A record setting November comes to an end

Redhead, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 21, 2022

Palm Warbler 'western', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2022

Greater White fronted Goose, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 20, 2022

Cackling Goose, UMASS campus pond, Amherst, MA, Nov 19, 2022

Black legged Kittiwake,Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 10, 2022

Common Eider (with Black Scoters), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 9, 2022

Sandhill Cranes, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 9, 2022

Orange crowned Warbler, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Golden Eagle, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Ruddy Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 2, 2022

Eastern Phoebe, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 1, 2022

November has now almost come to an end and it was a very active month here with a total of 124 species in Hampshire County for me.  This beats my previous best November in 2020 when I had 122 species.  The average over the last ten years is about 95 species for the month but I have exceeded 100 for the last five years.  The high count is thanks to a number of rarities, a few lingering species and some irruptive species.  The rarities included Red Phalarope, Yellow headed Blackbird, Golden Eagle, Sandhill Cranes, Common Eider (county species #304 for me), Black legged Kittiwake and a Redhead.  Waterfowl figured prominently in the total for the month with 32 species (geese, ducks, loons, grebes, etc) but I did miss some species I would typically find in November (like Red necked Grebe).  Irruptive species that have shown up so far included Evening Grosbeaks, Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins.  If the finch forecast pans out as predicted this winter will be very good for a large variety of irruptives...time will tell.  I found a total of five species of warblers for the month, a decent count for the month but not my best November ever.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 8, 2022

Dark eyed Junco, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 13, 2022 (last capture of the year at the water feature)

Bobcats, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 1, 2022

White tailed Deer, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 17, 2022

Gray Foxes, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 25, 2022

I continue to capture some good stuff on the camera I have at the house positioned along Jabish Brook with several mammals including paired up individuals.  I also buttoned up the water feature for the year and had lots of good stuff over the course of the season.

Golden Eagle and some late warblers to end the first week of November

Golden Eagle, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Golden Eagle, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Golden Eagle, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Turkey Vultures, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Orange crowned Warbler, Hatfield, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hatfield, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Black capped Chickadee, Hatfield, MA, Nov 7, 2022

Northern Cardinal, Hatfield, MA, Nov 7, 2022

I had a banner day for rare and linerging species on what would be the last of four record setting warm days in November with highs that made it to the low to mid 70's each day.  The lows for the last couple of mornings were in the low 60's (well above the typical highs in the low 50's).  I started my morning after work up in Hatfield looking for and finding two lingering species of warblers (Orange crowned Warbler and Nashville Warbler).  I had the Orange crowned Warbler fairly quickly but it took awhile to finally get brief looks at the Nashville Warbler and neither species was very photogenic.  The Nashville Warbler was the rarer of the two as it is getting very late for the species to still be around.  Besides the warblers I had a late Gray Catbird that was in a dense thicket and never allowed a chance for photos.  Once I had the warblers I headed across the river and decided on a stop at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  I sighted a few Turkey Vultures on my way in and after I parked and started scanning I eventually turned up at least a dozen.  As I was picking through the Turkey Vultures I noticed a single Black Vulture among them and as I was getting ready to some photos of the bird I noticed another large dark raptor heading southeast away from the vultures that looked interesting.  I quickly brought up my binoculars and quickly identified the bird as a juvenile Golden Eagle...not a species I was expected on a day with strong southerly winds.  I eventually got some distant photos of the bird before I lost track of it as it continued moving off in a southerly direction (others saw what was almost certainly the same individual in Hatfield a bit before I saw it in Hadley).  Golden Eagle can be a tough species to come across and some years I do not find one...the species is much more likely on cold days when the north winds are really blowing or sometime in the middle of winter so it was a pleasure to find one on a warm day as I walked around outside in a t-shirt. 

American Coots, Hatfield, MA, Nov 6, 2022

On my way to work yesterday I took advantage of the earlier sunrise to try my luck in relocating the Yellow headed Blackbird I found in Hatfield on Thursday as it left a large roost of blackbirds, grackles, cowbirds and starlings.  Unfortunately I did not have any luck finding the Yellow headed Blackbirds but the number of birds using the roost appeared to have dropped substantially from several thousand to perhaps a bit over a thousand and many of the birds did not head due south as had been the case a few days before.   The one highlight during my short time out included a high count of American Coots. 

