Prescott Peninsula surveys begin

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 23, 2015

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 23, 2015

Mourning Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Mourning Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Magnolia Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Red eyed Vireo, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Common Yellowthroat, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Moose, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

Porcupine, Prescott Peninsula, MA, May 23, 2015

I finally made it up to Prescott Peninsula on this very cool morning today (36 degrees) to begin my field surveys and check the route of my upcoming whip poor will survey there.  I ran across two Moose within just a few minutes of going through the gates including a young male that ran down the road ahead of my car.  Mainly resident birds on territory but still a few migrants around including a very cooperative Mourning Warbler, a Blackpoll Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler among the twenty species of warblers.  I also had a Merlin whip by just over the trees on the lower end of the peninsula...perhaps a breeder?  No luck in finding any Red Crossbills during my time on the peninsula today but hopefully I will run across some later on future trips there.  Full list (with lots of photos) below:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23594007

I also made a brief stop at Gate 12 but ran out of time to explore the area in any detail but did manage to find a very photogenic Chestnut sided Warbler.

Eastern Cottontail bunny, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 23, 2015

The rest of the day I spent at home doing yard work and was joined once again by the very tame Eastern Cottontail bunny that has taken up residence and helped me in cutting the grass.

A few new birds for the year and the 50,000th hit on the blog

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, May 17, 2013

My goal today was to try to catch up with a few remaining species I’m likely to find this month including a few flycatchers, cuckoos and perhaps a Cerulean and/or Mourning Warbler.   I did indeed have some success.  After missing out on a gorgeous day yesterday I decided to use a personal day to enjoy this one. It stayed sunny all day and the high reached near 70. Not quite as warm as yesterday when it was in the low 80's but certainly a little more comfortable when in the sun. The only drawback of the day was the wind out of the northwest that at times made it difficult to hear birds and made viewing birds difficult as the trees were moving quite a bit. 

Hooded Merganser at dawn, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 17, 2013

Brown Thrasher, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2013




I started off at the rail trail off Station Road and stayed there for about 45 minutes before moving on. Nothing too unusual although I did have a fair number of both resident and migrant birds. My next stop was Mitch's Way where I walked about a mile or so. Several good birds here including 16 species of warbler including Tennessee, Canada and Blackpoll Warbler. I also added another species to my county list for the year when I had a Yellow bellied Flycatcher (#198). In addition I had a few White crowned Sparrows (several around in different areas today), a late Ruby crowned Kinglet, a couple Pine Siskins and a group of peeps along the river I'm still trying to ID by photos (with the help of others).

 

Winter Wren singing, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2013

My next stop was just down the road at Skinner SP to try to find the Cerulean Warblers that has been reliable there for years but has eluded me (and many others) so far is year. As the road is still closed I had to hike to the top again. A number of warblers were calling on the way up including at least one Worm eating Warbler and a Tennessee Warbler. Once I got to the top I started listening and after several minutes I had one call a couple of times distantly then go silent. Five minutes later I had it call once a little closer but then the construction noise at the top really kicked in and I didn't hear it again. I tried a few other spots further down but no luck with it. The winds were also fairly strong at the top at times which made hearing anything difficult. Perhaps all the activity at the top has driven the birds away or at least further down the slope. At least there is still one there even if it is somewhat difficult to find. The Cerulean Warbler becomes #199 for the year in Hampshire County. Who knows what will be number 200? I still have a few species that I would expect to get in spring that I have not yet had so hopefully I will break over the 200 mark in the next few days. I still need to find Common Nighthawk, both cuckoo species, Lincoln Sparrow and Olive sided Flycatcher (plus other even more unexpected species). 

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, May 17, 2013

I also made stops at a few spots at Quabbin including Gate 12 and the route 9 marsh but nothing too unusual at either location.

 
It was a good day take off as I ended the day with 22 species of warbler (my best overall total for spring so far...I think) and 107 species overall for the day. The Massachusetts Audubon Society Birdathon starts this evening and ends tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow is productive too.

In addition some time today I had my 50,000th hit on my blog...amazing that many people have visited over the last few years!  I always wonder who is actually checking in....

