A couple rainy mornings to start off September downs a few shorebirds

Pectoral Sandpiper, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 1, 2026

Two mornings of rain produced a great assortment of shorebirds with the most productive morning by far being the first day of the month.  On the first I woke up before dawn and saw the heavy rain predicted overnight had not materialized as much as predicted.  Nonetheless I headed out at first light to check Winsor Dam (which was quiet) and then did some local birding as the rain steadily moved in and eventually I got rained out on my final walk.  I then returned home and waited for someone to come by to give me an estimate on some work at the house.  I saw a text that a few American Golden Plovers showed up in Hadley.  A rarity but not unexpected on the date.  By this time the rain had stopped and was not planning on heading out again but the pull of something even rarer found me making a drive over to the Honey Pot.  When I arrived I scanned a variety of fields and turned up loads of Killdeer plus a few Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers plus at least one Blue Grosbeak.  A slug of heavy rain then arrived and as I was making a final scan and getting soaked I heard a Buff breasted Sandpiper calling overhead.  I continued scanning from the car and then once the rain let up a little I scanned more fields with never finding the bird.  I was certain it set down due to the weather although there is a chance it continued on (or dropped down and then took off without being seen when the rain let up).  All was not lost as a had at least two (possibly three) American Golden Plovers so added two new species for the year in the matter on an hour (species #497 and #498 for the US this year and species #223 and 224 for Hampshire County).  Once I retuned home I got a text from Ted letting me know he found a Baird's Sandpiper at the Holyoke Dam and also got an email about a Ruddy Turnstone found by some UMASS students on the Hadley/Amherst line.  I didn't try for either as I had some obligations at home.

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Wild Turkey, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Between the mornings of rain I was able to get out with the main focus being warblers (and other passerines) and I had some stuff despite poor migration conditions and a bit of a breeze at times.

Spotted Sandpiper, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 3, 2026

American Redstart, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2026

Today the rain had largely passed by overnight with just a few sprinkles early in the morning.  The winds were not really conducive for great migration but I figured I would give it a try to find grounded migrants (spoiler alert I found little of note).  I tried the Honey Pot first and found just Killdeer and a few Least Sandpipers.  I then headed down to the Holyoke Dam and the only shorebirds present were a couple Spotted Sandpipers.  Despite the lack of shorebirds I did find a good selection of species to add to the month total for the county.  I expect some good stuff once the winds change to a more northerly direction heading into the weekend.

A fruitless search for a Stilt Sandpiper (but success with lots of other unusual shorebirds) plus my first Connecticut Warbler of the year

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 11, 2023

American Golden Plover, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Northern Pintail, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper (and Pectoral Sandpiper), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Baird's Sandpiper (and Pectoral Sandpiper), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

American Golden Plover, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Our on and off again rainy weather continued overnight into the day today thanks to the stalled front that broke our heat wave.  I initially did not have plans to look for shorebirds today after having some great luck the previous few days but when I got up and looked at the radar and saw waves of rain had moved through overnight and continued through the morning I decided to try to find birds downed by the weather.  I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam without finding anything too interesting.  Looking at the radar again it looked like there was a let up in the rain to the west so I headed over to some fields in Hadley and as soon as I got there and started scanning I found an adult American Golden Plover and a Black bellied Plover before my scanning was interrupted by a text from Ted letting me know he was looking at a juvenile Stilt Sandpiper in a different field in Northampton.  I immediately headed across the river and arrived just a couple minutes too late as the Stilt Sandpiper and the Lesser Yellowlegs it was with headed off to the south through the gloom.  It was a tough miss as I have never had the species in Hampshire County before and I missed an amazing group of nine that showed up in mid August when I was working.  I stayed around the area for a bit with just a few shorebirds around and none settling down thanks to a Merlin that perched on the edge of the puddle where shorebirds have been.  I then decided to head back across the river to Hadley to scan the fields there in more detail and turned up an American Golden Plover as well as a scattering of other more expected shorebirds.  I then got another message that a Whimbrel had flown over at Arcadia and then a (the?) juvenile Stilt Sandpiper dropped in briefly before flying off again to parts unknown.  I gave some thought to going to that area but decided to head back to the original location of the sighting of the Stilt Sandpiper and spent the next hour and a half walking the muddy roads.  As I walked around I turned up some great stuff including an early Northern Pintail in small pool, a flyover Black bellied Plover and a flyover Upland Sandpiper (my second and possibly third record of this species this fall...a great fall for them for sure), a few slightly late Bank Swallows and last but certainly not least my first Connecticut Warbler of the year.  Ted mentioned he heard and saw one earlier in the morning in the same area of cornfields.  As is typical with the species it was heard chipping first and after a lot of waiting on the road I got some killer looks as it worked through the cornfield.  My best looks in awhile of this normally very cryptic species.  Lots more photos and details at the following link.  A very nice consolation prize for missing the Stilt Sandpiper.

