Minor migration

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Black throated Green Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Cooper's Hawk, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2013

Tree Swallow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 7, 2013

Although overall another quiet day I still managed to find a few noteworthy birds. It did turn out to be a very warm day with temperatures reaching 80 degrees by late morning. I visited a variety of locations in the valley during the morning starting with a brief stop at Winsor Dam. I then went to the East Meadows, Arcadia, Mitch's Way and then Skinner SP. I ended the day with 16 species of warbler and four species of vireo with a total of almost 90 species. Typically I would have been up over100 species covering these same areas in a normal year but this year is far from normal. Winsor Dam was quiet with not too much activity. The East Meadows produced a few warbler migrants but most were likely breeders. I also ran across one flock of Horned Larks numbering around 35 but could not find anything unusual with them. This area is extremely dry and dusty and driving the roads is like driving on the beach...a very dusty beach. At Arcadia I checked the rookery and the old orchard area. No sign of any unusual waders in among the typical herons. The old orchard was in full bloom and looked absolutely primed for migrants to be all over the place but I found just a single warbler in the area, a Magnolia Warbler, which became species #178. With little activity there I headed across the river to Mitch's Way to hunt for something unusual. I didn't find anything too unusual but got some good looks at a few migrants as well as resident birds setting up shop. After a fairly long walk at Mitch's Way I decided to make a quick stop at the base of Skinner SP to see if I could hear any Worm eating Warblers. I heard one fairly quickly so despite being tired I decided to hike up to the top to see if the Cerulean Warblers made it back too (the state still has gates closed for the season so the only way up is a steep hike). No luck with the Cerulean Warblers but the Worm eating Warblers became species #179.

Wilson trying to round up grasshoppers

Later walks with Wilson around various areas produced a few more species but nothing unusual and few obvious migrants.  Wilson had fun trying to 'herd' grasshoppers for the first time this season.  His only real success came in picking up ticks!

Sunset at Quabbin, May 7, 2013

Another evening vigil at Winsor Dam didn't turn up anything unusual but the sunset was once again spectacular.

The trickle of birds continues

Palm Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2013

Palm Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2013

Cliff Swallow, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2013

Blue gray Gnatcatcher nest building, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2013

Blue gray Gnatcatcher nest building, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2013

Yet another morning with little migration but at this point it is almost to be expected!  Perhaps tonight will finally bring a big push of migrants but I'm not holding my breath. The birds do continue to trickle in and I added two new species today but it is still very quiet compared to typical for this time of year. I started out at UMASS and almost immediately got a Blue winged Warbler, Northern Parula and Red eyed Vireo (#176) so I figured it would be a great morning there. Just not the case but there were some birds around but just not large numbers. The predicted patchy fog turned out to be low clouds that hung on until almost 10am. I caught up with Ian after a bit of searching around we headed to another part of campus but that area was quiet as well. We decided to try our luck once again at Mitch's Way but that area was also quiet. A brief stop at the bottom of Skinner SP did not produce any hoped for Worm eating Warblers. I dropped off Ian and decided to head to the rail trail. The highlight here was another new species, a Cliff Swallow (#177) feeding over the marsh at Hop Brook along with three other swallow species. I also ran across a pair of Blue gray Gnatcatcher building a nest on a horizontal branch out in the open.  It will be interesting to see if the nest is successful in such a location.  Later morning and early afternoon walks at the Belchertown Land Trust trail and gates on the west side of Quabbin were equally quiet. Although quiet I still ended up with 16 warbler species (including the first Palm Warblers I have seen in several days), three vireo species and five swallow species for a total of 77 species today. An interesting non avian sighting was a 10" catfish I saw thrashing along the shore of a marsh along the rail trail. I could not figure out what was going on until I looked closer and noticed a Northern Watersnake biting into its mid section...very cool to see (not so much for the catfish I'm sure!).

Quabbin at sunset, May 6, 2013

In the evening I headed over to Winsor Dam to try to catch up with an early Common Nighthawk but no luck with that.  The waters were very calm which made for some great views.

