Red headed Woodpecker to finish off the third week of June

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Red headed Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Pileated Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

Yellow bellied Sapsucker in nest, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 21, 2026

The third week of June ended with the sighting of a rare for area Red headed Woodpecker at Quabbin Park this morning.  I first heard about the bird through a sighting report from Lauren Jiang yesterday afternoon and through some brief correspondence got to see some video obtained of the bird and details on the location near Goodnough Dike.  The area it was reported in was managed in the last few years with the removal of a number of species of trees with the intention of making it more natural and although the short term 'destruction' can look bad, the change in habitat continues to attract new species.  As the gates to the park don't open until around seven or so I decided to arrive early and make the hike in to see if the woodpecker was still around.  It was a much better weather than yesterday with no wind at all until well after sunrise (compared to the windy conditions we have had the last few days).  Once I made it to the area I had a selection of species and as I was watching a nest of Yellow bellied Sapsuckers I heard the Red headed Woodpecker calling and saw it very briefly.  During the next 15 minutes I failed to hear or see it again but then I heard it calling once again a bit further to the north.  I made my way into the logged out area and thankfully it remained fairly vocal and I was finally able to get better views.  I got some photos, video and recordings as it moved around the area.  I got word out to others that the bird was still present and sent out some exact coordinates so even those with less than stellar abilities to read maps could easily find this rarity.  The entire area held a great selection of woodpeckers with a total of seven species present in a fairly small area...not something one gets to accomplish around here too often.  Red headed Woodpecker is a less than annual visitor to the area and this becomes just the seventh one I have had in Hampshire County with previous sightings including my first in July 2016 in Amherst at Larch Hill, a long staying individual at Lake Wallace that arrived in late October 2016 and stayed through May 2017, another long staying individual at Arcadia that arrived in late November of 2017 and stayed through April 2018, one in South Hadley from January 2020-April 2020, an overwinter bird in Florence from December 2020-February 2021 and one at Quabbin Park from May 2022-July 2022.  Breeding was never confirmed with any of these sightings.

Tree Swallow with fecal sack at nest, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Great Blue Heron, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black and White Warbler collecting spiders, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Black Bear, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 19, 2026

Wilson relaxing, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 17, 2026

I'm on a record setting pace for the month of June in the county with the Red headed Woodpecker becoming species #143 for the month.  This already puts me at my second total ever for the month of June here and just two species behind my best ever June which occurred in 2021.

Two nights of Eastern Whip Poor Will surveys

 

Sunset, Goodnough Dike, Quabbin Park, MA, May 26, 2026

Although a bit sleep deprived with early mornings out birding and two back to back nights of Eastern Whip Poor Wills it has still been a great couple days as migration rapidly slows down.  On Monday I tried to get the first of my two surveys done but I was stymied by some downed trees on the restricted access Prescott Peninsula at Quabbin.  I usually try to check the route prior to attempting it but ran out of time so I made the attempt.  I ran across a few downed trees and finally got stopped short of my first stop by a couple miles.  I hope to be able to run the full route again in the near future but seeing I was already there I figured I would run the stops I could get to just in case I can't make another attempt.  The conditions were perfect with clear skies, moonlight and calm winds.  I had multiple Eastern Whip Poor Wills calling at the first few stops and then nothing on the northern parts of the peninsula (this is usually the case as the birds always seem to be on the southern and middle part of the peninsula).  Yesterday I completed the second route with a biologist from DCR.  Most of the route is in Quabbin Park and then continues south through Belchertown.  We had great conditions for the most part and had multiple Eastern Whip Poor Wills at most stops in the park.  I then added multiple more individuals as I continued the route through Covey WMA and beyond.  Conditions were very good with only one stop featuring any wind at all.  No photos of any of the whips but the sunset yesterday was spectacular.  I even managed to add another whip this morning at home when I headed out the door a little after four and had a whip singing...only my third record ever at the house.

