Cool and windy weather continues but still manage my 200th species in the county for the year

Wilson's Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2016

Canada Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2016

Gray Catbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 16, 2016

Veery, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 16, 2016

I made a trip onto Prescott Peninsula on this very windy and cool day to check my upcoming whip poor will route.  I didn't spend a lot of time birding but one of the sightings I could not miss was the number of Veery that were flushing from the roads.  Over the course of several miles I had at least 50 and I'm sure if I had stopped to bird a bit more I could have substantially increased this number.  Really impressive to see and I'm not sure if the birds were resident or migrants still moving north or some combination of both.  It will be interesting to see if the numbers stay high as the breeding season continues on.  The route was in good shape for the upcoming survey so all I need now is clear weather and calm winds.  I also made a few stops on my way back home including Gate 12 and briefly at Gate 8.  I spent most of the rest of the day catching up on stuff around the house and managed to add my 17th species of warbler to the yard for the season with the arrival of a Wilson's Warbler.

Semipalmated Plover, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 15, 2016

Semipalmated Plover, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 15, 2016

Veery, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2016

Field Sparrow, Wentworth Farm, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2016

With the prediction for a windy day on Sunday and a bit of rain overnight I headed out to see if I could find anything forced down by the weather.  A predawn stop at Winsor Dam produced the continuing Lesser Scaup but little else.  I then headed over toward the river with the intention to hit the East Meadows (if it was not too muddy) and then Arcadia.  The East Meadows were not too muddy to get into but were not muddy enough to attract any shorebirds so I didn't stay there long.  I then made it over to Arcadia where I scanned the oxbow but found just a load of Canada Geese.  Although the river levels looked a little too high to produce much mud in the marsh I decided to check anyway and I was glad I did as I found a few small areas of mud and they contained a very nice selection of shorebirds considering what a small area of habitat was available.  A total of seven species were present including two new species for the year in the county with the three Semipalmated Plovers becoming species #200 and a Semipalmated Sandpiper becoming species #201.  The other species included two Killdeer, 8 Spotted Sandpipers, 7 Solitary Sandpipers, a Lesser Yellowlegs and 22 Least Sandpipers.  Once I finished up at Arcadia I stopped briefly at the Honey Pot and then over to the rail trail but found just a Killdeer at the Honey Pot and three Spotted Sandpipers along the rail trail.  Also made a stop at Wentworth Farm looking for flycatchers as well as a stop at the Amherst landfill looking for Grasshopper Sparrows but neither place produced my sought after species but it was very windy by this time.

Prescott Peninsula and gate 12



Moose, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Meadow with Moose (right, rear), Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

White tailed Deer, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Beaver pond on Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Common Yellowthroat carrying food, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Song Sparrow, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Song Sparrow, Prescott Peninsula, June 15, 2013

Finally had a day with no rain at all. Nothing but deep blue skies, low humidity and a slight breeze with temperatures near 80. I woke up with a headache so wasn't really sure if I was going to go out at all but I decided to head out and try it. My first stop was up to gate 12 but the area was oddly windy which made hearing some stuff difficult and I had little activity in the 20 minutes I was there.  Given that the forecast was for light winds I decided the area must be an anomaly so I decided to go elsewhere. The 'elsewhere' ended up being the permit only Prescott Peninsula. I have been wanting to get some of my field surveys done up there so I figured I was already half way there and I was feeling better so I might as well continue to the peninsula. I made it in there a bit after six and only stayed for about two and a half  hours covering several field complexes on the northern part of the peninsula. Lots of good breeding birds around as well as a nice show of mammals with Moose, White tailed Deer (which came crashing through a field right at me and then turned away once it saw me) and Coyote. I have included the entire eBird list below.

