WESTERN TANAGER in Amherst!

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

Western Tanager, Amherst, MA, Apr 18, 2020

After catching up with a Glossy Ibis (plus some Blue winged Teal) late in the morning yesterday in Amherst I figured the unusual species were done for day but I was wrong!  I was just about ready to start cooking dinner in the early evening on Saturday when I got a call from Scott telling me about a Western Tanager coming into some feeders at a private residence in a suburban neighborhood in Amherst.  I quickly got the specifics on the location and I was out the door.  The bird had been seen on and off for the afternoon but was not being seen when I arrived.  The homeowner stated it has been disappearing for awhile but would then return to feed.  After waiting for about twenty minutes I spotted it as it came in high in the trees where it appeared to be gleaning insects in some freshly leafing out branches.  After feeding up high for a few minutes it dropped in briefly to the feeders before disappearing for a few minutes.  It then reappeared up high in the trees once again before it dropped in to visit the feeders.  A really impressive bird to see and not what I expected to see here in mid April.  In looking up any records for the species in Hampshire County I could only find a single record in eBird (from a Bird Observer submission which is always suspect as records there are frequently wrong) plus a single record from a well known birders memory 'back in the 60's'.  This is certainly the first well documented record.  The species does show up in the state from time to time but almost always on the coast and more typically in fall so a spring record inland is a very rare occurrence.  Obviously the species was a new one for me in Hampshire County, bringing my county total up to 297.  Although I did not go back today it was seen by other birders through at least midday (I thought it would have left with the south winds and warmer temperatures but I was happy to be wrong).  More photos at my flickr album.

Northern Flickers, rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 19, 2020

American Robin, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Apr 19, 2020

White tailed Deer, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Killdeer, Slobody Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Canada Goose with first goslings of the season, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2020

 Hermit Thrush, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 19, 2020

Winsor Dam Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 19, 2020

With a sunny day and temperatures forecast to reach near 60 and southerly winds I headed out a first light today to cover a variety of locations looking for early migrants.  I headed over to Quabbin Park  and thankfully found the location back open to the public after being needlessly closed due to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic.  I hoped for an early Eastern Whip Poor Will but no luck but I did find my first of the season Red breasted Merganser at Winsor Dam.  I then headed over to the rail trail in Amherst (plus the nearby Slobody Farm Conservation Area).  Nothing too unusual but certainly an influx of migrants such as Swamp Sparrows and Northern Flickers (among others).  I next headed to UMASS briefly before making my way back toward home with a stop at Lake Wallace which held my first fledgling Canada Geese of the season as well as continued numbers of Palm Warblers among the 42 species present.

Glossy Ibis today despite some snow and continued cool temperatures

Morning snow along Jabish Brook, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18. 2020

Wilson enjoying the snow, Covey WMA, Belchertown, MA, Apr 18. 2020

Glossy Ibis, Mallard and Eastern Coyote, North Amherst, MA, Apr 18. 2020

Glossy Ibis, North Amherst, MA, Apr 18. 2020

Blue winged Teal with Green winged Teal, North Amherst, MA, Apr 18. 2020

Today we had what will hopefully be the last bit of snowfall for the year.  Although the predictions were calling for around three inches of snow we thankfully ended up with about an inch (I for one was happy the storm 'under performed' but Wilson was less than happy with less snow to eat).  The roads were clear of snow at dawn so I headed out to hit a few areas close by as the snow continued to fall.  I would have loved to have seen what the weather brought down at Winsor Dam but the area is still closed off so no luck (I do hope the DCR will reconsidered this unnecessary action sometime in the near future).  The other areas I checked during the early morning didn't have anything unusual.  I then headed back home to pick up Wilson and we went for a long walk at Covey WMA during which we got totally soaked as the snow mixed with rain at times and the snow melted off the trees.  Right after I got home from that walk I noticed a report from Mike L. of a Glossy Ibis in a flooded farm field in North Amherst.  I was already planning to make a trip over that way to pick up some supplies for the house at some point during the week so I decided to head over today.  I arrived to find a few other birders in the area and the Glossy Ibis was immediately visible (but quite distant).  An Eastern Coyote was also in the area and explored various parts of the field before disappearing into the woods.  Among the species of waterfowl enjoying the flooded field were two male Blue winged Teal.  I managed photos of all the notable species there but they are distant and less than National Geographic quality.

Mallard, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2020

Hooded Mergansers Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2020

Palm Warbler ';yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2020

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2020

Northern Rough winged Swallow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 17, 2020

Yesterday after work I made a few stops on my way home including Aqua Vitae Road (where the highlight was a flyover Pectoral Sandpiper) and Lake Wallace.  Nothing too unusual at Lake Wallace but there were continued numbers of Palm Warbler plus lots of swallows skimming over the surface of the lake.  I was yet another cool morning with a slight breeze and temperatures starting off below freezing.

Birds the last few days including a new yard species and nesting Hooded Mergansers at home

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

Pine Warbler, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

Downy Woodpecker, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

Chipping Sparrow, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

American Goldfinch, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

Great Blue Heron at nest, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

I stopped by Lake Wallace on my way to work yesterday as well as on my way home this morning. Although I didn't have a lot of time during the morning yesterday I still turned up 30 species in about 15 minutes including four species of warbler.  Today I had a bit more time and spent over an hour exploring the area with the highlights among the 40 species including three species of swallows, nesting Great Blue Herons and 50+ Palm Warblers.

