The first week of October ended sunny and warm as we enjoyed four days in a row with mostly sunny conditions and temperatures way above normal in the upper 70's into the low 80's...a last gasp of summer as we continue the long, cold slide toward the hell that is winter. After great migration conditions for the first couple days of the month the last couple days have had less than favorable winds and there was not a big turnover of species. I continued to concentrate on warblers and have found a number of unique individuals including the possible hybrid and an odd Black throated Blue Warbler mentioned in the previous link plus an oddly plumaged Yellow rumped Warbler. I stayed mostly in the Pelham and Belchertown area for most of the days except yesterday when I spent multiple hours in Amherst and Hadley before an appointment. The highlight by far yesterday was a brief look at a Common Gallinule along the rail trail in Amherst...a fairly rare species in the area with this one being just my ninth record in the county. Today I finished out the first week fairly close to home with a decent selection of species although the early low clouds and breezy conditions made photography a bit of a struggle compared to the previous few days. In addition to birds I have had some good luck with finding both mammals and a variety of caterpillars.
I will be presenting a program at the Hampshire Bird Club a week from today...the title of the program is "Endemic Warblers of the Caribbean". The program is free and open to the public...more info at the following link.
