A near record setting June comes to an end

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 30, 2026

Mallard with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 30, 2026

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 30, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 30, 2026

June has quickly come to an end and it ended on a hot note with steadily rising temps that will continue to rise into the first few days of July with a likely record setting heat wave.  As for June I finished with a total of 144 species for the month in Hampshire County, which is just one species behind my best ever June in the county (which occurred in 2021).  Among the rarities for the month were a Great Cormorant at the Holyoke Dam, a Northern Harrier in Hadley, a Red headed Woodpecker and Merlins at Quabbin Park, multiple Red Crossbills at a variety of locations and Blue Grosbeaks at the Honey Pot.  Nothing new today but lots of evidence of breeding with fledglings and adults carrying food to hungry youngsters.  

More new species as winter continues

Hooded Mergansers, Swift River, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2026

Mallards, Swift River, Belchertown, MA, Feb 17, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 16, 2026

Hermit Thrush, Hadley, MA, Feb 15, 2026

American Robin, Hadley, MA, Feb 15, 2026

Common Goldeneye, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Feb 15, 2026

Barred Owl, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 14, 2026

Tufted Titmouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 14, 2026

During the week I was back here in this Arctic hell I did manage to track down a number of new species in the county for the year including a few unusual ones with a Pine Warbler probably being the most unusual.  The extreme cold let up a bit with more average temps overall.  The snow pack is still well over a foot and half on average and most bodies of water remain frozen solid (including Quabbin).  The few patches of open water have featured some unusual waterfowl (discussed more in depth here).  I managed to track down twenty two new species for the year in the county while I was back and my total now stands at 88.  I'm now off to Texas and then Arizona to soak in some more warmth and find more birds.  Hopefully some of the snow and ice will be gone by the time I get back home.

Back home in the snow and cold for a short time

Pine Warbler, Williamsburg, MA, Feb 13, 2026

Bufflehead, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Feb 13, 2026

Greater Scaup, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Feb 13, 2026

Ring necked Ducks, Coolidge Bridge, Hadley, MA, Feb 13, 2026

Mallards, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Feb 13, 2026

Wilson eating snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Feb 12, 2026

Eastern Towhee, Granby, MA, Feb 12, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Feb 11, 2026

After a long ride home with Wilson that started before dawn on Monday we arrived home to a snow filled hellscape on Tuesday.  Thankfully we missed the absolutely brutal cold of the weekend when it was below zero with wind chills at -30.  The only silver lining was I still had some new species to try to find in Hampshire County for the year as I only had New Years Day to find stuff before I left to Florida.  After spending most of the morning Wednesday cleaning up all the snow I eventually made it out to try to track down a Yellow rumped Warbler along the river and eventually I had a single flyover.  I then spent some time trudging through a foot and a half of snow trying to track it down to get a photo without any luck...just ended up getting soaked.  I also stopped by Winsor Dam and found the reservoir totally iced over...something that doesn't occur most years.  Thursday we had to drive down to Tufts for an appointment for Wilson in the morning and the only birding I did was to stop down at a private residence where an Eastern Towhee is overwintering.  I managed to get some good looks and marginal photos of the bird after a bit of looking (thanks Carol for allowing me to stop by).  Friday was a very cold morning with a low near 10 but the winds from the last couple days had abated.  My main focus for the morning would be trying to catch up with a Pine Warbler at a private residence in Williamsburg (which I did indeed catch up with).  Before making it to see the Pine Warbler I was out the door well before dawn to chase down owls and hopefully get a look at a rocket launch headed to the International Space Station (I missed seeing that).  Owls were around and I had a few species before hiking a bit in Williamsburg where I had at least three Red Crossbills flying over.  Around eight I made it to the spot with the warbler and had the bird on a couple occasions coming into a mealworm feeder over the course of 45 minutes.  I then headed east with stops at Arcadia where I had a couple Yellow rumped Warblers, the Coolidge Bridge where I had both species of scaup, three Ring necked Ducks, a couple Bufflehead and a possible Barrow's Goldeneye and then Aqua Vitae Road before going home to pick up Wilson for a walk.  Once back home I had a couple Black Vultures flying over the house.  By the end of the day I had found several new species for the year in the county and my count now stands at 82.  

