End of October

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 30, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 30, 2024

American Robin with leucism, Hadley, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Purple Finch, Amherst, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Black Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 29, 2024

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA

Black Vulture, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 27, 2024

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 25, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2024

Dark eyed Junco, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 23, 2024

Common Yellowthroat, Amherst, MA, Oct 22, 2024

The month of October has about come to an end so I will take a quick look at what the month produced.  I ended the month with 148 species in Hampshire County, which puts me at the high end of what I typically get.  Overall the weather was dry, sunny with slightly higher than typical temps and decent migration conditions (including some record warmth).  I mainly concentrated on warblers when I had free time.  Notables for the month included the long staying Black bellied Whistling Duck, Brant, Ruddy Duck, Lesser Black backed Gull, a few late swallows, Gray cheeked Thrush and a few late warblers and an ever increasing number of Purple Finches.  As the month comes to an end the diversity of waterfowl has ramped up and perhaps a rarity will show up among the more typical species.

Say's Phoebe continues plus a few more new species for the year and an oddly plumaged American Robin

 

American Robin with leucism, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 14, 2024

American Robin with leucism, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 14, 2024

American Robin with leucism, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 14, 2024

American Robin with leucism, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 14, 2024

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 14, 2024

Pine Siskin, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 14, 2024

On my day off on Friday I stayed around the local area with visits to multiple locations including Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Winsor Dam.  I had hopes to find some unusual waterfowl but came up largely empty on that quest.  Nonetheless there were still notable species around with continued numbers of Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins at multiple locations as well as a brief look at the Say's Phoebe at the dam, a couple Eastern Towhees in the park and one singing Pine Warbler.  One of the more interesting birds of the morning was a partially leucistic American Robin in among several hundred typical robins.  It mainly had white feathers on its right side and it was a very interesting looking individual, especially in flight.   

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 17, 2024

I fought through the beginning of a cold at work on Saturday and when I got out this morning I didn't venture far from the warm car.  I first made a stop at Great Pond where I had brief look at a male Blue winged Teal among the Green winged Teal plus a Lesser Scaup, Wilson's Snipe, at least one Rusty Blackbird and a singing White crowned Sparrow.  I then drove down through fields in Hadley and Amherst looking for flocks of geese and finding none.  My last stop before home was to Winsor Dam where I found the continued Say's Phoebe on the backside of the admin building actively catching insects and calling a little.  He surprisingly made it through the entire winter at the location, first arriving on December 10th. ...this marks three months since I first saw it on December 17th after I returned from a trip to Brazil and Panama.

Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 13, 2024

Northern Cardinal, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 14, 2024

With the water feature now open for business for another season I had several captures in the first couple days with a Black capped Chickadee being the first species of the year.  I have got half a dozen bird species captured so far as well a single mammal...certainly many more stuff to come.

February comes to an end

Cedar Waxwing, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

American Robin with partial leucism, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Feb 22, 2024

February has now about come to an end and I will take a look at what I was able to find the last several days.  On Thursday the 22nd I stopped by Arcadia after another long shift at work and had some waterfowl, a partially leucistic American Robin, some close looks at Cedar Waxwings and a couple Yellow rumped Warblers.  A couple other stops during the morning were fairly quiet with the most notable species being more Red Crossbills.

Turkey Vultures, Hadley, MA, Feb 24, 2024

Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures and Common Grackles, Hadley, MA, Feb 24, 2024

After work on a windy Saturday morning I checked a few spots on my way home with several species of waterfowl along the river on my first stop.  A field in Hadley featured a very large mixed flock (8000+) of Common Grackles, Red winged Blackbirds, European Starlings and Brown headed Cowbirds with the majority being Common Grackles.  I tried to find a Yellow headed Blackbird in among the hordes without any luck.  Other notables around the field included my first Killdeer of the year, an Eastern Meadowlark, five Black Vultures and 28 Turkey Vultures.  A stop off at Winsor Dam failed to turn up either Pine Warblers or the recently relocated Say's Phoebe with the most notable sighting being a couple Red Crossbills.

