A hot July comes to an end with a Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2025

Glossy Ibis, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2025

Glossy Ibis, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2025

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 31, 2025

Double crested Cormorant, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jul 31, 2025

The hot and humid month of July has now come to an end.  July is usually a fairly slow month for birds overall but it did have some big highlights for me including two new species for me in the county with a Stilt Sandpiper and a White Ibis bringing my Hampshire County total to 309 and then added a Glossy Ibis this morning (becoming likely the first person to ever get two ibis species in Hampshire County in a single month).  I'm actually at my highest total ever in the county YTD with a total of 225 species as of today...I have not really chased any rarities either but perhaps I should now and possible top my best year ever in the county.  I also retired last week and now can devote all my time to birding, travel and hanging out with Wilson.  There was also some sad news with the passing of long time valley birder Tom Gagnon in the early part of the month.  

Mid June update

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2023

Blue winged Teal, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2023

Sora, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 16, 2023

Dawn over Hop Brook, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 16, 2023

American Redstarts in nest, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 15, 2023

Hooded Warbler, Westfield, MA, Jun 14, 2023

Eastern Coyote, Westfield, MA, Jun 14, 2023

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 14, 2023

Muskrats, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Jun 12, 2023

Eastern Phoebe nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 9, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 11, 2023

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 11, 2023

Song Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 9, 2023

Eastern Phoebe, Grand Trunk Trail, Brimfield, MA, Jun 8, 2023

Swamp Sparrow, Grand Trunk Trail, Brimfield, MA, Jun 8, 2023

The middle of June has now arrived and I will post a quick update.  I have been able to get out just a bit over the last several days due to work and wanting to be home with Wilson as he recovers from surgery that he had done on the 8th meaning I'm only out for a few hours around dawn.  He is slowly recovering but it is tough to keep an active boy like him down and he just wants to be active again (more on his recovery below).  As far as birds go, nesting season is underway and I have found some nests I have been watching including an American Redstart nest I have been watching since mid May that fledged young today.  There have also been a few unusual species around including yet another Purple Martin that arrived at the nesting gourds in Hadley and male Blue winged Teal I found today at the same location.  There were also at least two Soras present in Hadley again this morning.  I also made an early morning trip down into Hampden County a few days ago to see the breeding Hooded Warblers there.  During my time at home I also made a brief post concerning Mourning Warblers this spring in the area.

Wilson finding another comfortable spot, Jun 13, 2023

Wilson sleeping, Jun 11, 2023

Wilson the day after surgery, Jun 9, 2023

Now to Wilson.  He had surgery on the 8th and he has been recovering as well as expected.  It is tough on all of us (especially Wilson) keeping his activity limited as the surgery site heals.  He does not like being limited in activity and I know he is itching to get out on walks again.  We are still a couple weeks away from even short (ten minute) walks but he wants to start now.  We have tried to keep him as comfortable as possible and have someone with him as much as possible so he doesn't have to wear a cone much.

The fourth week of April update

American Robin, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 28, 2023

Ovenbird, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Apr 28, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Apr 28, 2023

We have been stuck in a pattern the last several days of cooler than normal temperatures and occasional rain which has slowed down migration quite a bit.  Today was a rare day when the sun shined a bit (at least after the morning fog burned off) and actually got into the mid 60's after a cool start in the 30's.  I made a few stops on the east side of the river for the morning and found a few new species for the year here including Eastern Kingbird, Yellow throated Vireo, Ovenbird and Northern Parula.  It was the first day of the spring where I broke into double digits for warbler species with a total of ten (more on warblers for the day at the following link).

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Yesterday I stayed in the southern Quabbin area with a few visits to Winsor Dam and a longer stay within Quabbin Park.  The dam featured nine species of waterfowl including a pair of White winged Scoters plus a breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gull.  Quabbin Park highlights included a pair of Merlin that copulated and could very well breed in the area and decent numbers of Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Towhee and Black and White Warblers among 46 species present.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2023

Eastern Bluebird, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2023

Wilson watching a train go by, Belchertown, MA, Apr 26, 2023

After work on Wednesday I made a few stops in Hadley before heading to the rail trail.  My stops in Hadley turned up my first Warbling Vireo and Rose breasted Grosbeak and other expected species with some building nests.  The rail trail highlight by far was a Least Bittern I had in flight at one the marshes and then dropping out of view.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to relocate it without any luck.  Other notables that morning included lots of Purple Finches at multiple stops.

