Our second heat wave of the season continues plus a taxonomy update and a hurricane season prediction update

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 13, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 13, 2016

The second heat wave of the season continues today with predawn temperatures in the 70's.  This heat wave should be shorter than the last but the temperatures have been even higher in the mid 90's with very high humidity (dew points in the mid 70's) giving a heat index between 100-105....work has not been fun under these conditions!  I got out early for a few hours today with stops at Lake Wallace and Quabbin Park.  Lake Wallace held 86 Wood Ducks, a dozen Green Herons (my highest count there yet this season for this species), a couple Solitary Sandpipers, at least three Virginia Rails and a somewhat cooperative Louisiana Waterthrush that I was able to digiscope.  Quabbin Park was fairly quiet with just the expected species with few birds vocalizing although Eastern Wood Pewees and Red eyed Vireos were still carrying on fairly constantly.  No sign of the Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam once again this morning.  I have not seen it since August 1st so perhaps it finally moved on due to the ongoing construction near the HQ building or got taken by a predator.  I will still keep an eye out for it because it has resurfaced before when I thought for sure it was gone.

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Great Blue Herons, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2016

Yesterday after work I hit a few spots before it got extremely hot.  I started off at Arcadia and had just a few Killdeer in the small field that produced dozens just a few days ago.  I then headed over to Lower Mill Pond where I had a little more luck with the following shorebirds on the mudflats:  Killdeer, two each of Least and Spotted Sandpipers and half a dozen Solitary Sandpipers.  Other notables there included five Great Blue Herons, four Green Herons and an Osprey.  My next stop down at the Holyoke Dam produced a dozen Common Mergansers, 8 Double crested Cormorants, five Great Blue Herons, 124 Ring billed Gulls and at least 55 Chimney Swifts.  By the time I made it to Lake Wallace it was already quite warm (mid 80's) so didn't have tons of activity but still managed 44 Wood Ducks and five Green Herons.

On Wednesday morning I didn't have much time to stop anywhere plus the thick fog once again made any viewing tough.  I made a brief stop at the Oxbow but didn't turn up anything too impressive but that was not surprising given the two eagles moving around the area.  The best birds of the morning were at least 13 Fish Crows along King Street in Northampton near Stop and Shop.


The recent taxonomy update has been done through eBird to reflect the recent changes made regarding splits of species, lumps and name changes.  The splits have resulted in my life list climbing by three to 1205.  The splits included Gray necked Wood Rail into Russet naped Wood Rail (seen on the Caribean side of Costa Rica) and Gray cowled Wood Rail (seen on the Pacific side of Costa Rica); the split of Green Violetear into Lesser Violetear (seen in Costa Rica) and Sparkling Violetear (seen in Ecuador); and the split of Western Scrub Jay into California Scrub Jay (seen in CA) and Woodhouse Scrub Jay (seen in AZ).

NOAA released the latest predictions for the hurricane season a couple days ago and the season is expected to be the strongest since 2012 with between 12-17 named storms (5-8 of those being hurricanes and 2-4 being major hurricanes).  These numbers are a slight increase from predictions earlier in the season.  The season has so far produced five named storms with two of those being hurricanes.  Below is an excerpt from the latest NOAA prediction:
“We’ve raised the numbers because some conditions now in place are indicative of a more active hurricane season, such as El Niño ending, weaker vertical wind shear and weaker trade winds over the central tropical Atlantic, and a stronger west African monsoon,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “However, less conducive ocean temperature patterns in both the Atlantic and eastern subtropical North Pacific, combined with stronger wind shear and sinking motion in the atmosphere over the Caribbean Sea, are expected to prevent the season from becoming extremely active."

The last couple mornings...a few shorebirds and egrets and herons.

Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 9, 2016

Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 9, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2016

Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2016

Yesterday I made a few stops on my way to work once again looking for shorebirds and waders and had a few decent birds around.  My first stop along the river found it too foggy to see much so I headed over to Arcadia.  In the oxbow I had three Great Egrets plus several Great Blue Herons plus a handful of Killdeer.  Lower Mill Pond produced seven Killdeer, three Least Sandpipers, two Spotted Sandpipers and four Solitary Sandpipers plus one each of Green Heron and Great Blue Heron. While at work I had two Black Vultures soaring over downtown Northampton.

Killdeer, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 10, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 10, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 10, 2016

Chinney Swifts, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 10, 2016

Today I made a few stop on my way home dodging occasional rain and a bit of a breeze.  I started the morning off at Arcadia and had a flock of 23 Killdeer in a plowed field plus a flyby Solitary Sandpiper and a Spotted Sandpiper in the oxbow.  No sign of the Great Egrets from yesterday but there were still several Great Blue Herons around.  Lower Mill Pond featured the following shorebirds:  8 Killdeer, 2 Least Sandpipers, a Spotted Sandpiper and half a dozen Solitary Sandpiper.  I then headed south to check the Holyoke Dam and had seven Double crested Cormorants, seven Great Blue Herons, three Spotted Sandpipers and 140+ Chimney Swifts.  The feeding group of swifts was impressive to watch and I got a few videos of them:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28865913136/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28612183020/in/dateposted-public/

Nothing unusual at Lake Wallace but my stop there was short due to the rain that really picked up by the time I got there.  The next few days will feature some very warm (90's) temperatures with high humidity with occasional showers and storms.

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2016

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2016

I also set up the motion camera on one of the hummingbird feeders to make sure it was all set for the fall when the chances of an unusual hummingbird showing up is the greatest.  I got hundreds of photos of Ruby throated Hummingbirds in just a couple days so I will probably keep the camera off until a little later in the season.