Baird's Sandpiper today adds to the shorebirds for the month (and year)

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Sandhill Cranes. East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

I was able to add another unusual shorebird this morning with a Baird's Sandpiper that was originally found by Scott yesterday and it thankfully stayed through the night to be viewed by many today.  This adds to numerous shorebirds I ran across yesterday morning during the rain.  I thought I saw a Baird's Sandpiper at the location yesterday but the bird flushed before I could see it well and I was never able to relocate it again....certainly glad I could confirm it today.  The Short billed Dowitcher was still present along with lots of other shorebirds as well as the four Sandhill Cranes and a flyover Dickcissel.  I have now had 16 species of shorebirds for the month in Hampshire County.

Record setting pace for August continues

Worm eating Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Tennessee Warblers, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dawn, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Spotted Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2023

Blue winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Semipalmated Plovers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

My record setting pace for August in Hampshire County continues and as of today I have already exceeded any August with a total of 156 species (old record was 152 species in 2021).  The last few days have produced several new species for the month including more early arriving warblers.  After my last post on Friday the 18th where I looked at more new arrivals and the good news from Wilson's 10 week post surgery checkup where he got a clean bill of health from the surgeon I got some terrible news that one of my uncles was killed in a car crash.  It was obviously a totally unexpected loss and one that is tough to take.  It is certainly a very difficult loss for his immediate family.  I was glad to be able to get out and bird a bit to clear my mind and I caught up with continued numbers of shorebirds (and others) on Saturday and Sunday produced some great warblers (both early fall arrivals and my latest fall record for Worm eating Warbler by two weeks!).  I also checked for shorebirds on my way to and from work on Monday and Tuesday and the East Meadows continued to produce.  

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Baltimore Oriole and Gray Catbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

I wish I could have gotten out early this morning as the overnight produced the largest movement of birds so far this fall migration season (according to birdcast).  I checked the camera at the water feature and found a number of migrant species showed up including Rose breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.  By the time I got out of work the wind had picked up quite a bit so looking for passerines would have been tough so I stuck to looking at shorebirds.

As mentioned in a previous post Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hillary impacted southern California and Arizona (and a few other western states) and brought in a haul of rarities that are still being tallied.  More on the birds seen can be found at the following links at Birdcast...Part 1 and Part 2.  The Atlantic has finally got active with multiple storms present now but none are a threat to the east coast of the US.

More new arrivals with gulls and some early shorebirds (plus others)

 

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Great Black backed Gulls with Red breasted Merganser, Herring Gulls and Ring billed Gulls, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, Meadow St fields, Amherst, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Lesser Yellowlegs, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Louisiana Waterthrush, Hadley, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Fox Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Surf Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2023

Following the most restful night of sleep I have had in a week as I continue to fight (and mainly lose) against a cold that I picked up after my return from the tropics I had enough energy to get out a bit more and actually take a few longer walks (short in comparison to what I usually do but longer than I have done in a week)...by the end of the walks I was totally wiped out for sure and I may have overdone it a bit.  I started out the rather glooming morning by going to Winsor Dam where I figured I would make a quick scan and move on.  However the dam produced some great stuff with a fantastic showing of gulls including a Lesser Black backed Gull, a Bonaparte's Gull and a couple Great Black backed Gulls in addition to the more expected species.  As it got more light most gulls headed off to the southeast.  I then headed to Hadley where I located the early Pectoral Sandpiper that Scott found yesterday plus another early shorebird with a Lesser Yellowlegs at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River.  My first longer walk of the day was to try to relocate the early Louisiana Waterthrush found by Cory yesterday and I quickly heard the bird singing (seeing it took quite a bit longer)....not my earliest record for the species but very close (my record was one day earlier last year)...more on warblers for the day at the following link.  I then headed toward home with a stop off at Lake Wallace where I had the Great Egret continuing from yesterday when I found it plus lots of Palm Warblers (plus a Harvey and Craig sighting).  I then headed home and picked up Wilson for a walk with a brief stop at Winsor Dam again where the fog that had settled in was slowly starting to lift.  I had a few species of waterfowl including two that were distant and I could not determine to species (possibly Hooded Mergansers?).  After our walk was all done I was getting very tired but then saw a text from Mary about some unidentified ducks she had distantly at Winsor Dam.  I made the quick ride over and together we tried to solve the mystery.  Thankfully the fog had completed lifted and the viewing conditions were as good as they get there.  After a lot of looking we finally determined the birds to be a pair of Surf Scoters...a quite rare species in the spring around here.  The birds stayed tucked in most of the time which made the ID a bit tricky.  There were also five smaller appearing gulls even further out that I think were additional Bonaparte's Gulls.  Overall a productive morning with several early or unusual species around.

