Little Blue Heron at Holyoke Dam

Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Little Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Little Blue Heron and Great Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Great Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Merlin, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Peregrine Falcon, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 21, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2016

All of my looking for unusual herons or egrets paid off this morning when I found an immature Little Blue Heron below the Holyoke Dam in South Hadley. I didn't have any particular plans on where to go this morning but I decided once I was in the car to head over to Hadley to check the river and then see where the I felt like going after that. I started at Alexandra Dawson Conservation Area where I had two distant Great Egrets. A stop further up the river didn't turn up much so I then decided to head south through the Honey Pot which also was quiet. I thought about just heading back over to the Quabbin area but thought I might have some better luck at the Holyoke Dam so that is where I headed. I got to the area of the library and found the gates to the area down closer to the dam still closed. I scoped through the fence and found a young Peregrine Falcon taking a bath in a small puddle at the base of the dam (video link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28511621214/in/dateposted-public/ ). I hoped  the gates would be open a little later so in the meantime I went down south of the Route 116 Bridge to look back upriver toward the dam. This spot had most of the Great Egrets yesterday and I thought it might be productive again. As soon as I scanned the shore I noticed a Great Egret as well as a smaller white wader nearby. I quickly set up the scope and found it to be a Little Blue Heron which is quite rare around here and not a bird that is found in the area every year. In fact this is only my third county record with the others being an adult in April 2012 at Arcadia (http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2012/04/little-blue-heron-at-arcadia.html) and the other an immature found along the river in Hadley in August 2014 (http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2014/08/little-blue-heron-in-hadley.html). The Little Blue Heron becomes species #213 for Hampshire County this year. Besides the Little Blue Heron I had three other wader species including eleven Great Blue Herons, a half dozen Great Egrets and a single Green Heron. Other notable sightings at the dam included 22 Double crested Cormorants, 85+ Chimney Swifts and a Merlin. The Little Blue Heron was still there when I left and it was viewed by several others over the course of the morning. On my way home I stopped at Lake Wallace where I had 41 Wood Ducks and seven Green Herons.

The forecast for tonight into tomorrow is for some potentially heavy rain in front of a strong cold front which should bring in some cool air on northwest winds and less humid conditions and possibly ground some migrants such as shorebirds and push down some migrants from the north possibly including a Black Tern (among other possibilities)....time will tell.

More egrets, herons and shorebirds the last couple mornings plus an update on the tropics

Great Egrets, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Great Egrets, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Great Blue Heron and the head of a Canada Goose, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Least Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Green Herons, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 20, 2016

Solitary Sandpipers, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 20, 2016

I spent another morning after work stopping at a few spots on my way home including Arcadia, Lower Mill Pond, the Holyoke Dam and Lake Wallace.  Arcadia was fairly quiet with the best sighting being four Green Herons chasing each other around and being quite vocal as they did so.  Lower Mill Pond held a few shorebirds including eight Killdeer, half a dozen Least Sandpipers and two Solitary Sandpipers.  Holyoke Dam was active once again with 14 Double crested Cormorants, 13 Great Blue Herons, a dozen Great Egrets, two Green Herons, 78 Ring billed Gulls and 55+ Chimney Swifts.  A brief stop at Lake Wallace mid morning found 48 Wood Ducks and a couple each of Green Herons and Solitary Sandpipers.

Killdeer, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 19, 2016

Yesterday I stopped briefly along the CT river in Hadley and had three Great Egrets and then headed across the river to Easthampton where I had a few shorebirds in Lower Mill Pond but nothing unusual.

As of today the tropical Atlantic continues to increase in activity with Tropical Storm Fiona still spinning way out in the Atlantic but being beaten up badly and the forecast for her being no threat to any landmass.  A couple of more tropical waves show potential for development in the next 5-10 days.  Invest 99L is midway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles and will be slow to develop but if it holds together and develops it could pose a threat to the US but there are more questions than answers at this point.  The hurricane center gives this invest a 60% chance of development in the next five days.  Another wave just coming off the coast of Africa is being given a 70% of development within the next five days.  I will update as needed on these systems as time goes on but it certainly bears watching.

