Sparrow numbers continue to build

Savannah Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2017

Field Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2017

White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2017

Black throated Green Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2017

Eastern Coyote, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2017

Sparrows have certainly arrived in numbers over the last several days but so far nothing rare in among the more expected species.  The weather has continued to feature above normal temperatures and mainly sunny conditions.  The weekend will feature some sun, some clouds and a chance of a few showers.  After the weekend the remnants of Tropical Storm Nate will be working through with some substantial rain possible.  Beyond the sparrows I have also continued to have some decent luck in finding Connecticut Warblers and Tennessee Warblers

Today I started off before dawn at Arcadia and enjoyed some great fall weather.  Although the overall sparrow numbers were down from just a couple days before the numbers were still impressive.  Full list with more photos here: Arcadia 10/6.  Besides the nearly sixty species of birds I had a close encounter with a very pale Eastern Coyote...one of the palest ones I have ever seen.  I also followed up on a report of a possible Western Kingbird at the UMASS orchard in Belchertown but no success.  The area has limited access and tons of spots for a kingbird to hide out in so the report could indeed be genuine.

Another neat sighting occurred while out walking with Wilson along the land trust trail in Belchertown.  We came across a color banded Black capped Chickadee that I was able to trace back to an individual banded in the Griffith's yard earlier this summer.  They had not seen the bird since the day it was banded.  Always cool to run across banded birds in random spots, especially when you can find out some of the history of the bird.

White throated Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2017

Swamp Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2017

Lincoln's Sparrow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2017

Common Yellowthroat, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2017

Eastern Phoebe with dragonfly, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2017

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin Park, , MA, Oct 5, 2017

Yesterday I spent the morning at Quabbin Park and had just under fifty species with highlights including three American Woodcock, lots of Ruby crowned Kinglets and Eastern Towhees, three Tennessee Warblers and a late Rose breasted Grosbeak.  Full list: Quabbin Park 10/5.  After Quabbin Park I headed to nearby Herman Covey WMA where I had quite a few Eastern Phoebes as well as the expected sparrows...full list: Herman Covey WMA 10/5

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2017

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2017

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2017

Bobolink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2017

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 4, 2017

My Wednesday stop at Arcadia really produced some large sparrow numbers (among a number of other species).  It was the first morning this fall were sparrow numbers were into the hundreds.  Link to full list: Arcadia 10/4

White crowned Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Savannah Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

House Wren, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Vesper Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Palm Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Northern Parula, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Eastern Wood Pewee, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Cape May Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

Black throated Green Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 3, 2017

I started off bright and early at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River on Tuesday and continued my success with Connecticut Warblers this fall finding (and recording) an adult...unfortunately no luck with a photo.  Besides the CONW I had seven other species of warbler including at least three Tennessee, a late Cape May and three Northern Parula.  Other highlights included three American Woodcock, three Eastern Screech Owls calling, a late Eastern Wood Pewee, two Wood Thrushes predawn and a flyover Dickcissel. Full list Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River

As I still had a little time left in the morning I made a swing through the Honey Pot in Hadley...nothing unexpected but a nice selection of species as illustrated by the full list-Honey Pot

September ends and October begins

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2017

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2017

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2017

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2017

Northern Cardinal, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 2, 2017

October began sunny and cool with lows in the 30's and highs in the 60's for the first couple days of the month.  On my way to work on Sunday I stopped off at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River to see what I could find before 7 AM and I was not disappointed.  Highlights included two American Woodcocks displaying predawn, a Marsh Wren, 13 species of warbler including 3 Tennessee Warbler, a Connecticut Warbler, a Cape May Warbler, a very late Yellow Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler among 40+ species.  I wish I had more time as the spot was super active and I'm sure more good stuff was around.  Full eBird list: Silvio Conte NWR 10/1

Today after work I stopped at Arcadia for about an hour and a half.  There were some very active areas as well as a few quiet ones.  The fog would lift briefly only to drop back in again until it finally burned off just as I was leaving.  A noticeable drop in the numbers of some species (warblers, buntings, etc) but an uptick in sparrows.  Nothing way out of the ordinary...full list:  Arcadia 10/2

Greater Scaup, Beaver Lake, Ware, Sep 30, 2017

I managed to find a couple new species for September on the last day of the month despite (or because) of the cool, showery weather.  The first one was a somewhat late Black bellied Plover that was flushed by a tractor at the Honey Pot.  The second was an early Greater Scaup in among some Mallards at Beaver Lake in Ware.  The new eBird app allows you to see your results for the last five years for a county, state or country for the current month and overall YTD (more bird geeking info).  My total of 155 species for September beats my previous best September set back in 2013 with 154 species.  The decent numbers of Tennessee and Connecticut Warblers continue to show quite well through the end of the month.

