A rainy but productive day including a Kentucky Warbler

Canada warbler, found while trying to refind the Kentucky (sorry no photo of the Kentucky)

Despite the less than ideal weather today I had a great day. The morning began with thunderstorms which did not bode well for the Hampshire Bird Club trip I was co-leading with Tom Gagnon. One of the first birds of the day on the trip through Quabbin was a group of three Bonaparte's Gulls that we tried to make into something more exotic. We then made the trip inside the gates around 7:30 and the rain picked up again. After a couple hours of heavy rain and thunder we decided to call it a day and end the trip early. I then went home to warm up and dry out. The real excitement of the day began when one of the first breaks in the rain developed and I could hear various warblers calling. I went outside and had a nice group including Magnolia, Black throated Green, Chestnut sided, Northern Parula, Yellow, Ovenbird, Yellow rumped, Pine and Northern Waterthrush. The bird of the day however was heard just after stepping outside to check the other birds when I heard and then briefly saw a Kentucky Warbler. A fantastic bird for the yard! It only stayed a brief time and I was unable to get a photo. I kept checking back outside between bouts of rain but was unable to relocate it. I was rewarded with a nice male Canada Warbler to make up for not refinding the Kentucky. I also managed to add another yard bird today, a Solitary Sandpiper. A very good day even without great weather.

Breeding Bird Atlas New Salem

Evening Grosbeak

I made an early morning trip into my atlas blocks to check on activity. The pace of migration continues to pick up with many new arrivals since my last trip in. The variety and overall numbers continue to increase (compare today's list with one last week). Although there were, as always, many highlights the ones that stick out include finding a Cerulean warbler back in his usual spot where he has breed for the last few years, an begging juvenile Coopers Hawk and a Merlin that was harassing a crow.


Wood Duck 6 pairs
Mallard 2 pair
Hooded Merganser 5 two males
Ruffed Grouse 9 drumming
Wild Turkey 15
Double-crested Cormorant 6 moving north
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Bald Eagle 1 adult
Cooper's Hawk 3 one begging juvenile
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Merlin 1 well south, seen harassing a crow
Mourning Dove 18
Barred Owl 3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 20
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 5
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Least Flycatcher 23
Eastern Phoebe 5
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 5
Blue-headed Vireo 7 carrying nest material
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 25
Blue Jay 26
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 16
Black-capped Chickadee 28
Tufted Titmouse 7
Red-breasted Nuthatch 9
Brown Creeper 5
House Wren 2
Winter Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Veery 13
Hermit Thrush 4
Wood Thrush 17
American Robin 41
Gray Catbird 29
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 3
Northern Parula 4
Yellow Warbler 23 carrying nest material
Chestnut-sided Warbler 44
Magnolia Warbler 8
Black-throated Blue Warbler 24
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8
Black-throated Green Warbler 35
Blackburnian Warbler 9
Pine Warbler 17 making nest
Prairie Warbler 1
Cerulean Warbler 1 in same area they have bred for last few years
Black-and-white Warbler 18
American Redstart 43
Ovenbird 97
Northern Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 89
Scarlet Tanager 14
Eastern Towhee 70
Chipping Sparrow 45 making nest
Song Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 6
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 16
Red-winged Blackbird 17
Common Grackle 13
Brown-headed Cowbird 14
Baltimore Oriole 17 making nest
Purple Finch 2 pair
American Goldfinch 12
Evening Grosbeak 4 two pairs

Arizona Part 4 Madera Canyon

Big group of Pine Siskins and a few Lesser Goldfinches

Painted Redstart

Broad billed Hummingbird

Another part of the review of my trip to Arizona in late March/early April brings me back to review my time in Madera Canyon. I have already mentioned the big finds of Rufous capped Warbler (actually in Florida Canyon) and Flame colored Tanager. There were many other great birds in the canyon and I had great luck despite the windy and cool weather. I missed out on owls but had many other good sightings. Here are a few photos.

Big influx overnight

I made another trip in to my atlas blocks at Quabbin covering basically the same areas as yesterday. The influx of birds was very evident right from the start. I ended the day with a total of 17 warbler species with some good numbers. Overall a great way to start May. Here is the list for about 7 hours of birding.


Canada Goose 4
Wood Duck 5 one pair, two lone males, one lone female
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 3
Hooded Merganser 9 two pairs and several females
Ruffed Grouse 6 drumming
Wild Turkey 14
Double-crested Cormorant 4 moving north
Turkey Vulture 1
Bald Eagle 1 adult
Sharp-shinned Hawk 2 moving north
Cooper's Hawk 1
Broad-winged Hawk 1 caught chipmunk and flew off
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1 male
Mourning Dove 15
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 31 excavating nest holes
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 6
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Least Flycatcher 4
Eastern Phoebe 4
Blue-headed Vireo 41 carrying nest material
Blue Jay 142 large groups moving north, mostly silent...largest group of 78...likely missed many
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 20
Black-capped Chickadee 61 making nest
Tufted Titmouse 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch 18
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 5
Carolina Wren 1 unusual here
Winter Wren 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
Hermit Thrush 11
American Robin 54
Gray Catbird 1
Cedar Waxwing 16
Nashville Warbler 4
Northern Parula 2
Yellow Warbler 20
Chestnut-sided Warbler 5
Magnolia Warbler 1 male with odd song, seen well
Black-throated Blue Warbler 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler 161 conservative number...large groups together. Almost never out of earshot
Black-throated Green Warbler 26
Blackburnian Warbler 1 same area as yesterday
Pine Warbler 38
Prairie Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 23
American Redstart 6
Ovenbird 32