Prescott Peninsula..Red Crossbills and others

Red Crossbill, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

 

Red Crossbill, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Red Crossbill, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

As it appeared that there was no big push of migrants last night I decided to head onto the permit only Prescott Peninsula to set up my field study sites and check my whip-poor-will route. I spent most of the morning there covering about 10 miles and compiled a nice list of birds with some decent numbers including 13 warbler species. Although active in spots it is still a bit quiet for this time of year.  Hopefully the next couple nights with southerly winds will finally bring us lots of birds.  Highlights were many, with the biggest being four Red Crossbills that were recorded and photographed. The type will be determined after I get that info back from Matt Young at Cornell. I have included the list for the day below:

Purple Finch, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Nashville Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Yellow Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Yellow Warbler, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Tree Swallow, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Chipping Sparrow, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Red winged Blackbird, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

Prescott Peninsula (60 species total)

Canada Goose  2
Wood Duck  3
Mallard  2
Hooded Merganser  3
Common Merganser  2   pair on small pond
Ruffed Grouse  7     Drumming
Wild Turkey  16     various small groups
Common Loon  2   calling
Red-tailed Hawk  3
Mourning Dove  6
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  26
Downy Woodpecker  3
Hairy Woodpecker  3
Northern Flicker  7
Pileated Woodpecker  1
Least Flycatcher  9
Eastern Phoebe  10
Eastern Kingbird  6
Blue-headed Vireo  24     Minimum
Red-eyed Vireo  1
Blue Jay  45
American Crow  5
Tree Swallow  16
Black-capped Chickadee  21
Red-breasted Nuthatch  8     Minimum
White-breasted Nuthatch  4
Brown Creeper  2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  1
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Hermit Thrush  2
Wood Thrush  4
American Robin  29
Gray Catbird  1
Ovenbird  27     Minimum
Black-and-white Warbler  16     Minimum
Nashville Warbler  2
Common Yellowthroat  10
American Redstart  5
Northern Parula  1
Blackburnian Warbler  2
Yellow Warbler  5
Chestnut-sided Warbler  3
Black-throated Blue Warbler  17     Minimum
Pine Warbler  19
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  49
Black-throated Green Warbler  13
Eastern Towhee  47     Minimum count
Chipping Sparrow  46
Song Sparrow  10
Swamp Sparrow  5
Northern Cardinal  4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  1
Red-winged Blackbird  14
Common Grackle  5
Brown-headed Cowbird  11
Purple Finch  14     Minimum
Red Crossbill  4     Photographed and recorded
American Goldfinch  11

Beaver with ear tags, Prescott Peninsula, May 5, 2013

In addition, I had several mammals including a ear tagged Beaver.  I have sent off some e-mails to Quabbin folks to see what the story is with this guy.

Various spots in the valley

Dawn at Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 4, 2013

Dawn at Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 4, 2013

Awoke this morning very early to the hooting of Barred Owls at the house. I headed out predawn once again, this time meeting up with Jacob and heading over to Arcadia. We started early today to beat the hordes of people sure to be out on such a sunny and warm day. We got a couple of great birds at Arcadia right away when we flushed a Solitary Sandpiper (#173) and then had a (possibly two) calling Grasshopper Sparrow (#174). We missed on finding the Great Egrets but the rookery was buzzing nonetheless with Great Blue Herons. The number of Savannah Sparrows was quite impressive with 25+ just in the small area we covered.

 

Peregrine Falcon eating prey, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 4, 2013

 Our next stop was going to be Mitch's Way but we decided to take a detour through the East Meadows in the hope of turning up an unusual western bird. Although we missed on a western bird we did have a late female Lapland Longspur mixed in among the 210+ Horned Lark flock. Certainly a late date for this species. We also had a large flock (105 or so) of Canada Geese feeding in the fields...rather late in the season for such a large flock. Nearby a Peregrine Falcon fed on its latest kill. We left the dusty fields of the meadows behind and headed to Mitch's Way to "sail along with Mitch". Although we didn't have large numbers of migrants we did turn up seven warbler species, three vireo species as well as another new bird for the county year list, a Scarlet Tanager (#175). The most interesting bird there turned out to be a Nashville Warbler with a very odd call. At first we though it was a Blackburnian Warbler but it didn't sound quite right. Then we thought a Blue winged/golden winged warbler but also not quite right. It took us quite a bit of time to finally track the bird down and confirm the ID. We also tried our luck at Skinner SP trying to find either Worm Eating Warbler or Cerulean Warbler but none were found. They should arrive any day now at this reliable breeding location. A nice walk despite not having too many birds around. We parted ways late morning and I headed home to take Wilson for a walk along the land trust trail. We managed to find a Prairie Warbler among the other birds present which provided me with my first double digit warbler species day of the season with ten species. Amazing that it took until May 4th for this to happen!

Slow birding day

The backdoor cold front that came in last night made for a somewhat breezy day today with cool temperatures in the morning.  It warmed up into the 60's today so overall not a bad day as far as the weather goes.  The birding remains rather uneventful and quiet when you consider the date.  I went out again this morning and was not surprised to find it very quiet.  I went all around Quabbin Park and had a total of nine warbler species with most of those being just one or two individuals with the only decent numbers being Black and White Warblers, Ovenbirds and Pine Warblers (but even these numbers are low for this time of year).  The best warbler was also the only new species for the day, a Blackburnian Warbler (#172).  Eastern Towhees were around in fairly good numbers but I missed out completely on catbird. I did have 40+ Double crested Cormorants fighting the wind and moving northeast.  The next two days do not promise much change as far as migration is concerned but it will be sunny and warm.  No photos for the day today.

