A big warm up and multiple nights of good migration conditions

Purple Martin and Tree Swallows, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Northern Cardinal with nest material, Bachelor Brook Conservation Area, South Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Mourning Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Gray cheeked Thrush, Belchertown, MA, May 19, 2026

Raccoon swimming, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 19, 2026

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2026

Lawrence's Warbler, Hardwick, MA, May 18, 2026

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, May 18, 2026

Butterfly species, Quabbin Park, MA, May 18, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher constructing nest, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2026

Rainbow Scarab, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2026

Solitary Sandpiper, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Tree Swallow with nest material, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2026

Bay breasted Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Blackpoll Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2026

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 17, 2026

We have had multiple nights of great migration conditions thanks to southerly winds that also ushered in record setting temps in the 90's.  As expected I have been out as much as I can each morning before returning to take the Wilson for his required walk.  Even with some species still moving through to points to the north breeding activity around here is in full swing with the first waterfowl young out and about and many species collecting nesting material and building nests.  I have added several new species for the year in the county as well as some rarities.  The highlights included Purple Martin, Gray cheeked Thrush, Yellow breasted Chat, two new species of warbler for the year as part of my warbler big year in the US and a Lawrence's Warbler.  Migration has now peaked at this point and now we begin the downhill slide of another spring migration.  

Rufous Hummingbird in Amherst

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

 

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

I took a brief break from my typical birding by stopping by Josh Rose's house in Amherst to hopefully catch a glimpse of a Rufous Hummingbird that showed up at his feeders a few days ago.  He initially reported it as an early arriving female Ruby throated Hummingbird.  The day after the report he contacted me with some slightly better photos that showed the bird was possibly a selasphorus species of some type (Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird being the most likely).  His photos were not great so I stopped by a couple days ago to try to see the bird and get some photos however the bird never made an appearance.  Josh continued to try to get some photos and eventually he got some better ones that clearly showed it was not a Ruby throated Hummingbird.  He had a few people come by before I could get there today and Brian Z. got some great tail spread photos that confirmed the identification to Rufous Hummingbird.  At this point Josh made the decision to release the sighting to the general birding public...a tough decision to make with a rarity that shows up in your yard in a crowded neighborhood.  He let his neighbors know about the likely influx of birders and spelled out as well as possible the actions any interested birders should make if they wanted to try for this rarity to limited disruption to both his house and the general area.  With all this in mind I decided to swing by briefly this morning before the hordes would inevitably descend.  When I arrived Joe was already there as was another birder and quickly followed by a few more birders.  I had a decent look at the feeder in the front yard from my car and after a wait of perhaps 15 minutes the hummingbird made a visit to the feeder and I got a few distant photos.  I left not long after as to not be a pest to the neighborhood and free up a prime spot to view the bird for someone else.  This is only second Rufous Hummingbird I have seen in Hampshire County with my first being one that visited a feeder at a private home (also in Amherst) back on October 20th, 2012 (when Ian, Jacob and Keenan were still college students).  This western species is exceedingly rare in the county (and in all of western Massachusetts) and almost all other records pertain to individuals showing up in fall.  Spring records for the state overall are quite rare.  Other county records for the species in eBird include the one mentioned above in October of 2012, one in South Hadley in late October into early November 2005, one in Amherst from September-October 2002, multiple years of "Ruffie" overwintering at Tom Gagnon's residence in Northampton in the late 1990's and another in Northampton in September 1995.  I'm certain there are some earlier records but I could not find any.  In the end it is an exceedingly rare species in the county with spring records even more so.

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Blue headed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Butterfly species, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Other birding stops for the morning produced a variety of species including the continued record early Magnolia Warbler I found yesterday in Quabbin Park plus a noticeable increase in Blue headed Vireos at multiple locations.  I also noticed that I recently submitted my 60,000th complete eBird list with a trip to Quabbin Gate 5 yesterday...a nice place to reach a milestone list.

A record early Magnolia Warbler for me today plus a few other new arrivals despite lackluster migration conditions

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Barred Owl, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Although I didn't expect to get a whole lot this morning given the ongoing poor migration conditions the bird gods shined down on me a bit for my birthday with a record early Magnolia Warbler at Quabbin Park.  Before going to Quabbin Park I took a walk at Gate 5.  The weather was a bit cool with temps in the upper 30's with a slight north wind...at least it was sunny.  Nothing too unusual at Gate 5 although always fun to see turkeys displaying and have Blue Jays going crazy due to a Barred Owl showing itself.  Once I made it to the park I started adding species and had some decent counts of a variety of species including Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches (lots around the last several days), Eastern Towhees and Pine Warblers.  I had the pair of Merlins that are likely going to nest again in the area.  I then started getting some warbler variety as I continued walking with a Northern Yellow Warbler and then the Magnolia Warbler.  I was not expecting to find the species today but I heard it sing and immediately recognized it and knew it was very early so got some recordings and eventually some photos.  The species usually starts arriving in the area in early May and to get one this early is very unusual, especially with poor migration conditions.  My previous early date for the species in the county was April 29th back in 2011...a long standing record for me.  It was my best day for warbler diversity in the area so far this year with eight species total.  

Good start to September

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Red breasted Nuthatch, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2025

Ring billed Gull with leg bands, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Ring billed Gull with leg bands, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

American Redstart, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Wood Ducks, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Northern Waterthrush, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Red necked Phalarope (really!), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Wilson sleeping, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2025

Magnolia Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Red eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Wilson's Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Cedar Waxwing nest with nestlings, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 3, 2025

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2025

I have been able to get out quite a bit during the first few days of September and have tracked down quite a few birds, including some continued rarities as well as newly arriving migrants.  On the first I stayed around the south Quabbin and Belchertown area and among the highlights were a few Virginia Rails, Red Crossbill and a distant Red necked Phalarope at Winsor Dam.   Also had three Yellow bellied Flycatchers (a migrant that can be tough to find sometimes) plus 17 species of warblers with the most unusual being multiple Cape May Warblers.  

On the second I started off at the Holyoke Dam and had one of the two Sanderlings that have been there for several days plus a color banded Ring billed Gull.  I sent the info out to the banding lab and they got back to me right away with the details of the bird.  It was banded in June 2013 as an adult (so born in 2010 or earlier) in Varennes, Quebec just upriver from Montreal.  I then worked north with stops off at Arcadia, Silvio Conte NWR and Hickory Ridge with the highlight of these stops being a slightly late Willow Flycatcher calling and seen at Arcadia.  I added several other new species for the month but overall it was quite quiet as far as migrants were concerned.  I also made a stop at Winsor Dam and was quite happy to see a Red necked Phalarope in a bit closer than the previous day (although still quite distant).  Certainly an incursion of both Red Phalarope and Red necked Phalaropes into the area for the past few days...very cool given there were no storms forcing them down.

Today I stayed again in the Ware and Belchertown area and concentrated again on warblers with 19 species seen for the day including multiple new species for the month.  I added a few non warblers for the month as well but nothing too unusual.  So far for the month in Hampshire County I stand at 121 species which puts me well above average for the first three days of the month.