Loads of sparrows at Arcadia yesterday (plus some warblers) and south Quabbin today

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

Swamp Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

Song Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

Savannah Sparrows, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

White throated Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

White crowned Sparrow, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

Northern Harrier, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 8, 2015

Yesterday morning I decided to use a little vacation time in the morning and spend a bit of time down at Arcadia trying to catch up with some of the migrants moving through.  I arrived there before dawn and flushed a couple American Woodcocks before heading out briefly to the marsh which featured just the expected species (plus a bit of fog) plus a somewhat late Wood Thrush giving its 'popping' call.  I then headed over to the meadows where I spent the next couple hours exploring around the Ibis Pool and the roadside up to the trolley line.  Really large numbers of sparrows and others were in evidence even before the sun came up.  There were hundreds of individuals of eight species of sparrows around including a dozen White crowned Sparrows (with a few singing), five Chipping Sparrows, a Field Sparrow, 28 White throated Sparrows, 107 Savannah Sparrows, 64 Song Sparrows, 5 Lincoln's Sparrows and 46 Swamp Sparrows.  All of these numbers are minimums with only a small amount of the habitat covered...really makes me wonder about the total number of sparrows down there.  Unfortunately I was not able to find a reported Nelson's Sparrows down there but it could certainly still be around.  On the upside I did catch up with an Orange crowned Warbler along the roadside with Palm Warblers between the Ibis Pool and the trolley line.  This brings my county total for the year to 231 so far.  Another notable species down there were Palm Warblers which numbered at least seventy.  I have included the full list below (lots more details and photos):http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25340939

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 8, 2015

I once again had to go Greenfield in the evening so I made a swing by Barton's Cove where I had the continued Cackling Goose once again but not too much else. 

Horned Grebe, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 9, 2015

Wood Duck, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Oct 9, 2015

Today I stayed around the south Quabbin area hitting a number of locations before the arrival of the forecasted rain.  I hit Beaver Lake, Quabbin Park and Winsor Dam plus Lake Wallace.  Overall waterfowl numbers were quite low but I did find my first Horned Grebe of the season (at Hank's Meadow) and 33 Wood Ducks and a dozen Wood Ducks at the Route 9 marsh.  Quabbin itself held no other waterfowl at all besides the grebe.  There were a few dozen Yellow rumped Warblers moving southwest early in the morning despite the less than optimal migration conditions.  The southerly winds were not conducive for making birds move but a change in the wind direction overnight to west and then northwest should get some stuff moving tomorrow...time will tell.  I heard about a Yellow breasted Chat that was caught and released by a researcher at UMASS but by the time I heard about it the weather conditions had deteriorated with fairly strong winds and then rain so not great conditions to go chasing the chat.  I may try for it at some point this weekend but trying to refind a skulking species like a chat can be tough to say the least.

After some heavy rain during the afternoon and evening I made a brief stop over at Winsor Dam to see if any birds were forced down by the rain and I was rewarded with two Ruddy Ducks which are quite unusual at Quabbin (for some odd reason).  I attempted some photos but the distance was just too far and the light too low to get much.  Ruddy Duck adds another new species to the county list for the year which now stands at 232.


As I mentioned in an earlier post the remnants of Hurricane Joaquin look to be getting ready to impact Europe (Portugal and Spain mainly) and the chance is certainly there for something from the new world to make it over there.  It will be interesting to see what turns up there once the storm arrives.  An eBird article posted today gives some updated information on the potential impact (link here:  http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/joaquineurope/ ).  Always nice to see our epic lists from Hurricane Irene mentioned in the article.

