First week of August sets me on a record pace for the month in Hampshire County

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, Aug 7, 2025

Orchard Oriole, Great Pond, Hatfield, Aug 7, 2025

Wood Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, Aug 7, 2025

Mink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 7, 2025

Greater Yellowlegs, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 6, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2025

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Yellow Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Cedar Waxwing with nest material, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Canada Warbler, Pelham, MA, Aug 2, 2025

Grasshopper Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 2, 2025

The first week of August has now come to an end and it has been a productive week with a total of 138 species in Hampshire County (my highest total ever for the first week of August...previous best was 137 in 2023 and I had my best August that year with 166 species!) and I managed to do this as I nurse some ongoing back pain.  Getting out walking helps and I have taken advantage of my time outside.  I have found a number of unusual species as well as lingering species that usually have headed off to the south already.  Highlights have included a dozen species of shorebirds (including a White rumped Sandpiper), Bonaparte's Gull, Marsh Wren, Grasshopper Sparrow, a few late Orchard Orioles, 18 species of warblers including a couple late Cerulean Warblers and a Blue Grosbeak.  The Connecticut River north of the Holyoke Dam has featured mudflats for a few days due to the water lever being lowered to have some work done on the dam.  Shorebirds have shown up along the river and although nothing too unusual it is great to see shorebirds away from the few flooded small ponds in the fields along the river.  This is now prime season for an unusual wader to show up during post breeding dispersal plus the peak of Green Herons in the area.  

Migrants continue to trickle in the last several days including an early Palm Warbler and a intergrade Green winged Teal

Palm Warbler 'western', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Ring necked Ducks', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Mink, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Mink, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Mink, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Canada Geese (large and small), Tri Town beach, Whately, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Intergrade Green winged Teal (Eurasian x American Green winged Teal hybrid), Hadley, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Intergrade Green winged Teal (Eurasian x American Green winged Teal hybrid), Hadley, MA, Mar 27, 2018

Belted Kingfisher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 24, 2018

Greater White fronted Goose, UMASS campus Pond, Amherst, MA, Mar 2018

I have been down somewhat the last several days sick but I finally felt good enough this morning to spend a bit more than just a short time outside.  I was rewarded with several good birds this morning including my first Eastern Phoebe and Tree Swallows (at Arcadia and Lake Wallace respectively).  Other notables this morning included at least five Yellow rumped Warblers at Arcadia and the continued Palm Warbler at Lake Wallace (more on the initial sighting of that bird here: Palm Warbler).  In the afternoon I had to head out for an appointment but I managed to make a quick stop along the river in Hadley on my way to Deerfield and turned up a female Gadwall as well as an intergrade Green winged Teal (a hybrid of American Green winged Teal x Eurasian Green winged Teal aka Common Teal).  I have never had this hybrid before and have only had pure Eurasian Green winged Teal twice before in western mass...once in Hampshire County along Aqua Vitae Road back in April 2011 and once in Hampden County at Fannie Stebbins in March 2012.  I also stopped briefly at Tri Town beach in Whately to check out the geese and had just Canada Geese although one was quite small but just didn't look right for Cackling Goose.  The last several days have also turned up a few other new birds for the year including Belted Kingfisher (finally), Greater White fronted Goose and Wilson's Snipe.  Besides the birds today I had a close encounter with a Mink at Lake Wallace which provided some photo opportunities.  This March is shaping up to be my most productive ever in the county with a total of 97 species so far (already a few ahead of my previous best March) and there are still a few days of the month left.  Hopefully some more southerly winds the next few days will be productive.

A few more waders and shorebirds (plus others) the last few days

Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Solitary Sandpipers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Spotted Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Belted Kingfisher, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Double crested Cormorant, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

I spent the morning today hitting up several spots mainly in search of waders and shorebirds and although the numbers were still quite low at least there was some variety with three species of waders (Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and Green Heron) and four species of shorebirds (Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper). It continues to be tough to find decent habitat in he county for the species mentioned above. The continued drought has kept the water levels low along the river which means some sandbars on the river but also means the otherwise productive shallow areas have been overgrown with vegetation. I'm sure the sandbars would be productive if the river didn't have so much boat traffic on it but that is just not the case. I started off the morning trying to view the river before activity got too heavy but fog made viewing impossible. I then headed over to Arcadia where I had a couple Great Egrets in flight plus a small plowed field with over a dozen Killdeer. Despite some effort in the area I was never able to find where the egrets settled down. Lower Mill Pond once again provided the most variety in regards to shorebirds with a few Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers plus at least seven Solitary Sandpipers (with some interesting interaction between them....see attached video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28751549541/in/dateposted-public/
I then continued on to the Holyoke Dam where I had a dozen Double crested Cormorants, five Great Blue Herons, two Spotted Sandpipers and three Least Sandpipers. Decent numbers of gulls continued there with around eighty Ring billed Gulls. I wish the Holyoke Dam area were a bit closer because I'm certain it would prove very productive with more continuous coverage. A brief stop at Lake Wallace produced the expected waterfowl plus seven Green Herons.