Prescott Peninsula,

Hooded Merganser  1   female
Ruffed Grouse  1     Drumming
Wild Turkey  3
Great Blue Heron  1
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Killdeer  1     Unusual here, calling overhead
Mourning Dove  3
Black-billed Cuckoo  1
Ruby-throated Hummingbird  4     all four together
Belted Kingfisher  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  6     Minimum
Downy Woodpecker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Alder Flycatcher  2
Least Flycatcher  10
Eastern Phoebe  3
Great Crested Flycatcher  1
Eastern Kingbird  4
Blue-headed Vireo  5
Red-eyed Vireo  43     Most heard, likely many more
Blue Jay  7
American Crow  3
Common Raven  1
Tree Swallow  10
Black-capped Chickadee  8
Tufted Titmouse  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  3
Brown Creeper  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  3
Veery  22     Minimum
Hermit Thrush  2
Wood Thrush  6
American Robin  13
Gray Catbird  16
Cedar Waxwing  20
Ovenbird  19
Blue-winged Warbler  2
Black-and-white Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  34    
American Redstart  24
Magnolia Warbler  5
Blackburnian Warbler  4
Yellow Warbler  5
Chestnut-sided Warbler  23    
Black-throated Blue Warbler  10
Pine Warbler  11
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  3
Black-throated Green Warbler  8
Eastern Towhee  18    
Chipping Sparrow  12
Song Sparrow  9
Swamp Sparrow  4
Scarlet Tanager  6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  4
Indigo Bunting  5
Red-winged Blackbird  8
Common Grackle  7
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Baltimore Oriole  2
Purple Finch  3

The rest of the day I caught up on work around the yard and enjoyed the great weather. 

Quabbin Gates 15 and 12

View of reservoir from end of Gate 15, June 9, 2013

Mountain Laurel blooming, Gate 15, June 9, 2013

Briggs Brook, Gate 15, June 9, 2013

Briggs Brook, Gate 15, June 9, 2013

I decided to spend this sunny morning taking a few long walks at a few gates on the west side of Quabbin primarily searching for Hooded Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher (and anything else that might show itself). I started at gate 15 around 5:30 and spent the hour and forty five minutes walking down to the water and back along Briggs Brook. No luck with my target species at this gate but did have a good number of breeding warblers singing and carrying food, a couple Winter Wrens singing and an adult Ruffed Grouse with at least seven very tiny young. Although Acadian Flycatchers traditionally have nested along the brook at gate 15 I have not had them there in a few years. They seem to have left the area after some logging was done there but hopefully they will return someday.

Beaver pond along Purgee Brook, Gate 12, June 9, 2013

Purgee Brook, Gate 12, June 9, 2013



Purgee Brook, Gate 12, June 9, 2013



My next stop was gate 12 where I walked down along Purgee Brook to the reservoir and then back. I had better luck here finding an Acadian Flycatcher along the brook on my way down. The bird would call a couple times and then go silent for long periods before calling again. I never saw the bird and was unable to get a recording as it was calling so sporadically and the running water noise was quite loud. The bird was not calling on my return trip back up the road.  The Acadian Flycatcher became species #212 on the county list this year.  Like gate 15 this area featured the typical breeding warblers in decent numbers.

For the day I managed to find 15 species of warbler, finding almost all the expected species for June around here.  Many of the birds were actively gathering food and disappearing back to hidden nests. I walked several miles this morning but didn't run across another person the entire time which seemed odd given how nice a morning it was.

Quabbin Gate 22 and summary of year so far (and what is...hopefully...to come)

 

Black bellied Plovers (L) and Dunlin ( far R), Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

Black bellied Plovers (L) and Dunlin ( far R), Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

 

 

Black bellied Plovers (L) and Dunlin ( far R), Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

 

Black bellied Plovers, Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

Black bellied Plovers, Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

 

Common Loon, Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

 

