The third week of October

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Song Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Common Loons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 20, 2025

Winsor Dam, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 20, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

 

Blue Jay, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

 

House Wren, Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

White crowned Sparrow, Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Amherst, MA, Oct 17, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 16, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 15, 2025

The last week has seen more great migration conditions early on and then a bit of a warm up and some rain to end the time period.  Warbler migration is largely over beyond the late season migrants although I did have a very good day yesterday with a total of eight species of warblers (quite good for this late in the month this year given all the great migration conditions).  Sparrows continue to arrive in numbers with a great selection of species around.  Waterfowl numbers and diversity have been on the low side so far although I expect that will change with the arrival of cooler weather into the four week of November.  Purple Finches and Pine Siskins continue to increase in number and will hopefully be just the vanguard of irruptive species to arrive this year...time will tell.  I'm a bit behind for the month as waterfowl has not really shown up in numbers and I have concentrated on finding late warblers...I currently stand at 125 species, which is my lowest count at this point in October since 2017.  I also presented a program at the Hampshire Bird Club on the evening of the 14th and it was apparently well received and had the biggest crowd for a program at the club since Covid.  The topic was "Endemic Warblers of the Caribbean".  I have made a couple presentations recently and have found that I really enjoy doing them.

End of the first week of October

Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Green winged Teal with a Greater Yellowlegs, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Bay breasted Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Eastern Wood Pewee, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Pale Tiger Moth caterpillar, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Bobcat, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Slug Moth caterpillar (Red Cross button slug or an abbreviated button slug), Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Lincoln's Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and White throated Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2025

Black throated Blue Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2025

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.

My second best August in the county ends with phalarope and Sanderlings

Hermit Thrush, Belchertown, MA, Aug 31, 2025

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 31, 2025

Red eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Aug 31, 2025

Red breasted Nuthatch, Belchertown, MA, Aug 31, 2025

Raccoon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 31, 2025

Blackburnian Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 30, 2025

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 30, 2025

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Magnolia Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Black throated Green Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2025

Olive sided Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 28, 2025

Gray Catbird, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 28, 2025

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 28, 2025

As August comes I managed to find a total of  165 species in Hampshire County, which puts me in the number two spot for the most species I have ever had for the month in the county (just one species behind my best total in 2023, when I had 166 species).  I have been concentrating hard on warblers (as one would expect) and I have found a number of early arrivals for the month with an especially good showing of Bay breasted Warblers and Cape May Warblers.  I managed a total of 26 species of warblers for the month.  Beyond warblers the last few days of the month have had a few rarities including a couple of Sanderlings at the Holyoke Dam yesterday and a extremely distant phalarope at Winsor Dam today plus an very early Red necked Grebe.  In addition there seems to be a bit of an incursion of Red breasted Nuthatches ongoing as well as slowly increasing numbers of Red Crossbills and Purple Finches...hopefully the beginning of a good season of irruptives to come.  The end of August (the 28th to be exact)  brought the 14th anniversary of the arrival of Hurricane Irene into the area and with it some of the most epic birding ever.  The tropics are quiet right now but we are rapidly approaching the peak of hurricane season and perhaps this year a tropical system will once again impact the area...we shall see.  The models are hinting at some activity coming up.