A couple rainy mornings to start off September downs a few shorebirds

Pectoral Sandpiper, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 1, 2026

Two mornings of rain produced a great assortment of shorebirds with the most productive morning by far being the first day of the month.  On the first I woke up before dawn and saw the heavy rain predicted overnight had not materialized as much as predicted.  Nonetheless I headed out at first light to check Winsor Dam (which was quiet) and then did some local birding as the rain steadily moved in and eventually I got rained out on my final walk.  I then returned home and waited for someone to come by to give me an estimate on some work at the house.  I saw a text that a few American Golden Plovers showed up in Hadley.  A rarity but not unexpected on the date.  By this time the rain had stopped and was not planning on heading out again but the pull of something even rarer found me making a drive over to the Honey Pot.  When I arrived I scanned a variety of fields and turned up loads of Killdeer plus a few Least Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpipers plus at least one Blue Grosbeak.  A slug of heavy rain then arrived and as I was making a final scan and getting soaked I heard a Buff breasted Sandpiper calling overhead.  I continued scanning from the car and then once the rain let up a little I scanned more fields with never finding the bird.  I was certain it set down due to the weather although there is a chance it continued on (or dropped down and then took off without being seen when the rain let up).  All was not lost as a had at least two (possibly three) American Golden Plovers so added two new species for the year in the matter on an hour (species #497 and #498 for the US this year and species #223 and 224 for Hampshire County).  Once I retuned home I got a text from Ted letting me know he found a Baird's Sandpiper at the Holyoke Dam and also got an email about a Ruddy Turnstone found by some UMASS students on the Hadley/Amherst line.  I didn't try for either as I had some obligations at home.

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Wild Turkey, Belchertown, MA, Sep 2, 2026

Between the mornings of rain I was able to get out with the main focus being warblers (and other passerines) and I had some stuff despite poor migration conditions and a bit of a breeze at times.

Spotted Sandpiper, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Sep 3, 2026

American Redstart, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Sep 3, 2026

Today the rain had largely passed by overnight with just a few sprinkles early in the morning.  The winds were not really conducive for great migration but I figured I would give it a try to find grounded migrants (spoiler alert I found little of note).  I tried the Honey Pot first and found just Killdeer and a few Least Sandpipers.  I then headed down to the Holyoke Dam and the only shorebirds present were a couple Spotted Sandpipers.  Despite the lack of shorebirds I did find a good selection of species to add to the month total for the county.  I expect some good stuff once the winds change to a more northerly direction heading into the weekend.

Mid May with some good migration conditions coming up with a warm up

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 15, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 15, 2026

Yellow throated Vireo, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 15, 2026

Hooded Merganser with young, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, May 15, 2026

Today would conclude our three days of overcast conditions, cooler temps with on and off rain (at least it was not as rainy as yesterday!).  Today actually started off with some early sun but the clouds quickly built in and there was some sporadic light rain later in the day.  We have now reached mid May which is usually the peak of migration and despite some less than stellar migration conditions the diversity of species is approaching their highest point for the spring.  Most days exceed a hundred species now without a ton of effort.  I spent lots of time outside today covering areas from Hadley to Amherst and then eventually back to Quabbin Park (sadly the roads are closed into the park for a least a week due to roadwork so lots of walking is involved to get to different spots).  I was mainly after warblers and had a total of 24 species.  The forecast shows warming temps over the next several days with some likely great migration conditions on at least a few nights.  I will be out as much as possible tracking down everything I can.  

Wilson's Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 14, 2026

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 14, 2026

Yesterday was mainly a rain out.  Although with some south winds I had hopes of finding some grounded migrants I had no luck.  I got a little walking in before the rain really moved in and had birds around in typical numbers.  I made multiple checks of Winsor Dam during the morning without anything unusual noted.  No rarities showed up in the county although a flock (nearly fifty individuals) of Brant in nearby Franklin County showed some unusual stuff did get forced down.  Despite my birding being curtailed by the weather I did add my 19th warbler species in the yard with a Wilson's Warbler as the rain poured down.