Tiger Swallowtail, Quabbin Gate 22, June 1, 2013

I spent a good portion of the morning guiding up at Gate 22 for a birder up that way (I do occasionally bird out of Hampshire county!). It was simply a stellar day and the temperatures were actually not too bad in the morning. We walked down to the water and back with a couple of diversions to side trails. We had a total of 51 species during our 4 1/2 hours at Gate 22. The highlights were many and included an Acadian Flycatcher calling a few times from suitable breeding habitat, at least five Common Loons, four other species of waterfowl, a dozen species of warbler and a mother turkey with at least a dozen very small young that were literally at our feet. In addition we had a great shorebird show where we had three Black bellied Plovers, a Dunlin Quabbin species #229), a Greater Yellowlegs, a few Killdeer and a couple peeps (we added a Spotted Sandpiper at another location) giving us an even half a dozen shorebird species...not bad at all for a sunny day on June 1st in Franklin county!  If only all these birds were in Hampshire county I could have added two species to my county year list with Acadian Flycatcher and Dunlin...oh well! I will just have to try to catch up with them elsewhere in the county sometime in the future.  Sorry for the quality of photos as I only had my old scope and the iPhone to try to get photos today so once again some imagination is required to actually see the birds mentioned!  In addition to the avian sights we had a Porcupine feeding fairly low on a tree branch that seemed just too small to support him.

On my way home I stopped at Quabbin Gate 12 and had several species of warbler as well as a Yellow billed Cuckoo. With the temperatures rising rapidly through the 80's I headed for home where I relaxed and tried to stay cool as the temperature eventually reached the low 90's.

 

As May has now come to an end I will look at where I stand in my quest to best my previous record for a year in Hampshire County (for those following along my old record is 228..for those not following along all these numbers are meaningless!).  As of today I stand at 210.  Last year I reached 210 on October 13th and stood at 185 at the end of May last year (and added only one new bird in June).  From these numbers it looks like I will have no problem surpassing last year...but it may not be as easy as it seems.  I had a spectacular spring this year with many birds I normally don't get until fall seen already.  I will now look at what species I’m still missing that I have seen in the county before with the likelihood of the potential for seeing it again this year.  I will use “1” for likely, “2” as possible, “3” unlikely but still possible, “4” as nearly impossible and “5” as ‘not unless a hurricane hits’ or I get REALLY lucky.  As can be seen by the list the groups most likely to add species at this point include waterfowl and shorebirds. 

Waterfowl: Brant (2), Tundra Swan (3), Trumpeter Swan (4), Eurasian Wigeon (4), Northern Shoveler (3), Redhead (3), Surf Scoter (1), Barrow’s Goldeneye (3), Great Cormorant (3)

Game birds: Northern Bobwhite (2), Ring necked Pheasant (1)

Wading birds: Least Bittern (4), Great Egret (1), Snowy Egret (3), Little Blue Heron (4), Tricolored Heron(4),

Raptors: Golden Eagle (3)

Marsh birds: Common Gallinule (4), American Coot (3)

Shorebirds: American Golden Plover (3), Upland Sandpiper (4), Whimbrel (4-5), Hudsonian Godwit (4-5), Ruddy Turnstone (3), Semipalmated Sandpiper (3), White-rumped sandpiper (3), Baird’s Sandpiper (3), Dunlin (3), Buff breasted Sandpiper (3), Wilson’s Phalarope (4-5), Red Phalarope (4-5)

Gulls and Terns: Black legged Kittiwake (5), Lesser Black backed Gull (3), Glaucous Gull (3), Sooty Tern (5), Caspian Tern (3), Black Tern (3),Common Tern (3), Parasitic Jaegar (5)

Owls: Long eared Owl (3), Northern Saw whet Owl (2)

Hummingbirds: Rufous Hummingbird (3), Allen’s Hummingbird (5)

Flycatchers: Acadian Flycatcher (2), Western Kingbird (4)

Vireos:  Philadelphia Vireo (1)

Wrens: Sedge Wren (4), Marsh Wren (3)

Thrushes: Gray-cheecked Thrush (2), Varied Thrush (5)

Irruptives: Bohemian Waxwing (3), Boreal Chickadee (4)