A few more waders and shorebirds (plus others) the last few days

Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Solitary Sandpipers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Spotted Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Belted Kingfisher, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Double crested Cormorant, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2016

I spent the morning today hitting up several spots mainly in search of waders and shorebirds and although the numbers were still quite low at least there was some variety with three species of waders (Great Egret, Great Blue Heron and Green Heron) and four species of shorebirds (Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper). It continues to be tough to find decent habitat in he county for the species mentioned above. The continued drought has kept the water levels low along the river which means some sandbars on the river but also means the otherwise productive shallow areas have been overgrown with vegetation. I'm sure the sandbars would be productive if the river didn't have so much boat traffic on it but that is just not the case. I started off the morning trying to view the river before activity got too heavy but fog made viewing impossible. I then headed over to Arcadia where I had a couple Great Egrets in flight plus a small plowed field with over a dozen Killdeer. Despite some effort in the area I was never able to find where the egrets settled down. Lower Mill Pond once again provided the most variety in regards to shorebirds with a few Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers plus at least seven Solitary Sandpipers (with some interesting interaction between them....see attached video: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28751549541/in/dateposted-public/
I then continued on to the Holyoke Dam where I had a dozen Double crested Cormorants, five Great Blue Herons, two Spotted Sandpipers and three Least Sandpipers. Decent numbers of gulls continued there with around eighty Ring billed Gulls. I wish the Holyoke Dam area were a bit closer because I'm certain it would prove very productive with more continuous coverage. A brief stop at Lake Wallace produced the expected waterfowl plus seven Green Herons.

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Green winged Teal with Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Spotted Sandpiper, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 6, 2016

Yesterday I stayed local with early morning stops at Lake Wallace and Quabbin Park. Lake Wallace once again produced some decent waterfowl numbers with the highlights including a Green winged Teal and 87 Wood Ducks. Other notables at the lake included a season high eleven Green Herons and a flock of hundreds of blackbirds and grackles. No luck finding the Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam but I did have three Common Loons there. Quabbin Park itself was fairly quiet with just a couple Spotted Sandpipers along the shore and a couple of mixed species flocks that certainly hint at what is to come over the next several weeks as migration picks up.

Green Heron, rail trail, Amherst, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Mink, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Red tailed Hawk, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, Aug 5, 2016

On Friday I did mainly the same route I did today but with a few added stops in Hadley. Highlights from Friday included half a dozen Green Herons and 310+ Tree Swallows along the rail trail in Amherst; a few Fish Crows at the Honey Pot and ten Double crested Cormorants, 11 Great Blue Herons, 107 Ring billed Gulls and 55+ Chimney Swifts at the Holyoke Dam.  I also had a Mink at the dam that kept popping in and out of view as it worked its way around the rocks.

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2016

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2016

The Gray Fox made a couple of more appearances on Friday morning stopping by at around 2:30AM and again a little after 4AM.  The hummingbirds are maxing out around now with up to seven in view at once (who knows how many individuals are actually around). I have also had a Louisiana Waterthrush singing a few times in the early morning along Jabish Brook.

July ends and August begins

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 3, 2016

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 3, 2016

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 2, 2016

A stop at Lake Wallace on Wednesday morning produced more waterfowl including at least three Green winged Teal.  I wanted to make a few other stops along the way to Northampton but the fog was too thick to see anything.  The Gray Fox also made another appearance on Tuesday night but the motion camera didn't manage to catch a great shot this time.  I initially captured the fox on the camera on July 17 and then again on July 25 and then the latest on August 2 which means it should show again on August 10 if the pattern continues...we shall see!

Belted Kingfisher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 2, 2016

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 2, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 2, 2016

There were a few inches of rain overnight Monday into Tuesday morning so I headed out after work to try to find some shorebirds that might have been forced down.  The heavy rain covered up all the sandbars at Lower Mill Pond as well as areas near Arcadia.  The only shorebirds I could find on the west side of the river were a handful of Killdeer at Arcadia.  I also checked the shoreline of the river plus some plowed fields in Hadley but no luck with shorebirds beyond Killdeer and a couple Spotted Sandpipers.  A brief stop at Lake Wallace right before I got home produced 63 Wood Ducks plus at least one continuing Green winged Teal.  A Virginia Rail was still calling from the cattails but I didn't get a look at it.

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2016

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2016

Peregrine Falcon, Moody Bridge Rd, Hadley, MA, Aug 1, 2016

On my way to work on Monday morning I made a few stops with the one at Winsor Dam which produced the best bird of the morning by far when I had a flyby, calling Whimbrel.  The last time I had a Whimbrel at the dam was during Irene back several years ago.  The Whimbrel became species #212 for the county this year.  It is a tough bird to catch up with most years and it is missed more than it is found. My next stop was over to Lake Wallace before dawn which produced 59 Wood Ducks, 163 Mallards, three Green winged Teal and a still singing Louisiana Waterthrush (I also had another waterthrush singing at home when I got up).  No luck finding any Black Vultures at the roost in Hadley but the presence of a Peregrine Falcon in the tree they normally roost in may have had something to do with that.

Lesser Scaup, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, July 31, 2016

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, July 30, 2016

Least Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, July 30, 2016

I birded a bit in the morning both days this past weekend.  I covered the area from Quabbin over to the Northampton/Hadley area on Saturday and I stayed around the south Quabbin area on Sunday.  Highlights on Saturday included an Eastern Whip Poor Will at Winsor Dam; several dozen Chimney Swifts along the Connecticut River; half a dozen Killdeer, a couple Solitary Sandpipers and three Least Sandpipers at Lower Mill Pond; 28 Turkey Vultures along Moody Bridge Rd; and eight Green Herons at Lake Wallace.  On Sunday I had 44 Wood Ducks and 7 Green Herons at Lake Wallace and the continued Lesser Scaup at Winsor Dam.  The scaup has now been present for three months and is starting into its fourth.