PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER in Hadley! A first state record!

Pacific slope Flycatcher (photo lightened up which washed out most of the yellowish tint), Hadley, MA, Oct 25, 2019

Listening for the flycatcher, Hadley, MA, Oct 25, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Oct 25, 2019

Hermit Thrush, Hadley, MA, Oct 25, 2019

After hearing from a number of expert birders who listened to the recording I obtained yesterday of the empid flycatcher found by Joe on Wednesday the consensus was that the bird was a Pacific slope Flycatcher (more about my initial interaction with the bird yesterday at the bottom of this paragraph).  This would be a first state record of the species (pending acceptance by MARC) and therefore a mega rarity to be sure.  The plan was to make it back to the location this morning with a number of other birders to try to get more audio recordings to seal the identification.  I was not intending to try for it until it warmed up a bit later in the morning but I got a text early saying the bird was back and occasionally being seen so I hustled over from the nearby Honey Pot area of Hadley.  I arrived and the bird was not in view but after a bit of exploring by a number of birders on site it was located again and gave limited and quick views and was occasionally heard calling with both weep and ting calls. I managed a few crappy shots as well as some audio of the 'ting' call. My photos are marginal at best and when lightened most of the yellowish tinge got washed out but the overall build is there.  Additional (and much better) photos as well as audio recordings obtained by others.  Once the ID was established the report was sent out to others to come and see the bird.  It is exceedingly rare to have any part in finding a new species for the Massachusetts state list out here in the valley.  Obviously the species is a new county bird for me bringing my Hampshire County list up to 296.  It was a nice collaboration of a variety of people both confirming the identification and gathering evidence for eventual acceptance to the state list.  My eBird report from the morning can be found at the following link.

Gray Catbird, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Hermit Thrush, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Blue headed Vireo, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Palm Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Song Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Dawn with fog and a sliver of a moon, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 24, 2019

Eastern Comma, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 24, 2019

After seeing an eBird report from Joe about a 'traill's' flycatcher in Hadley on Wednesday I immediately contacted him to see the photos as any empid flycatcher at this point is likely to be a rarity (his list here.).  Once I got a look at the photos I was certain the bird was not a 'traill's' but I was not certain what it was but I had some ideas, all of which would be rarities.  I sent the eBird list out to a number of people and the consensus was it was very interesting and might be a 'western' flycatcher (either a Pacific slope or Cordilleran Flycatcher).  This group is very difficult to tell apart and were previously considered a single species.  The only real way to determine the species is by vocalization so a silent bird is tough (or impossible) to ID.  Either species is extremely rare around here so I figured I would try for it on Thursday morning.  The morning started off very cold with temperatures around freezing so I knew the flycatcher would not be active early on.  I spent the first couple hours of the morning exploring a few areas of the Honey Pot and had a decent selection of sparrows, a late Common Yellowthroat and 40+ Yellow rumped Warblers (more on warblers for the day here).  Once the sun started warming stuff up and burned off the fog I headed over to the area in Hadley where Joe had the flycatcher and walked the relatively small area and although I turned up some good stuff including a late Blue headed Vireo, four Gray Catbirds and five Hermit Thrushes I initially found no sign of the flycatcher.  After being there almost an hour I heard a flycatcher call that sounded a lot like a Pacific slope Flycatcher.  It called twice and then stayed silent for a few minutes before it  called more distantly (which I tried to get a recording of but the results were not good).  I tried and tried to get a view of it over the next hour and the best I got was a single call and a sputtering call but otherwise the bird was silent.  I sent my recording out to a number of people and the rest is history (covered above)


****Update***  The flycatcher was seen every day since continuing through at least Tuesday the 29th.

Some late warblers, odd geese and other notables the last couple days

Rusty Blackbirds, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

American Tree Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Cedar Waxwing, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Pectoral Sandpipers, Hadley, MA, Nov 5, 2018