Summer like weather in late September

American Kestrels, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 22, 2017

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 22, 2017

After the influence of Hurricane Jose on our weather finally ended at the end of last week our weather turned summer like with sunny skies and record setting temperatures on multiple days with highs in the upper 80's to low 90's with increasing humidity.  At the beginning of the warm stretch of weather I headed over to the Honey Pot on Friday morning after work (full list: Honey Pot 9/22).  It was a bit breezy which made it tough to find birds but the raptors seemed to enjoy the winds.  I finally had some flyover American Pipits...a species I oddly missed this spring.

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2017

Indigo Bunting, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2017

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 24, 2017

I stopped at Arcadia on my way home on Sunday morning and had some decent stuff around with the best bird being a rather uncooperative Connecticut Warbler that called several times and offered a very brief view.  The variety of sparrows seemed to be on a slow upswing with more Swamp and White throated Sparrows around compared to several days before.  The warbler numbers and variety continue to go down with the only other species besides the Connecticut Warbler being Common Yellowthroat and Palm Warbler.  No other unusual species and unfortunately almost all of the fields that contained good seed filled weeds have been plowed under.  Hopefully this doesn't deter species from stopping to feed and instead just concentrates them in the remaining weedy areas...time will tell.  Full list from the morning: Arcadia 9/24

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Red breasted Nuthatch, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Porcupine, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Porcupine (three in one tree), Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 25, 2017

On Monday I spent the very warm morning at Quabbin Park covering just a portion of the park.  Highlights included two Eastern Whip Poor Wills still singing (this tied my latest date for the species in the county), a big influx of Ruby crowned Kinglets, two Wood Thrushes, ten species of warbler and a flyby Evening Grosbeak among a total of 55 species.  I also had a total of four Porcupines with three of them in a single tree (not something I can ever remember seeing before).  Full list from the morning:  Quabbin Park 9/25

Eastern Phoebe, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 26, 2017

Eastern Phoebe, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 26, 2017

Eastern Phoebe, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 26, 2017

Lincoln's Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 26, 2017

Greater Yellowlegs, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Sep 26, 2017

Tuesday morning I made my way across the river before dawn and headed to Arcadia.  Although not quite as hot as the previous two days the morning featured some thick fog that didn't burn off until mid morning which kept the birding rather slow until it got sunny.  Highlights included at least 17 Indigo Buntings, a briefly seen Connecticut Warbler in the same area a similar looking individual was seen about a week before, decent numbers of sparrows and a flyover Dickcissel late morning.  Full list here:  Arcadia 9/26

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Yellow rumped Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Black capped Chickadee, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Eastern Phoebe, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Porcupine, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Valley fog with hill tops sticking above, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 27, 2017

Today should be the last day of heat and humidity (probably until next year) as a cold front is forecast to sweep through today leading to cooler and drier weather through the weekend which should entice a lot of birds to move that have been waiting for a change in migration conditions.  It was yet another foggy morning but it burned off a little sooner than the last few days.  I tried to find some late whip poor wills but they seem to have finally moved south...I have never had them later than September 25 around here but I thought that with the late warm temps I might find them but no luck.  The fog actually stayed lower today so being up around Quabbin Tower early on put me above the fog which made for some great views with the tops of the hills poking out of the fog.  I then spent a few hours checking various spots around the park and had a few mixed flocks as well as a great showing of Eastern Phoebes among fifty plus species.  Full list for the morning: Quabbin Park 9/27

Black Bear, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 24, 2017

Pine Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 24, 2017

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 24, 2017

Yellow rumped Warblers, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 23, 2017

Gray Catbird with growth on face,  Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 20, 2017

Blackpoll Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 20, 2017

Tennessee Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Hermit Thrushes, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 25, 2017

