The last several days bring more new arrivals

Pileated Woodpeckers, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 17, 2016

Pileated Woodpeckers, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 17, 2016

Virginia Rail swimming, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2016

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2016

Downy Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 17, 2016

Palm Warbler, Quabbin Gate 9, Pelham, MA, Apr 17, 2016

As the weather has continued to be quite nice around here with cool mornings giving way to warmer afternoons with abundant sunshine I have spent a fair amount of time out and about in the morning and the afternoons catching up on various projects around the yard. Although the weather has been nice the migration conditions have been less than ideal with continued northerly winds but nonetheless new species continue to arrive with several new species over the last several days. The following has shown up from Thursday until today:  Broad winged Hawk (#117) on Thursday, Double crested Cormorant (#118) on Friday, an early Spotted Sandpiper (#119), Northern Rough winged Swallow (#120), Barn Swallow (#121) and Osprey (#122) on Saturday and an Eastern Whip Poor Will (#123) today....my earliest date ever for this species here.  I also witnessed some interesting bird behavior today with a swimming Virginia Rail at Lake Wallace and a couple of Pileated Woodpecker males that continuously chased each other around the base of a tree truck at Quabbin Park...very interesting behavior to see. Link to video of woodpeckers here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/25883939814/in/dateposted-public/

Various areas around Quabbin

Sunrise over Quabbin, Gate 5, Apr 22, 2013

After Wilson decided it would be a good idea to wake up just before five I took the opportunity to head out and see the sunrise at Quabbin.  Before I even left the house on this cold morning (below freezing again) I had a Great Horned Owl hooting.  I headed for Gate 5 and walked down to the waters edge.  I had a couple Ruffed Grouse drumming as I checked out the water and watched the sunrise.  There were a number of gulls on the water but the distance was just too great to pick out anything unusual.  I had a pair of mating Cooper's Hawks as I headed back up the road to my car.

I next headed north up to the large marsh near Gate 9 in hopes of finding a bittern but had no luck (again).  However I did run across at least two Red Crossbills, which according to Matt Young at Cornell are likely Type 1 (confirmation will have to wait until he analyzes the calls).  I also had a large group of migrant warblers moving along the edge of the marsh that I was never able to fully look through as the crossbills distracted me.  After Gate 9 I headed south and stopped at the Packardville Road marsh where I tried for an early Northern Waterthrush but instead had a Louisiana Waterthrush calling several times.  My next stop was Lake Wallace where I once again struck out in finding a bittern.

Pine Warbler with unusual markings, Quabbin Park, Apr 22, 2013

Pine Warbler with unusual markings, Quabbin Park, Apr 22, 2013

Red breasted Merganser, Quabbin Park, Apr 22, 2013

I then headed over to Quabbin Park with the notable birds being a Red breasted Mergansers viewed from Hanks Meadow and an odd Pine Warbler with a complete black 'necklace' on its lover neck/upper chest similar to a Canada Warbler.  I managed a couple of digiscoped photos.  Nothing else too unusual there but some decent numbers of typical migrants. 

Later in the morning Wilson and I took a walk along Jabish Canal and the highlights included a pair of Broad-winged Hawks hunting along the canal and at least one Rusty Blackbird calling.

Southern Quabbin area

 

Dawn at Hanks Meadow, Mar 30, 2013

Ring necked Duck (showing its ring neck), Route 9 marsh, Quabbin Park, Mar 30, 2013

Ring necked Duck, Route 9 marsh, Quabbin Park, Mar 30, 2013

I decided to spend the day around the local area starting out before dawn trying to find some owls around south Quabbin. No luck with owls but did have a few American Woodcock. I stopped by Winsor Dam and had 17 Common Mergansers, 14 Mallards and a few Canada Geese plus hundreds of gulls but nothing unusual among them that I could find. I then headed through Quabbin Park and had  two Common Goldeneye, seven Ring necked Ducks, 16 Common Mergansers, three Hooded Mergansers, 7 Black Ducks, 21 Mallards and 11 Canada Geese.  I also had a kingfisher, a lucky 13 Wild Turkeys, a couple Tree Swallows and a Winter Wren singing.

Tree Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2013

I next headed over to Lake Wallace where I caught up with species #108 when I found a Swamp Sparrow calling. Other birds there included 7 Ring necked Ducks, 4 Wood Ducks, 4 Hooded Mergansers and a Tree Swallow.

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Common Merganser, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Winsor Dam panoramic, Mar 30, 2013

Bufflehead, Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

Quabbin Reservoir from Winsor Dam, Mar 30, 2013

I then headed back over to Winsor Dam and had more waterfowl including a couple Bufflehead,  three Common Goldeneye, a dozen Common Mergansers, nine Mallards, three Black ducks and 74 Canada Geese with most of those headed north. I spent almost 45 minutes there watching for migrants moving by but nothing too unusual.  There was a movement of blackbirds and grackles and a few robins plus at least two Killdeer flying by.

Great Blue Herons on nest, Quabbin Gate 9 marsh, Pelham, MA, Mar 30, 2013

In the early afternoon I took a ride up to Gate 9 to check the marsh nearby for waterfowl. A large portion of the marsh was still iced in so I only had a few Hooded Mergansers, Mallards and Canada Geese in the small parts of open water. I did have four Great Blue Herons sitting on nests in the small rookery there.

Tomorrow and Monday could be good with south winds kicking in and bringing a new influx of migrants with it. Anything is possible but I expect to see more waterfowl, Tree Swallows and sparrows plus early warblers and other early season migrants and possibly some of the irruptive species from the winter moving back north.

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.