Another Prescott Peninsula survey yesterday and the local area today

Yellow throated Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Yellow throated Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Pine Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Red eyed Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Red breasted Nuthatch, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Red breasted Nuthatch, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Downy Woodpecker, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Eastern Towhee, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

A very wet Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

I headed up to Prescott Peninsula yesterday morning to conduct another series of field surveys and spent a few hours there exploring.  Nothing too unusual or unexpected but some decent numbers and variety around with lots of breeding evidence.

Acadian Flycatcher, Quabbin Gate 22, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Acadian Flycatcher, Quabbin Gate 22, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

Hop Brook, Quabbin Gate 22, New Salem, MA, June 20, 2016

After Prescott I headed over to Gate 22 to catch up with the Acadian Flycatcher that is back again for another year.  I had a bird calling as soon as I arrived at the location and I might have heard a second individual further down the stream.  I couldn't find any evidence of breeding but the area looks perfect for them.  Links to video with audio below:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/27723933951/in/dateposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/27799254505/in/dateposted-public/

Great Blue Heron nests, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

Great Blue Heron nest with young, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

Song Sparrow carrying food to nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

Today I stayed around the local area checking Winsor Dam (no sign of the scaup), Lake Wallace, Covey WMA and along Jabish Canal.  I was mainly looking for marsh birds but only managed to find a single Virginia Rail.  The Great Blue Herons at Lake Wallace seem to be having some nesting success with three of the four nests having some young birds in them and the fourth one with an adult sitting on the nest.  The most noteworthy bird of the morning was a calling Northern Bobwhite (#207) at Covey WMA.

Gray Catbirds in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

Gray Catbirds in nest, Home, Belchertown, MA, June 21, 2016

The Gray Catbirds look almost big enough to take off from the nest at home and I assume they will be gone from the nest soon.  The Tree Swallows fledged a few days ago and the House Wrens should also being leaving the nest box within the next couple days.

Gate 22 this morning

 

Dawn at gate 22, Aug 17, 2013

Bald Eagle on Osprey platform, Gate 22, Aug 17, 2013

Merlin (one of two), Gate 22, Aug 17, 2013

I headed up to Quabbin Gate 22 in New Salem before dawn to see if I could catch up with any of the egrets seen there over the last few days (Great and Snowy Egrets). I started the long walk down to the water just before six and arrived about a half hour later. The fog and early morning light made it difficult to see the islands really well but after quite a bit of time looking I'm fairly certain there were no egrets there this morning on the west side of the island. I did have some good stuff including two Merlins that were harassing the crows and I eventually had one perch in a tree at which point it was harassed by a hummingbird. The only shorebirds I had there included two each of Greater Yellowlegs and Spotted Sandpipers. Other notable birds at Gate 22 included a Northern Harrier and at least five Common Loons plus a Bald Eagle perched up on the Osprey platform the entire time I was down at the waters edge. I had a handful of passerines around but nothing too unusual.

 

Green Heron, Route 9 marsh, Aug 17, 2013

Double crested Cormorant and Ring billed Gull, Winsor Dam, Aug 17, 2013

I then headed back south and made a brief stop at Winsor Dam and the Route 9 marsh. Winsor Dam had a couple of Double crested Cormorants and the marsh had a few Wood Ducks and a Great Blue Heron and Green Heron.

Quabbin Gates 22, 16 and 11 and Quabbin Park and a sad milestone

Northern Parula, Gate 22

I started another trip to Quabbin at Gate 22 this morning and ran into some migrants just down the hill from the gate. The birds here included my first of season Lincoln Sparrow, Nashville Warbler, half a dozen Northern Parula's, and eight other species of warblers. A bit further down the road I had a Cooper's Hawk being harassed by Blue Jays, a few very vocal Red breasted Nuthatch's and a Ruffed Grouse that rocketed out of the underbrush deeper into the forest. I wanted to try my luck at Gate 16 before the predicted rain arrived. Despite alot of looking I only managed to turn up a handful of warblers here and none in any groups. I then tried my luck at Gate 11 and after a half mile with little activity I decided I would make the run down to Quabbin Park to check to see if activity there was any better. Although the sky looked threatening it never did more than drizzle a few times. After a few stops turned up little beyond a still singing Prairie Warbler I ran into a nice active group of species near the blueberry patch road. This group included a couple Scarlet Tanagers, a Baltimore Oriole, eight species of warbler including Nashville, Blackpoll and Ovenbird, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, five Eastern Wood Pewee's, a half dozen Eastern Phoebe's, a few House Wrens and other usual. I also managed to turn up Wood Thrush, Swainson's Thrush and Hermit Thrush in various locations. Overall a fairly productive morning considering the low clouds, cool temps and slight breeze.

Today is also a sad day. It has now been six months since I lost my good dog, best buddy and frequent birding companion Kody. He is missed.

Gates 22, 16 and 11

Philadelphia Vireo, Gate 11, September 5, 2010

I made yet another early morning trip up the west side of Quabbin. I began this morning at dawn at Gate 22. My first sighting of the morning was a large bull Moose that crossed my path a couple times before heading off into the woods. The light was not good enough for photos. I walked down the road to the water and was greeted there by a few shorebirds foraging along the shoreline. A pair of Semipalmated Plovers fed quite close to me as they worked the shoreline going south. In addition I had a flyby Greater Yellowlegs and a couple Spotted Sandpipers. I managed a total of five Common Loons with one calling a few times. Just before I started my walk back up the hill from the water I spotted a mother deer with fawn swimming across the reservoir. The woods along the way held a few mixed species flocks with the highlights being a Yellow throated Vireo, my first Northern Parula of the season and two Tennessee Warblers together. I also had a fairly high total of five Veery's on this stop. A pair of juvenile Yellow bellied Sapsuckers rounded out the highlights

Semipalmated Plover, Gate 22, September 5, 2010

Semipalmated Plovers, Gate 22, September 5, 2010

My next stop was at Gate 16 which held a few nice birds including a total of nine warbler species including another Northern Parula, plus another Yellow throated Vireo. The breeze continued to pick up so I decided to move down to Gate 11 to try and get there before the wind got any worse. However by the time I started down Gate 11 road the breeze had turned into a wind with gusts over 30 mph. I almost gave up on finding anything in these conditions but thought I would give it a try anyway. I'm glad I tried as I came across a nice mixed species flock feeding both high and low and moving down the road. I found a bright Philadelphia Vireo, four Northern Parula's including one still calling plus good numbers of other warblers. I finished the day with a fly over Common Raven fighting the continued windy weather.

Black and White Warbler, Gate 11, September 5,2010

Northern Parula, Gate 11, September 5, 2010