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Eastern Bluebird, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 25, 2024

Sunday I had just a short period of time in the morning before having to travel up the the Berkshires for some family obligations.  It was one of the coldest mornings of the winter season with a temp around 10.  I decided to my time at Quabbin with a visit to Quabbin Park and then Winsor Dam.  Quabbin Park featured a Common Loon, five Red Crossbills and a couple Eastern Towhees.  Winsor Dam had more loons and Red Crossbills plus five Pine Warblers.

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warblers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Ring necked Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warbler, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Hooded Mergansers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Eastern Phoebe, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

White throated Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Pine Warbler, South Cemetery,  Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, South Cemetery,  Belchertown, MA, Feb 26, 2024

Monday was another sunny day with a cool start, although not as cold as the previous day.  It warmed up nicely by the end of the day with highs in the low/mid 50's.  The big story for Monday was Pine Warblers  with at least eleven at three different spots in Belchertown with seven at Winsor Dam, one at Lake Wallace and three at a cemetery in Belchertown.  I can't understate how unusual it is to have any Pine Warblers in the area in the winter, much less double digit counts.  The Say's Phoebe also made its presence known again at the dam and I added a Eastern Phoebe at Lake Wallace, making it a two phoebe day.  I also added three Chipping Sparrows for the day.  More on the Pine Warblers for the day at the following link.

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Feb 27, 2024

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 27, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 27, 2024

On Tuesday I headed out to check a few spots along the river in Hadley and South Hadley for possible Yellow rumped Warblers and found none.  There were other birds around for sure and eventually the temps reached a record breaking high around 60...very nice for late February.  I then headed back over to Winsor Dam where I had several notable species (the Say's Phoebe, Pine Warblers, Red Crossbills and a couple Common Loons).  Most other stops didn't feature anything too unusual. 

Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Common Goldeneyes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Pine Warbler, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 28, 2024

My last free day to bird for the month was today and it was a rainy, windy and warm day to start and I stayed close to home with multiple visits to Winsor Dam where I had some waterfowl brought in by the weather including a female Northern Shoveler flying past with some Mallards and a dozen Common Goldeneyes that put on some nice displaying.  The Say's Phoebe, Pine Warblers and Red Crossbills also continued to show at the dam.

I ended the month with a total of 96 species, which is above a typical February here and is the third highest total I have had for a February in the county...my best was 2022 with 108 species and second best was 2021 with 97 species.

Sage Thrasher continues in Hatfield despite continued snow and cold

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

Sage Thrasher, Hatfield, MA, Feb 18, 2021

The Sage Thrasher that was first discovered in December in Hatfield continues at least through this morning when I made the half mile icy walk in to the spot and found the bird fairly quickly.  There have been just a few reports of the bird for the last few weeks as snow made access to the area quite difficult.  The thrasher seemed healthy and quite content in its favored location despite all the recent snow and cold weather.  Unless a predator manages to capture it I don't see any reason it will not make it through the entire winter as it has already endured some very cold and snowy weather.  What happens to the bird once spring begins to arrive is anyone's guess but it will be hard pressed to make a journey back west where it belongs but who knows?

Hooded Mergansers (part of flock of 73), Swift River, Ware, MA, Feb 17, 2021

Barred Owl, Hadley, MA, Feb 15, 2021

Partially leucistic American Robin, South Hadley, MA, Feb 13, 2021

Wilson enjoying the snow, Belchertown, MA, Feb 10, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 10, 2021

I have gotten out a bit on a few days over the last week or so between lots of time at work but many areas were tough to access due to snow and many areas of previously open water have now frozen over (including the Quabbin Reservoir).  I have caught with some other continued rarities for the month including the Red headed Woodpecker in Northampton plus a few other unusual species including Black Vultures and Pine Grosbeaks (as well as a few species of owls).  I also came across a partially leucistic American Robin among a large flock of the species in South Hadley.  With all the snow Wilson has been super excited to go play in it and eat as much of it as he possibly can.

Duck box with fresh cedar shavings, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2021

Remnants from a Northern Flicker using duck box as roosting location, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2021

As the nesting season for waterfowl is rapidly approaching I took some time to get the three duck boxes ready for another season.  One of the box has been used as a roosting location of a Northern Flicker for the winter and the box had lots of feathers in it.  Fingers crossed for another successful season of nesting for Hooded Mergansers (and perhaps Wood Ducks).