Louisiana Waterthrush 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Eastern Towhee 121
Chipping Sparrow 81 carrying nest material
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 5
White-throated Sparrow 146 conservative number...these guys were everywhere...largest group together was 59
Northern Cardinal 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5
Red-winged Blackbird 21
Common Grackle 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 25
Purple Finch 7
Red Crossbill 2 perhaps more...heard and then seen 20 minutes later about half mile away...birds seen were male and female
American Goldfinch 13
Evening Grosbeak 7 two pairs and group of three

Migration picks up

I spent the morning into the early afternoon atlasing blocks in the restricted area of Quabbin. There were many nice birds seen and heard with some already nesting. Several new birds for the year made appearances today including several warbler species. Yet again I ran across Red Crossbills with a female and male on the ground in a marshy area. I have some photos from the day that I will post later once I download them. Here is the list for the day.


Canada Goose 3
Wood Duck 6 three pairs
American Black Duck 2
Hooded Merganser 2 female on nest box
Ruffed Grouse 3 drumming
Wild Turkey 10
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 9 up to five in view at once
Cooper's Hawk 2 one on nest
Broad-winged Hawk 21 moving north all day
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Mourning Dove 8
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 15
Downy Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 7
Pileated Woodpecker 3
Eastern Phoebe 2 on nest
Blue-headed Vireo 27
Blue Jay 43
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 21
Black-capped Chickadee 27
Tufted Titmouse 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 10
Brown Creeper 2
Winter Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Hermit Thrush 3
Yellow Warbler 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 same area since april 23
Yellow-rumped Warbler 51
Black-throated Green Warbler 6
Blackburnian Warbler 1
Pine Warbler 21
Palm Warbler 2
Black-and-white Warbler 5
Eastern Towhee 53
Chipping Sparrow 37
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 12
Dark-eyed Junco 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Red-winged Blackbird 72
Common Grackle 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Purple Finch 4
Red Crossbill 2 female and male
American Goldfinch 10
Evening Grosbeak 3 one male with two females

Arizona Part 3 Rufous capped Warbler and Flame Colored Tanager

Flame colored Tanager-Madera Canyon

Rufous capped Warbler- Florida Canyon

In my ongoing review of my trip to Arizona in late March and early April I had to review two of my best sightings of the trip. I really wanted to find both of these birds and I had great luck with both. The Flame colored Tanager had just shown up for the season a couple days before we arrived in Madera Canyon. This bird has apparently been returning here for several years. I had distant but nice views the first afternoon we arrived. A nice looking bird!

The Rufous capped Warbler had been present in Florida Canyon off and on for months. I really was hopeful to get a look at this warbler. We arrived in Florida Canyon mid morning and started up the canyon, having to jump across the stream in several areas. I went further upstream alone and had no luck. When I returned back down canyon I was encouraged to try again by the wife and luck was on my side the second time. I'm certainly glad I went back to try again.

Another atlas day in central quabbin

I had another great day with many special sightings for me. Had a wonderful interaction with a pair of Barred Owls. The variety of calls these birds have is impressive, especially when a pair gets together. I will include the list for the day...some really good highlights indeed. Enjoy the list:

Spent 4:45 covering 10.2 miles starting at dawn

Canada Goose 4
Wood Duck 4
Mallard 2
Hooded Merganser 4 three females, near nest boxes
Ruffed Grouse 11 drumming
Wild Turkey 8 including one tom chased to the top of a large tree by a coyote
Common Loon 2 pair
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 in area of suspected nesting, quite vocal
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Mourning Dove 9
Barred Owl 4 two pairs. One came in very close, very vocal and was mobbed by four Evening Grosbeaks, a Purple Finch and Red breasted Nuthatchs while White Throated Sparrows sang...like being in the far north.
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 26
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 10
Eastern Phoebe 3
Blue-headed Vireo 12
Blue Jay 47
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 17
Black-capped Chickadee 41
Tufted Titmouse 4
Red-breasted Nuthatch 15
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 57
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 same area as yesterday
Yellow-rumped Warbler 30
Pine Warbler 40
Palm Warbler 3
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 72
Chipping Sparrow 66
Field Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 8
Swamp Sparrow 4
White-throated Sparrow 41
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 17
Common Grackle 10
Brown-headed Cowbird 18
Purple Finch 2
Red Crossbill 2 together, unknown on age due to poor lighting
American Goldfinch 8
Evening Grosbeak 14 including two groups of four together, rest pairs


Coyote-1
Porcupine-1
Beaver-2
Gray Squirrel-1
Red Squirrel-7
Chipmunk-20