April ends with some rain

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 30, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 30, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Song Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Wood Ducks, Belchertown Land trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Wilson relaxing after a walk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2026

Broad winged Hawk, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 28, 2026

Red breasted Mergansers, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 28, 2026

Purple Finch, KC Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 28, 2026

White tailed Deer, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 28, 2026

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2026

Field Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Apr 27, 2026

April ended on a rather rainy note with rain in the morning and cool temps and then drizzle and overcast conditions for the remainder of the day.  I had hopes the rain would have downed some unusual species but no luck for me in finding any.  The previous few days were more pleasant with mainly sunny conditions and warmer temps although the winds were less than great for migration.  Nonetheless some birds continued to move into the area and each day featured the arrival of a few more species with no real big influx yet.  On Wednesday I did some guiding for a birder from India and we had a decent day with a few targets found for her.  Warblers have been slow to arrive in the typical numbers and diversity for the end of April although I did manage to add one more warbler species for the end of the year today despite the rain (more on warblers for April at the following post).  I found a total of 142 species in Hampshire County for the month which given the poor migration conditions recently and being away for just over a week in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona was quite good and fits in around average for the last ten years or so for me.  Now comes May and with it the big influx of migrants from the south moving north to breed for the summer.

LAUGHING GULLS today and CASPIAN TERNS yesterday with some cruddy weather

Laughing Gulls with Bonaparte's Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Laughing Gulls with Bonaparte's Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Laughing Gulls with Bonaparte's Gulls and Ring billed Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Bufflehead, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Red breasted Merganser, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Bonaparte's Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Sunrise, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2026

Fox Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 5, 2026

Blue winged Teal, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Apr 5, 2026

Common Goldeneyes, Ware, MA, Apr 5, 2026

Lesser Scaup, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 5, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 5, 2026

Although the last couple days have featured cooler than usual conditions with rain and wind yesterday,  the amount of good birds have been impressive with a number of rarities around.  To start out yesterday before the heavier rain arrived I went to the East Meadows and relocated an early Dunlin Theresa found the previous day as well as over 130 Green winged Teal.  I then stopped briefly at Arcadia where I had a couple Bonaparte's Gulls and a few species of waterfowl.  I made a few more stops on the way home before picking up Wilson for a walk.  After seeing some reports of Caspian Terns in the Berkshires I decided to try my luck at Winsor Dam and this produced a brief look at a Caspian Tern that was rapidly lost in the fog and ever increasing rain.  I tried a few other local ponds and found even more waterfowl likely put down by the weather.  A return trip to Winsor Dam found the visibility improved and I was able to watch two distant Caspian Terns actively feeding and got some videos.  Late in the day I heard from Mary that she had a bunch of waterfowl at Gate 5 so that is where I figured I would head this morning.  Today I walked down to Gate 5 and started scanning the water and turned up a few scattered groups of Bufflehead and Common Mergansers.  I then ran across a group of gulls on the water and although the rising sun was rapidly making viewing tough I noticed the group were all black headed type gulls and I certainly was expecting a group of Bonaparte's Gull but was then surprised to see two larger individuals with darker gray backs on the right side of the group and immediately knew it had to be something good.  I snapped off a few photos and videos and then continued until the sun made viewing near impossible.  I got word out about the gulls and was still trying to figure out if the birds were Laughing Gulls or Franklin's Gulls.  The conditions for viewing improved a bit when some clouds blocked out the sun.  After watching for several minutes the bird flew up and circled around for a bit before heading north.  The birds in flight quickly cinched the identification to Laughing Gulls.  After perhaps ten minutes I caught sight of one of Laughing Gulls heading back south.  It seemed like the gull wanted to settle with the slowly growing flock of Bonaparte's Gull it only circled a few times before continuing off the southwest.  Although Laughing Gulls are quite common on the coast it is not a species that wanders far from the coast and any record inland in the state is noteworthy.  This is only my third record for the species in Hampshire County and the first time I had more than one at a time.  My earlier records for the species include one seen on August 4, 2020 during the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaias moving through and another on September 11, 2020.  With all the unusual species the last few days I have already topped the 100 species point for the month.

Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2026

I also opened up the water feature to kick off April and have already had eight species of birds and three species of mammals.  The first capture of the year was a Black capped Chickadee.  Hopefully it will be another good year of birds at the water feature.

