Snow followed by brutal cold

American Kestrel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Savannah Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Horned Larks, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Dickcissel, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Northern Harrier, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Red winged Blackbird with orange face, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Jan 20, 2025

Wilson tasting the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jan 20, 2025

After getting our biggest storm to date with 6" of snow I headed out in a failed attempt to relocate a record setting late Palm Warbler that turned back up in some farm fields in Hadley after not being seen since New Years Eve.  I managed to make it over to the area in mid morning and had sunny and cold conditions with a lighter than expected wind.  Although I missed out on the warbler I did find several notable species including species #100 for me in Hampshire County with a Vesper Sparrow.  I have only reached 100 species in the county in January once before and that was in 2021 and that year ended with my highest total in January with 105 species.  I also got my first prolonged look (and photos) of the overwintering Dickcissel in Hadley as well as an oddly plumaged Red winged Blackbird that had an orange face.

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 21, 2025

Greater Scaup with Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 21, 2025

Greater Scaup with Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 21, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 21, 2025

Last night was brutally cold with a low of -9 and not surprisingly most open water froze up with just a few spots along some rivers open and the main water at Winsor Dam being open.  Conditions like this can produce some decent birds as the waterfowl that remain gets forced to come into the little open water available.  I tried to check the dam early but the cold temps kept the view obscured with low fog over the water.  I returned again to Winsor Dam a bit before ten and the views were much better and I immediately turned up some good species with a Greater Scaup hanging with a group of Common Goldeneyes and a Long tailed Duck actively fishing.  As I was getting some video of the distant Long tailed Duck a female Red breasted Merganser flashed past and I was able to follow it in the scope as it disappeared off to the north.  I continued scanning and as I was watching a small group of Hooded Mergansers a female Ruddy Duck flew in and dropped in among the mergansers for perhaps 10 seconds before it lifted back off and flew off to the southwest.  Ruddy Duck is tough to find any time in the county (for some odd reason) so this was the bird of the day for sure.  Certainly worth keeping an eye on the area of the dam as our weather is going to remain bitter cold for multiple days.

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. 

Mid August continues my record pace for the month with a number of rarities around

Dickcissel, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 9, 2023

Dawn, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 9, 2023

House Wren nestlings in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Ovenbird, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Ware, MA, Aug 11, 2023

Dawn, Pelham Overlook, Pelham, MA, Aug 12, 2023

White tailed Deer, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Blue headed Vireo, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 13, 2023

Least Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2023

The middle of August has now arrived and my record setting pace for the month in Hampshire County continues with an amazing 147 species so far.  This total is only five species away from my highest total ever for August, which I reached back in 2021, with half the month remaining to find more species.   I have continued to work a bit of overtime through the middle of month but I try to get out at least a little each day (even if just for a few minutes before work).  There have been a few rarities around including the continued Blue Grosbeaks in Hadley that have had another successful year of breeding as well as a very early Dickcissel (also in Hadley) plus a Marsh Wren in Belchertown and an early Northern Shoveler in Northampton.  The large influx of Red Crossbills of multiple calls Types also continues unabated (more on the ongoing irruption at the Finch Research Network).  Fairly good numbers of shorebirds have continued to take advantage of the habitat created following the floods in later July and it is just a matter of time before more unusual shorebirds show up. 

The tropics continue to be very quiet in the Atlantic but the latest prediction from NOAA actually upped the projected number of storms in the Atlantic despite the onset of El Nino.  We shall see how this pans out over the next couple months.

Another record setting September comes to an end

Blackpoll Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

The month of September has now come to an end and it was a record setting month for me in Hampshire County with a total of 171 species seen over the course of the month, which beat my previous best ever September in the county with 169 (which occurred in 2020).  Among the 171 species was a total of 27 species of warbler.  More photos and information on warblers for the month can be found at the following link.   As mentioned in an earlier post I'm on a record setting pace for the year with 241 species as of the end of September.  This total is higher than many of my previous year totals for the county and I still have a quarter of the year to go.  My best year ever in the county was last year with a total of 247 species and by this time last year I was at 228 species.  Even with no additional species added to my total for the year I would still be in a tie for my second best total set back in 2018.  I still have a few species of waterfowl that should be relatively easy to find over the next couple months plus the potential for a wide range of rarities that could show up.  It will be interesting to see what the rest of the has in store for birds for me.

Least Flycatcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

Northern Harrier, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

Dickcissel, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

Eastern Wood Pewee, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

Dawn in the East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 30, 2021

I will look at the last few days for the month below.  The migration conditions have been great the last few nights which has resulted in some really good mornings of birding.  Today I went to the East Meadows and it was yet another cool morning but not as cool as forecast with mainly cloudy conditions.   I arrived before dawn and had some birds still moving with the most notable flight call heard being a probable Gray cheeked Thrush (Bicknell's Thrush cannot be ruled out).  I then spent some time checking some weedy fields and some edge habitat and had a number of unusual and late species including Eastern Wood Pewee (oddly out in a cornfield), a Least Flycatcher, a Yellow Warbler and a Dickcissel and managed to get photos of all of them. 

Yellow breasted Chat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 29, 2021

Nashville Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 29, 2021

Red eyed Vireo eating a dragonfly, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 29, 2021

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 29, 2021

Yesterday I arrived at Arcadia before dawn and was treated to another good showing of American Woodcocks leaving their roost in a cornfield.  It was cold with temperatures a balmy 42 degrees to start the day....first morning that needed a winter hat and gloves so far this fall.  As the sun started coming up there was a decent pulse of Wood Ducks moving with nearly fifty counted.  I spent a bit over four hours covering multiple areas with a number of other highlights including the following:  a late Warbling Vireo still singing, an influx of both kinglets, a Marsh Wren singing softly, another noticeable increase in sparrow numbers, a Yellow breasted Chat that actually stayed in view long enough for me to get some photos but then dropped out of view after perhaps 20 seconds and was not seen again, loads of Red winged Blackbirds leaving their roost and eleven species of warblers including double digit counts of Tennessee Warbler and Nashville Warbler as well as a late Yellow Warbler.  It was a really good morning and another one of those mornings you wish you could be in multiple places at once.

Black Bear, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2021

White tailed Deer with Wild Turkeys, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2021

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 28, 2021

Tuesday I stayed close to home and hit just a few areas including Lake Wallace where I had a very late Virginia Rail and then onto Quabbin Park.  The weather conditions were less than ideal to find birds with low overcast, a breeze and eventually a bit of rain but I still ran across a couple pockets of birds   Mammals were a highlight in the park with a Black Bear and lots of White tailed Deer.

Magnolia Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Blackpoll Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Eastern Phoebe with spider, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2021

After work on Monday I headed over to Arcadia and even with a less than early start I still had a great selection of birds including a slight late wood pewee, a noticeable increase in sparrows, nine species of warblers including good numbers of Tennessee Warblers, a late Yellow Warbler and at least 113 Yellow rumped Warbler.  I wish I had been able to get out earlier and cover more ground as I didn't get a chance to cover some areas I know held many more birds.