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Green winged Teal with Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Yesterday I stayed local with early morning stops at Lake Wallace and Quabbin Park. Lake Wallace once again produced some decent waterfowl numbers with the highlights including a Green winged Teal and 87 Wood Ducks. Other notables at the lake included a season high eleven Green Herons and a flock of hundreds of blackbirds and grackles. No luck finding the Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam but I did have three Common Loons there. Quabbin Park itself was fairly quiet with just a couple Spotted Sandpipers along the shore and a couple of mixed species flocks that certainly hint at what is to come over the next several weeks as migration picks up.

Green Heron, rail trail, Amherst, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Mink, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Red tailed Hawk, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, Aug 5, 2016

On Friday I did mainly the same route I did today but with a few added stops in Hadley. Highlights from Friday included half a dozen Green Herons and 310+ Tree Swallows along the rail trail in Amherst; a few Fish Crows at the Honey Pot and ten Double crested Cormorants, 11 Great Blue Herons, 107 Ring billed Gulls and 55+ Chimney Swifts at the Holyoke Dam.  I also had a Mink at the dam that kept popping in and out of view as it worked its way around the rocks.

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2016

The Gray Fox made a couple of more appearances on Friday morning stopping by at around 2:30AM and again a little after 4AM.  The hummingbirds are maxing out around now with up to seven in view at once (who knows how many individuals are actually around). I have also had a Louisiana Waterthrush singing a few times in the early morning along Jabish Brook.

Weekend birding...more waterfowl and a few new species for the year

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 18, 2015

Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 18, 2015

Red necked Grebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 18, 2015

Kelvin-Helmoltz clouds, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 18, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 18, 2015

With the forecast for freezing rain/snow/rain for the day today I headed out early to get in a little birding before the weather turned to shit.  I attempted once again to try to track down a screech owl (this time along the Swift River) but once again failed.  My owling stops turned up just three Great Horned Owls but I guess that is better than nothing.  As the skies brightened up a bit I headed to Winsor Dam where I had a group of about 130 gulls on the water but nothing unusual among them.  Waterfowl included four Black Ducks, 26 Mallards, three Common Mergansers and a couple Horned Grebes. I also had some Kelvin-Helmoltz clouds (AKA wave clouds) that appeared briefly on the horizon just before sunrise...the photo just does not do the formation justice...really neat to see.  A ride through Quabbin Park found some areas of open water which contained a couple Black Ducks, three Common Mergansers and a Hooded Mergansers.  I'm sure there were other species out there but I didn't spend tons of time looking before I headed back to Winsor Dam where I stayed for about an hour before the freezing rain started.  The waterfowl species composition had changed a bit with nine Black Ducks, 14 Mallards, ten Common Mergansers, a Horned Grebe and a Red necked Grebe.  Other notables around included four Bald Eagles (all adults with a pair at the nest site), a Common Raven and a flyby Common Redpoll (there may have been more than one but I never saw them, heard only).  I made it home before the roads got slick and took Wilson for a walk in the rain in the woods near the house where we flushed up a Ruffed Grouse.  The redpoll added yet another species to the county list for the month (#83).

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 17, 2015

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 17, 2015

Horned Grebes, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 17, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jan 17, 2015

Another productive morning at Winsor Dam on Saturday as I spent about an hour and a half there.  The ice is slowly but surely closing in on the open water but large areas of open water are still available for waterfowl.  When I arrived just before nine I immediately noticed some great birds out on the water including two distant Red necked Grebes and two Horned Grebes.  I headed out across the dam to try to get a better view (and some photos of the grebes).  About half way across the dam I scanned for the birds and then noticed a small dark diving duck that was just too far away to identify.  As I was trying to figure this bird out I heard the calls of White winged Crossbills and looked up to see three of them flying rapidly south.  As I only had the scope and phone I never got a photo of the birds.  I then went back to the diving duck and moved closer to it along the dam and finally got good views and it was a Bufflehead (likely the same individual I found here yesterday).  I took a couple iPhone shots and then the phone died (a common problem in cold weather).  I decided I wanted some photos of the bird so I walked back to the car and got my good camera and then came back to get some photos.  I also noticed some more ducks on the far western shore and started scanning through them when a Bald Eagle flushed the group.  The group eventually settled back down on the water and I counted a total of 243 Mallards and a dozen Black Ducks.  Overall a very productive stop as once again Quabbin produced some quality birds.  The crossbills also added another species for the month in the county bringing me up to 82 so far.

Mink, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jan 17, 2015

Before stopping at Winsor Dam I once again hit a few spots along the Connecticut River from South Hadley to Hadley.  I started out before dawn below the Holyoke Dam and counted a total of 690 Canada Geese, four Mute Swans, 44 Mallards, 41 Common Goldeneyes and five Common Mergansers plus a continued Peregrine Falcon sitting on a street light on the bridge.  I headed north hitting the Dinosaur footprints area (some Canada Geese and a few Common Mergansers), the river from the East Meadows (185 Canada Geese, 12 Mallards and four Common Mergansers), and then the Honey Pot (145 Canada Geese, 7 Common Mergansers, 28 Horned Larks and a light Savannah Sparrow among others).  The Honey Pot also featured a Mink that would run along the ice and then dive back into the river, repeating the action several times as it worked its way upriver.

After dark I also had some great looks once again of Comet Lovejoy as it is now almost overhead and giving great views.