Warm weather brings in early season migrants and starts melting the tons of snow

Lesser Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Cackling Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Cackling Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Snow Goose, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Ring necked Ducks, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Green winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Canada Geese, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Mar 11, 2026

Green winged Teal, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2026

Wood Ducks, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2026

Red breasted Merganser, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Mar 10, 2026

Common Mergansers, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Mar 9, 2026

Hooded Mergansers, Swift River, Ware, MA, Mar 9, 2026

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Banded in the summer of 2021, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 9, 2026

Wilson eating snow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 9, 2026

The last three days (especially the last two) have featured well above normal temps with highs in the low 60's today and in the low 70's yesterday which has resulted in lots of snow melt (except in the yard!) and has induced a number of species to move in with waterfowl leading the way.  I stayed in the Ware/Belchertown area on Monday and added a couple new species for the year with Rusty Blackbird and American Woodcock.  I also got photos of a surviving banded Black capped Chickadee that was banded as an adult in the summer of 2021...a very hardy chickadee when the average life span is 2-3 years!  With the major warm up on Tuesday I started my morning at the Holyoke Dam and had ten species of waterfowl including my first Green winged Teal, Red breasted Merganser and Great Black backed Gull for the year in the county.  I briefly stopped along the river at Mitch's Way and could hear what sounded like many geese in the East Meadows so I headed there and had to walk in on the muddy and icy farm roads to get a look at the geese enjoying the newly uncovered cornfields.  I had a few thousand Canada Geese as well as single Snow Goose plus my first Wilson's Snipe and American Pipits (the Wilson's Snipe became species #100 for the year in the county).  With continued warm temps thanks to southerly winds I headed back to the East Meadows before dawn today and once again walked in and could hear geese as I walked as well as a number of Killdeer and at least one Wilson's Snipe and an American Woodcock.  I got down past the four corners area and as it became light enough to see I started scanning the fields and turned up tons of Canada Geese, multiple species of ducks and a single Snow Goose.  More and more geese began to arrive from every direction and the numbers quickly climbed into the thousands with many stopping the the fields (many dropping out of views in the various flooded swales). I estimated at least 13,700 Canada Geese and I know this is an undercount.  I scanned through the flocks over and over, both on the ground and as groups dropped in and I eventually found at least two Cackling Geese (one very pale individual), a single Greater White fronted Goose and two Snow Geese.  I tried to find some neck tagged Canada Geese without having any luck.  I also had a very early Lesser Yellowlegs fly in and stop for a bit in one of the pools...easily my earliest record for the species and the earliest record ever for western mass (at least in eBird).  A four shorebird species day here on March 11th is noteworthy for sure!  Other notables included at least 650 Horned Larks, more American Pipits, at least none Fish Crows and a swan that was almost certainly either a Tundra or Trumpeter Swan.  As I reached my car to head out just before ten I heard a roaring noise that turned out to be all the geese taking flight...an amazing sight and sound.  I also added an Eastern Phoebe at the house in the afternoon.  By the end of the day I had reached 105 species for the year in the county.

Black headed Gull at Winsor Dam this morning

Bonaparte's Gull, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Gadwall (right) with American Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Northern Pintails and Mallards, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Red breasted Merganser and White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoters, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

White winged Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Nov 1, 2025

November started off on the right foot with a very rare for the area Black headed Gull this morning at Winsor Dam.  After heavy rain overnight and very windy conditions today dawned mainly clear with a strong westerly wind.  I certainly had high hopes that something good would show up at Winsor Dam so that is where I went before sunrise.  I arrived just after Ted and we immediately started scanning the water and the air.  We could see hundreds of gulls milling about way, way out with many seeming to want to head out to the southwest before mainly being blown back.  It was tough to make out much for species as they were so distant.  Eventually groups started coming in closer and most were Ring billed Gulls.  As we were sorting through one group of perhaps 35 gulls Ted said he had an interesting bird in the flock.  I was able to get on it with the scope as the birds milled around and fought the wind.  The interesting bird had a dark carpel bar on the upper side, dark tail tip and dark trailing edge which seemed right for Bonaparte's Gull but the underside of the wings showed a dark triangle and the bird was only slightly smaller than the Ring billed Gulls and seemed to be able to fight the wind as well as the Ring billed Gulls (unlike the Bonaparte's Gull we saw perhaps 15 minutes after seeing this bird).  With the field marks there was nothing else would could come up with besides a Black headed Gull...a truly rare sighting in the area.  The gulls within this group all disappeared off to the southwest and were not seen again.  As mentioned above another group of gulls arriving from the north a bit later contained a Bonaparte's Gull and the two individuals were quite different in size, plumage and behavior when compared.  This is only my third Black headed Gull I have ever had in the county with the other two records both being in spring with one in March 2013 and another in April 2015 and both in the farm fields on the Hadley/Amherst border.  Beyond the gulls we had a decent diversity of waterfowl with a total of eleven species as well as some raptors migrating.