Weekend birding

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Gate 12, June 16,2012

American Redstart building nest, Quabbin Gate 12, June 16, 2012

Canada Geese ignoring the Coyote decoy, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, June 16, 2012

Winter Wren singing, Quabbin Gate 12, June 16, 2012

(Can you identify the other birds calling in the background? Answers at bottom of post)

On Saturday I stayed around Quabbin with visits to Winsor Dam and some western gates including Gates 12 and 15.  I tried to find the Acadian Flycatcher which has been in the same area along the Gate 15 road for years but came up empty again today.  I also tried unsuccessfully for the Hooded Warbler that had been in the same area for several weeks.  The bird either moved on, was killed or was being quiet.  I did have a few good birds including a pair of Evening Grosbeaks at Gate 12 and numerous breeding birds around with some feeding young or carrying food while others were still building nests.

House Wren, Belchertown, MA, June 17, 2012

House Wren, Belchertown, MA, June 17, 2012

On Sunday I stayed mostly around the house trying to get some house work done.  This allowed some time to catch up on all the breeding birds in the yard.  The Tree Swallows continue to go in and out of one of the two boxes set up in the small field near the house with the young inside getting louder each day.  One group of House Wrens have a group of very vocal young in a box on one of the sheds while a second group has several just fledged young making lots of noise from the various brushy areas around the house.  The first American Robin fledglings are hopping around on the lawn being fed by the adults.  The Canada Geese that nested here have two remaining goslings that have grown up quite a bit in the last few weeks.  The Hooded Mergansers have not been seen much following their fledging from the nest box along Jabish Brook.  Other birds heard every day and almost certainly nesting nearby include Yellow and Pine Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Brown Creeper, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Warbling Vireo, Cedar Waxwing, Red-bellied, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers and several others.

The breeding season continues around the area with many birds feeding young both in the nest and outside. There are still a few lingering migrants coming through but by and large the migration season is over for now until the shorebirds start moving back south from the arctic in July.




Answer to question above:  Other birds calling/singing in the video include Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburian Warbler, Veery, Red-eyed Vireo, and Eastern Wood Pewee.

Birthday birding

Palm Warbler (yellow), Gate 9-Quabbin, April 25, 2012

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Gate 9-Quabbin, April 25, 2012

Black and White Warbler, Gate 9-Quabbin, April 25, 2012

Song Sparrow, Gate 9-Quabbin, April 25, 2012

Black capped Chickadee, Gate 9-Quabbin, April 25, 2012

I took the day off from work today for my birthday and spent the morning exploring various areas around Quabbin trying to find some new arrivals.  I did not find any new species for this migration season but still had some good birds.  I was really hoping to find a southern warbler (Yellow-throated, Prothonotary, etc) that was carried north by the southern winds of last week and the storm over the weekend.  Despite my best efforts I had no luck finding any.  The day started out at a chilly 35 and warmed up to the mid 50's before the breeze really kicked in and cooled it down a bit again.  I started the day Quabbin Park.  I had a few loons and eagles in the usual spots.  The Blackburnian Warbler present near Goodnough Dike was still there this morning.  The number of Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Towhees and Yellow-rumped Warblers continue to go up.  I also ran across a pair of very vocal Cooper's Hawks copulating just off the road.  The male was then breaking off sticks and carrying them into the nest site.  I next headed for Quabbin Gate 9 (more accurately the large marsh opposite Gate 9).  I ran into a nice large group of warbler here with several coming in quite close for good looks.  After walking as far as I could there I headed up to Gate 12 and walked down about a half mile.  Quite a few woodpeckers in the area as well as a calling Broad-winged Hawk low over the trees.  I then headed down to Gate 8 and drove down to the end.  It was quite quiet here so I didn't stay too long.  A couple other quick stops didn't produce any birds of note.  I stopped briefly at home and picked up Wilson and he headed to Covey WMA for a long walk around the area.  Some good birds but nothing out of the ordinary.  During the afternoon I had a few Broad-wings streaming north very high up but little else.