North winds bring in some birds including a Blue Grosbeak at Arcadia and geese to Barton's Cove (including a Cackling Goose and a Greater White fronted Goose)

 

Cackling Goose (front) and Greater White fronted Goose (rear), Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Greater White fronted Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Greater White fronted Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

Cackling Goose, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 6, 2015

 

Dawn, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 6, 2015

With the strong northeast flow finally coming to an end and the wind coming more out of the north and northeast more birds seemed to have arrived. Although quite cold every morning the days have warmed into the 60's and 70's.  On Tuesday I made it over to Arcadia where I quick checked the marsh and had five species of waterfowl including at least 38 Wood Ducks plus half a dozen Great Blue Herons. I then headed over to the meadows where I spent the next hour of so exploring the roadside of the Ibis Pool and then up the road and down a part of the trolley line. The place was packed with birds including at least 22 Palm Warblers, a probable Orange crowned Warbler (fleeting glimpse as it disappeared into a hedgerow not to be seen again), eight species of sparrows including five Chipping Sparrows, a couple Field Sparrows, 11 White crowned Sparrows (with at least one singing), 29 White throated Sparrows, 60+ Savannah Sparrows, 84 Song Sparrows, four Lincoln's Sparrows and 33 Swamp Sparrows (all the counts of sparrows are conservative...likely many, many more). The best bird turned out to be a 1st winter Blue Grosbeak that was at the end of the Ibis Pool. An overall brownish bird that I got great looks at before it too disappeared not to be seen again. The grosbeak added another species to the county list for the year bringing my total to 230. I really wished I had more time to spend down there as I'm sure other oddities were there just waiting to be found but I just couldn't stay.  Later in the day others located two Orange crowned Warblers down there so I'm sure that is what I had but I could not be 100% sure so I will have to try back another day for it (no one else had any luck finding the grosbeak again). I also got a call from Bob Z. midday telling me he had a Nelson's Sparrow at Wentworth Farm Conservation Area in Amherst...another species I would like to catch up with. In the evening I had to head back up to Greenfield for a class so I made a quick stop at Barton's Cove where I quickly found a Cackling Goose and a Greater White fronted Goose in among around 475 Canada Geese (I thought perhaps one of these would be a new species for Franklin County but I have seen them all before...in fact I have seen more goose species in Franklin County then anywhere else with a total of eight species...one better than my Hampshire County total where I have not yet had a Barnacle Goose). The only other waterfowl at Barton's Cove were nine Mute Swans, a few Mallards and one each of Pied billed Grebe and Double crested Cormorant. A very brief stop on my way by at the power canal found the canal still drained with lots of exposed mud flats that look prime to attract a late shorebird. No luck with any shorebirds (but I had no time to scan the area very well) but I did have half a dozen species of waterfowl in the remaining water.

Although I had gotten very little sleep after a late night class I planned to try my luck in catching up with an Orange crowned Warbler over at Arcadia on Wednesday morning...instead I ended up with a flat tire and a jack that broke so those plans went right out the window. I'm hopeful to give it another try tomorrow.

A windy day spent around Quabbin

Bonaparte's Gull (with Ring billed Gulls), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 3, 2015

Bonaparte's Gull (with Ring billed Gulls), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 3, 2015

Bonaparte's Gull (with Ring billed Gull), Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 3, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 3, 2015

The strong northeast winds continued all day today along with rain and drizzle until after midday with a temperatures in the 40's made for some very miserable conditions outside.  I nonetheless spent hours trying my best to turn up something unusual.  The best I could do was a Bonaparte's Gull at Winsor Dam in among nearly a hundred Ring billed Gulls (and one Herring Gull).  I picked up the bird as it flew in with a group of gulls and then settled on the water before disappearing later on.  Distance and poor weather conditions made trying to get photos a bit difficult but I managed a few marginal shots.  The numbers of gulls present throughout the day was quite variable with the highest numbers during the worst weather of the morning.    I made a number of stops at Winsor Dam over the course of the day as well as stops at Quabbin Park, Beaver Lake and Lake Wallace.  Not much at any of these spots but I did turn up nearly fifty Wood Ducks at the Route 9 marsh.  Once the rain lifted later in the day there were a few raptors moving but few species of waterfowl.  Another noteworthy sighting occurred when I lifted my head from viewing through the scope to see a Cooper's Hawk zipping past me at eye level just a few feet away as it went past me to try for a Gray Squirrel (which it barely missed).  Late in the day at Winsor Dam I had a brief look at a swallow species that went zipping past...too brief of a look in poor light to say for certain what species it was.  

