Lots of migrants arrive

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

Northern Shovelers, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

American Woodcock, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2016

The dam has finally broken and the migrants poured in overnight making this morning a very good one to be out and about.  I stayed close to home spending most of the morning at Quabbin Park and nearby areas finding just under a hundred species with twenty of those warblers.  Lots of other good stuff too including several new species for the year including Great crested Flycatcher (#181) at Lake Wallace, Red eyed Vireo (#182) and Tennessee Warbler (#183) at Quabbin Park and Canada Warbler (#184) along the land trust trail.  The next several days should feature even more arrivals.  Full lists below (some with loads of photos).

Winsor Dam: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29509198
                     http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29509332

Lake Wallace: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29509286

Quabbin Park: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29513449

Belchertown Land Trust trail: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29514758

Northern Rough winged Swallow, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2016

Great Egret, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2016

Yesterday I headed west to Arcadia in a fruitless search for some Glossy Ibis that were seen there the day before.  Although I missed in finding the ibis there were lots of other good stuff to keep me occupied as I made several stops over the course of the morning before heading back home.  I ran across a Brewster's warbler at UMASS but I was never able to get a photo of it as it worked deeper and deeper into private property.  Several new species showed themselves yesterday despite the less than ideal weather with ever increasing rain as the morning went on.  The new species included Scarlet Tanager (#177) at Arcadia, Great Egret (#178) at the campus pond, Least Sandpiper (#179) and Wilson's Warbler (#180) along the rail trail in Amherst.  A few lists (with more photos) below:

Arcadia:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29480155

UMASS pond:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29480514

UMASS-NW campus:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29481305

Rail trail-Amherst:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S29482379

A few more rainy days produce more Common Terns and a Common Gallinule

Common Terns, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2016

Common Terns, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2016

Great Blue Herons building nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 7, 2016

With the forecast for more rain overnight into this morning I decided I would stick somewhat close to home. I started off at Winsor Dam where I hoped to catch up with some whip poor wills but it was just too breezy to hear any (if they indeed were calling). I did have ten Common Mergansers on the water including an odd individual which appeared to be in transition into full adult male plumage. I then made the short ride over to Lake Wallace and besides a number of typical waterfowl with there freshly hatched young, I had a calling Common Gallinule (#175) in the same general area I had a pair last year. Despite much effort to get a look at the bird it never showed itself. Hopefully it will stick around and attract a mate once again. The Great Blue Heron nest count has now increased to four as a pair started working on a new nest this morning...video of the initial work can be found at the following link:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/26838932856/in/dateposted-public/ 
The other noteworthy species there was my first Eastern Kingbird (#176) of the year. I then headed back over to Winsor Dam where I turned up the continued Lesser Scaup plus a few dozen swallows working the surface of the reservoir. Beaver Lake was once again devoid of birds but always worth checking. Although it continued to sprinkle a bit from time to time a quick look at the radar showed that the heaviest rain would hopefully hold off long enough to make a hike down to the water and back from Gate 5 (it held off long enough to get down there but then the rain started). My reward for the trek down was a pair of Common Terns sitting on the same platform I had several terns on a few days ago. I studied them for a bit to make sure they were not something even more unusual than Common Terns. I managed to get a number of photos before my phone died (a common problem with it when it gets past 50% power and it is cold out). By this point it was raining steadily so I headed back home to get Wilson so we could go for yet another walk in the rain. A few more checks at Winsor Dam during the remainder of the day didn't find anything of note beyond the now ever present Lesser Scaup.

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2016

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2016

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2016

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2016

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 6, 2016

Yesterday I walked a fair distance on the rail trail and managed just four species of warblers over more than a mile...amazingly low numbers for the date. Thankfully Mitch's Way had a few more warbler but still not too many at all with a total of just over a dozen individuals of seven species! Although the forecast called for afternoon rain it started rainy steadily while I was in Hadley but a I could see some sunny breaks to the east so I headed that way. A brief stop at Winsor Dam found the Lesser Scaup still present plus a single Double crested Cormorant. Quabbin Park was a little more lively but still below average with nine warbler species. By early afternoon the rain started once again and continued through the evening.

The cloudy, rainy cool pattern looks to be slowly changing which will almost certainly result in a large influx of birds once it does change. The big question is exactly when that occurs. The forecast shows winds changing from northeast/east today to light and variable tonight with occasional showers and then southerly tomorrow before a cold front arrives during the day. Sunday night into Monday looks like it could be a decent migration night with southwest winds during the night becoming west during Monday with sunny conditions and warmer temperatures.