I spent the rest of the day around the house and managed to add a new species to the yard list when I finally got a Red shouldered Hawk.  For many years the neighborhood Blue Jays have fooled me many times with their spot on impression of a Red shouldered Hawk, but this time it was the real deal!  The hawk became yard species #151.

Another sunny warm day with few migrants

Black and White Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

Black and White Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

Canada Goose gosling, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

Marsh at dawn, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

Canada Goose gosling, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

Canada Goose gosling, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

 

Canada Goose gosling, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 2, 2013

With high hopes I set out once again this morning in the hopes of finding a large influx of migrants. However, like previous days, it was not to be today. Although the winds were right last night here early on the conditions further south were not, so no big influx. It is actually quite surprising to walk so much in various areas this time of year and not run across decent numbers and variety of species. Birds are certainly moving but not yet in huge numbers. The migration is turning out to be more like what it use to be like in spring with the peak probably occurring in mid May instead of early May as has been the case the last several years.  However everything could change rapidly this time of year with a slight change in the weather. It will be interesting to see what the next week brings. So although there was not a big influx, the migrants continue to trickle in slowly. It was yet another cool morning starting off in the high 30's but warming up nicely once the sun came out. The temperature eventually topped off in the upper 70's. I started the morning at the rail trail and walked the section from Station Road to Mill Lane. I managed to find just five species of warblers (all in low numbers). The upside was one of the warblers was new for the season- Common Yellowthroat (#169). I also heard a Veery (#170) singing distantly. I also ran across the first of what will be many young Canada Geese. 

 

After the rail trail I headed down to Mitch's Way to try to catch up with one of the southern warblers (Hooded, Kentucky, Prothonotary and Yellow throated Warblers). No luck with any unusual warblers at all. The best bird I had here was the third new species for the day, a Yellow throated Vireo (#171). Nothing else too unusual was around and many areas were quite quiet. A brief stop at the base of Skinner SP didn't produce a hoped for Worm eating Warbler. 

Great Blue Heron flying away, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2013

Great Blue Heron flying away, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2013

Bald Eagle on nest, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2013

 

I then headed across the river to Arcadia to try to catch up with a couple of Great Egrets that have been seen near the heron rookery. Despite much effort checking the area of the rookery I didn't find the Great Egrets (perhaps first thing in the morning or at dusk is best?) the Bald Eagle was still sitting on its nest and nearly 50 Great Blue Herons nearby were busy either sitting on nests or bringing sticks in to build new ones. Also had a pair of Green Herons chasing each other around the rookery. The number of Yellow Warblers, Blue Gray Gnatcatchers and Warbling Vireos seems to have grown over the past few days but oddly I had only one Gray Catbird...quite unusual for the early part of May. A few other walks with Wilson around the local area produced the expected species but nothing too exciting.

May day birding

Tree Swallow, Arcadia, May 1, 2013

Tree Swallow, Arcadia, May 1, 2013

Wood Thrush at top of tree, UMASS-Amherst, May 1, 2013

On yet another in a string of sunny and warm days I headed out to see what I might find. I started off predawn at the rail trail in Amherst looking for marsh birds and owls. I had at least one Virginia Rail calling as well as at least two Great Horned Owls. I then headed over to the UMASS stadium marsh where I had yet another Virginia Rail calling. With the temperature slowing starting to warm up from its low in the upper 30's I headed to the northwest part of campus to try to catch up with some migrants. Nothing too unusual but some recent migrants have picked up in number with several Wood Thrush around with one singing at the very top of a 75' tree..strange. When I was about as far away from the car as I could be I got a text and message about a Golden winged Warbler seen at Arcadia. Given the rarity of this species in the area I decided to give it a try and head over to try to find it. It had flown away not long after being discovered but I figured it might still be in the area. Despite a lot of looking at Arcadia, the nearby neighborhood and some nearby conservation land I was unable to find the bird. It appears it moved on to locations unknown. There were a few other migrants around but not too many. I did manage to add one new species when I found a Great crested Flycatcher (#168) near Hurlburts Pond. After my unsuccessful quest for the Golden winged Warbler I headed back toward home to pick up Wilson and head out for a walk at Covey WMA. Around midday I headed up to a few areas on the west side of Quabbin but the areas were actually very quiet with little activity.