Rufous Hummingbird in Amherst

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

 

Rufous Hummingbird, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2026

I took a brief break from my typical birding by stopping by Josh Rose's house in Amherst to hopefully catch a glimpse of a Rufous Hummingbird that showed up at his feeders a few days ago.  He initially reported it as an early arriving female Ruby throated Hummingbird.  The day after the report he contacted me with some slightly better photos that showed the bird was possibly a selasphorus species of some type (Rufous or Allen's Hummingbird being the most likely).  His photos were not great so I stopped by a couple days ago to try to see the bird and get some photos however the bird never made an appearance.  Josh continued to try to get some photos and eventually he got some better ones that clearly showed it was not a Ruby throated Hummingbird.  He had a few people come by before I could get there today and Brian Z. got some great tail spread photos that confirmed the identification to Rufous Hummingbird.  At this point Josh made the decision to release the sighting to the general birding public...a tough decision to make with a rarity that shows up in your yard in a crowded neighborhood.  He let his neighbors know about the likely influx of birders and spelled out as well as possible the actions any interested birders should make if they wanted to try for this rarity to limited disruption to both his house and the general area.  With all this in mind I decided to swing by briefly this morning before the hordes would inevitably descend.  When I arrived Joe was already there as was another birder and quickly followed by a few more birders.  I had a decent look at the feeder in the front yard from my car and after a wait of perhaps 15 minutes the hummingbird made a visit to the feeder and I got a few distant photos.  I left not long after as to not be a pest to the neighborhood and free up a prime spot to view the bird for someone else.  This is only second Rufous Hummingbird I have seen in Hampshire County with my first being one that visited a feeder at a private home (also in Amherst) back on October 20th, 2012 (when Ian, Jacob and Keenan were still college students).  This western species is exceedingly rare in the county (and in all of western Massachusetts) and almost all other records pertain to individuals showing up in fall.  Spring records for the state overall are quite rare.  Other county records for the species in eBird include the one mentioned above in October of 2012, one in South Hadley in late October into early November 2005, one in Amherst from September-October 2002, multiple years of "Ruffie" overwintering at Tom Gagnon's residence in Northampton in the late 1990's and another in Northampton in September 1995.  I'm certain there are some earlier records but I could not find any.  In the end it is an exceedingly rare species in the county with spring records even more so.

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Blue headed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Butterfly species, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 26, 2026

Other birding stops for the morning produced a variety of species including the continued record early Magnolia Warbler I found yesterday in Quabbin Park plus a noticeable increase in Blue headed Vireos at multiple locations.  I also noticed that I recently submitted my 60,000th complete eBird list with a trip to Quabbin Gate 5 yesterday...a nice place to reach a milestone list.

A record early Magnolia Warbler for me today plus a few other new arrivals despite lackluster migration conditions

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Barred Owl, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Although I didn't expect to get a whole lot this morning given the ongoing poor migration conditions the bird gods shined down on me a bit for my birthday with a record early Magnolia Warbler at Quabbin Park.  Before going to Quabbin Park I took a walk at Gate 5.  The weather was a bit cool with temps in the upper 30's with a slight north wind...at least it was sunny.  Nothing too unusual at Gate 5 although always fun to see turkeys displaying and have Blue Jays going crazy due to a Barred Owl showing itself.  Once I made it to the park I started adding species and had some decent counts of a variety of species including Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches (lots around the last several days), Eastern Towhees and Pine Warblers.  I had the pair of Merlins that are likely going to nest again in the area.  I then started getting some warbler variety as I continued walking with a Northern Yellow Warbler and then the Magnolia Warbler.  I was not expecting to find the species today but I heard it sing and immediately recognized it and knew it was very early so got some recordings and eventually some photos.  The species usually starts arriving in the area in early May and to get one this early is very unusual, especially with poor migration conditions.  My previous early date for the species in the county was April 29th back in 2011...a long standing record for me.  It was my best day for warbler diversity in the area so far this year with eight species total.  