Warblers: Prothonotary Warbler (3), Orange crowned Warbler (3), Connecticut Warbler (2), Kentucky Warbler (4), Hooded Warbler (3), Yellow breasted Chat (4)

Sparrows, etc: Lincoln’s Sparrow (1), Nelson’s Sparrow (5), Dickcissel (2)

Blackbirds:  Yellow headed Blackbird (4-5)

“Others”: White tailed Tropicbird (5)

Tough to say how many of these I will actually see over the next several months but I have a shot at getting close to the mark I set last year but who knows for sure?  With a good shorebird fallout in late summer/early fall and/or a good show of waterfowl I could break my previous record.  A hurricane that tracked in a similar fashion to Irene would almost guarantee a record setting year but is not very likely.  As always...stay tuned and try not to let the extreme suspense overwhelm you!

 

Sandhill Cranes and other stuff

Sandhill Crane, Worthington, MA, May 10, 2013

Sandhill Crane, Worthington, MA, May 10, 2013

Sandhill Crane, Worthington, MA, May 10, 2013

Following some rain last evening the morning started out foggy but somewhat warm. Today marked the annual bird tour of the local area with my mother as a mother day gift. We have had good luck in the past finding some unusual birds including Black Vulture one year, a Golden winged Warbler once and Red Phalarope another. We started out at Covey WMA where we a few calling Virginia Rails as well as an influx of migrants including lots of Baltimore Orioles (they seemed to be everywhere today) After about an hour there we headed over to Quabbin which was still fogged in. At this point I got a message that the Sandhill Cranes seen in Worthington the previous day were found yet again there. After a brief discussion we decided to take a chance and make the run up there for the morning. With no other chance to try for these birds until at least Sunday morning I didn't want to miss out on another potential new county bird this week. This would limit our birding time overall but potentially get us an unusual bird (or three). The fog didn't lift until we got into Williamsburg and once we got to the hill towns it was sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky. We quickly found the field where the three cranes were this morning but they were gone. Lots of other interesting birds around including Savannah and Vesper Sparrows, Bobolinks and others, but no cranes. After changing our location we ran into a few others birders including Steve and Tom. We spent a little more time here before splitting up to check other areas. Throughout the time looking around several locals stopped to talk about the comings and goings of the cranes. Once we got to a promising looking area we got a call from Tom that we thought he had a single crane in another field so we headed over but could not relocate it. After another fruitless search I decided to go back to check the promising looking field again and after scoping through the field I found two of them a fair distance away actively feeding. I managed a few shots through the scope before they moved away out of view. Everyone got a decent look at the birds before they disappeared out of sight. Lots of other good birds around but the highlight was certainly the cranes. The Sandhill Cranes became species #188 for Hampshire county this year and #275 in the county for me ever. Another successful morning out with mom for Mothers Day.

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 10, 2013

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 10, 2013

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 10, 2013

After lunch I took a few additional walks including along the land trust trail and Gate 12 at Quabbin. More and more species were in evidence but nothing too unusual.  Among the several species of warbler at Gate 12 was a very cooperative Prairie Warbler.

Ring necked Duck, Winsor Dam, May 10, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Winsor Dam, May 10, 2013

Just before dinner I headed over to Winsor Dam to see if I could find any Common Nighthawks migrating past but had no luck with them.  I did find a late female Ring necked Duck close into shore that allowed some photos. 

Tomorrow could be interesting depending on timing of the different elements of the weather.  Overnight the south winds should continue and rain is forecast to come in overnight and persist as showers throughout the day.  Could be a good day to find an odd gull or tern on Quabbin or who knows what else.  I will be there leading a trip with Tom for the Hampshire Bird Club.  Time will tell how productive the day ends up being.

June ends, July begins

Sunset at Winsor Dam, Belchertown, MA, June 30, 2012

As June comes to an end we are in the middle of yet another heat wave with temperatures Friday nearing 95 and reaching 90 on Saturday.  Thankfully it is not nearly as humid as the last heat wave so it is tolerable to be outside.

