May comes to an end

Cedar Waxwing, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Mourning Dove fledgling, Hadley, MA, May 30, 2025

Blue winged Warbler, Muddy Brook WMA, Hardwick, MA, May 29, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Ware, MA, May 29, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Short billed Dowitchers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Brant, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2025

May has come to an end on a rainy note...much as the last third of the month has been.  The early part of the month through the middle was overall great for migration and the birds moved through a bit early with many not stopping.  Nonetheless I still had many fantastic days of birding and ended the month with 170 species in Hampshire County, which is roughly average over the last ten years or so.  Notables for the month included Brant, Dunlin and Short billed Dowitchers, Least Bittern, Black crowned Night Heron, Acadian Flycatcher, Gray cheeked Thrush, Orange crowned Warbler and Hooded Warbler (more on warblers for the month at the following link: warblers for May) plus Blue Grosbeak.  I'm sure I could have gotten even more species but circumstances at home kept me a little closer to home than usual and I was not able to stay out as long on some mornings.  

Dunlin and Short billed Dowitchers for Global Big Day on a rather rainy day

 

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Dunlin and Spotted Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

Short billed Dowitchers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 10, 2025

We endured another bout of heavy rain and even some thunderstorms overnight and into a good portion of the morning today with at least another couple inches of rain.  I heard about a number of shorebirds that showed up in the flooded fields of the East Meadows of Northampton yesterday but I was unable to make the trip over until this morning.  With the crappy weather I figured there was a decent chance the birds did not continue their migration north.  I had a few hours available in the morning so headed over to be there for sunrise.  The radar showed moderate rain but it looked like it might lift (it did not lift for hours and instead just sad and pinwheeled in more rain for hours).  Despite all the rain the roads were not as muddy as I feared they might be.  I made it down to where the shorebirds were yesterday and quickly found at least four Dunlin among the more expected species.  With a bit more scanning I turned up the two Short billed Dowitchers.  I had an impressive eight species of shorebirds in the area plus a few other rarities including Sandhill Crane and Green winged Teal.  I checked a few other areas along the river for shorebirds before returning to the Quabbin area and then to home.  Today was Global Big Day and World Migratory Bird Day and despite having crappy weather and not as much time free as usual I still managed 92 species.

Baird's Sandpiper today adds to the shorebirds for the month (and year)

Baird's Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

Sandhill Cranes. East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 26, 2023

I was able to add another unusual shorebird this morning with a Baird's Sandpiper that was originally found by Scott yesterday and it thankfully stayed through the night to be viewed by many today.  This adds to numerous shorebirds I ran across yesterday morning during the rain.  I thought I saw a Baird's Sandpiper at the location yesterday but the bird flushed before I could see it well and I was never able to relocate it again....certainly glad I could confirm it today.  The Short billed Dowitcher was still present along with lots of other shorebirds as well as the four Sandhill Cranes and a flyover Dickcissel.  I have now had 16 species of shorebirds for the month in Hampshire County.

Rainy weather brings in shorebirds today

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Sandhill Crane, Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 25, 2023

With the rain that started last night and continued into the morning and intermittently through the day today I had hopes in finding some shorebirds (and perhaps other migrants) downed by the weather.  I made it over to a very muddy East Meadows around dawn and started looking and listening.  The shorebirds were around in good numbers and variety with a total of at least a dozen species present plus another individual I'm fairly certain was a Baird's Sandpiper but the bird flushed up with a bunch of others and I could never relocate it to confirm.  Unusual shorebirds included a couple of flyby Black bellied Plovers and a Short billed Dowitcher and above normal counts of Semipalmated Plovers, Least Sandpipers (180+), Spotted Sandpipers and Solitary Sandpipers.  I also had a single Sandhill Crane when I arrived that was working a large puddle along with a Great Egret and a few Great Blue Herons.  Eventually the single crane started calling and was joined by three others.  After my time in the East Meadows I headed across the river to the Honey Pot and added another shorebird species with three flyover American Golden Plovers that flew around for a bit but never settled down (got some decent recordings as they flew around).  Not a bad morning with at least 13 and possibly 14 shorebird species.  I also tried Quabbin in the hopes of finding a tern or gull of note but missed on that.  Scott did find a Common Tern from Winsor Dam but multiple attempts by me later in the day to relocate it failed.  The Black bellied Plovers and American Golden Plovers added both new species to the month and the year and I now stand at an amazing 162 species for August and 223 for the year...not bad for not trying for a big year in the county.

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Baltimore Oriole, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Red Crossbill, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 23, 2023

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 23, 2023

The previous couple morning I have concentrated on warblers and have had some great luck with a total of twenty species including more early arrivals with my first Cape May Warblers of the fall leading the pack.  My stop at Quabbin Park yesterday was particularly productive with 16 species of warblers and other notables including a couple Yellow bellied Flycatchers, loads of Red eyed Vireos, a couple Red Crossbills collecting nest material and lots of Baltimore Orioles.  