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Chipping Sparrow, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 22, 2023

Blue winged Teal, Amherst, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Following some very heavy rain during Sunday while I was working, I headed over to Hadley to check a few fields to see if the rain grounded any interesting birds.  Most fields were devoid of birds with the most productive spot being a flooding field in Amherst that held three species of shorebirds as well as some waterfowl, including a pair of Blue winged Teal among a larger group of Green winged Teal.  I also made a stop at Winsor Dam where I had a frustratingly distant dark hooded gull that I could just not see well enough to ID...sometimes stuff just gets by without a definitive ID.  The cool weather also produced a good show of swallows at the dam with over a hundred individuals of four species (most being Tree Swallows) 

The first week of February comes to an end with a decent influx of waterfowl including an American Green winged Teal x Eurasian Green winged Teal intergrade

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Lapland Longspur, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Horned Lark, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Tufted Titmouse, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

American Robins, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

'MERICA!, Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 1, 2023

Black Vulture, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Mar 1, 2023

To start off the new month of March I headed out early and although I still didn't feel great I thought I would try to take advantage of warmer weather and sunny, calm conditions.  I hit a variety of areas with quite a bit of birding from near the car.  My main goal was to find a warbler to start the month and I succeeded with a flyover Yellow rumped Warbler at Arcadia.  Unfortunately I was unable to find where the bird landed so no chance for a photo.  During the remainder of my time out I had a total of 61 species, which is surprisingly the best first day of March I have ever had here (could have added a few more species if I felt up to it).  Highlights for the morning (besides the warbler) included eleven species of waterfowl including a Common Loon, a couple Black Vultures, a Lapland Longspur and my first Fox Sparrow of the year.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, female banded July 2021 (red/yellow on left and alum. on right...missing purple color band on right), Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 21, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, close up on alum band on bird pictured above, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 21, 2023

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, female banded in Jun 2021 (pink/pink on left and pink/alum on right), Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 2, 2023

The morning was fairly rainy on Thursday so I hit just a couple places close to home with the highlight being a total of 11 Northern Pintails way out at Winsor Dam.  A couple other spots that recently have been good for waterfowl were frozen over.  I laid low at home mainly but did get out a little to check on the continued large numbers of Black capped Chickadees with multiple banded birds continuing...at least eight different banded individuals over the last week or so.  I was able to solve one mystery bird when I got a close up shot of the aluminum band on one individual that had lost a color band.

Double crested Cormorant, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 3, 2023

Black capped Chickadee, Hadley, MA, Mar 3, 2023

I took advantage of the calm before our next storm to check a few areas in Amherst and Hadley.  I decided to take an early morning swing by the campus pond at UMASS to see the continued Double crested Cormorant that has been present since the end of February.  I then headed down to a couple spots along the river in the hopes of finding a Yellow rumped Warbler that I could actual get photos of but I had no luck.  A lot of the snow we had has settled in the past few days so there is only a couple inches of crusty snow left plus some icy spots so walking was a bit tough at time but it was nice to be outside for a longer period of time compared to the first days of the month.

Wilson playing ball in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 4, 2023

Wilson playing ball in the snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 4, 2023

Our next storm arrived overnight Friday into Saturday with a few more inches of heavy, wet snow.  I spent the entire day at home with multiple trips outside to both clean up the snow and to play with Wilson in the snow...he certainly loves the snow.

Wood Duck, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Mallard, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Red winged Blackbird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Hooded Merganser, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Hooded Mergansers, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Canada Goose, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Common Merganser, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

Double crested Cormorant, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Mar 5, 2023

On Sunday morning I was out early and started my morning at Winsor Dam (which turned out to be quiet).  I then went to nearby Lake Wallace in the hopes of finding an early Virginia Rail but had no luck with that species.  The lake had thankfully thawed nearly completely and the waterfowl arrived to take advantage of the open water with five species present.  I then travelled west to the rail trail in Amherst where I walked from Station Road up past Hop Brook.  Again lots of open water among the marshy areas.  After over an hour along the rail trail I made a brief visit over to the UMASS campus pond and the Double crested Cormorant continued in the same location.  The pair of Common Mergansers were also still present. I spent much of the morning trying various settings on the new camera to try to come up with the best combo for the birds.

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian x American) intergrade, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Green-winged Teal (Eurasian x American) intergrade, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Green winged Teal, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Northern Pintails, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Northern Pintail, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

Red tailed Hawk, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

House Finch, Hadley, MA, Mar 7, 2023

I had to work on Monday and made just a couple brief stop on my way in without finding anything noteworthy.  After work on Tuesday morning I decided to head north and check the area around Great Pond.  It was still below freezing when I arrived but was thawing by the time I left and mud would definitely be an issue if I stayed longer.  The big draw was of course waterfowl and I spent over an hour scanning the water from a variety of viewpoints (I also kept my ears and eyes out for an early Tree Swallow but no luck with finding one).  I had a total of nine species of waterfowl plus a fairly rare intergrade (or hybrid depending on which taxonomic classification one uses).  The intergrade was an American Green winged Teal x Eurasian Green winged Teal in among a large flock of American Green winged Teal.  I have found this hybrid combo twice before in Hampshire County including one I found in Hadley in late March 2018 and another in Belchertown in early April 2021.  I got out of the Great Pond area before it got too muddy and heading north to cross the river and then head south again on the east side of the Connecticut River with a couple stops in Hadley with the main focus again being waterfowl.  I had a total of seven species of waterfowl in Hadley with great counts of Northern Pintails.  Just as I was getting ready to leave I noticed Cory had a sighting of a Yellow rumped Warbler in the area but I was unable to relocate it.  I made it back home late in the morning and took Wilson for a walk.  I noticed a post about a female Canvasback in Northampton but I didn't have the energy to drive back over to look for it but I did let others know about it...perhaps it will hang around and I can relocate it tomorrow morning if I have time.