Dawn, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Nov 5, 2018

I was up before dawn as both Wilson and I try to adjust to the end of daylight savings time.  Since I was up well before the sun I decided to try my luck in tracking down some saw whet owls before dawn.  I arrived at Gate 5 at Quabbin to find it a bit breezier than forecast but I nonetheless had at least one Northern Saw Whet Owl calling.  The waves were kicked up quite a bit on the water so no waterfowl were in evidence on the reservoir, just some flyovers.  Dawn produced the only bit of sun for the day as another bout of rain moved in by late morning.  I decided I would get away from Quabbin and try to find some more sheltered areas where the wind would not be as big of a factor and I decided on Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  Not long after I arrived I had an Eastern Phoebe and the first of at least two (possibly three) Common Yellowthroats.  Despite the cloudy and cool conditions I continued to turn up a number of noteworthy species including an extremely late Black and White Warbler, a Palm Warbler, a Lincoln's Sparrow, at least 28 Rusty Blackbirds, large numbers of Red winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and Brown headed Cowbirds (tried to find a Yellow headed Blackbird in among the hordes but no luck today). The two hours at Silvo Conte produced a total of 51 species (a respectable total for early November).  I then hit a few other spots in the Hadley and Amherst area where I had five Pectoral Sandpipers in North Hadley and several hundred Brown headed Cowbirds at Cooke's Farm in Hadley.  Once I got home I picked up Wilson and we went for a walk in the rain along the land trust trail in Belcherown where we found a late Blackpoll Warbler in a mixed flock, bringing the total number of warbler species for the day to five...probably my highest one day total in November around here...more on the warblers at the following link.

Canada Goose with white above both eyes, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Canada Goose with white above both eyes, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Cackling/Canada Goose?, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Cackling/Canada Geese?, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Rusty Blackbirds, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Nov 4, 2018

Eastern Comma, Belchertown, MA, Nov 4, 2018

I hit a number of spots yesterday, enjoying one of the sunnier days we have had lately although it stayed cool through most of the morning.  I started off at the Rail trail in Amherst where I had an Eastern Phoebe, several Rusty Blackbirds and a Palm Warbler.  I then headed over to the UMASS campus pond in search of a Cape May Warbler that has been reported there on and off.  No luck with the warbler but there were some interesting geese on the pond including two smaller individuals that certainly showed some traits of Cackling Geese as well as a Canada Goose with white above each eye.  A notable non bird sighting was a very fresh Eastern Comma seen along the Jabish Canal in Belchertown...a location that also produced dozens of deer ticks unfortunately. 

The sun finally comes out here and the latest update of Hurricane Matthew

Yellow Warbler, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Savannah Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2016

Eastern Comma, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2016

The cloudy, cool, damp weather finally broke late this morning when the sun finally made an appearance and the temperatures responded, quickly rising through the 60's into the low 70's (warm enough for a number of butterflies to be out and about).  The early part of the day (most of the time I was outside) was foggy and damp but it was at least a bit warmer.  Yesterday I was still out despite some early rain showers and I covered a fair amount of territory looking in vain for downed shorebirds...just managed to find some Killdeer.  I also made a brief stop at Conte NWR at midday while running errands in Hadley and the place was hopping with birds including a Clay colored Sparrow.  Today I hit a few more areas for sparrows and other migrants and had some luck during my time at Arcadia, the Honey Pot and Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River (although the last stop was quiet with nothing compared to the activity of yesterday).  Highlights included continued numbers of Common Yellowthroats and House Wrens, Yellow Warblers at both Arcadia and the Honey Pot and ever increasing sparrow numbers.  While out for a walk with Wilson at Lake Wallace we found a Green Heron still hanging around.  Full lists with more photos below.

Arcadia:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31872468

Honey Pot:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31872486

Silvio Conte NWR:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31872217

Hurricane Matthew projected path at 2PM, Oct 3, 2016 (image courtesy of NHC)

Model tracks as of Oct 3, 2016 (image courtesy Tropical Tidbits)

Hurricane Matthew continues to move north and continues to be a dangerous major hurricane with 140 MPH winds (Cat 4).  It is or will be impacting Hispaniola, Jamaica and Cuba today into Wednesday and then it will be back over open water again the Bahamas where it will likely regain some of the strength it lost during interactions with the large islands.  It is still not entirely clear what the storm will do then.  There are many possibilities ranging from a direct impact into the carolinas, a near pass of the entire east coast, a direct impact in the northeast or out to sea...or some variation of any of those!  It is really too tough to call at this point.  The latest trends today is for a more westerly track which means a more likely impact somewhere in the US.  If the storm were to impact here (either directly or a close pass) the time frame would be over the weekend.  As before it bears watching and I will update as the week progresses and the exact track and potential impact here becomes a little clearer...not getting too excited about it yet but the potential is there.