Northern Cardinal, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 5, 2023

Dark eyed Junco, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2023

I also got the water feature up and operating for the year and with a bit of luck got the camera to operate again for another year (at least intermittently).  The first visitor for the year was a Northern Cardinal and it was joined by three other species so far in the couple days I have had it open.  Look forward to seeing what shows up.

The first week of October with a few unusual species

Connecticut Warbler, Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2020

Dickcissel, North Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2020

Pectoral Sandpiper, Aqua Vitae Road, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2020

Swamp Sparrow, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2020

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2020

I was not sure where I would head this morning as the forecast called for thick fog along the river and I really didn't want to deal with it.  In addition there were a few pockets of showers and after deciding to head over near the river again I changed my mind a few times as the rain started to pick up as I drove west.  In the end I decided to deal with the light rain and fog and work a few areas along the river from North Hadley to Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley.  Despite the fog I turned up a lot of sparrows and a Dickcissel in a weedy field but failed to find any shorebirds when I checked the river.  As I worked south I stopped at a few spots but nothing too unusual was around.  My final stop at Aqua Vitae Road proved to be the best stop despite it starting to rain not long after I arrived.  I was about to leave when I heard a shorebird calling and flying past which turned out to be a Pectoral Sandpiper.  By this point it was raining harder so I started leaving only to run into a feeding flock in a tree line that featured mainly Yellow rumped Warblers but after picking through the bird for awhile I saw a late Cape May Warbler.  I tried to get a photo but failed.  As I was looking for the Cape May Warbler I heard the distinctive call of a Connecticut Warbler and after waiting awhile I managed to see it and got a few distant photos (only my third record of the species for the fall for me and the first one I was able to get photos of).  More on warblers for the first week of the month can be found at the link.  So far for the month I have found 117 species in the first six days which is just a few behind my best ever October in the Hampshire County when I was at 120 on this date in 2018 (a year that had a record 152 species for the month of October in the county)

White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Blackpoll Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Great Egret with neck issue, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Great Egret with neck issue, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Magnolia Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Northern Parula, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Prairie Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 5, 2020

Red breasted Nuthatch, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2020

On Monday I headed to Arcadia for a good portion of the morning and had a fairly productive morning with 68 species with highlights among them being a couple Great Egrets (one with some type of issue/injury to its neck), eight species of sparrows (with a noticeable increase in Swamp Sparrows as well as others) and nine species of warbler including a late Prairie Warbler. It was nice to finally have a morning that was not foggy (although there was a persistent layer of clouds that didn’t clear out until about the last hour I was there. I took a few shorter walks later in the morning but didn’t find anything unexpected.

                             

                                      Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2020

Swamp Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 4, 2020

Purple Finch, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 4, 2020

Hermit Thrush, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 4, 2020

On the fourth of the month I returned to the East Meadows looking for sparrows and to get a better handle on the number of Yellow rumped Warblers in the area. I covered just a small portion of the meadows and still managed my fourth best day in the county for Yellow rumped Warblers (and probably could have added many more if I stayed and covered a larger area)..more on the warblers at the following link.. I had an interesting shorebird that quickly and silently flew past after being flushed by a Merlin. There were also a few Northern Harriers in the area that kept the smaller birds on their toes. It was another foggy, cool morning with a slight breeze which made for less than ideal conditions for photos. After the meadows I made a quick stop at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River but didn’t find anything too unusual although I did see my first male Purple Finch of the ongoing irruption (until now all the birds were flyovers calling or females that were down in the trees feeding). 

                             

Palm Warbler 'western', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2020

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2020

House Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2020

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2020

With a full morning available on the third I headed to Arcadia where I spent over four hours checking the meadows for birds and turned up a number of notable species including the American Coot that had shown up in the Oxbow in late September, more Purple Finches and Pine Siskins (a common theme throughout the week as these two species continue to irrupt into the area), nine species of sparrows and seven species of warbler including a late Yellow Warbler. It remained foggy and cool the entire time I was at Arcadia which certainly kept activity down a bit. I also made a quick run through the East Meadows in search of shorebirds and found four American Golden Plovers, a couple Semipalmated Plovers and Killdeer. I also had lots of Yellow rumped Warblers in the corn and overhead while I was there. There was a Nelson’s Sparrow seen in the East Meadows the day before but I decided to not bother trying to find it that day as many others had already tried and failed. 

Bonaparte's Gull, Oxbow, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2020

American Golden Plovers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2020

I was not able to get out as much as I wanted to on the first two days of the month as I had to work on the first and then had to be home to meet a contractor at the house early on the second so only had time for very brief walks on each of those mornings (plus a little time later in the day on the second). Nonetheless I still caught up with some decent birds including Bonaparte’s Gulls and a late Least Flycatcher. 

The tropics continue to be active and there is now a Cat 4 hurricane moving toward the Yucatan in Mexico where it is expected to hit the area hard before moving out into the Gulf of Mexico where it will then head north and impact Louisiana.  The remnants of the storm may make it into the local area in the early/mid week time frame next week.