Nelson's Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Nelson's Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Nelson's Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Palm Warbler 'yellow', Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Palm Warbler 'western', Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Song Sparrow, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Swamp Sparrow, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2022
Savannah Sparrow, Herman Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 14, 2022
I ended the second week of October with a few noteworthy species. The heavy rain and wind overnight was forecast to come to an end around dawn and then get sunny but the rain and mist lingered through a good portion of the morning and the sun really never broke out. Despite the conditions I headed out after work with my first stop down to Arcadia but the rain was too heavy to spend much time outside so I decided to swing through the very muddy East Meadows looking for shorebirds but came up empty but I didn't cover many areas. Instead I decided to head over to Hadley where a Nelson's Sparrow has been seen for a few days. I arrived in the area and went out in the rain and wind and was rewarded with great looks at the Nelson's Sparrow among the other sparrows present. The area cannot take many visitors but if you keep the road open so the town can come in and out and do not trespass on the nearby private land the bird is quite easy to get (at least it was for me) and you won't create issues . Nelson's Sparrow is a rare bird in the area and this is only my third record I have ever had in Hampshire County with my previous both being at Arcadia (Sep 30, 2004 and
Oct 13, 2014). Once I had my fill of the Nelson's Sparrow I headed home and took Wilson for a walk before I headed out on my own again. I decided to try
Covey WMA with the main goal being an Orange crowned Warbler. I eventually found a very active spot with loads of sparrows and a few warblers and after a lot of looking I had brief but good views of an Orange crowned Warbler but the bird was just not cooperative for photos. The Orange crowned Warbler becomes warbler species #47 for me this year worldwide and is likely the last new warbler species for the year unless a big rarity shows up by the end of the year. More on warblers for the second week of October can be found at the following
link. Although I'm not working on a big year for Hampshire County this year and have not been immediately chasing most rarities that have shown up I nonetheless find myself at a respectable 237 species so far for the year, which turns out to be my second highest total by this date but still trailing quite a bit from my best year that occurred
last year when I had 243 species at this point and ended the year with 250 species. Still not doing a big year but it will be interesting to see what the total turns out to be by the end of the year.
I had to work on the 13th so only had a very limited time to bird on my way in and I decided to stop off at Fitzgerald Lake and see if I could find anything unusual on the water. The walk to the boardwalk was full of chips and songs of White throated Sparrows. Once I got to the water I started scanning and found the usual assortment of waterfowl but on my second scan around I had a distant American Coot working its way along the edge of the reeds. I didn't have the scope or good camera with me and the distance was too far for the iPhone binocular combo to work for photos. A short but worthwhile stop that turned up what can be a tough species to find in the county for some reason.
Nashville Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 12, 2022
Red bellied Woodpecker, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 12, 2022
House Finch, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 12, 2022
Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 12, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 12, 2022
Wilson, Reed Conservation Area, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2022
On my third consecutive early morning visit to Arcadia I had to contend with fog once again but thankfully it burned off a bit after eight and then warmed up nicely. I walked for a few miles over the course of a few hours and had some decent variety and numbers but nothing too unusual among the 59 species there. Highlights did include a couple American Woodcocks flying around at dawn, an unidentified peep that flew past early, hundreds of sparrows with seven species represented and five species of warbler.
Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', North Hadley, MA, Oct 11, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2022
Blackpoll Warbler with growth on face, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2022
White throated Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2022
Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 11, 2022
I spent a second consecutive morning at Arcadia on Tuesday. I drove through intermittent fog to get there but when I arrived the area was relatively fog free as it started to get light and I had hopes for a sunny morning but it was not to be. The fog descended as the sun came up and persisted throughout my entire time there. I spent three hours waiting for the fog to lift before I finally decided to head elsewhere in the hopes the fog would be less elsewhere. During my time at Arcadia I had 61 species with highlights including eight species of sparrows with Song Sparrow and White throated Sparrow being the most numerous, four species of warbler with a high count of Common Yellowthroats and a single Blackpoll Warbler with a growth on its face. I tried a few spots along the river in Hadley but the fog was just as persistent there. The fog never lifted until I made it back to home very late in the morning at which point it warmed up nicely into the low 60's.
Palm Warbler 'yellow', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2022
Black bellied Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2022
Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2022
White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 10, 2022
I spent the first of three consecutive mornings at Arcadia on Monday where I covered a variety of areas although I stayed away from the marsh where I could hear hunters firing away early on (although it is within the wildlife sanctuary if a hunter can access the area via boat it is totally legal, even if a bit ethically questionable...the hunters are certainly not doing themselves any favors with public perception with hunting in a wildlife sanctuary). Nonetheless I had a productive morning even without a visit to the marsh and turned up 62 species with highlights including nearly a dozen Purple Finches flying over, seven species of sparrows, a late Connecticut Warbler among five species of warblers (not my latest date for Connecticut Warbler which I set last year when I had one continuing through October 15th). I also made a brief visit to the East Meadows and had a flyby Black bellied Plover among the other more expected species.
Eastern Phoebe, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 9, 2022
Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 9, 2022
Swamp Sparrow, North Hadley, MA, Oct 9, 2022
I started the morning of the 9th at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River where I spent a relatively short amount of time but still turned up some good stuff including a couple late species including Wood Thrush and American Redstart. I then hit a few spots along the river in Hadley and had mostly expected species but did find an unexpected Yellow billed Cuckoo. Once it got a bit sunnier I returned to Silvio Conte NWR and spent about an hour and half exploring the area.
White rumped Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2022
Bald Eagle ('Merica!!!), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2022
Surf Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 8, 2022
After I got out of work on Saturday morning I headed over to the East Meadows in the hopes that some of the White rumped Sandpipers seen there the previous day would still be around and I found a very cooperative individual right away. The bird was surprisingly tolerant of all the activity on the road and did not flush at all. After getting my fill of the sandpiper I drove down the road a bit and then had a flock of half a dozen White rumped Sandpipers briefly stop in a small puddle before taking off again...easily the largest number of White rumped Sandpipers I have ever had in the county. I also had an American Golden Plover that flushed up and was last seen heading south over the meadows. I then headed toward home with a stop at Winsor Dam where the highlight was a group of 17 Surf Scoters showing fairly close in (at least for Winsor Dam). This turned out to be the largest group of this species I have ever had in the county (and the largest flock for the county in the eBird database)...a very productive morning for sure.
