Warmth and cold and a very early Louisiana Waterthrush to start April

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Lesser Scaup with Ring necked Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Mourning Dove, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Red winged Blackbird, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Common Goldeneye, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Wilson checking out a pair of Mallards, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 2, 2026

Black capped Chickadee excavating nest hole, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Pileated Woodpecker, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Wilson enjoying the warm weather, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 1, 2026

The first three days of April have continued our seesaw weather with warmth and then cold.  We had a record warm day on the first with highs in the low 70's and then a rainy, raw day yesterday with temps in the 30's and today was a mix with cold and damp conditions in the morning and then some 60's by the end of the day.  The biggest surprise for birds so far for the month was a record early Louisiana Waterthrush today.  I have also added a few new species for the year in the county since the first with Long tailed Ducks, Chipping Sparrows and Palm Warblers.  Waterfowl continues to be around in good variety with 14 species so far.  

May comes to an end

Cedar Waxwing, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Mourning Dove fledgling, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Blue winged Warbler, Muddy Brook WMA, Hardwick, MA, May 29, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Ware, MA, May 29, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Short billed Dowitchers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2025

May has come to an end on a rainy note...much as the last third of the month has been.  The early part of the month through the middle was overall great for migration and the birds moved through a bit early with many not stopping.  Nonetheless I still had many fantastic days of birding and ended the month with 170 species in Hampshire County, which is roughly average over the last ten years or so.  Notables for the month included Brant, Dunlin and Short billed Dowitchers, Least Bittern, Black crowned Night Heron, Acadian Flycatcher, Gray cheeked Thrush, Orange crowned Warbler and Hooded Warbler (more on warblers for the month at the following link: warblers for May) plus Blue Grosbeak.  I'm sure I could have gotten even more species but circumstances at home kept me a little closer to home than usual and I was not able to stay out as long on some mornings.  

Lots of breeding birds for the middle of June

 

Virginia Rail juvenile, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2024

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2024

Eastern Towhee carrying food, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2024

House Wren nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 13, 2024

Common Mergansers, Mill River, Northampton, MA, Jun 12, 2024

Mourning Dove on nest, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 11, 2024

Eastern Bluebird nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2024

A quick post for the middle of June.  Migration is mainly over and most birds around now are in the midst of breeding with lots of adults carrying food to nests and young and a number of recently fledged birds around.  There is still lots of song but it has started to slow down, especially for some species.  Just a small sample of photos of breeding species shown above. 

Global Big Day

 

Chestnut sided Warbler at nest, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2024

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2024

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst,  MA, May 11, 2024

Field Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst,  MA, May 11, 2024

Today was the annual Global Big Day put on by eBird to try to encourage the maximum number of people to get out and bird and see how many species can be seen globally in a single day, with all the sightings being entered into eBird.  What did that mean to me?  Not much of a change from a typical day for me in migration season.  After a fitful night of sleep I was up before dawn and managed to catch just the tail end of a major aurora event...wish I was not so sleepy from muscle relaxers as the activity was apparently much more impressive around midnight.  With less than stellar migration conditions overnight there was not a big influx of new species but there were certainly birds around as it is May.  I ended the day with 117 species and I'm sure if I could have put in my usual effort and visited less accessible locations I would have added to that total.  Warblers were a major focus and I had 22 species plus multiple continued hybrids.

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2024

Blue winged Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2024

Mourning Dove nest with young, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2024

Bay breasted Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 9, 2024

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2024

Brewster's Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 9, 2024

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2024

Gray Catbird with nest material, Quabbin Park, MA, May 8, 2024

Wilson enjoying the sun, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2024

The last few days before the Global Big Day I spent mainly trying to chase down warblers within the limitations I have (ie. no climbing up and down mountains on uneven trails) and have had some fairly productive days with everyday producing 100+ species with lots of warblers among them.

Mid April update

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Song Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Say's Phoebe, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 13, 2024

Black capped Chickadee, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Great Blue Heron at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Pileated Woodpecker, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 14, 2024

Barred Owl, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Chipping Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Bald Eagle and Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Great Blue Herons at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2024

Mourning Dove on nest, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 15, 2024

The mid part of April has now arrived and with each day comes more and more in the way of somewhat early season migrants.  Overall the migration conditions for the month have been less than perfect although there was a big influx of birds overnight on Tuesday the 9th into Wednesday the 10th and more arrivals have come in the last few days in lesser numbers.  Nonetheless I have managed to add a few new species over the last few days with many more to come as migration increases as we press toward May.