The first couple days of July with continued rarities and some cool, rainy weather

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 1, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 1, 2021

July has started off with a number of rarities continuing from earlier in the year including Acadian Flycatcher, Purple Martins and Blue Grosbeak.  After getting out of work yesterday morning I headed up to Williamsburg to catch up with a continuing Acadian Flycatcher as well as a number of other breeding species including a dozen species of warblers.  I then headed back down to the valley with stops at Arcadia, the Honey Pot (finding Blue Grosbeak) and Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River (at least three Purple Martins present).  I also added my 30,000th complete eBird list for Hampshire County on July 1.

Great Horned Owl, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 2, 2021

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 2, 2021

Chimney Swift, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jul 2, 2021

Black Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jul 2, 2021

Walking in the clouds, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Jul 2, 2021

Today started off very rainy and stayed that way for most of the day with a few lulls now and then.  It also got progressively cooler throughout the day and highs stayed in the 60's.  I tried my luck early on in the rain trying to find a late migrant downed by the weather (like an Arctic Tern for instance) but no luck at Winsor Dam, Lake Wallace or the Holyoke Dam.  Winsor Dam was very slow and Lake Wallace was not much better but I did get a good look at a juvenile Great Horned Owl being mobbed by blackbirds and some Green Herons successfully hunting frogs there  The rain turned into a downpour at that point and I headed southwest to hopefully get out of the rain at the Holyoke Dam.  Thankfully the rain turned to just a drizzle about ten minutes after I arrived at the dam.  Nothing too unusual but there were three Black Vultures and 360+ Chimney Swifts as well as more Ring billed Gulls than I have had during my last several visits there (up to five as breeding birds start dispersing).  With the rain down to just some drizzle I headed up to Skinner SP and walked up to the summit and back, adding several new species for the new month.  The highlight was watching an adult male Cerulean Warbler feeding caterpillars to a very fledgling.  I wish I had my good camera with me but it was neat to see nonetheless.  The rain started coming down heavy again by the time I made it back to the car and I called it a day.  Despite the less than ideal conditions to start the month I have managed to find 109 species so far.  

In the first of what will likely be many tropical updates over the next few months there is yet another tropical system that has formed in the Atlantic, Hurricane Elsa, which became a named storm on July 1st and then quickly became a hurricane today.  This is the earliest date ever for an "E" lettered storm in the Atlantic, beating the old record set last year which was July 6th (TS Edouard).  The storm formed well east of  Barbados and then moved west/northwest and impacted several islands in the Lesser Antilles.  It is unusual to have a storm form in that area so early in the hurricane season.  It is forecast to remain a hurricane as it impacts the Greater Antilles before becoming a possible threat to Florida by early next week.

Cerulean Warbler at nest plus the continued Lesser Scaup and other sightings this past week

Cerulean Warbler feeding nestlings, Skinner SP,  Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Cerulean Warbler feeding nestlings, Skinner SP,  Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Cerulean Warbler feeding nestlings, Skinner SP,  Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Cerulean Warbler at nest, Skinner SP,  Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP,  Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Bobolink, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, June 10, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 10, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 10, 2016

Today on my day off I ranged widely between Quabbin and the Connecticut River and caught up with a decent selection of birds.  I started and ended at Quabbin with additional stops in Hadley including the river, honey pot, Skinner SP plus a few other spots.  One of the best birds of the morning was a late Northern Parula near the summit at Skinner SP.  I managed a total of twenty species of warblers (about as high a count as you can get in June around here) over the course of the morning with all the expected species including a Cerulean Warbler feeding recently hatched nestlings at Skinner.  It was neat to watch the activity at the nest through the scope.  There were also at least two males singing nearby so at least seven Cerulean Warblers were in the area.  Beyond the birds another notable sighting included a large numbers of caterpillars that have nearly denuded some trees at Quabbin right along the water near Goodnough Dike.  It was odd to see almost no leaves left on some large trees and a near constant rain of leaf pieces and caterpillars.

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 6, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 6, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 6, 2016

Black Vulture, Hadley, MA, June 6, 2016

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, June 6, 2016

Vesper Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, June 6, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 7, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 8, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 8, 2016

Black Vulture, Hadley, MA, June 8, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 9, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, June 9, 2016

Earlier this week I made a variety of stops on my to and from work this week and caught up with the continued male Lesser Sacup at Winsor Dam as well as two Black Vultures at their roost in Hadley and up to five Vesper Sparrows at the Honey Pot.

Gray Catbird on nest, home, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2016

House Wren with bands, home, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2016

American Robin with bands, home, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2016

At home I continue to see a few of the birds that got banded recently plus the Gray Catbird still sitting on its nest (this individual may be fitted with a geo tracker but still waiting to here back about this).

Various stops looking for unusual species

American Bittern, Cummington, MA, May 25, 2016

American Bittern, Cummington, MA, May 25, 2016

I spent the morning following up on some recent reports of unusual species as well as checking the status of a few other unusual birds that are likely nesting in the area. I originally intended to head straight for the hill towns but the early morning fog made me decide to make a stop at Orchard Hill at UMASS in the hopes the conditions would result in some migrants. A brief walk around the area didn't produce too much so I continued on to DAR State Forest to follow up on a White eyed Vireo seen there last week near the campground. I checked the area but did not turn up the bird but given the increased human traffic in the area I guess I was not too surprised. I then headed over to Cummington to catch up with some marsh birds and had an American Bittern pumping away as well as a few Virginia Rails. Video of the bittern pumping here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/26641566034/in/dateposted-public/

Sandhill Cranes, Worthington, MA, May 25, 2016

Sandhill Cranes, Worthington, MA, May 25, 2016

Sandhill Cranes, Worthington, MA, May 25, 2016

Sandhill Cranes, Worthington, MA, May 25, 2016

I then headed over to Worthington where I found two adult Sandhill Cranes as well as a colt (looks like they have successfully bred there now!). The birds were all on private property and I will not be giving the exact location as public access is limited at best.