Black headed Gull at Winsor Dam this morning

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Red breasted Merganser and White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

November started off on the right foot with a very rare for the area Black headed Gull this morning at Winsor Dam.  After heavy rain overnight and very windy conditions today dawned mainly clear with a strong westerly wind.  I certainly had high hopes that something good would show up at Winsor Dam so that is where I went before sunrise.  I arrived just after Ted and we immediately started scanning the water and the air.  We could see hundreds of gulls milling about way, way out with many seeming to want to head out to the southwest before mainly being blown back.  It was tough to make out much for species as they were so distant.  Eventually groups started coming in closer and most were Ring billed Gulls.  As we were sorting through one group of perhaps 35 gulls Ted said he had an interesting bird in the flock.  I was able to get on it with the scope as the birds milled around and fought the wind.  The interesting bird had a dark carpel bar on the upper side, dark tail tip and dark trailing edge which seemed right for Bonaparte's Gull but the underside of the wings showed a dark triangle and the bird was only slightly smaller than the Ring billed Gulls and seemed to be able to fight the wind as well as the Ring billed Gulls (unlike the Bonaparte's Gull we saw perhaps 15 minutes after seeing this bird).  With the field marks there was nothing else would could come up with besides a Black headed Gull...a truly rare sighting in the area.  The gulls within this group all disappeared off to the southwest and were not seen again.  As mentioned above another group of gulls arriving from the north a bit later contained a Bonaparte's Gull and the two individuals were quite different in size, plumage and behavior when compared.  This is only my third Black headed Gull I have ever had in the county with the other two records both being in spring with one in March 2013 and another in April 2015 and both in the farm fields on the Hadley/Amherst border.  Beyond the gulls we had a decent diversity of waterfowl with a total of eleven species as well as some raptors migrating.

January ends on a cold note but still gets me my second highest total ever for the month in Hampshire County

Merlin, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Horned Lark, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Bald Eagles eating goose carcass, Dawson Conservation Area, Hadley, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Black Vultures, Amherst, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Common Loons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 23, 2025

Merlin, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 25, 2025

Savannah Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 25, 2025

Northern Harrier, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 25, 2025

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Hadley, MA, Jan 26, 2025

Downy Woodpecker, Hadley, MA, Jan 26, 2025

Pileated Woodpecker, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jan 27, 2025

Barred Owl, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jan 27, 2025

White throated Sparrow, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Jan 27, 2025

Mallards (with one dead), Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Jan 27, 2025

Our very cold weather continues with a brief respite for a few days with highs that finally broke freezing (barely).  The brutal cold certainly killed off some half hardy species trying to overwinter.  Most open water has now frozen over with even Quabbin nearly frozen solid (something that has not happened in several years).  The lack of open water has concentrated the remaining waterfowl still hanging in the area and has resulted in some unusual species and impressive counts of others.  Unfortunately bird flu has started to impact the area and the most obvious victims so far has been waterfowl and the concentrating of the ducks and geese around will only spread it faster.  I continue to have a great start to the year with an impressive 103 species in Hampshire County, my second highest total for the month ever with only 2021 beating it with a 105 species total.  Although there are a few days left in the month this total will be where January ends for me here as I head to the tropics of Costa Rica...much more on that when I get back. 

Influx of species to end April

Mallard duckling, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Mallard ducklings with adult, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 30, 2024

American Robin with leucism on nest, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Magnolia Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Field Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 30, 2024

Red Crossbill, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2024

Eastern Cottontail, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 29, 2024

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2024

Veery, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2024

Canada Geese with goslings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2024

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2024

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 30, 2024

The end of April has now arrived and the last few days have brought in a number of new species as migration conditions have improved.  This influx (along with a few rarities) pushed my monthly total for Hampshire County to a record 156 species (my previous best for April was 151 in 2019).  Due to the weather we have had for the last few weeks the trees have not popped out their leaves as much as they usually do by this point which has made finding bird higher up a bit easier.  Unfortunately I recently hurt my back at work, which has curtailed some of my birding plans going forward through May. The only silver lining is that walking is about the only thing that makes the pain go away for a bit and the doctor has encouraged walking as much as I can tolerate. I will be out as much as I can be but long, steeper hikes will have to wait a bit.  The last three days of the month have given me a taste of what is to come as migration heads toward its peak in May.  I have added 23 new species in just the last three days including a few early arrivals.  Beyond the new arrivals coming in by the day, earlier arriving species have already got fledglings out and about.

I have managed to have some good stuff at the house as I spend more time there.  I got my first photo of a Field Sparrow in the yard as it fed along with White throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows on the lawn.  The deck boxes have cameras on them just waiting for the Hooded Mergansers to fledge.  I have also seen at least two banded Black capped Chickadees still kicking around the yard.  In addition I have had a lucky 13species of warbler so far just in the yard.  More on warblers at the end of April can be found at the following link:  end of April warblers.