Veery, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Spotted Sandpiper, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Yellow bellied Flycatcher, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 13, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with black forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 13, 2026

On Monday I headed out before dawn after what had been the biggest night of migration for the spring.  It was overcast and cool and some light rain started as the morning wore on.  The amount of bird song was certainly less than I expected and a fair number of species I had for the day were silent and were only picked up as they moved through the still not quite leafed out trees.  I started at Mitch's Way where I met up with Jack.  We had some good stuff including an odd singing Blue winged Warbler, at least half a dozen Tennessee Warblers and a Canada Warbler singing at the tops of the trees.  I then moved on to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River as the intermittent rain continued.  Again there was not as much song as I would expect after a great night of migration but there were birds around including an early Yellow bellied Flycatcher.  My last stop before heading home was to the rail trail in Amherst where I had a number of species with the notables including an early Willow Flycatcher (getting me to 200 species in the county for the year), the Brewster's Warbler and the continued Blue winged Warbler with a black forehead.  The rain continued to pick up and I had to wait it out a bit before taking Wilson for a wet walk.  Once back home the rain had stopped and the sun even tried to poke through and when this happened the activity increased a lot and I had 51 species in the yard in just over ten minutes...not too bad...list here.

Some Least Bitterns yesterday during a walk with Devin and a new Hampshire County species for me today with a Stilt Sandpiper

Least Bittern, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Least Bittern, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Least Bittern, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Least Bittern, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Least Bittern, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Least Bitterns, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Rose breasted Grosbeak, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Green Heron, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Great Blue Heron, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Eastern Coyote, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jul 21, 2025

Yesterday morning I caught up with former valley resident Devin who was in the area for some music work.  We decided on meeting at the rail trail in Amherst where we would try to turn up a Least Bittern (which would be a county bird for Devin).  I arrived a little early and walked by the marsh where a Least Bittern has been heard or seen very sporadically for a few months and had no luck.  The species has gone largely silent by this point in the year so didn't have much faith in finding one.  Once Devin arrived we started a walk along the trail and after watching a number of Green Herons flying around we approached the area where the Least Bittern has been and had one fly out of the reeds and then land in a reeds out of view.  We looked for a bit and I saw just the head of the bird showing and got Devin on the bird.  It then flew out to a more exposed perch and allowed for some great views and photos.  As we watched the bittern a second one flew out to join the initial bird.  The two of them flew around a bit for several minutes, occasionally landing in open.  The best looks I have had of the species this year by far.  Having two around certain points toward the potential for nesting once again.  We had great looks at a number of other species of birds plus had a brown colored Eastern Coyote in a freshly cut field.  It was nearly the exact same color as a White tailed Deer...a cool looking coyote.

Spotted Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2025

Semipalmated Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2025

Least Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2025

Killdeer, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2025

 

Spotted Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 22, 2025

On my way to work this morning I decided to see if I could track down any shorebirds or waders.  A bit of north winds brought in some cool temps (low 50's) overnight and I thought some shorebirds would respond to the good early season migration conditions.  I briefly checked for waders and shorebirds in Hadley before heading to the East Meadows.  I came up to a small muddy area that had some great shorebird habitat and immediately started scanning the multiple birds present.  The first scan through produced a number of species with the most unusual among them being a rare for the area Stilt Sandpiper.  It was in the same general area as a few Solitary Sandpipers and was standing upright and seemed very nervous.  I was able to get good views for about 30 seconds and then decided to try to get the scope out to get better views and some photos.  As I was getting ready to get out of the car the bird took off and headed off to the south.  I got the scope out and started scanning through the remaining birds and hoped the Stilt Sandpiper would return, which it never did.  I was short of time and after around twenty minutes I had to head to work.  Besides the Stilt Sandpiper I had five other species of shorebirds and got some photos of those.  Stilt Sandpiper is a very rare species here and this was actually the first one I have ever had in the county!  This addition brings my Hampshire County list to 308.

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 20, 2025

Opossum, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 19, 2025

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 19, 2025

I checked the camera at the water feature yesterday and besides a number of bird species captured I had a few mammals including Gray Fox.

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.

Record setting July in Hampshire County comes to an end with 147 species

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 26, 2024

Prairie Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Jul 26, 2024

Common Goldeneye, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Great Egrets, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Bobolink, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Sedge Wren, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jul 27, 2024

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jul 28, 2024

Wilson amongst the raspberries plants, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 28, 2024

Spotted Sandpiper, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jul 29, 2024

Eastern Kingbirds, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 29, 2024

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jul 30, 2024

Snowy Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2024

Snowy Egret and Great Egret, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Jul 31, 2024

The very hot month of July has now come an end and with it a total of 147 species in Hampshire County, which beats my previous highest total ever (which was 144 that I reached in 2022).  I managed to do this despite not being around at the beginning of the month and working multiple overtime shifts.  Having several continued rarities in the area helped reach the impressive total and I caught up with most of them during the end of the month.  The rarities this month included Northern Pintail, the long staying Common Goldeneye, Sanderling, Bonaparte's Gull, Least Bittern, Snowy Egret, Purple Martins, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, a very early Swainson's Thrush, Red Crossbills and Blue Grosbeaks.  July also featured lots of breeding activity and there are more and more fledglings around each day.