Migration update

Scarlet Tanager, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2026

Field Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Prairie Warbler, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 11, 2026

Wilson's Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Canada Goose with goslings, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 10, 2026

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2026

Blue winged Warbler with dark forehead, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Northern Waterthrush, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

Lincoln's Sparrow, Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2026

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2026

Birds Foot Violets, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2026

Although overall cooler than normal with mainly unfavorable winds there continues to be birds pushing in with multiple new species over the last several days.  No other major rarities for the season that I have been able to track down.  As you can tell from the photos it has been mainly about warblers...more on those here.  Too many travels and sightings so the photos will have to tell part of the story.  The next few days look to be unsettled with multiple bouts of rain and at least some favorable winds.  This will hopefully entice a push of birds and the bouts of rain could ground some species that otherwise just fly right by.  Could be some interesting few mornings.

A record early Magnolia Warbler for me today plus a few other new arrivals despite lackluster migration conditions

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Barred Owl, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, Apr 25, 2026

Although I didn't expect to get a whole lot this morning given the ongoing poor migration conditions the bird gods shined down on me a bit for my birthday with a record early Magnolia Warbler at Quabbin Park.  Before going to Quabbin Park I took a walk at Gate 5.  The weather was a bit cool with temps in the upper 30's with a slight north wind...at least it was sunny.  Nothing too unusual at Gate 5 although always fun to see turkeys displaying and have Blue Jays going crazy due to a Barred Owl showing itself.  Once I made it to the park I started adding species and had some decent counts of a variety of species including Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches (lots around the last several days), Eastern Towhees and Pine Warblers.  I had the pair of Merlins that are likely going to nest again in the area.  I then started getting some warbler variety as I continued walking with a Northern Yellow Warbler and then the Magnolia Warbler.  I was not expecting to find the species today but I heard it sing and immediately recognized it and knew it was very early so got some recordings and eventually some photos.  The species usually starts arriving in the area in early May and to get one this early is very unusual, especially with poor migration conditions.  My previous early date for the species in the county was April 29th back in 2011...a long standing record for me.  It was my best day for warbler diversity in the area so far this year with eight species total.  

The second week of August

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Cedar Waxwing on nest, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Aug 13, 2025

Prairie Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Aug 13, 2025

Wild Turkey poults, Quabbin Park MA, Aug 13, 2025

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Aug 12, 2025

Wilson out on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2025

Monarch caterpillar, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 10, 2025

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 10, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2025

The second week of August continued to be hot and sunny overall with another heat wave and I continued to enjoy having my days off to try to track down birds.  I have continued to slowly add new species for the month and I currently stand at 149 species in the county...a couple species ahead of my best ever August.  I have checked Lake Wallace most every morning in the hopes of catching up with a rare wader joining the hordes of Green Herons.  Although breeding continuing for some species the vast majority are now in the post breeding dispersal mode and the hint of mixed species flocks starting to form is taking place in a few areas.  Some species have already departed for the tropics and many will soon follow as fall migration starts picking up.

The second week of May

 

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 14, 2025

Wild Turkeys, Quabbin Park, MA, May 14, 2025

Cerulean Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2025

Pileated Woodpecker, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

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

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 12, 2025

The second week of May has now arrived and with it the peak of migration (which continues to be great for birds with lots of great migration conditions).  I don't have time to go into a lot of details beyond that the birds are back in numbers and every day produces 100+ species, even without being out as much as I want to be.  I have had 160 species so far for the month.  I will post more pictures from the week when I get a chance...for now just a couple from today.

More early arrivals (including a Purple Martin) with great migration conditions

 

 Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 23, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 23, 2025

Green Heron, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2025

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2025

White throated Sparrow, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 25, 2025

The last few days have featured great migration conditions and the birds have responded with a decent influx of early arrivals.  This is certainly reflected in my totals for the month up until this point with a total of 144 species as of today (which is ten species ahead of my previous highest total at this point in the month).  I'm also well ahead of average for the year at this point with 167 species (my previous highest ytd total at this point was 159 in 2022).  All of this despite the fact that I have not been out as much as I would like to be due to some commitments at home.  It just shows how good the migration conditions have been lately.  Migration has slowed a bit today with rain and will be slow tomorrow as we have strong winds out of the north with cool temps.  After that we should see some better migration conditions to end the month and with any luck I will top my highest species count ever for April in the county (set last year with 156 species).  I had hoped that the rain that moved in overnight today would put down migrants but I had no luck tracking down any (although a Caspian Tern and some Brant did show up in Franklin County).  I also came across a continued banded Black capped Chickadee in the yard yesterday that I have not seen in weeks and was certainly happy to see it still around.  The chickadee was banded in 2021 and has lost the color band it had on its right leg so not 100% certain if it was banded in June or July of that year but I think it is the one banded in June (from what I can make out on the federal aluminum band).  No matter it is great to see it surviving in the yard for years.

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle' and Chipping Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 24, 2025

Opossum, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 23, 2025

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 23, 2025

Eastern Coyote, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 23, 2025

Wild Turkeys, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 4, 2025

The various game cameras around the yard continue to capture a variety of mammals and birds including Gray Fox, Eastern Coyote, Opossum, Raccoon and my first warbler of the year.