Eastern Whip-poor-will calling, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, June 30, 2012

At dusk I spent some time around Winsor Dam at Quabbin Park looking to see if I could find any Eastern Whip-poor-wills calling.  I have not tried for them here for a few weeks so I was not sure they would still be around and calling.  At 8:50 one started calling and was joined by a second.  I then headed to the second entrance to Quabbin Park and had another one there.  My next stop was at Covey WMA where I added two more including a fairly good look at one as it flew past me.

Hooded Warbler, Quabbin, July 1, 2012

Hooded Warbler, Quabbin, July 1, 2012

Broad-winged Hawk, Quabbin Gate 12, July 1, 2012

Red Admiral, Quabbin Gate 12, July 1, 2012

On Sunday I decided to try again for the Hooded Warbler on the west side of Quabbin.  After an absense of a few weeks the male was back singing in the same spot he had been in all spring this year as well as last year.  Although difficult to get a good view of I did manage a few marginal photos.  There was still no sign of suceeful nesting but I certainly hope he was successful this year.  I made a few other stops along the west side of Quabbin with several good looks at various nesting species including a vocal Broad-winged Hawk at gate 12.  By late morning the temperature was well into the 80's so I decided to head in and getb out of the heat

Quabbin Gate 12 and 15

Eastern Towhee, Gate 12, June 24, 2012

Eastern Towhee, Gate 12, June 24, 2012

I decided to spend some time checking out some of the western gates of Quabbin in search of a few target birds including Hooded Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher.  Yet again I was skunked on my target birds (but not for lack of trying!).  I was rewarded with finally catching up with a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.  I started at Gate 12 and walked for about 3/4 of a mile down and caught up with some various warblers and other breeders but nothing too unusual beyond the cuckoo.

Veery, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Veery, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Ovenbird, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Black-throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Scarlet Tanager disassembling a dragonfly, Quabbin Gate 15, June 24, 2012

I next stopped at Gate 15 and took the southern road all the way down to the water and then cut out cross country for a few miles seeing what I could find.  I really hoped to find an Acadian Flycatcher here but no luck.  The road down along Briggs Brook is very overgrown and tough to get through in spots...prepare for getting wet!  After striking out along Briggs Brook I walked up through Atherton Brook trying to find an Acadian...again no luck.  Lots of breeding birds around with many bringing food to nests.  I ran into a few little pockets of warblers deep in the woods with several coming in quite close. The darkness of the woods may for some less than ideal photo opportunities but it was still great to get up close looks at these birds.   After several hours of exploring the area I headed for home.  There were many highlights from the day so I'm going to let the list speak for itself. 

Video of Winter Wren singing, Gate 15, June 24, 2012

Lots of Moose signs (scat, tracks, rubbings) too but no actual animals. 

Here is the list from Gate 15:

Common Merganser  3     all at end of road on water neat loon raft
Spotted Sandpiper  1     flying to small island
Ring-billed Gull  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  4
Eastern Wood-Pewee  3
Eastern Phoebe  1
Blue-headed Vireo  3
Red-eyed Vireo  21     minimum number
Blue Jay  5
Black-capped Chickadee  11
Red-breasted Nuthatch  6
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Brown Creeper  1
Winter Wren  4     three singing various spots, one juvenile
Veery  17
Hermit Thrush  1
Gray Catbird  2
Cedar Waxwing  8
Ovenbird  31
Louisiana Waterthrush  1     one along brook chipping
Black-and-white Warbler  11
Common Yellowthroat  3
American Redstart  1
Magnolia Warbler  9
Blackburnian Warbler  17
Chestnut-sided Warbler  1
Black-throated Blue Warbler  19
Pine Warbler  9
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  7  a few freshly fledged
Black-throated Green Warbler  35   minimum number
Eastern Towhee  3
Chipping Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  1
Scarlet Tanager  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1