Some birds for the first three days of May despite poor migration conditions

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2026

Orchard Oriole, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 3, 2026

Red winged Blackbird, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2026

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Pine Warbler collecting nest material, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Gray Catbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2026

Blue winged Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 1, 2026

Blue Jay, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 1, 2026

Chipping Sparrow, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

Wild Columbine, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 1, 2026

The first three days of May have overall been slower than usual for species with the weather being poor for migration with less than ideal winds, some bouts of rain and cool temps.  Nonetheless birds continue to push in as the desire to move north to breed can overcome some less than ideal conditions for migration.  To start off the month I headed out mainly looking for warblers and found some including my first Cerulean Warblers and Worm eating Warblers for the year.  I stayed mainly in the Hadley/Amherst area for morning and then spent the afternoon doing stuff around the yard.  Tuesday the 2nd started off rainy and I got as much birding in around Quabbin Park as the bouts of rain would allow.  Although birding conditions were tough at times, I did add one new warbler for my big warbler year in the US with a Chestnut sided Warbler that became warbler species #41 for the year.  With more north winds overnight I didn't expect to find too much this morning and was pleasantly surprised to have a number of good sightings including a Glossy Ibis I flushed out of a small pond at Silvio Conte NWR at Fort River, a Northern Harrier doing a courtship flight (also at Conte) and a Brewster's Warbler that showed up in the same spot in Amherst for a third year in a row and possibly a fourth year.  By mid morning it was getting too windy to see much and I headed home to take Wilson for a walk.  Overall not a terrible start to the month with 117 species so far for the county.

The next few nights look to feature some good migration conditions with strong southerly winds and some warm temps.  I expect a big influx of birds during the period before the weather turns less conducive for migration for multiple nights. 

Warmth and cold and a very early Louisiana Waterthrush to start April

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Lesser Scaup with Ring necked Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Mourning Dove, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Red winged Blackbird, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Common Goldeneye, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Wilson checking out a pair of Mallards, Belchertown, MA, Apr 3, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 2, 2026

Black capped Chickadee excavating nest hole, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Pileated Woodpecker, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Wilson enjoying the warm weather, Belchertown, MA, Apr 1, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 1, 2026

The first three days of April have continued our seesaw weather with warmth and then cold.  We had a record warm day on the first with highs in the low 70's and then a rainy, raw day yesterday with temps in the 30's and today was a mix with cold and damp conditions in the morning and then some 60's by the end of the day.  The biggest surprise for birds so far for the month was a record early Louisiana Waterthrush today.  I have also added a few new species for the year in the county since the first with Long tailed Ducks, Chipping Sparrows and Palm Warblers.  Waterfowl continues to be around in good variety with 14 species so far.  

The end of June

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 30, 2025

Yellow Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jun 30, 2025

American Redstart, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jun 30, 2025

Gray Catbird, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jun 30, 2025

American Redstart with unusual plumage, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 29, 2025

Pileated Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 29, 2025

Eastern Kingbird, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jun 28, 2025

Muskrat, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jun 28, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 27, 2025

Red winged Blackbirds, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 27, 2025

Green Heron, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 27, 2025

Black Bear, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 27, 2025

Bank Swallow juveniles, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jun 26, 2025

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 25, 2025

Yet another month has come to an end (they go faster and faster...at least when it is warm out!).  It was a great month for birding when I could get out as the weather was mainly cooperative (although record setting hot at times) with just the annoying insects making it less pleasant.  Lots of breeding activity throughout the month and I conducted all of my breeding bird work from Eastern Whip Poor Will surveys to my Breeding Bird Survey and field surveys on the Prescott Peninsula.  Bird song continued through the end of the month although it has started to trail off with some species going quiet.  July is always a fairly quiet time for birding here although some post breeding dispersals can add some excitement.  For me this July marks my last month of work in my fire and EMS career as I will be retiring after 33 years in the field.  I'm certainly ready for it! 

Eastern Whip Poor Will surveys and guiding for a visitor from India

 

Porcupine, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jun 5, 2025

Goodnough Dike at sunset, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 4, 2025

I conducted my first Eastern Whip Poor Will surveys on Wednesday night.  The first route consists of six stops within Quabbin Park and then four more going south of Quabbin.  It was a very successful survey with Eastern Whip Poor Wills heard at all but the last stop with a total of 16 individuals at survey stops and another nine heard between stops.  It was a perfect night for the survey despite a lot of mosquitoes.  Other highlights of the route included a Great Horned Owl perched on the wall of the dike and at least three Porcupines.

My second survey occurred last night on the restricted access Prescott Peninsula.  It was a warm evening with loads of mosquitoes.  When I arrived at the first stop at the lower end of the peninsula I was greeted by a Porcupine in almost the same tree I had a family of Black Bears greet me a few years ago.  Certainly quite lucky with seeing Porcupines on these surveys this year!  Although the high clouds shielded the moon a bit the light was still enough to see fairly well throughout and should have been good for the birds but I had a very low count overall with just three Eastern Whip Poor Wills at survey points plus one in-between stops.  All were in the first three stops at the lower end of the peninsula.  The habitat at the more northern stops seems to have gotten better for the species but there were none to be found.  Although the count of Eastern Whip Poor Wills was less than I hoped I did have Barred Owls at two stops including at least one juvenile calling with an adult nearby.

Indigo Bunting, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Jun 4, 2025

Common Raven, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Jun 4, 2025

Ovenbird, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Jun 4, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Jun 4, 2025

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 3, 2025

Red winged Blackbird feeding young at nest, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 2, 2025

Short tailed Weasel, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 2, 2025

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 2, 2025

Semipalmated Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 2, 2025

I was able to guide for a visitor from India for a few hours for three mornings earlier this week and thankfully the weather cooperated quite well despite some cool morning starts.  I had to shift my other commitments around a bit and keep the birding to just a few hours in the morning but it was great to show someone all the great stuff we have around the area despite not being in a major birding area.  This was the second time I guided for her with the first time being last fall.  We covered a variety of areas from the farm fields along the river where we had a decent selection of shorebirds to Quabbin Park and Skinner State Park for a wide variety of forest birds plus a few other brief stops.  Overall we had 98 species with many of those being life birds for her.  We also had some fantastic mammals sightings with a close encounter with a Short tailed Weasel, Black Bear and a selection of other more common stuff.