Very hot start to July with a multi day heat wave

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Scarlet Tanager, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2026

Peregrine Falcons, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 2, 2026

Common Yellowthroat during banding process, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 2, 2026

Blackburnian Warbler fledgling, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Turkey Vultures, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Downy Woodpecker, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Sun through the trees on a very humid morning, Mount Holyoke Range SP, Granby, MA, Jul 3, 2026

White spotted Skipper, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Eastern Bluebird nest construction underway, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler fledgling, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

Wood Duck with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 4, 2026

White tailed Deer, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 4, 2026

A heat wave that started on the last day of June continued into the first four days of July with highs that reached the upper 90's with high humidity on multiple days.  I started the month by tracking down all the regularly occurring warblers in Hampshire County and getting lots of other species along the way.  After a number of thunderstorms overnight into the 2nd I headed out before dawn to track down more species for the month hitting multiple spots along the Connecticut River from the Holyoke Dam north to Hadley.  On July 3rd I started in Belchertown and then over to Amherst before ending my morning in Granby.  It was incredibly humid and the low temp to start the day was 72!  Really felt like being in the tropics.  Saturday was the last day of the heat wave and for that day I went after a few nocturnal species at Quabbin Park and nearby Ware before a longer walk along the rail trail in Ware.  I then spent a few hours in Quabbin Park plus a brief stop at Lake Wallace before heading home early to get Wilson a walk.  Lots of evidence of breeding around as expected for early July.  Despite the heat the first four days of the month have been productive in the county with 123 species so far.

A productive few days with both birds and mammals as fall migration continues

Bobcat, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 18, 2025

Prairie Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 18, 2025

Lincoln's Sparrow, Ware, MA, Sep 18, 2025

Connecticut Warbler habitat, Ware, MA, Sep 18, 2025

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 17, 2025

Black throated Blue Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 17, 2025

Northern Flicker, Belchertown, MA, Sep 17, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park,  MA, Sep 17, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Sep 16, 2025

Sandhill Cranes, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Sep 16, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Sep 16, 2025

    

Red eyed Vireo, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 16, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Osprey, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Broad winged Hawk, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Northern House Wren, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Northern Waterthrush, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Barred Owl, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 15, 2025

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 15, 2025

The first few days of the third week of September have largely continued our sunny and pleasant weather with great migration conditions overall.  I have continued to concentrate on warblers and managed to find my second Connecticut Warbler of the fall this morning.  Another big highlight while out this morning was getting up close looks at a Bobcat that popped out on the trail and stayed put long enough for me to fire off a number of shots and get to admire it as it stared back at me.  It has been a good few days for mammals overall with several species beyond the Bobcat including a family of four Black Bears yesterday.  Yesterday I stayed fairly close to home in the morning and had a few pockets of birds and had my first Rusty Blackbirds of the fall.  In the afternoon I was over at Smith College to give a brief talk on eBird to a biology class there followed by a bird walk along the Mill River...hopefully the talk was well received and was not too boring!  On Tuesday I tried my luck over at Arcadia but due to poor bird management choices there it was quite quiet (they have mowed down almost all the weedy fields leaving very little sparrow habitat).  Nonetheless I still had some birds there including the continued pair of Sandhill Cranes plus my first Lincoln's Sparrows of fall plus another Philadelphia Vireo.  To start out the third week of the month I stayed close to home again and started my morning with a couple Virginia Rails at Lake Wallace and then added some other neat sightings including a good look at a Barred Owl at Quabbin Park and a number of raptor species migrating south. 

Second week of September

Red eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, Sep 14, 2025

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Sep 14, 2025

Northern Parula, Hadley, MA, Sep 13, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Hadley, MA, Sep 13, 2025

Northern Waterthrush, Hadley, MA, Sep 13, 2025

American Golden Plover, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 13, 2025

White tailed Deer, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Sep 13, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12, 2025

Black throated Green Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12, 2025

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12, 2025

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Gate 11, Pelham, MA, Sep 12, 2025

Wilson out on the trail, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Sep 12, 2025

Wood Duck, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Sep 11, 2025

Blackpoll Warbler, Ware, MA, Sep 11, 2025

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 11, 2025

Wilson's Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Sep 11, 2025

The second week of September is now in the books and with it a continued influx of birds thanks to overall good migration conditions.  It has been quite nice to be out every morning with cool morning starts in the 50's that warm into the 70's under mainly sunny skies with low humidity and almost no bugs.  I have added two new species for the year in the last few days including Connecticut Warbler and American Golden Plover plus several new species for the month.  Warblers have figured in prominently for the majority of my outings and I have had some nice mixed species flocks as warbler diversity peaks for the fall.  I continue to maintain an above typical species count for the year in the county with 234 species so far (second best YTD and just four species behind my best ever year in 2021).  It will take a lot of rarities and some irruptives to have any chance of beating my old record.  A tropical storm could certainly put me in contention but no storms are on the horizon despite it being the peak of hurricane season.