The last couple mornings

Great Egrets, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 18, 2016

Great Blue Herons, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 18, 2016

Common Merganser, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 18, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 18, 2016

Killdeer, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 18, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 18, 2016

After getting out of work this morning I made my rounds trying to catch up with some unusual herons or egrets along the Connecticut River. I didn't find anything too unusual but the number of Great Egrets around is fairly high. I started off at Arcadia where it was very quiet so I moved on to Lower Mill Pond where I had a small selection of shorebirds and just a single Great Blue Heron. I then headed further south to check out the Holyoke Dam area not just for any unusual waders that might be around but also in the hopes of finding a Laughing Gull (more on that below). I didn't find any unusual gulls at the dam but did have a decent number of waders including 20 Great Blue Herons and 10 Great Egrets. Other notables there included 17 Common Mergansers, 18 Double crested Cormorants and around fifty Chimney Swifts. I also made a brief stop along the river in the area of the Honey Pot where I had a couple more Great Egrets. I also made a brief stop at Winsor Dam in the hopes of a tracking down any unusual gulls but found nothing beyond a few Ring billed Gulls. Once again there was no sign of the Lesser Scaup and I'm thinking it may be gone for good this time. A walk with Wilson at Lake Wallace turned up the expected species for a midday visit including a half a dozen Green Herons.

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 17, 2016

Least Sandpipers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 17, 2016

Yesterday morning on my way to work I stopped along the river in Hadley at the Dawson Conservation Area and had three Great Egrets in the river plus a couple Great Blue Herons. A brief run though Arcadia didn't produce too much with just a half dozen Killdeer in the small field they have been in for a few weeks now. Lower Mill Pond produced one each of Great Blue Heron and Green Heron plus four species of shorebirds (Killdeer and Least, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers).

Now for more about the Laughing Gulls mentioned above. There have also been a couple of Laughing Gulls that have shown up inland in Massachusetts during the last few days with one found by James Smith up at Turners Falls on August 15th (link to his blog post here: http://pioneerbirding.blogspot.com/2016/08/ma-laughing-gull-in-gill.html)and seen the next day too.  Another was seen on August 17 and 18 at Wachusett Reservoir in Worcester County.  Both birds are juveniles and perhaps got pushed here by the southerly winds over the last few days. Laughing Gull is very unusual inland in Massachusetts and almost always is associated with storms (mainly tropical systems) so the arrival of these birds here is even more unusual as we have had no storms. Speaking of the tropics Tropical Storm Fiona recently formed well out in the Atlantic and the guidance suggests it should curve out to sea and not be a threat to the US but it will certainly be worth watching. There are a few more tropical waves coming off Africa which could also spin up into tropical systems going forward. The most active point of the hurricane season is rapidly approaching so likelihood of systems forming increases over the next several weeks.

More waders and my 20,000th eBird checklist

Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Solitary Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 16, 2016

American Kestrels, Hatfield, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Great Egret, Hatfield, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Great Egrets, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 16, 2016

Today I headed out bright and early to cover several areas along the river in search of herons, egrets and shorebirds.  I arrived predawn along the river in Hadley and my first few stops didn't produce much at all as far as my target species were concerned but it picked up a bit as the morning went on.  My route took from Hadley to Northampton then up to Hatfield and back through Hadley to South Hadley before heading to Lake Wallace to end the morning.  As far as waders I found three species with overall totals noted as follows:  Great Blue Heron (23), Great Egret (16) and Green Heron (8).  The waders were scattered all over the river and nearby areas with no big concentrations or roosts found.  Shorebirds were represented by four species (once again) with the following species and totals:  Killdeer (25), Least Sandpiper (4), Spotted Sandpiper (5) and Solitary Sandpiper (4).  Other notable species seen over the course of the morning included the following:  52 Wood Ducks and a Green winged Teal at Lake Wallace; 13 Double crested Cormorants at the Holyoke Dam including one individual that kept picking up items (algae, grass, debris)  and then moving toward other cormorants until they would jump off the dam into the water...interesting to watch and I have a video of some of the activity here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54277284@N05/28411292553/in/album-72157672541933515/

