Another morning at Arcadia produces two Dickcissel and lots of other good stuff plus the latest on Hurricane Irma

Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Dickcissel and Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Bobolinks and Cooper's Hawk, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Yellow Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Chimney Swift, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow and Bank Swallow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Willow Flycatcher, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 4, 2017

After a dismal day yesterday with cool temps and rain most of the day (compliments of the remnants of Harvey) today was much improved with mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures (eventually). Yesterday I mainly caught up on stuff around the house although I did make a few checks around the local area to see if the rain forced any migrants (such as shorebirds or terns) down but no luck for me. Today I birded with Keenan for a few hours at Arcadia starting off at dawn. Quite a few good birds around including at least two Dickcissel, a Willow Flycatcher, 600+ Bobolinks and good numbers of Indigo Buntings and Song Sparrows among the 63 species tallied. Full list from the morning here: Arcadia

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, Sep 4, 2017

Black Vultures, Hadley, MA, Sep 4, 2017

On my way home I turned up three Black Vultures along Moody Bridge Road flying around among the more numerous Turkey Vultures. My walk with Wilson along the Jabish Canal turned up a mixed species flock that included my first Bay breasted Warbler of the fall. Tomorrow looks to be a warm and humid day before we get some rain showers from Wednesday into Thursday before a return to sunny but cooler temps on Friday. The next big push of migrants looks to occur then so I be out seeing what I can find then.

Projected path Hurricane Irma as of 5PM, Sep 4, 2017

Hurricane Irma continues to gain strength and became a Category 4 storm today with winds at 130 MPH.   The forecast models have continued to trend  to the south and west compared to earlier predictions. It now looks to impact some of the northern Lesser Antilles directly and get very close to Puerto Rico before heading into the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. A hit on Hispaniola and/or Cuba can also not be ruled out at this point. The chances of a hit here have diminished a bit but a landfall somewhere in the US seems to be very likely. Different models are pointing to different locations but a landfall somewhere between Florida and the Carolina's seems quite possible. There are still several weather systems out there that will have an impact on the future of the storm and there are still many questions yet to be answered....stay tuned.

September starts off with a bang with a Dickcissel and multiple Cape May and Tennessee Warblers

Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

Dickcissel, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

Cape May Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

Red tailed Hawk, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

Prairie Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 2, 2017

September has started off great with the first two days of the month producing 102 species already! The weather has been unseasonably cool which has certainly encouraged some migrants to move. This morning the temperature dipped down into the upper 30's, which was a near record low and had me wearing gloves and a winter hat to start the day over at Arcadia.  Tomorrow is forecast to be somewhat rainy and a bit cool but we should get a warm up for the first couple days of the week.  Today I spent several hours from dawn to mid morning at Arcadia and had some great stuff including a Dickcissel, another Cape May Warbler (a male this time and my third Cape May in just the last few days), good numbers of House Wrens, Song Sparrows, Bobolinks and Indigo Buntings. Overall a total of 67 species with the full list here: Arcadia.  I also made brief stops at Lower Mill Pond (which was very quiet with no shorebirds at all) and the Holyoke Dam before heading home to get Wilson to go for a walk around midday.  

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Yesterday I stayed around the south Quabbin area spending almost all my time in Quabbin Park (with a quick diversion to Lake Wallace around dawn). My morning started at Winsor Dam where I had at least one Eastern Whip Poor Will calling despite the cool temps and decent breeze. Lake Wallace had a Virginia Rail plus the expected species around...my stops there will likely be coming to an end soon as the waterfowl hunting season will begin on September 5 and the lake gets hunted quite heavily. Quabbin Park itself was fairly active in spots but the breezy conditions made it a bit tough to bird in some spots. Highlights were many and included at least six Tennessee Warblers among 16 species of warblers...list from the morning there with more photos here:   Quabbin Park -morning.  I made an afternoon return to Quabbin Park to meet a few people to discuss Cerulean Warblers in the area and to take a couple short walks. Despite the late hour and continued wind we still found some decent birds including a Cape May Warbler in a mixed species flock...full list here: Quabbin Park-afternoon

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 1, 2017

Around the yard I came across a banded Black capped Chickadee I had not seen since September 1, 2016...a year to the day! I think the bird likely nested nearby but I had not seen it again until yesterday. It was banded back in June 2016, so he has a few years under his belt.

Now for the latest discussion regarding the tropics and the status of Hurricane Irma. The storm has fluctuated between being a Category 2 and 3 storm the last couple days as it moved through some cooler ocean waters. The storm is now headed to warmer waters and in all likelihood will strengthen further as it moves southwest for a time before turning back northwest. It looks to potential impact the northern Lesser Antilles but even that is not a certainty yet. Lots of players in the forecast but it certainly should be watched closely. The model runs out past the five day mark hint at a possible impact on the US but the accuracy that far out is low. One thing for certain is the storm will continue to be a strong hurricane and if it does hit anywhere the impact will be major. Over the next several days if it looks like the storm may indeed head in this direction I will update on here. Here is a link to the various hurricane season sites I like to look at to get a feel of what may come.
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/show.html
http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/