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 12, 2020

The camera at the water feature captured another new species (#48) with a Ruby crowned Kinglet showing up on Easter Sunday.  Another highlight for the yard was a breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gull that showed up over the marsh in a lull in the rain on Monday adding another species to the yard list which now stands at 167.

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 13, 2020

Egg in duck box #3 , Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 13, 2020

Hooded Merganser on eggs in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 15, 2020

In between the bouts of heavy rain on Monday I checked the duck boxes (except the first box which I know has a Hooded Merganser sitting on eggs and I didn't want to disturb her).  The second box which has had a single egg in it for well over a week now suddenly has several eggs in it.  The third box (which has never had birds nest in it before) now has at least one egg in it.  I relocated this box last year to a better location and the birds finally found it.  This is the first time I have had all three duck boxes used in a single year.  I decided to check the same two boxes on Wednesday and I was surprised to find a Hooded Merganser already sitting on eggs in box #2.

Upcoming storm and birds the last couple days

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Hadley, MA, Apr 11, 2020

 Snow Goose, Connecticut River, South Hadley, MA, Apr 11, 2020

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2020

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2020

Common Merganser, Belchertown, MA, Apr 10, 2020

The last couple days have seen some migrants moving in with a slight increase in the numbers of Palm Warbler and Yellow rumped Warblers as well as Yellow bellied Sapsuckers plus some unusual migrants including a Marsh Wren at Quabbin Park yesterday.  Overall the weather has been less than perfect for migration with mainly north winds and cool temperatures.  This looks to change tomorrow with a fairly strong southerly wind throughout the day and into Monday with some potentially heavy rain overnight Sunday into a good portion of the day on Monday as a very strong storm moves up into the Great Lakes.  The setup is good for the potential for an early season overshoot situation where birds moving north trying to get to the southern United States get caught up in the strong southerly winds offshore and ride them north into New England flying downwind until they hit a piece of land to settle down on.  A situation like this usually brings in migrants that normally never come this far north and/or migrants that should not arrive until later in spring.  The possibilities of species is fairly broad and the coast usually fares much better in these types of weather conditions but it will be worth getting out and looking for birds for the next few days around here (Birdcast has some additional information on this set up at the following link).  Conditions such as these can result in fallout conditions on the coast further to the south (where birds fight against unfavorable winds until they reach the coast in droves and totally exhausted) or overshoot and end up well to the north.  A third unfortunate and all to frequent possibility is that birds migrating at this time suffer high levels of mortality due to these weather conditions and never make it to land.   During the rainy weather it is worth checking bodies of water and flooded fields for grounded birds and then checking a variety of habitats over the following days.  One spot I would love to be during the poor weather on Monday would be Winsor Dam but the state has now closed the entire area of Quabbin Park to cars indefinitely due to the Covid 19 pandemic (with no parking area open closing it to vehicles pretty much closes the park to everyone) .  My opinion on this is that it is a knee jerk reaction and a bad idea to close off large swaths of open spaces just when people need them the most.  It makes no sense really.  People will want to go outside (and should) especially as the weather gets warmer and nicer as spring moves along (obviously adhering to recommended social distancing).  It is good for both mental and physical health and shutting off areas to people at this time is short sighted in my book and without merit.  As each new open space area is closed off people will be concentrated on the remaining open spaces either causing additional areas to be closed or causing more close contact among people.

Northern Cardinal, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 11, 2020

Dark eyed Junco and White throated Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 8, 2020

Mouse species, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 8, 2020

Meanwhile at home the water feature continues to add new species of both avian and mammal types for the year.  Nothing too unusual yet but hopeful for some rarities this season.

Early Louisiana Waterthrushes plus Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks

Lousiana Waterthrush, Nash Hill Road, Williamsburg, MA, Apr 7, 2020

Palm  Warbler 'yellow', Belchertown, MA, Apr 7, 2020

After another day at work I headed out this morning with my destination being Nash Hill Road in Williamsburg looking for a variety of species including the continued Red Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks and perhaps an early Louisiana Waterthrush (more on the waterthrush at the following link).  I arrived in the area around 7:45 and spent the next hour plus exploring the area during which I had multiple flyovers of both Red Crossbills and Evening Grosbeaks.  The Red Crossbills were once again Type 1 (thanks to Tim Spahr for the confirmation). I also ran across an early Louisiana Waterthrush as I was walking back to the car (my earliest date ever for Hampshire County).  I also ran across Chuck and we birded together for a bit and I got him on a handful of unusual birds.  After I left Nash Hill Road I ran across another Louisiana Waterthrush along Depot Road (also in Williamsburg).  I spent the afternoon at home catching up on stuff around the house but still managed to find some good birds including the continued pair of Red shouldered Hawks plus some Palm Warblers and Rusty Blackbirds among some 37 species at the house over the course of the day.  Overall for the month I have already had 91 species which is a record setting pace for the month.

Gadwall (center and right) and Common Goldeneye, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2020

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 6, 2020

I made a brief stop at Winsor Dam on my way to work on Monday and had some somewhat unusual waterfowl including two Gadwall.

Wild Turkey, Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 30, 2020

Raccoon , Home, Belchertown, MA, Mar 31, 2020

American Robin, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 5, 2020

American Goldfinch, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2020

Eastern Phoebe, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 6, 2020

Opossum,  Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 7, 2020

The cameras at the house have captured a few new birds over the last few days plus some mammals.