Purple Martins continue and a large gathering of vultures

Black Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Turkey Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Turkey Vultures, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Double crested Cormorants, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Osprey, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Northern Flicker, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Purple Martins and Tree Swallow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2021

After a long shift at work I got out this morning and after a couple quick errands I headed over to check on the Purple Martins in Hadley.  I arrived to find one sitting at the entrance of one of the martin houses and after watching for it for several minutes the female came out of the house and then they flew off together.  They returned with the female carrying some nest material and she quickly entered one of the houses and then emerged and sat and preened.  A couple Tree Swallows harassed the martins for a bit before they left them alone.  It will be very interesting to see if they have success in nesting.

Without any rain on the immediate horizon I decided to take advantage and make a few more stops with my next stop down to Mitch's Way.  The mosquitos were bad but the breeding birds were good.  Nothing too unusual but there were a few fledglings out and about (no sign of the Mourning Warbler that was present for a few weeks).

My next stop was down to the Holyoke Dam where I turned up a number of notable species (mainly for the number of individuals).  The vultures were a highlight with at least 78 Turkey Vultures and three Black Vultures.  I also had at least 55 Chimney Swifts, a dozen Double crested Cormorants and an Osprey.  There were also quite a few swallows around with five species present.  With these swallows and the Purple Martins earlier I had a half a dozen species of swallows and martins in the county in a single day...something I have never done before.  With a few new species today I made it to 137 species in Hampshire County for the month which tops my previous best June totals of 136 in 2019 and 2020 with half the month still to go.  I'm also well ahead of where I usually stand for totals in the county YTD with 224 species so far (previous best year being 218 at this point...I have no idea if this means another record breaking year but time will tell).

Purple Martins attempting to nest in Hadley

 

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 13, 2021

Purple Martins with Tree Swallow, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 13, 2021

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 13, 2021

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 13, 2021

Purple Martins, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Jun 13, 2021

Another very rare species for the area has shown up and looks to be attempting to nest here.  This time it is a pair of Purple Martins that were originally found by a friend of a friend when she was visiting Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River on Friday.  I got a message about the birds on Saturday morning after I had already gotten to work so I would have no chance to try to see them until this morning when I got out of work.  Many birders were able to relocate them on Saturday and the birds were observed bringing leaves into one of the artificial martin houses that were installed this year.  I really did not think there was any chance martins would show up to use them and the installation would only provide additional nesting locations for the House Sparrows of the area.  I was very happy to be wrong about that assumption.  A little about the history of Purple Martins in the area.  In the late 1800's through the early 1900's there were multiple colonies in western Massachusetts but after a few cold snaps and especially after severe competition from the introduced House Sparrow the species disappeared from the area as a breeder and became an increasingly unusual visitor.  They were also in competition for nesting locations with another introduced species (European Starling) as well as Tree Swallows.  In the more recent past the species has been less than annual and is usually seen during rainy, cool weather that concentrates groups of swallow species.  I have personally seen the species in Hampshire County just three times before today with singles along the Connecticut River in Hadley in August 2015, at Winsor Dam in April 2016 and at Lake Wallace in September of 2016 (this last one was the only previous one I got photos of).  The two today were fairly cooperative but spent a lot of time high in the trees along Moody Bridge Road before they would disappear for a bit (presumably to feed over one of the many nearby fields).  After almost an hour of waiting the martins came in to the nesting gourds and allowed for more close study through the scope.  It will be interesting if they stick around and try to nest.  It will be tough with some fairly aggressive neighbors including Tree Swallows, European Starlings and House Sparrows

Blue Grosbeaks back in Hadley

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Blue Grosbeak, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Blue Grosbeak and Baltimore Oriole, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

After a few unsuccessful attempts lately to relocate a/the Blue Grosbeak I had in the Honey Pot section of Hadley I finally found a pair today.  I originally had one singing very distantly at the location on May 22 and then briefly heard it again perhaps a week later.  A few others were able to get views and photos of a male in the last few days so I decided to spend some time trying again to track them down and perhaps get some evidence of breeding once again.  This species is very rare here in summer and only in the last couple years has it bred here with the first suspected record in 2019 and the first confirmed record last year.  After a bit of looking this morning I eventually had a pair of silent birds moving around quite a bit.  Hopefully they will breed successfully here once again.

Brown Thrasher, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Brown Thrasher building nest, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Common Merganser with ducklings, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 10, 2021

As I looked around for the Blue Grosbeaks I came across quite a few other species with a family of Common Mergansers in the Connecticut River and a number of Brown Thrashers including a pair building a nest.

House Wren with leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Eastern Bluebird nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

Gray Catbird nest with young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 10, 2021

At home the Eastern Bluebird and Gray Catbird nest continue to host rapidly growing young with the adults coming and going fairly constantly.  I also caught up with a few of the birds recently banded in the yard.