August comes to an end and a tropical update

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 31, 2017

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 31, 2017

House Wren, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 31, 2017

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 31, 2017

Bobolinks, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 31, 2017

Cape May Warbler, Jabish Canal, Belchertown, MA, Aug 29, 2017

Yellow Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 29, 2017

As August comes to an end the fall migration season will soon be here in full force. The next month will see a big movement of passerines as they head south until next spring. So far for this fall migration season (August 15-November) I have found 23 species of warbler including some early migrants including two Tennessee Warblers on August 17, Connecticut Warbler a Cape May Warbler and two Northern Parula on August 29 and a Wilson's Warbler on August 24.  The new version of eBird mobile lets you see the last five years worth of month to month and year to year data which makes it easy to see where you compare from year to year. This August turned out to be the best August I have ever had for Hampshire County with a total of 135 species (compared to my previous best August total of 132 back in 2014). A few selected lists from the last few days of August with additional photos here:

Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River Aug 29
Arcadia Aug 31

Hurricane Irma forecast track as of Aug 31, 2017 at 11AM (courtesy of the NHC)

The tropics continue to be active with the remnants of Hurricane Harvey continuing to move away from southeast Texas and western Louisiana and is currently classified as a tropical depression.  The severe flooding continues and the overall damage in that area is extreme and will take years to recover.  The remnants will continue to move off to the northeast and we may even end up with some showers related to the storm over the weekend.  A much bigger potential player is recently formed Hurricane Irma way out in the Atlantic moving westward.  The storm intensified rapidly to a Category 2 storm today with 100 MPH winds and is forecast to become a major hurricane very soon.  It looks to be a potential long range threat to a number of locations including the U.S. and lots of spots in the Caribbean.  The storm is still a long way out there but it must be watched carefully.

Gray Fox, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 25, 2017

Gray Fox, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 26, 2017

At home I continue to capture some good stuff on the various motion cameras including a continued Gray Fox.

Finger Lakes from Aug 24-27

Taughannock Falls, Ithaca, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Just returned from a quick four day getaway to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Although it was not a birding trip I still managed to get some birding in including a walk around the trails at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Friday and a morning trip up to Montezuma NWR with Ian. The remainder of the time was spent with quality visits to the many wineries in the area and a few waterfalls.

Trumpeter Swans, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Red headed Woodpeckers, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Stilt Sandpipers, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

Wilson's Phalarope, Montezuma NWR, NY, Aug 26, 2017

The Saturday visit to Montezuma was the most productive with a total of 86 species from just before dawn until mid/late morning including some truly impressive numbers of swallows, starlings, blackbirds and grackles leaving their roost at dawn (see the following list: Montezuma NWR at dawn ). Also a good showing of shorebirds with eleven species including a Wilson's Phalarope, a few Stilt Sandpipers and several White rumped Sandpipers. The marsh complex is quite impressive and covers a very large area with a wide diversity of species...it would be such a great spot to visit on a regular basis as the opportunities for rarities is high. After parting ways with Ian around 10:30 we walked a little more at Montezuma before spending the afternoon checking out some more wineries plus making a hike up to Taughannock Falls.

Lucifer Falls, Robert H. Treman SP, Ithaca, NY, Aug 27, 2017

The last day was mainly spent making the long drive back home but before we headed out we stopped at Robert Treman SP to take a short hike.  Overall for the trip I ended up with 103 species with 16 of those being new for my New York list (which now stands at 140).

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Wilson's Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 24, 2017

Before leaving on the trip on Thursday I spent a few hours in the morning exploring a few areas at Quabbin Park. I once again tried to find the Mourning Warblers in the area they bred this year but they appeared to have moved on. I did however run across a Mourning Warbler in an area well away from the breeding area and this individual was almost certainly a migrant. Other notables around included my first Wilson's Warbler of the fall and a few other pockets of migrants.


The hurricane season heated up a bit the last several days with the biggest story being Hurricane Harvey that struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 storm and it continues to sit just inland as a tropical storm dumping massive amounts of rain and leading to catastrophic flooding.  As far as birds are concerned there seemed to be some major displacement of both pelagic and near shore birds with the biggest influx noted so far being frigatebirds.

Solar eclipse

Partial solar eclipse, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2017

Partial solar eclipse, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2017

Wilson getting a better view of the solar eclipse, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 21, 2017

Today marked a very unusual occurrence with a total solar eclipse transiting the breadth of the United States starting out near Lincoln City, OR (where we were just a month ago) and moving southeast and exiting South Carolina near Charleston. This was the first total solar eclipse in the continental US since 1979. Around here the peak of the eclipse occurred around 2:45 when 66% of the sun was blocked by the moon.  Unfortunetly some spotty clouds arrived around this time blocking the sun from view occasionally but I still managed to get some good views.  The next total solar eclipse for the US will be on April 8, 2024 and this one will be much closer with the totality moving through northern New England...given the date the chances of having a sunny day is low then but one can always hope.

Canada Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 21, 2017

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 21, 2017

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 21, 2017

On my way home from work I made a brief stop off at Quabbin Park and hit just a few spots before heading for home.  No sign of the Mourning Warblers today but I really didn't search for too long....list for the day at the following link: Quabbin Park

Baltimore Oriole, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2017

Gray Fox, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 18,2017

Chestnut sided Warbler and Tufted Titmouse, home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2017

The motion camera at home continues to capture some good stuff including the continued Gray Fox as well as a number of species of birds.