Cool, rainy weather continues...another sterna sp yesterday and a Blue winged Teal today

Blue winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2016

Blue winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2016

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2016

Prairie Warbler, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 5, 2016

Although today was the driest day we have had this month it felt like the coldest day yet with a fairly busy northerly wind adding a bit of chill to the air.  I stayed around the south Quabbin area in search of more storm related birds but didn't have much luck today although the best bird of the day, a Blue winged Teal (#174) at Lake Wallace, may have been related to the poor weather.  Quite a few of the expected waterfowl were present at Lake Wallace along with freshly hatched young as well as a Prairie Warbler which seemed way out of place with no decent habitat around.  I checked various other locations during the morning but didn't have too much luck turning up anything else noteworthy.

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2016

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2016

Yellow rumped Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2016

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2016

In the afternoon I made a run over to Quabbin Park to follow up on a second hand report of a Golden winged Warbler along the Gate 54 road.  No luck finding it despite some effort but at least I got to see some mixed flocks moving through the woods.

Orchard Oriole with leg band, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2016

Field Sparrow with leg band, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2016

Black Vultures, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2016

Red necked Grebes, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2016

Red breasted Merganser, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2016

Mallard with ducklings, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 4, 2016

Yesterday I made an early morning trek over to the Oxbow in an unsuccessful attempt to catch up with a Caspian Tern seen there the evening before.  Not surprising that the bird was gone but I figured it was worth a try nonetheless.  I checked around Arcadia briefly and then headed back across the river and stopped at Silvio Conte NWR where I turned up two new species for the year there including Orchard Oriole (#172) and Bobolink (#173).  One of the orioles as well as a Field Sparrow I saw there had leg bands on them but I couldn't read the numbers.  Nearby Moody Bridge held three Black Vultures among the Turkey Vultures at roost.  The rest of the morning and through the afternoon I checked various locations at Quabbin including Gate 5 and Quabbin Park.  The hundreds of swallows continued to feed low over the reservoir.  I was joined by Devin for part of the late afternoon when we found a male Red breasted Merganser and three Red necked Grebes at Goodnough Dike after much effort.  My final noteworthy bird of the day was a sterna species way out at Winsor Dam at dusk, heading north. Today also marked the submission of my 19,000th eBird report...crazy!

As the cold and rainy weather continues into its fifth day I will take a look at the effects on birds and migration. I'm certain it has been very tough on any insectivores as the large gatherings of swallows can attest to. To illustrate just how cool it has been (and what a weird year weather wise it has been) the first five days of May have been colder than the first five days of February this year! We have barely touched 50 in the first five days of the month and the conditions will only slowly improve over the weekend. There are many species that have not yet arrived that should be here by now and many species that have arrived that should be present in much larger numbers if the conditions for this time of year were more typical. I'm certain that once this weather breaks there should be a large influx of birds. Until then I will continue to get out there and see what unusual species show up due to the effects of the weather.

Although the valley missed out on the largest numbers of unusual gulls and terns we still ended up with at least three tern species (Forster's, Common and Caspian Tern) plus Bonaparte's Gulls but none of the birds stuck around very long unlike the birds in the Berkshires.  The Berkshires also had one more tern species than found in the valley with a Black Tern putting in an appearance.  The Berkshires also had some unusual waterfowl including Long tailed Duck, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe. Red breasted Merganser and a couple Black Scoters.  Unusual waterfowl occurred here too including a Lesser Scaup, an American Coot and up to 19 Common Loons at Winsor Dam plus a male Red breasted Merganser and three Red necked Grebes at Goodnough Dike and the Blue winged Teal today.  Barton's Cove also featured some unusual waterfowl in addition to terns with five Red necked Grebes and five Surf Scoters.

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Terns finally arrive at Quabbin including Forster's Tern and Common Terns! A cool, rainy, great day.

Forster's Tern, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Forster's Tern, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Bonaparte's Gull trying to land amid the terns, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Terns (one showing wing pattern), Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Terns and small sterna sp, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Terns and small stern sp (3rd bird from left), Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Terns and small stern sp (2nd bird from left), Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Terns in flight, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Common Tern in flight (showing grayer wings and body), Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Bonaparte's Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Bonaparte's Gulls, Quabbin Gate 5, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

