Buff breasted Sandpiper and Dickcissel this morning plus an early Cape May Warbler

Merlin, Hatfield, MA, Aug 23, 2018

Killdeer and a Buff breasted Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Aug 23, 2018

Cape May Warbler (photo through binoculars), Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 23, 2018

After the rain yesterday and the winds again coming out of the north I headed out after work in search of some shorebirds (or anything else I might stumble across).  I was later getting out then I intended but I eventually made it up to Hatfield where I immediately ran across a Merlin sitting on the edge of one of the fields and the calls of Killdeer filled the background.  I started scanning the fields and came across a number of Killdeer and a single Buff breasted Sandpiper that quickly took flight as the Merlin cruised toward them.  Once the birds were up in the air I counted at least 41 Killdeer plus the Buff breasted Sandpiper heading off to the north.  I attempted a number of shots through the scope with my phone but the birds were just too far out to get decent shots.  As I searched some other fields trying to track down the flock again I had a flyover Dickcissel giving its unique flight call...I managed to get a recording of the bird before it disappeared.  Full list with crappy photos at the following link.  I then headed over to Hadley to search additional farm fields for other shorebirds but came up empty.  I did however have a mixed species flock there that included a early Cape May Warbler (hopefully just the start of many more to come).

Loads of Green Herons, the annual eBird checklist update and a nearby Brown Booby

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 16, 2018

Least Sandpiper, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 16, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 19, 2018

A few days ago I made it to Lake Wallace at first light and got an amazing count of Green Herons as they arrived for the day from a roosting location nearby. I counted at least 37 individuals which is by far the largest count I have ever had of the species at a single location in the county.   I stopped by again this morning but was a little too late to catch them all leaving roost but still managed a very respectful total of 34.  I did not have the Marsh Wren on my last few visits but did still have at least two Virginia Rails calling.  I have been searching with some success for shorebirds the last several days but have not found anything too unusual but I have a few spots that look prime to attract something good.

Andean Duck, Antisana, Ecuador, Nov 23, 2015

The annual update to the eBird list is now complete and the changes have produced a few new species for me through splits and the loss of another through the lumping of Cherrie’s and Passerini’s Tanager back to Scarlet rumped Tanager. The species I gained include Mexican Duck which was split from being a subspecies of Mallard, Andean Duck that was split from Ruddy Duck and Chiriqui Foliage Gleaner that was split from Buff throated Foliage Gleaner. My world total now stands at 1384.

Brown Booby, Marino Ballena NP, Costa Rica, Dec 21, 2012

Elsewhere in the local area a Brown Booby showed up at Onota Lake in Pittsfield and was still being seen as of today. This is only the second inland record ever in the state (and the first one that has stayed around for multiple people to see). This species should be way south of here in the tropics and over the ocean but there has been an increase the last several years of birds wandering north and occasionally being found inland. I have seen the species multiple times in the tropics but never up north.

Middle of August

Semipalmated Plover, Hatfield, MA, Aug 14, 2018

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 3, 2018

White tailed Deer fawn, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 3, 2018

Green winged Teal and Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2018

Peregrine Falcon after capturing Green Heron in flight, Hatfield, MA, Aug 11, 2018

The first two weeks of August have featured similar weather to what we had in July...heat, humidity and almost daily bouts of showers/storms.  Shorebirds have continued to show up in small numbers with ten species so far for the month with the most notable being the Upland Sandpiper seen at the beginning of the month, a few Semipalmated Plovers on the fourteenth and a Black bellied Plover today in Hatfield.  While looking for shorebirds last weekend I noticed a group of four Green Herons flying over first thing in the morning and out of nowhere came a Peregrine Falcon that whipped past me and rapidly climbed taking out one of the herons before they even noticed the falcon...amazing to see.  Other notable or continued species include calling Eastern Whip Poor Wills at Quabbin Park, Marsh Wren through at least August 10 at Lake Wallace and a Merlin in Belchertown on August 11.  This August is looking to be my most productive ever in the county with 129 species for the month so far.  The year is also shaping up to be one of the more productive with 219 species already...had not planned on doing another big year but I may put in a little more effort if the unusual species keep showing up.

Red Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2018

Veery, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 15, 2018

Raccoon, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2018

Scarlet Tanager, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2018

Warbling Vireo, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2018

All of the nesting birds at the house have now fledged and the first groups of mixed species flocks have started to move through.  The motion cameras continue to catch a variety of both birds and mammals.

Upland Sandpiper and Snowy Egret among other notables the first two days of August

Upland Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Upland Sandpiper, Hatfield, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Snowy Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Snowy Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Snowy Egret, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 2, 2018