Record setting pace for August continues

Worm eating Warbler, Ware, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Tennessee Warblers, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 20, 2023

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Sandhill Cranes, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Short billed Dowitcher, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Dawn, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 19, 2023

Spotted Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 21, 2023

Blue winged Teal, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Semipalmated Plovers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Pectoral Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Wilson on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

My record setting pace for August in Hampshire County continues and as of today I have already exceeded any August with a total of 156 species (old record was 152 species in 2021).  The last few days have produced several new species for the month including more early arriving warblers.  After my last post on Friday the 18th where I looked at more new arrivals and the good news from Wilson's 10 week post surgery checkup where he got a clean bill of health from the surgeon I got some terrible news that one of my uncles was killed in a car crash.  It was obviously a totally unexpected loss and one that is tough to take.  It is certainly a very difficult loss for his immediate family.  I was glad to be able to get out and bird a bit to clear my mind and I caught up with continued numbers of shorebirds (and others) on Saturday and Sunday produced some great warblers (both early fall arrivals and my latest fall record for Worm eating Warbler by two weeks!).  I also checked for shorebirds on my way to and from work on Monday and Tuesday and the East Meadows continued to produce.  

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

Baltimore Oriole and Gray Catbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 22, 2023

I wish I could have gotten out early this morning as the overnight produced the largest movement of birds so far this fall migration season (according to birdcast).  I checked the camera at the water feature and found a number of migrant species showed up including Rose breasted Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole.  By the time I got out of work the wind had picked up quite a bit so looking for passerines would have been tough so I stuck to looking at shorebirds.

As mentioned in a previous post Hurricane/Tropical Storm Hillary impacted southern California and Arizona (and a few other western states) and brought in a haul of rarities that are still being tallied.  More on the birds seen can be found at the following links at Birdcast...Part 1 and Part 2.  The Atlantic has finally got active with multiple storms present now but none are a threat to the east coast of the US.

Shorebirds along the river including Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Short billed Dowitcher (among ten species total) plus July species at Lake Wallace (Least Bittern, American Coot and Marsh Wren)

Ruddy Turnstone, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Ruddy Turnstone, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Short billed Dowitcher, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Semipalmated Plover, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Pectoral Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Lesser Yellowlegs, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

A nice fallout of shorebirds occurred on Sunday when rain moved in overnight and continued into the morning.  When I left work it was pouring and I very briefly checked a few spots without any luck.  The rain eventually stopped later in the morning and I got a text around midday of a number of shorebirds down along the river.  I immediately headed out and made a few stops on the way before making it to the area where the birds have previously been seen.  Thankfully the birds seen earlier were still there and had been joined by a very rare for the valley Ruddy Turnstone (my last ones were during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and before that a single back in 2004).  Just as I found the Ruddy Turnstone I had a brief look at a bird that almost certainly a Sanderling but I could not find it again.  I eventually found a total of at least nine species of shorebirds including the above mentioned Ruddy Turnstone as well as a Short billed Dowitcher, a Semipalmated Plover, 3 Pectoral Sandpipers, a dozen Semipalmated Sandpipers, 38 Least Sandpipers, 5 Killdeer, 11 Spotted Sandpipers and four Lesser Yellowlegs....a really great haul for July in the county!

I headed out this morning to once again hit the shorebird spot in hopes of turning up something else unusual.  The rain had continued on and off overnight and continued into the morning making access even more difficult due to muddy conditions.  I finally made a long walk in and then the skies really opened up which quickly soaked me completely.  I eventually reached the spot and although the rising river had covered many of the flats there were still a few birds around including a Sanderling among a small group of Least Sandpipers as well as a few Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer.  The rain was falling too hard to even try for a photo so I headed out back toward my car.  The rain let up a bit as I got closer to the car so I tried another vantage point to view the birds but only could see a few.  Shortly after a small boat came up river and flushed everything and they all headed south.  There were a number of swallows feeding low over the river including at least two Cliff Swallows.  I assume the Sanderling was the same one I thought I had there yesterday and brought the total species of shorebirds at the spot to ten in two days.  It also was a new Hampshire County bird for me (#294).

American Coot, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2018

American Coot, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 1, 2018

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 1, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 21, 2018

Lake Wallace continues to produce some impressive birds this month including a very rare Least Bittern back on July 8, an American Coot and Pied billed Grebe on July 1 (with the coot seen again on July 3), Sora and Virginia Rail on July 18, a Marsh Wren from July 14 until at least July 21 , a Northern Goshawk on July 22 and at least 17 Green Herons on multiple days.