Tennessee Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Sep 26, 2017

At home there are a few birds birds moving through and among them have been a number of Pine Warbler and Yellow rumped Warblers, some of whom have stopped to enjoy the water feature.  The camera at the water feature also captured a Gray Catbird with an odd growth near its bill...still trying to figure out exactly what it is.  After being a bit slow for the last few weeks the water feature has captured three new species for the water feature list with a Blackpoll Warbler (9/20) and Hermit Thrushes and a Tennessee Warbler (9/25 and 9/26) bringing the overall water feature list to 36 (with ten of those being warblers).  Staying with birds, there have been a couple of banded Black capped Chickadees in the yard and I managed to get a photo of one of them.  The motion camera I have set up along the brook also captured a Black Bear moving by on Sunday morning...thankfully not when Wilson was out and about!

Outer edge of Hurricane Jose causes wind, drizzle here as yet another catastrophic hurricane hits the Caribbean

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 19, 2017

Pine Warbler with odd growth near bill, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 19, 2017

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 19, 2017

We have felt just the outer edges of weakening Hurricane Jose as it slowly circles around off the southern New England coast giving us low clouds, some wind and occasional drizzle the last couple days which has kept me birding locally around Quabbin Park.  Despite the conditions I have still managed to find some pockets of birds in my travels although not is as great of numbers as I would expect if the weather were better.  On Tuesday I spent a good portion of the morning around the park and found two Eastern Whip Poor Wills still singing, a Brown Thrasher giving an odd call and seven species of warbler including a Pine Warbler with an odd growth near its bill (I found the same bird today and got some better photos).  Full list from the morning: Quabbin Park 9/19

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 20, 2017

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 20, 2017

Pine Warbler with odd growth near bill, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 20, 2017

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Myrtle', Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 20, 2017

As the conditions were a bit less conducive to birding today I covered a smaller area but still found some birds around including the Pine Warbler with an odd growth. Full list here:  Quabbin Park 9/20.

Hurricane Maria after striking Dominica, Sep 19, 2017 (courtesy of NOAA)

Now onto to Hurricane Maria which devastated Dominica as a Category 5 hurricane before it moved on to give Puerto Rico a direct hit this morning as a strong Category 4 storm (the strongest storm to hit the island since the 1930's).  This storm looks to have caused major destruction over a wide area and certainly impacted the various bird species on all the impacted islands.  Puerto Rico alone contains 17 endemic species with several of them endangered so a major storm like this will certainly have an impact on a number of species.  Puerto Rico is filled with some unique birds that makes it sad to watch a storm like Maria hit. Post from my trip down to Puerto Rico here:  Puerto Rico Dec 2016.  The island of Barbuda (home of the endemic Barbuda Warbler) was hit directly by Hurricane Irma with 185 MPH and the chance is there that this species was wiped out.  In addition the large frigatebird rookery appears to have been completely destroyed. Other nearby islands such as Saint Martin and the US and British Virgin Islands were also hit directly by Irma and also suffered extensive damage.  Cuba, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos also suffered extensive damage with heavy loss to some bird species there including the well publicized deaths of large numbers of American Flamingos in Cuba (warning, it is hard to watch)-Flamingos on Cuba-dead and injured.

Hurricane Maria rapidly developed and hit the island of Dominica (home to two endemic parrot species and a near endemic warbler) and the damage there looks to be in a similar category to the damage suffered earlier by Barbuda.  The parrots are critically endangered and may also have been wiped out...a truly sad toll from the storm.  I planned on getting down there in a few months but they may not happen now.  All the the impacted will need months and likely years to recover and if you are so inclined to make a donation to assist those who help the birds in the area follow either this link to Birds Caribbean or to a direct link to make donations: Birdscaribbean-Hurricane-Relief
The hurricane will continue to move off to the northwest before turning north and then northeast out to sea before hitting the US thanks to the continued presence of the remains of Jose to its north.  There is always a chance this track could change over the next several days and if any major changes occur that could impact us here I will update as needed.

I have a more detailed post concerning the impacts on the various endemic warbler species from the islands that have suffered from the recent hurricanes and a link to that post is here:  Hurricane Irma and Maria impacts on warblers