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2018

 Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2018

Great Blue Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2018

August has started off with continued hot and humid weather but with some great birds too.  I have managed to find a total of 105 species without too much effort including some nice rarities.  Yesterday I had an Eastern Whip Poor Will still calling at Winsor Dam before dawn and then added my first Great Egrets of the fall at Lake Wallace (plus the continued Marsh Wren).  The egrets yesterday where part of a push of post breeding egrets into the area which included several reports of multiple Great Egrets and a group of eight Snowy Egrets in Hampden County (one of the largest groups of this species I can ever remember hearing about in Western Mass).  Today I had even better luck with rarities starting off with an Upland Sandpiper in Hatfield (only my fifth county record).  The bird was quite wary (probably due to the hawks and eagles crisscrossing the area).  It only settled out in the open a couple times and was last seen flying out to the west-southwest.  My good luck with shorebirds that started at the end of July appears to be continuing into August as I have already had six species of shorebirds despite there being little decent habitat for shorebirds among the mainly full farm fields and a very high Connecticut River.  I checked a few other areas on my way to the Holyoke Dam and didn't find too many noteworthy sightings.  Once I arrived at the Holyoke Dam I found a single Snowy Egret among a small group of gulls below the dam.  I also had another Great Egret a little bit further downstream.  I would not be surprised if an even rarer egret or heron shows up in the next several days given the incursion so far.  My last stop for the morning was to Lake Wallace where I once again had the Marsh Wren and a Green winged Teal.

End of July

House Wren with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 28, 2018

Marsh Wren, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 25, 2018

Green winged Teal, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 25, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 25, 2018

Ruddy Turnstone, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Red Fox, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jul 9, 2018

Purple Finch, Prescott Peninsula, New Salem, MA, Jul 7, 2018

I ended up with a total of 143 species in Hampshire County for the month, which is way above my typical numbers the last several years (the last three years have totaled 127, 125 and 128).  The larger than typical number of species for the month was helped along by a decent fallout of shorebirds including several tough to get species around here (Ruddy Turnstone and Short billed Dowitcher) plus a new county bird for me (Sanderling)....the month produced a total of 13 shorebird species.  Lake Wallace produced a number of unusual species throughout the month including Least Bittern, Pied billed Grebe, American Coot, Marsh Wren, Green winged Teal, Sora and Northern Goshawk plus some really impressive numbers of Green Herons.  The month was very warm and humid with nine days above 90 and only one day in the entire month that it did not reach 80 degrees.

Elk, Rocky Mountain NP, CO, Jul 9, 2018

Moose, Rocky Mountain NP, CO, Jul 10, 2018

Black billed Magpie, Granby, CO, Jul 10, 2018

Western Meadowlark, Pawnee National Grasslands, CO, Jul 14, 2018

Lark Bunting, Pawnee National Grasslands, CO, Jul 14, 2018

The middle of the month featured a trip out to Colorado with visits to Rocky Mountain National Park, Pawnee National Grasslands and a few other areas near Denver.  A successful trip with eleven life birds among some 142 species in total.

Shorebirds along the river including Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Short billed Dowitcher (among ten species total) plus July species at Lake Wallace (Least Bittern, American Coot and Marsh Wren)

Ruddy Turnstone, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Ruddy Turnstone, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Short billed Dowitcher, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Semipalmated Plover, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Pectoral Sandpiper, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

Lesser Yellowlegs, Hadley, MA, Jul 22, 2018

A nice fallout of shorebirds occurred on Sunday when rain moved in overnight and continued into the morning.  When I left work it was pouring and I very briefly checked a few spots without any luck.  The rain eventually stopped later in the morning and I got a text around midday of a number of shorebirds down along the river.  I immediately headed out and made a few stops on the way before making it to the area where the birds have previously been seen.  Thankfully the birds seen earlier were still there and had been joined by a very rare for the valley Ruddy Turnstone (my last ones were during Hurricane Irene in 2011 and before that a single back in 2004).  Just as I found the Ruddy Turnstone I had a brief look at a bird that almost certainly a Sanderling but I could not find it again.  I eventually found a total of at least nine species of shorebirds including the above mentioned Ruddy Turnstone as well as a Short billed Dowitcher, a Semipalmated Plover, 3 Pectoral Sandpipers, a dozen Semipalmated Sandpipers, 38 Least Sandpipers, 5 Killdeer, 11 Spotted Sandpipers and four Lesser Yellowlegs....a really great haul for July in the county!

I headed out this morning to once again hit the shorebird spot in hopes of turning up something else unusual.  The rain had continued on and off overnight and continued into the morning making access even more difficult due to muddy conditions.  I finally made a long walk in and then the skies really opened up which quickly soaked me completely.  I eventually reached the spot and although the rising river had covered many of the flats there were still a few birds around including a Sanderling among a small group of Least Sandpipers as well as a few Spotted Sandpipers and Killdeer.  The rain was falling too hard to even try for a photo so I headed out back toward my car.  The rain let up a bit as I got closer to the car so I tried another vantage point to view the birds but only could see a few.  Shortly after a small boat came up river and flushed everything and they all headed south.  There were a number of swallows feeding low over the river including at least two Cliff Swallows.  I assume the Sanderling was the same one I thought I had there yesterday and brought the total species of shorebirds at the spot to ten in two days.  It also was a new Hampshire County bird for me (#294).

American Coot, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 3, 2018

American Coot, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 1, 2018

Virginia Rail, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 8, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 1, 2018

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jul 21, 2018

Lake Wallace continues to produce some impressive birds this month including a very rare Least Bittern back on July 8, an American Coot and Pied billed Grebe on July 1 (with the coot seen again on July 3), Sora and Virginia Rail on July 18, a Marsh Wren from July 14 until at least July 21 , a Northern Goshawk on July 22 and at least 17 Green Herons on multiple days.