A few (of many) lists from today:

Quabbin Park: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25276166
Winsor Dam:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25275795
Winsor Dam: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25279659
Winsor Dam: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25282469

Satellite image of Hurricane Joaquin showing well defined eye as a strong Category 4 storm and large plume of moisture streaming into the carolinas, Oct 3, 2015 (image courtesy  NASA/GSFC)

Hurricane Joaquin projected path as 2PM, Oct 3, 2015 (courtesy NHC)

Hurricane Joaquin has finally started to move away from the Bahamas but it actually strengthened again to nearly Category 5 status with winds at 155MPH.  Truly amazing given the area the storm is in and the fact that there is a very strong El Nino.  It appears the incredible warm waters in the area are really powering up the storm.  It is still forecast to head rapidly off the the northeast, way off shore from the US and far enough away from Bermuda to spare them a direct hit.  The storm is likely to displace some birds all the way over to Europe and I'm sure some really unusual stuff will show up over there.  The storm (along with some other weather features) continues to funnel copious amounts of moisture into the areas of the carolinas with historic flooding conditions being the result. 

Below are the latest projected positions and wind speed per the NHC. 

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT  03/1600Z 26.0N  71.6W  135 KT 155 MPH
 12H  04/0000Z 27.9N  70.2W  130 KT 150 MPH
 24H  04/1200Z 30.7N  68.0W  115 KT 130 MPH
 36H  05/0000Z 33.0N  66.9W  100 KT 115 MPH
 48H  05/1200Z 35.0N  65.5W   80 KT  90 MPH
 72H  06/1200Z 39.0N  59.0W   70 KT  80 MPH
 96H  07/1200Z 43.5N  45.0W   60 KT  70 MPH
120H  08/1200Z 48.5N  26.0W   55 KT  65 MPH...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP

Hurricane Joaquin headed out to sea but sustained period of northeast winds continue



Hurricane Joaquin projected path as of 2PM Oct 2, 2015 (courtesy NHC)

It now appear that Hurricane Joaquin will not hit anywhere on the east coast and instead will curve out to sea.  The storm continues to be intense, reaching Catagory 4 status yesterday.  The Bahamas continue to suffer the worst effects of the storm with severe damage there almost certain.  It has been interesting to watch the development and progress of the storm as well as the nearly hourly changes in the projected path.  The only forecast model that got the 'out to sea' path right days ago was the European model.  Most every other forecast model called for an impact somewhere on the east coast but once again the European model got it right.  Although we will have no direct impact from the storm the entire area will continue to be under the influence of sustained northeast winds that have already been in place for several days and will continue for a few more.  There are many potentially unusual birds that could show up inland from conditions like this (not as many as a tropical system would bring in but still some stuff).  One possibility would be Northern Wheatears being blown back to the east as they migrate from far northern Canada out over the Atlantic to Africa.  In fact one showed up just to our east in Worcester County at Wachusetts Reservoir yesterday and continued today.  Other possibilities would include a number of near shore pelagics such as Black legged Kittiwakes, unusual gulls, phalaropes and others (including storm petrels...which also have shown up in Worcester County with a Leach's Storm Petrel today).  Any additional rain we get could also ground other migrants including but not limited to waterfowl and shorebirds.

