The upcoming hurricane

Hurricane Irene continues he journey north as a category 1 storm.  It is expected to come right up through the Connecticut River valley and therefore right through the neighborhood!  The predictions are for heavy rains (6" or more) and winds up to hurricane strength.  The only silver lining is the potential for rare birds to show up with this storm.  I'm hopeful the damage will be slight and the birding great.  I will update when I can.  The expectation is to lose power for the day and possibly longer.  A great link to hurricane birding can be found here:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hurricane-irene-en-route

Stay tuned....


UPDATE:  Made two stops at Winsor Dam at Quabbin Park to see if any birds came in with the first rain bands.  I had a sterna species (possibly Common Tern) flying away at quite a distance and moving north not to be seen again.  In addition had a flight of 37 Common Nighthawks move east to west between the rain bands.  No other storm related birds but did have a few Common Loons, cormorants, three adult Bald Eagle, lots of Ring-billed Gulls and at dusk 65+ Mallards and a smattering of Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers.

Common Nighthawks in the morning...

Common Nighthawk, Quabbin Gate 11, Aug 26, 2011

Common Nighthawk, Quabbin Gate 11, 2011

I took a morning trip up to the central part of Quabbin and had a good few hours of birding.  The morning started with at least a dozen Common Nighthawks feeding along the entrance of gate 11.  They were quite difficult to photograph as they swept by just over the tops of the trees.  I then made it into central Quabbin and migration was in evidence today as I ran across several mixed species flocks with the highlight being a male Wilson's Warbler.  Breeding was still in evidence also as I had a turkey with several robin sized young and a few vireos and warblers still begging food from parents.  A very nice morning all around.

Hornet nest, central Quabbin, Aug 26, 2011

spider web in fog, central Quabbin, Aug 26, 2011

Two new yard birds

I managed to add not one, but two new yard birds to the yard list today bringing the total on our two acres to 145.  I added a flyby Bobolink this morning and added a couple Great Black-backed Gulls this evening.  I was amazed to add two new birds today.  I guess there are advantages to being stuck at home sometimes!

Common Nighthawks return

Common Nighthawk with tail spread, Belchertown, MA, Aug 18, 2011

Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, Aug 18, 2011

 Common Nighthawk, Belchertown, MA, Aug 18, 2011

The migration season has begun as the annual arrival of Common Nighthawks from points north has started.  Although shorebirds started moving south in July the arrival of nighthawks always signals the end of summer and the beginning of all to me in the interior of Massachusetts.  I had a total of 82 Common Nighthawks last evening but probably missed a few while I got dinner ready.  I managed a few photos of these fast flying birds.

Covey WMA

Northern Bobwhite, Covey WMA

I made a short trip out yesterday to get some time outside on a beautiful late summer day. I walked a short distance around the Covey WMA in Belchertown. Some nice stuff around including two Red-shouldered Hawks with a Broad-winged Hawk, several Boblinks, a couple Northern Bobwhites, and others. The list for the day is below.

Northern Bobwhite 2 two birds calling, stocked birds
Great Blue Heron 2
Green Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 2
Broad-winged Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
Ring-billed Gull 2
Mourning Dove 5
Chimney Swift 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Northern Flicker 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Eastern Kingbird 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 3
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 25
Barn Swallow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
House Wren 1
Eastern Bluebird 3
American Robin 5
Gray Catbird 3
Cedar Waxwing 14
Common Yellowthroat 5
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 8
Northern Cardinal 2
Indigo Bunting 2
Bobolink 4
Common Grackle 2
Baltimore Oriole 2
American Goldfinch 8

Gray Fox and surgery recovery

Sorry for the poor quality of the shot but I didn't have the good camera handy and it was 5:30am.  I originally saw this guy as I looked out the kitchen window.  He stayed long enough for us to get good looks and to lean out the door to the deck and get a quick picture.  I took the sighting as a good omen on the morning of some surgery I had scheduled.  The surgery went well and I'm now home recovering.  I hope to get out at least a little by the end of the week...it is tough to stay down when you love to be outside! 

Hail storm

The severe weather continues for another day here in western Massachusetts.  This time the big problem was hail.  It was the worst hail storm I have had here at the house with the largest stones almost the size of ping-pong balls!  Really amazing to see.  The hail fell for almost 25 minutes at varying intensities.  We were luck to escape with no real damage besides some foliage taken down.  The power of nature always impresses.  I'll upload some photos of it all a bit later.