After lots of looking over the last couple days I finally got a big payoff when I found some terns at south Quabbin.  I initially saw a group of terns very distantly from Winsor Dam as they perched on a small platform.  I could not identify the birds from such a great distance so I decided to make a run over to Gate 5 which I knew would provide a better view (provided the birds didn't leave in the time it took me to get there).  Once I got down to the end of the Gate 5 road I quickly scanned and noticed a single tern moving north, feeding low over the water in typical tern fashion.  I got decent views of the bird and noticed an overall white bird with no gray on the belly and apparently clean white wings which led me to a field ID of Forster's Tern.  The bird continued to feed as I scanned around to find the platform and found the birds I viewed from the dam still present with five birds standing on platform.  Four appeared to be Common Terns but the fifth appeared noticeably smaller but otherwise similar in overall look.  The viewing conditions were far from ideal due to distance and occasional drizzle.  I then tried to relocate the tern that had been in flight but it had disappeared to the north.  I then went back to studying the terns on the platform and a few birds stretched a few times allowing views (and photos) of the wings.  As I watched the terns a group of three Bonaparte's Gulls came in and one tried to land on the platform but the terns would have nothing to do with that so the gulls continued a bit further north before settling on the water.  I checked out the gulls fairly closely and while I did so the terns eventually took off and I caught them in flight as they headed north over the gulls.  I noted grayish bellies on the individuals I could get decent looks at but the distance was fairly far and I did not get a good enough look at them to say for certain if one was different among them.  (I have sent the photos of the small sterna species to a few people more knowledgeable concerning terns to see what they think). Depending on the final determination on the identification of the terns I added perhaps three species to the county list this year but as of now I can say with certainty that I added at least two, Common Tern (#170) and Forster's Tern (#171).  The Forster's Tern was not only another new Quabbin species (bringing that total to 242) but a new Hampshire County bird for me as well bringing the county total to 289.
More photos can be found at this album on Flickr:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/albums/72157667854192506

Elsewhere in the area several terns continue out in Berkshires and a Caspian Tern showed up at the Oxbow this evening...hopefully it will still be there tomorrow.

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 3, 2016

I also had the continued Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam and continued large numbers of swallows (100's) and a few swifts feeding over the reservoir.

Wood Duck with ducklings, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Great Blue Herons on nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Great Blue Herons at near complete nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, May 3, 2016

Besides the tern and gull show at Quabbin I also ran across my first Wood Duck ducklings of the season as well as a growing Great Blue Heron rookery at Lake Wallace which is now up to three nests with two appearing to already have eggs in them with a bird sitting on the nest and a third nest nearly complete.  I had a single successful nest there a couple years ago but this is the first time I have had multiple nests there.  Otherwise it was fairly quiet for land birds especially given the fact that it is early May...the cool, rainy weather is tough on insectivores for sure and conditions are not optimal for new arrivals.

The last few days with continued cloudy, cool weather and occasional rain

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2016

With the continued intermittent rain overnight I had high hopes that something unusual would show up but despite much effort throughout the I managed to just turn up a Lesser Scaup (likely the same individual...see below) at Winsor Dam plus a rare for the county American Coot also at the dam at dusk.  I started out predawn at Quabbin and checked various bodies of water in the area before heading over to UMASS and then down south to Mitch's Way and then back to Quabbin.  The rain really picked up in earnest when I tried to take Wilson for a walk so I ditched the walk for awhile as I headed back.  I kept seeing reports from both the Berkshires and the Turner's Falls area where terns and some unusual were showing up.  The Berkshires featured four separate tern species (Common, Forster's, Black and Caspian Terns) and Turner's Falls held at least two species...really amazing diversity and numbers without a tropical storm! Turner's Falls also had a few each of Red necked Grebes and Surf Scoters (rare in spring).  Without much seeming to be happening at Quabbin I decided to head back toward the river and checked several spots between the oxbow and the Holyoke Dam but found nothing too unusual.  Lots of swallows and swifts feeding over the various water bodies today as they tried to survive the rainy, cool weather.  I then made a few more stops at Winsor Dam and Goodnough Dike over the course of the rest of the day but still had no luck with terns.  I did manage to find four new species for the year today including Lesser Yellowlegs (#166) along the river, a Baltimore Oriole (#167) at Mitch's Way, a Cliff Swallow (#168) feeding over a pond in Easthampton and the American Coot (#169).  The weather for the rest of the week is forecast to feature occasional showers with not much in the way of sun.  The potential still exists for some more unusual species to show up so it will be worth looking once again.

Wood Thrush, Quabbin Park, MA, May 1, 2016

Field Sparrows, Belchertown, MA, May 1, 2016

Before the rain showed up yesterday I headed out early to check the south Quabbin area and found a total of 74 species including 15 species of warblers.  A number of new species yesterday included Least Flycatcher (#159), Chestnut sided Warbler (#160), American Redstart (#161), Wood Thrush (#162) including one of the more photogenic individuals of this species I have ever had,  Blackburian Warbler (#163), Black throated Blue Warbler (#164) and Magnolia Warbler (#165).  After the rain started I made a few stops at Winsor Dam to see if anything unusual was brought down by the weather and found 150+ swallows feeding low over the water with most being Tree Swallows plus a few each of Barn, Bank and Northern Rough winged Swallows.  Other notables there included half a dozen Common Loons.

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 1, 2016

Around midday I went back to Winsor Dam and had a male Lesser Scaup, a distant Bonaparte's Gull, the continued loons and 200+ swallows.  A final stop at dusk found just the loons on the water.