The second week of October has featured above normal temperatures with most mornings featuring thick fog that typically did not burn off until late morning and today was no different. Today I decided to make stops until I found a fog free location and never found one until late in the morning. I started off at Lake Wallace listening for late rails but heard none and then went east to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River and had the continued Green Heron fly by as well as a slightly late House Wren chattering from a thicket. Otherwise it was typical stuff there but it was interesting to listen to a European Starling give a spot on impression of an Eastern Wood Pewee. I then headed over to the nearby Sweet Alice Conservation Area where a new parking area and a new path recently opened up. I walked part of the new Pond Loop trail which looks to have a lot of potential for next spring. The highlight of my stop there was another House Wren (this one showed quite well). I decided to try my luck at Quabbin Park as it looked like the fog was finally going to lift. Highlights in the few areas I checked included two Spotted Sandpipers, a small gathering of Common Loons with lots of calls and interactions and a notable influx of Ruby crowned Kinglets. My final stops for the morning included a couple spots in Belchertown which turned up expected species but nothing too noteworthy. The warmer than normal weather looks to continue until Saturday when a cold front will move through. Sunday and Monday look to be windy and will almost certainly turn up some waterfowl.
Yesterday I stopped by Arcadia after work and really did not have any real expectations on finding anything too unusual as the weather was cool and foggy. I hit a handful of edges and fields and initially it was rather quiet overall. After fighting through a field with a few ticks I stopped at a spot where I had my first Common Yellowthroats for the morning. As I was looking at the yellowthroat I noticed another bird pop up which proved to be a Connecticut Warbler...my latest date ever for the species by almost a week (more on the Connecticut Warbler at the following link: record late Connecticut Warbler. There was a good showing of sparrows too but nothing unexpected for mid October. I also had a single Rusty Blackbird feeding in a freshly harvested field that I tried to turn into a Brewer's Blackbird but it was just a Rusty Blackbird.
After work on Monday I stopped at Arcadia and despite the fog ended the morning with 49 species with highlights including two Spotted Sandpipers and at least half a dozen Common Yellowthroats. I then headed down to the Holyoke Dam where I had two more Spotted Sandpipers and other expected species. My final stop before heading home was to Winsor Dam where the highlight was two Surf Scoters (which became my 243rd species for the county this year).
To start the second week of the month I went to Arcadia where I had at least four American Woodcocks displaying predawn, at least 310 Cedar Waxwings, half a dozen species of sparrows with large numbers of both White throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows and a late Rose breasted Grosbeak.
