May comes to an end

Cedar Waxwing, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Mourning Dove fledgling, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Blue winged Warbler, Muddy Brook WMA, Hardwick, MA, May 29, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Ware, MA, May 29, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Short billed Dowitchers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2025

May has come to an end on a rainy note...much as the last third of the month has been.  The early part of the month through the middle was overall great for migration and the birds moved through a bit early with many not stopping.  Nonetheless I still had many fantastic days of birding and ended the month with 170 species in Hampshire County, which is roughly average over the last ten years or so.  Notables for the month included Brant, Dunlin and Short billed Dowitchers, Least Bittern, Black crowned Night Heron, Acadian Flycatcher, Gray cheeked Thrush, Orange crowned Warbler and Hooded Warbler (more on warblers for the month at the following link: warblers for May) plus Blue Grosbeak.  I'm sure I could have gotten even more species but circumstances at home kept me a little closer to home than usual and I was not able to stay out as long on some mornings.  

Dunlin and Short billed Dowitchers for Global Big Day on a rather rainy day

 

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Dunlin and Spotted Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Short billed Dowitchers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

We endured another bout of heavy rain and even some thunderstorms overnight and into a good portion of the morning today with at least another couple inches of rain.  I heard about a number of shorebirds that showed up in the flooded fields of the East Meadows of Northampton yesterday but I was unable to make the trip over until this morning.  With the crappy weather I figured there was a decent chance the birds did not continue their migration north.  I had a few hours available in the morning so headed over to be there for sunrise.  The radar showed moderate rain but it looked like it might lift (it did not lift for hours and instead just sad and pinwheeled in more rain for hours).  Despite all the rain the roads were not as muddy as I feared they might be.  I made it down to where the shorebirds were yesterday and quickly found at least four Dunlin among the more expected species.  With a bit more scanning I turned up the two Short billed Dowitchers.  I had an impressive eight species of shorebirds in the area plus a few other rarities including Sandhill Crane and Green winged Teal.  I checked a few other areas along the river for shorebirds before returning to the Quabbin area and then to home.  Today was Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day and despite having crappy weather and not as much time free as usual I still managed 92 species.

First week of November

Wood Ducks, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 1, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 1, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 1, 2024

Lincoln's Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2024

Turkey Vultures, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 2, 2024

Gray Catbird, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 4, 2024

White crowned Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 4, 2024

Fox Sparrow, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 4, 2024

Pineapple Sage, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 1, 2024

November started off as October ended with record setting heat.  I was out on the first after an overtime shift mainly looking for warblers and finding a couple species.  I turned up a late Lincoln's Sparrow among more typical sparrows on the 2nd.  It then cooled to more seasonable levels with a hard freeze on the night of the 3rd that finally did in the Pineapple Sage for the season.  After work on the fourth I headed up to Great Pond and although I didn't find any late season warblers I did have a late Gray Catbird plus a decent selection of sparrows.  

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2024

Fire damage, Fitzgerald Lake Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Nov 5, 2024

On Tuesday the 5th we started a few days of more above normal warmth with highs in the 70's.  I was stuck fighting an ongoing brush fire all day at work on Tuesday so not much for birding that day although with the earlier sunrises thanks to the return to standard time, I was able to bird a little in Hadley before work and turned up a late Palm Warbler

Dunlin, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Nov 6, 2024

Killdeer, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Nov 6, 2024

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 6, 2024

Black Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 6, 2024

Turkey Vultures, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 6, 2024

After work I was out again on Wednesday morning and I headed to Arcadia where I mainly concentrated on the marsh and nearby areas as the meadows section is nearly devoid of birds as Mass Audubon has cut down virtually every square foot of fields that normally hold sparrows in fall and through the winter.  For an organization that is supposed to be focused on birds their actions don't seem to support that...sad really.  Thankfully the low water levels in the marsh supported a nice diversity of species with the most unusual being a Dunlin among the other shorebirds present.  I also had half a dozen species of  waterfowl.  I made a couple other stops on my way home in search of late warblers but the windy conditions made it tough to track any down.  A stop at Hickory Ridge in Amherst produced the continued gathering of vultures with at least two Black Vultures and 13 Turkey Vultures present.

Fox Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 7, 2024

Turkey Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 7, 2024

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2024

Ring necked Ducks, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 7, 2024

I ended the first week of November once again trying to track down late warblers (plus looking for other stuff along the way).  I failed completely to turn up any warblers unfortunately.  The morning was far from a total bust as I turned up several new species for the month including some rarities including a Evening Grosbeak at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, a Bonaparte's Gull at Winsor Dam and a Spotted Sandpiper at Quabbin Park.  It was another fairly warm day with early highs in the mid 60's before it started cooling down throughout the day follow a cold front passage.

As I end out the first week of November I have found a total of 94 species in Hampshire County so far, which puts me at my third highest total for the first week (behind 2020 with an amazing 111 species and 2022 with 97 species).