Close encounter with a Ruffed Grouse

 

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse checking out my camera, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Ruffed Grouse, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

My big reward for heading out this morning included a close encounter with a Ruffed Grouse in Quabbin Park (I also had some other highlights for the morning that will be included at the bottom of this post).  I stayed local once again as Wilson had an appointment to get his stiches out and I wanted to make sure I made it back with time to spare.  I ended up running across the very friendly Ruffed Grouse as I was near the end of my time in the park.  Initially I noticed him walking through the woods and got a few photos and then it started walking directly toward me as it fed.  It eventually walked right up to me and it got too close to use the big camera, so most photos and videos were done with my iPhone.  After a bit of time staying still admiring the grouse I started walking down the trail and the grouse followed along with me for a few hundred feet.  On my return back down the same trail the grouse rejoined me and once again stayed with me for a few hundred feet.  I have had this experience just a few times before and it was been several years since the last time.  There are a couple of theories to explain this behavior.  One is that the bird is being hyper territorial and the other is that it is a genetic throwback to a time before the birds developed a necessary fear of  humans (link to article here...thanks Mary).  It is a really cool experience to have this happen with what is typically a very wary species that you getting fleeting glimpses of (if you see it at all).

Links to videos (well worth watching in my opinion)

video 1

video 2

video 3

video 4

video 5

video 6

video 7

video 8

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Gray Catbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Eastern Towhee juvenile, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Mountain Laurel blooming, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Jun 23, 2023

Beyond the grouse I had some other good stuff for the morning including my first Virginia Rail fledglings of the year at Lake Wallace.  I noticed an adult that didn't seem to be moving much and seemed really fluffed up.  I suspected it was sitting over some young and after a lot of looking I caught a few glimpses of two tiny black fledglings (one video captured one for a brief moment...link to video here: Virginia Rail video).  I also had a quick look at a silent Marsh Wren as I was scanning for rails.  Lots of other evidence of breeding species at every stop I made over the course of the morning.  I also relocated the Cerulean Warbler singing a parula like song in the same area I discovered it yesterday.  There are now two singing Cerulean Warblers within Quabbin Park and hopefully I will able to find some evidence of breeding (See an earlier post regarding the history of Cerulean Warblers breeding at Quabbin Park at the following link).

The beginning of September

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2022

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2022

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2022

Cooper's Hawk, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2022

Although the migration conditions were fantastic overnight with light winds after multiple days of strong southerly winds and the radar showing a lot of birds moving overnight the results on the ground this morning at Arcadia were less than stellar with few obvious migrants around.  After almost two and a half hours of looking I had just two species of warblers!  Unfortunately I had other commitments that ended my birding a little after eight so not sure if it picked up later after the sun warmed things up a bit more (the morning started off with temps in the mid 40's).  There were also lots of raptors around plus a few of the usually productive areas had no trails to them or had signs up prohibiting access to sanctuary property because of farming activity (this has no occurred in previous years but it seems Mass Audubon cares more about keeping farmers happy on sanctuary land then providing good bird habitat and/or providing access to those that donate...may have to reconsider sending more money to Arcadia).  After completing my class for the day I came home and got Wilson and we went for an early afternoon walk and finally came across a small mixed flock that had half a dozen warbler species including my first Bay breasted Warbler of the fall....although I had high hopes for the morning it was rather lackluster but at least it was a beautiful day.

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2022

Wilson's Warbler, Ware, MA, Sep 1, 2022

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2022

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2022

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2022

I started out the month yesterday morning with visits to a few spots in my immediate area including Lake Wallace, Ware and Quabbin Park.  Although the day started off fairly calm the winds picked up a lot by a little after eight and stayed up all day.  I started off before dawn picking up a slightly late Eastern Whip Poor Will at Quabbin Park before heading to Lake Wallace where I got the expected species plus a Common Nighthawk flying past moving south (two nightjars for the morning).  I was then off to Ware as the sun started heating up the day.  I had small mixed flock that produced a Mourning Warbler as well as my first Wilson's Warbler of the fall.  A stop a bit later at Quabbin Park also turned up a mixed flock with a decent selection of birds although the ever increasing winds made picking birds out progressively more difficult.