Green winged Teal, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Common Loon, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Surf Scoter, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 2, 2015

Pied billed Grebe, Beaver Lake, Ware, MA, Oct 2, 2015

With the possibility of something unusual being around due to the sustained northeast winds I headed over to the south Quabbin area where I spent a large part of the morning as well as a little time in the early afternoon.  The strong winds made viewing a bit difficult but I nonetheless managed to find some decent stuff including a Surf Scoter (species #229 for Hampshire County this year), half a dozen Green winged Teal flying around at Winsor Dam, a few other species of waterfowl (including a continued Pied billed Grebe at Beaver Lake), a few raptors migrating and a number of warblers and other unidentified passerines zipping by.  I was actually expecting more waterfowl and raptors to be moving but at least I had some.  I spent a good chunk of my time at Winsor Dam but also made stops within Qabbin Park as well as down to Beaver Lake.  I tried my best to find a Northern Wheatear along either Winsor Dam or Goodnough Dike but no luck today.  I was joined for a time at Winsor Dam and a nearby sheltered area (somewhat out of the wind) of Quabbin Park by Sam from New Jersey and Stijn from Belgium.  It was nice to be out with someone who gets lifers one after another as Stijn was making his first trip to the US.  We managed to find a number of his target species (including Bald Eagle, Gray Catbird and woodpeckers) as well as many other new ones for him despite the less than ideal conditions for finding landbirds. 

Ring necked Ducks, Barton's Cove, Gill, MA, Oct 1, 2015

I had to go up to Greenfield for a class yesterday and made a brief stop at Barton's Cove where I found some waterfowl including four Ring necked Ducks as well as a Gadwall among the more expected species.  It is so much easier to view the waterfowl there as they are not as far out as many are at Quabbin.

Update on Hurricane Joaquin

Hurricane Joaquin forecast track as of 2PM, Sep 30, 2015 (map courtesy of the NHC)

Tropical Depression 11 developed into Tropical Storm Joaquin yesterday and into Hurricane Joaquin today. As mentioned a few days ago when the depression was just forming, the potential exists for the storm to eventually have an impact here (or at least somewhere on the east coast). The current projection shows the storm continuing to develop and intensify and slowly begin to move in a northerly direction, possibly reaching Category 3 strength. The storm is over historically warm waters at this point and the main item that has kept it from intensifying even quicker has been continued wind shear.  The real question is where it goes after turning north. It could curve more northwestward and impact areas to our south or continue north and impact western mass directly or be curved out to sea. The latest guidance puts the track more west than east with an impact somewhere along the east coast. There various forecast models are having a tough time figuring out a high confidence track for the storm as there are many variables that could interact with the storm and change the actual track, especially out beyond a few days. Regardless of the final path we are likely to at least get some heavy rain and wind from the storm.  I will update over the coming days. 

Link to some additional related information regarding the storm and related birds can be found at a Birdcast post here:  http://birdcast.info/forecast/special-alert-upper-midwest-and-northeast-tropical-storm-joaquin/

A link to tropical system related birds in western Massachusetts as well as various of useful links related to tropical weather can be found at this link from an earlier post:
http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-look-at-tropical-storm-related.html

Below is the projected storm location and strength for the next five days.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INIT  30/1500Z 24.7N  72.6W   70 KT  80 MPH
 12H  01/0000Z 24.3N  73.2W   80 KT  90 MPH
 24H  01/1200Z 24.1N  74.0W   85 KT 100 MPH
 36H  02/0000Z 24.4N  74.4W   90 KT 105 MPH
 48H  02/1200Z 25.3N  74.5W   95 KT 110 MPH
 72H  03/1200Z 28.5N  73.5W  100 KT 115 MPH
 96H  04/1200Z 34.0N  73.0W   90 KT 105 MPH
120H  05/1200Z 38.5N  74.0W   75 KT  85 MPH

Last night and today we have dealt with heavy rain associated with a variety of weather features and the rains produced 5"+ of rain leading to some local flooding.  Beyond a few species of waterfowl likely being forced down I have not seen nor heard of anything way out of the ordinary associated with the heavy rain of yesterday and today.