Great Blue Herons at nest, Williamsburg, MA, May 25, 2016

Northern Waterthrush, Williamsburg, MA, May 25, 2016

Once I had my fill of the cranes I worked my way back east with a stop in Williamsburg to once again try to find the Hooded Warblers there but yet again no luck...it looks like they were just around for a day..oh well. I then made a few stops along the fairly low Connecticut River but I found very few shorebirds with just a handful of Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers.

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 25, 2016

My next stop was to Skinner SP where I checked on the Cerulean Warbler nest (which was occupied). There were several other birders there and I was able to get them all some nice scope views of the nest. There were at least two other Cerulean Warblers singing near the summit. My final stop checking on unusual species this morning was over to Winsor Dam where I had no luck relocating the Lesser Scaup but there was a boat out in the area the bird has been hanging around in so perhaps it will return later.  

Acadian Flycatcher at Skinner SP, nesting Cerulean Warbler and continued Common Gallinule and White eyed Vireo

 

Cerulean Warbler on nest, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, June 7, 2015

Acadian Flycatcher, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, June 7, 2015

Arcadia marsh at dawn, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, June 7, 2015

Ovenbird, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, June 7, 2015

The good birds continued today as I started off on a rather cool morning today (mid 40's) over at Arcadia hoping (in vain) to come across the Snowy Egret that was seen there several days ago. The water level was still quite high so no real mudflats to speak of.  Nevertheless I still found some good stuff including a half dozen Spotted Sandpipers (a group of four together flushed by an eagle and two others in another group).  I saw a post on eBird just before I left the house this morning of an Acadian Flycatcher seen at Skinner SP so after Arcadia I headed that way to see if it was still around. I heard and saw the bird and got some recordings. (video with audio here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/18573011431/in/dateposted-public/ ).

Always a nice species to catch up with around here (and one I spent a bit of time chasing yesterday....more on that below). I then hiked the rest of the way up the mountain and had lots of good stuff including both species of cuckoo, some very vocal Common Ravens, at least four Worm eating Warblers and three Cerulean Warblers including a female sitting on a nest. I also ran across Don K. near the top of the mountain trying to get some recordings of the Cerulean Warblers among others.

Common Gallinule, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

Common Gallinule, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

As it was still fairly early when I finished my walk at Skinner I decided to try again to see if the Common Gallinule was still around at Lake Wallace (the area can get busy as the morning wears on as people arrive to use the nearby fields). I ran into Scott as I arrived there and he had no luck finding the birds but mentioned Tim was still there looking for it. I then headed in and staked out my usual spot and started scanning and listening. I heard a Virginia Rail call once as well as another distant sound that sounded a lot like a King Rail but I only heard this once and it was distant so tough to say for sure what it was (call sounding like two stones being hit together). After about thirty minutes I heard the gallinule give an abbreviated call but it was still not in view. Another fifteen minutes went by before I got a brief view of a gallinule. About this time I saw Tim and waved him over and eventually we had some decent views of the bird as it moved around the marsh feeding. 

 

White eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

White eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

White eyed Vireo, Belchertown, MA, June 7, 2015

With a little more time left in the morning before I had to get back to walk Wilson I made a brief stop over to the area in Belchertown where a White eyed Vireo has been. Once I arrived I quickly found the bird again....calling like crazy and showing fairly well. I believe it is pushing toward three weeks now that the vireo has been at this spot. Also had a few Blue winged Warblers including the individual giving an odd call.  Videos of White eyed Vireo (one vido with the odd Blue winged Warbler calling in background) here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/17951998043/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/18567981502/in/dateposted-public/

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 6, 2015

Wood Duck with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, June 6, 2015

Although the forecast yesterday called for some over night rain showers lasting into the morning the showers never materialized here but you could certainly tell when the front came through as the clouds quickly filled in and the winds picked up out of the north. I made a stop back over to Lake Wallace and at least one of the Common Gallinule was heard as it vocalized occasionally but remained out of view (both were seen by others later in the morning). Lots of other waterfowl around as well as some herons but no unusual ones. After about an hour and half at the lake I headed up the west side of Quabbin stopping at Gate 9 and Gate 15. Gate 9 featured a few active Great Blue Heron nests as well as a few newly fledged Wood Ducks. No luck finding any marsh birds but the wind may hearing anything calling from this extensive marsh nearly impossible. My stop at Gate 15 was intended to see if I could find any Acadian Flycatchers, which have bred along the brook in years past. No luck finding any but the woods were full of the expected warbler species as well as others.  With the two Common Gallinule seeming to have taken up residence at Lake Wallace there is the possibility of them breeding.  Looking through the book "Birds of the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts" by Bagg and Elliott (published in 1937) there are old records of this species breeding at the lake at the Belchertown state school.  Other species that nested at the lake in the past (1930's) Pied billed Grebe, multiple species of rails and bitterns. With all the activity that occurs around the lake now the chances of some of these species ever breeding here again are very slim but seeing an apparent pair of Common Gallinule at the location at least gives some hope.