Dunlin and some other shorebirds as the rainy, cool weather continues

 

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Lesser Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Greater Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows and Northern Rough winged Swallows, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

The first couple days of May have been cooler than normal with periods of rain and less than ideal migration conditions (a pattern we have been stuck in for several days).  I had to work yesterday and made just a few stops on my way in and didn't mind anything way out of the ordinary.  I expected that something unusual would be grounded by all the rainy weather and while at work got a text from Theresa that she had a Dunlin the the East Meadows.  Once I got out of work I headed over to see if I could relocate it.  Thankfully it was still in the area and feeding nearly continuously along with a Greater Yellowlegs and several Lesser Yellowlegs.  I watched the shorebirds for quite awhile during a brief lull in the rain along with a few other birders.  Always fun to see a breeding plumage Dunlin in the spring compared to the dull plumage in the fall.  Given the large numbers of Red Phalaropes reported on the coast the last few days I hoped to find one this morning but no luck.  I made a few other stops as I continued to dodge rain and some hail over the course of the morning.  A stop at Winsor Dam produced hundreds of swallows of five species feeding low over the water (a common occurrence during cool weather here).  There was a brief break in the rain in the early afternoon and I made it over to Quabbin Park and then got rained out after about half an hour.  The continued poor migration conditions have kept many species from arriving but this looks to change at the end of the week into the weekend as the pattern finally changes and the weather warms up with some sun and more cooperative conditions for migration.  The weekend should bring in a big influx.

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #3, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2023

A quick update on the three Hooded Merganser nests in the duck boxes at home.  I installed a camera on the base of box #3 a few days ago and during install the female flushed from the nest and I took a quick peak in the box (I was not intending to bother her but some birds tolerate more noise then others around the boxes).  I suspect that box #2 will fledge any day but I don't want to check due to the continued cool conditions...I will check this weekend when it warms up a bit.

The end of April with a few unusual birds around but less than ideal migration conditions

Dunlin (really!), Meadow St fields, Amherst, MA, Apr 27, 2022

After work this morning I headed out on a sunny but cold and windy morning trying to track down a Cattle Egret that Mike found yesterday evening.  I drove past the area multiple times with brief stops without any luck until I finally went by again after nine and saw the bird feeding in a grassy field.  The traffic in the area makes it tough to stop so I had to keep going and then turn around and come back to one of the few spots I could pull off in and I could not find the bird again.  I tried multiple vantage points but no luck.  No idea where it went but given the weather conditions I doubt it went to far.  I also checked a few other nearby farms but still had no luck finding the egret again.  A bummer not to get any photos but at least I saw it.  The rest of the day was fairly quiet but I did turn up another new species for the year for me in the county but the wind made tracking down any passerines difficult to say the least.  I suspect there will be a big influx come Sunday (May 1) as the winds will shift around to the south and almost certainly bring in the first big influx of migrants.

After some rain late Tuesday that ended overnight I had a slight hope something of interest would be at Winsor Dam in the morning but a stop at first light didn't turn up anything noteworthy.  I then decided to head over to Amherst to check out the Meadow Street fields in the hopes the Dunlin seen there late yesterday by Joe was still around.  I arrived there just before six and started scanning and after a few minutes I had distant scope views of the breeding plumaged Dunlin.  I tried for some digiscoped shots but the results were less than stellar but at least showed the black belly.  There were a few other shorebirds around in the distant puddle including both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer.  I made a few other stops mainly looking for passerines before the winds picked up for the day.  

                                                    Black and White Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2022

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2022

Northern Parula, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2022

There were decent migration conditions from Monday into Tuesday and with that in mind I decided to try a few spots in Hadley at dawn with my first stop to Skinner SP where I added a few new species for the year including an early Wood Thrush and a few Black throated Green Warblers.  I also had a few very vocal Barred Owls that made quite a racket.  I then headed to Mitch's Way and added a few more species.  Although the overall diversity was a little less than expected I still had 45 species with three new species for the year (Rose breasted Grosbeak, Northern Parula and Bank Swallow).  A few other stops didn't turn up anything new but there were certainly new arrivals around.  A late day stop at Winsor Dam in between bouts of rain didn't turn up anything unusual.

Canada Goose on nest, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 25, 2022

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2022

For my birthday I started my morning along the rail trail in Amherst and eventually caught up with Devin and we birded the area for about three and a half hours (eBird list here)  We didn't have anything too unusual but it was a nice morning to be out and to catch up with Devin.  The rest of the day I spent mainly around the house and reward for sitting out on the deck was my first Ruby throated Hummingbird of the year.

Bufflehead and Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2022

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2022

I started Sunday at Winsor Dam where I had my first Eastern Whip Poor Will of the year.  I then spent a few hours at Quabbin Park where I had an impressive count of at least 13 Hermit Thrushes plus decent numbers of other early season migrants.  After my time in the park I made another stop at Winsor Dam and had several Bufflehead plus a Lesser Scaup.  I ended the day with the addition of a new species (#174) to the yard list when I noticed an American Bittern pumping away from the marsh (eBird list with recording here)

Field Sparrow with leg band, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 23, 2022

After getting out of work on the 23rd I made a brief stop at Aqua Vitae Road where I had a White crowned Sparrow (likely the overwintering individual) before I made a longer stop at the Fort River section of the Silvio Conte NWR.  Nothing unexpected for that stop but I did get a photo of a Field Sparrow sporting a leg band.

I ended the month with 136 species which is around average for me over the last several years.