Our latest heat wave continued into its fifth day today with temps in the 90's and high humidity. It has had a real tropical feel around here since we returned on July 4th from our trip to Canada and it does not look to be changing any time soon. Due to the heat, work and other commitments I have not been out as much as I would have liked but I still got out as much as I could. Although the amount of song has decreased substantially the evidence of breeding for the season is most everywhere you look, including some unusual breeders in the county including Osprey, Purple Martin and Blue Grosbeak. The first shorebirds heading south have also started showing up but the lack of suitable habitat for them to use makes tracking them down tough.
Also an update on what looks to be a very active hurricane season. The predictions going into the season called for a much above average season due to record high sea temps and the disappearance of the strong El Nino and a change to La Nina conditions. There also looks to be an increase in the number of tropical waves coming off of Africa due to an above average monsoon season there. All of these factors taken together just about guarantees an above average hurricane season in the Atlantic. As predicted the season has already gotten off to a quick and deadly start with three named storms already and one, Beryl, becoming a Cat 5 hurricane which set a number of records including the earliest Cat 4 and Cat 5 hurricane ever in the Atlantic. It also formed in an area off the coast of Africa that usually doesn't start kicking off tropical systems until later in the season. Beryl made multiple landfalls as a hurricane (several small islands off Grenada and St Vincent), the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and the mid Texas coast before running up through the middle of the US and actually bringing us a little rain yesterday. It is certainly a bad sign that the predictions for a rough season look to be correct.
The first three days of May has seen a decent influx of species and I have tried to get out as much as I can. My back injury has certainly curtailed my typical activity this time of year as it hurts too much to go off the beaten path. I can certainly say that I'm thankfully I have a light camera set up now as there is no way I could lug around my old 7D with the way I have been feeling. I had to drop some work paperwork off in Northampton and headed there before dawn after walking up at 3AM and then finally getting out of bed around 4:15 and needed to enjoy the seat warmer in the car for a bit and then take some walks to loosen the back up for the day. The first day of the month produced an amazing 118 species. I'm sure I could have added several more species with more effort off the trail but not to be at this point.
The second started off quite cool and cloudy with occasional drizzle but once the sun broke out late in the morning it warmed up rapidly with temps near 80. The radar overnight showed lots of birds moving and I had thoughts of walking at Skinner SP but my back just said no so I stayed in level areas. I found a few new species over the course of the day and eked out another 100 species day with the last bird of the day being a Lincoln's Sparrow at home.
Today I made a few early walks in Hadley after another good night of migration. It was yet another cloudy start but not as cold as the day before. The most noticeable species for the morning seemed to be Nashville Warblers with quite a few at multiple locations. I really wanted to walk the ridge on the Holyoke range but I figured my back would not be able to take the uneven surfaces. I stuck to even paths to avoid any issues. I didn't stay out as long as previous days and despite that I was able to reach 102 species for the day. The house was quite productive with quite a few warblers around (a dozen species at least).
