chickadees, titmice and nuthatches) but the bird did not seem to be associating closely with the flock.  As we were out walking the Wilson I had nothing beyond the binoculars and my phone. No chance for a photo and I wasn't quick enough to get a recording. After a few more minutes of searching we headed to the car and back to home where I picked up my camera and raced back to try to find it again. Despite looking for 45 minutes I did not manage to turn the bird back up again. Always disappointing when you see a rare bird and can't get a photo or audio recording of it.  This species was not even on my radar as a possibility in mid August which makes the sighting even better.

 

Even before finding the tanager it was a good weekend of birding with migration starting to pick up. With all the rain from a heavy thunderstorm last night I decided to try my luck in tracking down some muddy fields that shorebirds might find inviting as I figured the rivers would be running too high to have any exposed mud. The fields at the Honey Pot and in the East Meadows held no shorebirds at all (although the fog made viewing a bit difficult). With no luck with the fields I then turned my attention to the rivers and ponds and found the water levels to be low enough to offer some exposed mud that attracted shorebirds. My first stop at Paradise Pond found just a single Spotted Sandpiper but my next stop over to Arcadia proved much more productive with five species of shorebirds. The wader show also continued with four Great Egrets (including the dark billed individual) plus Great Blue Herons and Green Herons. I also found the continued group of four Green winged Teal there too. The nearby Lower Mill Pond had a couple species of shorebirds plus a couple more Great Egrets. My final stop was along the river in Hadley where I turned up six species of shorebirds plus another Great Egret. Overall for the morning I had seven species of shorebirds.

Honey Pot: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24640884
East Meadows: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24640451
Paradise Pond: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24640498
Arcadia: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24640881
Lower Mill Pond: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24641088
CT River Hadley: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24642087
Belchertown Land Trust trail: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24643216 

Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

Merlin, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

Bobolink, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

Tree Swallow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

Beattle, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2015

On Saturday I stayed more local with hour plus stops at Lake Wallace and Covey WMA as well as brief stops at Winsor Dam. Nothing unusual but some interesting sightings including a Merlin munching on a fresh kill. I watched the bird through the scope for several minutes as it tore the other bird to shreds. Not entirely certain of the species of the prey item but perhaps a Tree Swallow.  Lake Wallace also held 50+ Wood Ducks, at least eight Green Herons, a couple Virginia Rails and a Great Horned Owl that flew across the marsh.  Covey WMA had some swallows around plus a migrant group of 24 Bobolinks.

Lake Wallace: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24623612
Covey WMA: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24623917

The last full weekend of July

Green Heron in the fog, Old Deerfield, MA, July 25, 2015

Great Blue Heron, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, July 25, 2015

Winsor Dam before dawn, Quabbin Park, MA, July 25, 2015

As is typical for the end of July the amount of bird song has dropped off substantially and the chances of finding something unusual around here is fairly low.  Nonetheless I still made it out a little this weekend (as well as on Friday).  On Saturday I decided to try my luck in finding unusual egrets/herons in a variety of spots as I travelled from Quabbin to Nothampton and then heading up the west side of the Connecticut River ending up in Deerfield (where a small pond has a history of attracting Black crowned Night Herons...none on Saturday) before heading back across the river and coming back south.  Despite much effort I managed to just find just a number of Great Blue Herons and Green Herons but nothing more unusual.  Before heading out on my quest for herons I made a predawn stop at Winsor Dam where I found at least one Eastern Whip Poor Will still calling.  Other highlights of the morning included a couple Black Vultures in among the Turkey Vultures at a roost in Hadley.

Sunday morning started out with occasional rain showers that I managed to mostly dodge as I checked a few spots in town including Lake Wallace, Covey WMA and Winsor Dam.  The best bird of the morning was a Merlin that came in low over the water heading north to south at Winsor Dam at first light.  Other highlights included a decent number of waterfowl at Lake Wallace ( http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24384134). 

Virginia Rail, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, July 24, 2015

Virginia Rail juveniles, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, July 24, 2015

River Otter eating frog, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 24, 2015

Friday was a beautiful day and I made several stops including Lake Wallace and Covey WMA.  Some good stuff including at least six Virginia Rails at Covey WMA including at least three dark juveniles with an adult plus a River Otter munching down on a frog at Lake Wallace  (video link here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/19788653239/in/dateposted-public/ )....full lists with photos below:

Lake Wallace: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24362655
Covey WMA:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24362967

Weekend birding around Belchertown and up to Prescott Peninsula

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, July 12, 2015

House Wren, Belchertown, MA, July 12, 2015

Great Blue Herons, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, July 12, 2015

Hooded Mergansers, Belchertown, MA, July 12, 2015

I spent this morning in the Belchertown area with stops at Lake Wallace, Covey WMA and the White eyed Vireo location. A beautiful morning with surprisingly few bugs. Once again no luck finding gallinules at Lake Wallace but lots of waterfowl around as well as a calling Virginia Rail and a couple of Great Horned Owls that flew across the marsh and created a loud panic among the many other species present.  Covey WMA had a decent amount of good stuff including a Virginia Rail, a calling Northern Bobwhite and my first gathering of post breeding swallows with well over a hundred individuals of four species present.  The area that has held the White eyed Vireo once again failed to produce it but I still had a nice assortment of more expected species.

Although there is still a chance the Common Gallinules or the White eyed Vireo might still be around, it appears both species may be gone now. It was a long run for both of these unusual species here with the Common Gallinules first being discovered on June 5th and staying until July 1 (almost four weeks) and the White eyed Vireo found a few days before I saw it on May 30th and still around through at least July 5th (about six weeks). 

 

I have included the full lists from my morning stops below:

Lake Wallace: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24233651

Covey WMA: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24233848

White eyed Vireo stop: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S24234113

Moose, Prescott Peninsula, MA, July 11, 2015

Eastern Towhee, Prescott Peninsula, MA, July 11, 2015

Scarlet Tanager, Prescott Peninsula, MA, July 11, 2015

Banded Hairstreak, Prescott Peninsula, MA, July 11, 2015

Yellow Warbler, Belchertown, MA, July 11, 2015

I once again headed up to the Prescott Peninsula on Saturday morning to conduct a few field surveys, check on the hummingbird nest and hopefully run across some crossbills again. I managed to get a few more fields checked out and had a number of confirmed breeding species in the fields I checked. Sadly the hummingbird nest is no more, likely destroyed by some predator. It is a shame the nest didn't make it through as I'm sure the young would have been much more visible today compared to last weekend when they looked freshly hatched. No luck finding any crossbills either but that is not too surprising as they are quite nomadic and last week was the first time I heard them all season. Lots of other typical bird species around but the amount of song continues to drop as the breeding season marches on. Another notable sighting was when a Moose stepped out in front of me near a large pond and after checking me out for a few minutes trotted away down the road. At the same time there was another Moose on the opposite side of the pond feeding....always neat to have two Moose in view at the same time.