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Green Herons and Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Killdeer, Hadley, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Ring billed Gull with fish, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Yesterday I tried to find some whip poor wills before dawn at Winsor Dam but had no luck. Hopefully there are some still around and they were just not vocalizing. This area has been my go to spot for them into September so I hope they have no left. I then headed over to Lake Wallace where I had 107 Wood Ducks, 11 Green Herons, a couple Virginia Rails as well as the continued Louisiana Waterthrush. I initially planned on just staying around town but instead decided to head over to Hadley to see if the west/northwest winds brought in anything new. I stopped at the Honey Pot and a few spots along the river before heading to Lake Warner and then to the campus pond at UMASS before finally ending up back at Winsor Dam where I submitted my 20,000th eBird list (more on that below). Highlights from the morning included a peep species that I saw flying away at the Honey Pot...wish I had gotten a better view but no luck, three Great Egrets along the river, 11 Killdeer in a field near Huntington Rd in Hadley and a smattering of Spotted Sandpipers at a few locations.  Now more about my 20,000th eBird checklist that I submitted this morning. The list that reached that milestone was (not surprisingly) completed on a visit to Winsor Dam and I have included a link to the list below.  I still have around five hundred more to go to reach this same plateau for full checklists (the overall total includes 'incidental' lists too).  Link to list  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31102034

Olive sided Flycatcher, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Olive sided Flycatcher, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Olive sided Flycatcher, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

Gray Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2016

In the afternoon while doing work around the yard I noticed a flycatcher at the top of a dead tree that looked like it might be an Olive sided Flycatcher and a quick through binoculars confirmed it.  My sixth Olive sided Flycatcher sighting for the yard and my second fall record.  The Gray Fox also came back in the evening once again.

A search along the Connecticut River looking for waders and shorebirds

Great Egret, Connecticut River, Hadley, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Great Egrets, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Great Egrets and Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Great Blue Heron, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Killdeer, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Solitary Sandpipers, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Double crested Cormorant, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Great Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2016

Louisiana Waterthrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2016

After some some strong storms late last night with lots of vivid lighting and heavy rain (and therefore little sleep) I got up a little later than I intended this morning but still made it out before many others were stirring. My main focus this morning was to try to track down waders and hopefully some shorebirds. I started out along the Connecticut River in Hadley and had a total of at least four Great Egrets in the area of the Honey Pot despite the traffic on the river. The only other wader there was a Great Blue Heron. No luck turning up any shorebirds in any of the fields at the Honey Pot despite some decent looking fields. I then went over to the west side of the river in Northampton and checked the area below the Coolidge Bridge but didn't find anything noteworthy. I next stopped over to Arcadia where I had a dozen Killdeer in the same field they have been in for the last several days. I was just about to leave that area when I noticed some white egrets in the trees out near Ned's Ditch. I walked back down the road and eventually was able to scope out a total of eleven Great Egrets as well as three Green Herons and seven Great Blue Herons. The eleven egrets are the highest number yet I have had of this species in one spot this year. I tried to turn up more waders in the Oxbow but an eagle in the area and even more human activity kept them away. A brief stop at Lower Mill Pond turned up four Killdeer, a Least Sandpiper and seven Solitary Sandpipers. I then headed south to go check out the Holyoke Dam area where I had a eight Double crested Cormorants, eleven Great Blue Herons, two Great Egrets, a couple Spotted Sandpipers and at least 80 Chimney Swifts. I finished up at the dam around 9 AM and the temperatures were already rising quickly into the 80's but I decided to make one more quick stop at Lake Wallace before heading home to take Wilson for a walk. Lake Wallace turned up 47 Wood Ducks, four Green Herons and a Louisiana Waterthrush which once again cooperated for some digiscoped shots. Overall for the morning I had three species of waders with the highlight being the number of Great Egrets which totaled at least 17 in the few areas along the river I checked...makes me wonder how many are actually around the area. Shorebirds numbers were a bit low with just four species and nothing unusual.