Several unusual species to start December

Marsh Wren, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Swamp Sparrow, Pines Edge Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Canada Goose with white on neck, Meadow St, Amherst, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Canada Goose with dark body, Meadow St, Amherst, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Cackling Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Cackling Goose, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Long tailed Duck, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 3, 2020

    

Bonaparte's Gull with Ring billed Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Golden Eagle (top) with Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 3, 2020

Golden Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Dec 3, 2020

After getting out of work this morning I took advantage of the sunny (but cool to start) weather and headed back over to the Pines Edge Conservation Area where I had at least one Marsh Wren during a brief stop the previous morning.  I made the walk into the wildlife blind which looks over a moderately sized cattail marsh and I located two Marsh Wrens fairly quickly (but it took some time to get any looks and even longer to get any photos).  I also had some flyover Red Crossbills as I searched a few other access points of the marsh trying to turn up a late Common Yellowthroat without success.  I then headed across the river and checked a few fields in Hadley and Amherst looking for geese before stopping at UMASS where at least 1800 Canada Geese were loudly taking up temporary residence.  A field along Meadow Street held several hundred geese including a very dark bodied bird and another with extensive white on the neck.  Among the thousands of geese at UMASS was a single Cackling Goose (possibly Richardson subspecies).  This is the largest group of geese I have had so far this fall.  My final stop at Winsor Dam proved to be another great stop with a continued Bonaparte's Gull, a female Long tailed Duck and best of all, an adult Golden Eagle.  I caught sight of the bird through the scope and slowly watched it drift south, interacting with an adult Bald Eagle along the way.  I tried to get digiscoped shots of the bird but the results were less than stellar but given the great distance I was lucky to get anything at all for photos.  The Golden Eagle becomes species #247 for the year in Hampshire County.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2020

American Tree Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Dec 1, 2020

On the first on the month I headed over to Arcadia primarily trying to locate some late warblers and any other lingering species I could find.  After a bit of walking I located two Yellow rumped Warblers (marking 44 consecutive months of finding at least one warbler in Hampshire County...more on that at the following link)

Two Golden Eagles this morning plus lots of other stuff the last several days

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2019

Golden Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2019

Canada Geese, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 16, 2019

After yet another cold front passed through last night the winds were howling out of the north when I arrived at Winsor Dam this morning in the hopes of finding birds moving on the strong winds.  Although it was very cold and windy at the dam there is no better spot to be in those conditions in the fall then at Winsor Dam.  Although there was not too much in the way of waterfowl moving I nevertheless had a stellar morning there with not one but two Golden Eagles and an unidentified swallow species.  I spotted the first Golden Eagle (a juvenile) as it steadily moved south and got some decent views through the scope and tried for a few digiscoped shots.  The couple other birders there also got to see before it disappeared.  Perhaps 10-15 minutes later I spotted another interesting eagle moving along the same line and this one turned out to be an adult Golden Eagle.  I have never had two Golden Eagles in the same day in Hampshire County and have only had two in the same day once before in Massachusetts...back in the late 1990's when I was out in the Berkshires.  The most frustrating sighting of the day was a swallow species that rocketed past.  I got just a brief look at the bird and couldn't get any details off of it before it disappeared beyond it not being a Barn Swallow.  Any swallow around here in November is very rare but I just didn't get a good enough look to ID...the one that got away.

Although I didn't attempt to stop by and see it lately the Pacific slope Flycatcher was seen and photographed again for the last couple days.  A truly tough bird as he has made it through the record setting cold with multiple days with lows around 10 and daytime highs at or below freezing and some strong winds.  It appears to be feeding on berries when it gets too cold for insects to be flying.  The bird has now been around for at least three and a half weeks.

Snow Goose, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Nov 15, 2019

Friday turned out to be the warmest day in the last several with highs that eventually reached into the mid 40's (where it should be this time of year) after another cold start in the low 20's.  I hit a number of spots in the morning including UMASS (nothing too noteworthy), then down to the Honey Pot and then across Route 9 to Aqua Vitae Road (best bird at either spot was a single Snow Goose in with a few hundred Canada Geese) and then finally over to the rail trail.  I intended to search some of the marshes along the rail trail but with a few fields yet to be cut down, access was nonexistent.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle' on ice, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

Eastern Bluebird, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

American Robins, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Nov 14, 2019

After work on Thursday morning I headed over to Arcadia with my main focus being lingering warblers and waterfowl.  I had a couple of small groups of Yellow rumped Warblers but could not find any rare warblers among them.  I had seven species of waterfowl but nothing out of the ordinary.  Other highlights included an American Woodcock that exploded from right in front of me when I was exploring some areas along the Mill River and lots of American Robins in the old orchard area.

American Coots, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 13, 2019

On yet another bitter cold morning I stopped at Great Pond on my way to work on Wednesday to see if the American Coots reported there over the previous few mornings were still around.  All the shallow parts of the pond were frozen but there was still a decent amount of open water which held seven American Coots (an oddly tough species to find in the county for some reason).  The total of seven is the largest group of them I have ever had in the county beating my previous high of half a dozen at Quabbin Park back in 2007.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 10, 2019

Downy Woodpecker, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Nov 10, 2019

I took advantage of a hunter free day on Sunday morning by checking a few spots in the East Meadows.  Nothing too unusual but five Yellow rumped Warblers were a good count for mid November.  They were in the same general area I had a Yellow rumped Warbler overwinter last winter so hopefully some stick around again.

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 12, 2019

Black Bear, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 14, 2019

At home the cameras caught yet another previously banded Black capped Chickadee on Tuesday...a bird banded back in 2017!  Unfortunately I had a visit from a bear on Friday so I will have to hold off on putting out any suet or feed for a bit.