Bird banding in the yard

Black capped Chickadee with leg bands in net (originally banded in 2019), Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Black capped Chickadee in net, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Black capped Chickadee getting leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

House Wren in net, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

House Wren getting measured, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Black capped Chickadee getting leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Black capped Chickadee getting leg bands, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

After not having any bird banding done in the yard last year due to the pandemic and the cancelling of any future banding due to funding issues with the neighborhood nestwatch I was pleasantly surprised to get a message from Sebastian a few weeks ago seeking permission to come by to band three target species in the yard for his research (Black capped Chickadee, House Wren and Northern Cardinal) being the three species).  He and his intern arrived today at 6:15 with an assistant to set up the nets early to try to beat the heat from our ongoing heat wave.  We set up a total of four nets and had them up before seven.  The first half hour was slow with no birds and I was afraid the day was going to be a bust but the birds eventually showed.  One net along the brook produced four Black capped Chickadees in one run with one recapture of a male originally banded in the yard in 2019 and seen on and off since (mainly in the winter coming to the feeders).  No too long after we captured three House Wrens (with a few more still singing in the area).  Over the next few hours we captured five more Black capped Chickadees.  Unfortunately we had no luck with Northern Cardinals despite multiple individuals coming in close to the nets only to avoid them. Target species banded totaled three House Wrens and nine Black capped Chickadees which we all agreed was very respectable given the weather conditions.  Sebastian will be returning again this summer for another round of banding and hopefully we will have good luck once again. 

Ruby throated Hummingbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Red eyed Vireo, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Tufted Titmouse in net, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Carolina Wren, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Chipping Sparrow in net, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Pine Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 8, 2021

Beyond the three target species we captured a number of other non targets that were quickly extracted from the nets and released without being banded.  I got photos of most of the non target species but not all.  Non target captures included a Ruby throated Hummingbird, two Red eyed Vireos, two Tufted Titmouse, a Carolina Wren, two Gray Catbirds, an American Robin, a Chipping Sparrow and a Pine Warbler.   

June off to a good start

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 1, 2021

Semipalmated Sandpipers, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 1, 2021

Spotted Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 1, 2021

Chimney Swift, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Jun 1, 2021

Great Blue Heron, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Jun 1, 2021

Brewster's Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Jun1, 2021

Common Nighthawk, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 1, 2021

June is off to a great start with sunny and progressively warmer weather and lots of birds around.  On the first I headed out to a variety of locations with my first stop at Mitch's Way with the main focus being warblers (highlight was a continued Mourning Warbler singing constantly and perhaps trying to breed in the area?).  I then made the hike up Skinner SP to check on the Worm eating Warbler and Cerulean Warblers (among others).  As I hiked back down the mountain I noticed a few messages about some shorebirds in the East Meadows so I made that location my next destination.  Nothing extremely unusual but nice looks at a variety of shorebirds enjoying the flooded fields (thanks to our multiple days of rain).  I had a total of five species of shorebirds plus an impressive showing of Chimney Swifts (with at least 65 individuals present).  During the remainder of the morning I stopped at a number of locations and turned up even more species.  During the evening at home I noticed a number of slightly late Common Nighthawks feeding over the house.  There were at least seven around and probably more (likely slightly delayed by the poor weather conditions that closed out May)...the first day alone produced 107 species to kick off June.

Louisiana Waterthrush, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 2, 2021

Common Merganser with young, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 2, 2021

Great Blue Heron, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 2, 2021

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 2, 2021

Gray Catbird nest with egg and freshly hatched young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 2, 2021

Eastern Bluebird nest freshly hatched young, Home, Belchertown, MA, Jun 2, 2021

On the second I stayed close to home with visits to Quabbin Park and Lake Wallace which produced more species including some great looks at breeding waterfowl including a small family of Common Mergansers at Winsor Dam which I got to watch swim across the entire length of the reservoir and got some fantastic looks of them (as well as some video)...links to videos below:

video #1

video #2

video #3

I also checked the active nests I have in the yard and both the Gray Catbirds and Eastern Bluebirds were freshly hatched.  I was afraid the extended cold weather at the end of May might negatively impact them but they made it through to hatch.

Worm eating Warbler, Long Mountain, Granby, MA, Jun 3, 2021

Worm eating Warbler, Long Mountain, Granby, MA, Jun 3, 2021

Song Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 3, 2021

Willow Flycatcher, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Jun 3, 2021

American Robins, UMASS, Amherst, MA, Jun 3, 2021

Common Nighthawk, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Jun 3, 2021

Although the forecast today called for showers it actually stayed dry through a large portion of the day and allowed me to get quite a bit of birding/hiking in as I explored multiple locations in the area.  I started off my morning at Lake Wallace where the highlight was a Common Nighthawk.  No sign of nesting Pied billed Grebes this year but the town has dropped the water levels which has had a negative impact on marsh birds this year.  I then headed over to Amherst and Hadley to finish out the early morning before heading back home to take Wilson for a walk.  With the bad weather holding off I took the opportunity to take a long walk along the Mount Holyoke Range SP and had several Worm eating Warblers.  In just the first three days of the month I have had 124 species in the county...not a bad start at all.

The forecast for the next several days looks to feature showers and thunderstorms overnight tonight through tomorrow with southerly winds before very hot and humid conditions arrive by the middle of the weekend and continue through a good portion of the next week leading to what looks to be our first heat wave.