Tropical system develops with possible impacts here

Tropical Depression 11 projected path as of Sep 28, 2015 (map courtesy of Weatherunderground)

Tropical Depression 11 projected path as of Sep 28, 2015 (map courtesy National Hurricane Center)

The tropics are stirring a bit and I figured it was worth a quick post regarding the chance of an impact here in the middle and end of the week.  Tropical Depression 11 formed today out in the Atlantic between Bermuda and The Bahamas.  It is over some very warm water but high wind shear is keeping further development somewhat in check.  The storm is forecast to slowly strengthen as it moves west and north and should reach tropical storm strength within the next day or two (if it does it will be named Joaquin).  The various models differ on the exact strength of the storm by the time the end of the week roles around.  There are several other factors at play here too including a high pressure system that will drift off to our east, additional tropical moisture coming up from the gulf and a cold front coming in from the west.  At this point it at least worth keeping an eye on as the potential is there for an impact here.  I will update as the week goes on if needed.

A couple of early Brant yesterday and more fog today

 

 

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2015

Common Ravens, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2015

Black Ducks, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2015

Cooper's Hawk, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Sep 26, 2015

As I only had a limited time in the morning on Saturday to get out I opted to stick close to home. I started predawn at Winsor Dam and noticed a fairly strong north to northeast wind. The wind made it impossible to hear any owls calling but I hoped it would entice some more birds to move. I then headed over to the park and had a few highlight including a Virginia Rail still calling and a single group of 72 Double crested Cormorants heading south.

 

Quabbin Park:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25181544

As the wind continued to blow I headed back to Winsor Dam to do a little skywatching in the time I had left. Almost immediately it was clear some birds were taking advantage of the winds as I saw small groups of Canada Geese moving southwest as well as groups of Blue Jays moving north to south (I had nearly 300 jays over the course of the morning). Also some decent raptor movement with highlights including 9 Osprey, all three expected falcon species and a smattering of other species. The real highlight were the waterfowl with the most unexpected species being a couple of Brant moving quickly south. I first picked them up as I was checking out a small group of Canada Geese and the two Brant flew past them. The two birds were moving fairly quickly and stayed near the horizon but I had satisfactory looks through the scope. I attempted photos with the phone but the phone just could not lock onto such a distant target. This species is not unexpected here but usually they would not show up until weeks from now.  The Brant become species #228 in the county for the year. Perhaps the sustained winds from the north pushed them along a bit early?  I wish I could have stayed longer but just could not.

 

Winsor Dam:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25183406

Bobolinks, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 27, 2015

Swamp Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Sep 27, 2015

Lincoln's Sparrow, Aracdia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2015

Northern Harrier in the fog, Aracdia, Northampton, MA, Sep 27, 2015

Today I debated about spending more time at Quabbin or heading over to the fields along the river to look for sparrows. With the winds forecast to be calm and then turn south I figured Quabbin would not be as productive as yesterday but I also knew the fog could be a problem along the river. I decided to take my chances along the river and had foggy conditions my entire time there. I started off at Arcadia where I hit the marsh (which was at least visible despite the fog) and then over to the meadows. Unfortunately the fog got worse plus a large number of workers were in the fields harvesting crops. These two issues taken together cut down quite a bit on the activity but I still had some good stuff (just nothing really unusual). A cool sighting occurred near the Ibis Pool as I was watching some sparrows along the road when a Sharp shinned Hawk suddenly appeared out of the fog rocketing down the road just a couple feet off the ground. It just missed a sparrow and then zipped past me almost at arms length away...very cool.  With no sign of the fog lifting I decided to head back across the river to the Honey Pot which turned out to be just as fogged in. I walked the edge of some of the roads and then through 'That's a Plenty Farm'. Again nothing really unusual but some good numbers of sparrows and Palm Warblers.

 

Arcadia:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25200671

Honey Pot:  http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S25200661