Global big day

Swainson's Thrush, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Veery, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Blackburnian Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Black throated Green Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 13, 2023

Barred Owl, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Indigo Bunting, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2023

Today brought the annual Global Big Day and I started off my morning at Quabbin Park and was having a great morning with lots of stuff around and my original intention was to stay at the park for a few hours but a text from Jack changed my plans when he had a Hooded Warbler at Skinner SP.  I ditched my plans to stay at the park and headed over to Skinner SP where I arrived a bit before six and made the walk up the hill to the area where he had the Hooded Warbler.  I looked and listened for awhile but no luck.  I eventually caught up with Jack and we discussed the bird and where it seemed to be headed (upslope and further down the ridge).  I headed in the direction it seemed to be heading and yet again had no luck.  However a bunch of other migrants were showing well with a number of warbler species as well as a big influx of thrushes with really impressive numbers of Swainson's Thrushes and Veery...some of the biggest numbers of these species I can remember in a single location.  After getting caught up in the migration spectacle on the way to the summit I got another text from Jack saying he relocated the Hooded Warbler so I headed back down again.  It had gone silent again by the time I arrived and I then spent a significant amount of time trying to hear it or see and eventually I got rewarded with distant songs.  It only sang a few times again and then went silent.  Although I never saw the bird it was nice to hear it (even distantly) as I totally missed the species last year.  After three hours at Skinner I headed back over to Quabbin Park where I had a decent amount of migrants around but failed to relocate the Lawrence's Warbler I had at then location yesterday.  As a word of warning the ticks were extreme if one goes off trail in the park...I ended up with 38 ticks in going perhaps three hundred feet off trail...a crazy amount of ticks, even for Quabbin.  I didn't really try to maximize species for Global Big Day but I still managed to find 106 species with only a few stops...gotta love mid May!

Remains after fledging in duck box #2, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 13, 2023

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #3, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 13, 2023

I also checked duck box #2 today and found the Hooded Mergansers had fledged.  I immediately took the camera off the base of the nest box pole to see if I managed to capture any video of the birds leaving the nest.  I also checked duck box #3 (the next in line to fledge and found the eggs unhatched).  Once I checked the card from the camera I was very happy to see I got video of the Hooded Mergansers leaving the next box on the 11th.  A link to the video can be found here:  Hooded Mergansers leaving the nest

A number of migrants the last few days including a Purple Martin back in Hadley

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 11, 2023

Purple Martin, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 11, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Southampton WMA, Southampton, MA, May 11, 2023

Barn Swallow collecting nest material, Southampton WMA, Southampton, MA, May 11, 2023

Worm eating Warbler, Mount Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, May 11, 2023

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 10, 2023

Fisher, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 10, 2023

Baltimore Oriole, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 9, 2023

Opossum, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 9, 2023

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, May 8, 2023

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 8, 2023

White throated Sparrow, Quabbin Park, MA, May 8, 2023

Migration finally really picked up the last few days with some fairly decent mornings.  The peak of migration is still not quite here but it is getting very close.  It has been great weather to be out looking with some cold mornings that warmed quickly thanks to ample sunshine and low humidity.  I exceed a hundred species on most of the days.  A big highlight today was the appearance of a Purple Martin back in Hadley where they bred in 2021.  Unfortunately the martin was constantly harassed by Tree Swallows (and other species according to others) whenever it tried to check out a nesting gourd.  It is a shame the staff there does not manage the martin houses it put up to entice the martins to breed and discourage other species from taking over.  With a little management there could be a colony of the martins here.  There were other highlights too (both birds and mammals) but I have limited time to list them so I'll let the photos tell the story.  More on warblers recently at the following link.

Some sample lists from the last few days include the following:

Quabbin Park on the 8th with nearly 90 species

Rail trail in Amherst on the 9th

Skinner SP on the 10th

Mount Tom and Southampton WMA today

End of the first week of May

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2023

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2023

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2023

Pileated Woodpecker, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2023

Red winged Blackbird, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 6, 2023

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2023

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2023

Blue gray Gnatcatcher, Quabbin Park, MA, May 5, 2023

Pine Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, May 5, 2023

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2023

Palm Warbler 'western', Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2023

White throated Sparrow, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2023

The weather pattern has finally broken as the first week of May comes to an end.  Yesterday was the first genuinely nice day we have had in a couple weeks with sun all day (once the morning fog burned off) and today was a repeat with a cool start and a warm finish.  Although the overall diversity and numbers are still down from a typical first week of May that looks to slowly be changing.  I had my first hundred plus species day today (113 species) and my first day with 20 warbler species in the county this spring.

Highlights the last few days have included quite a few new species for the year for me in the county.  New species since the 2nd have included the following numbers by date:  May 3 (2 species), May 4 (7 species), May 5 (5 species), May 6 (none) and May 7 (6 species).  Nothing too unusual for me since the Dunlin on the second of May beyond a 'western' Palm Warbler and a Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid.  There have been some rarities around including a Swallow tailed Kite that was seen and photographed in Southampton yesterday.  I didn't figure it would be found again but I was wrong.  While out birding this morning I got a text from Mary letting me know she relocated the Swallow tailed Kite.  This morning it was in Northampton and last seen heading north along the area of the Connecticut River.  I looked for a bit from Hadley but had no luck as did a number of others.  Worth keeping an eye to the sky anywhere in the valley as it could stick around for a few more days.

Dunlin and some other shorebirds as the rainy, cool weather continues

 

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Dunlin, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Lesser Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Greater Yellowlegs, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, May 2, 2023

Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows and Northern Rough winged Swallows, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2023

The first couple days of May have been cooler than normal with periods of rain and less than ideal migration conditions (a pattern we have been stuck in for several days).  I had to work yesterday and made just a few stops on my way in and didn't mind anything way out of the ordinary.  I expected that something unusual would be grounded by all the rainy weather and while at work got a text from Theresa that she had a Dunlin the the East Meadows.  Once I got out of work I headed over to see if I could relocate it.  Thankfully it was still in the area and feeding nearly continuously along with a Greater Yellowlegs and several Lesser Yellowlegs.  I watched the shorebirds for quite awhile during a brief lull in the rain along with a few other birders.  Always fun to see a breeding plumage Dunlin in the spring compared to the dull plumage in the fall.  Given the large numbers of Red Phalaropes reported on the coast the last few days I hoped to find one this morning but no luck.  I made a few other stops as I continued to dodge rain and some hail over the course of the morning.  A stop at Winsor Dam produced hundreds of swallows of five species feeding low over the water (a common occurrence during cool weather here).  There was a brief break in the rain in the early afternoon and I made it over to Quabbin Park and then got rained out after about half an hour.  The continued poor migration conditions have kept many species from arriving but this looks to change at the end of the week into the weekend as the pattern finally changes and the weather warms up with some sun and more cooperative conditions for migration.  The weekend should bring in a big influx.

Hooded Merganser eggs in duck box #3, Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 29, 2023

A quick update on the three Hooded Merganser nests in the duck boxes at home.  I installed a camera on the base of box #3 a few days ago and during install the female flushed from the nest and I took a quick peak in the box (I was not intending to bother her but some birds tolerate more noise then others around the boxes).  I suspect that box #2 will fledge any day but I don't want to check due to the continued cool conditions...I will check this weekend when it warms up a bit.

The fourth week of April update

American Robin, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 28, 2023

Ovenbird, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Apr 28, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, Apr 28, 2023

We have been stuck in a pattern the last several days of cooler than normal temperatures and occasional rain which has slowed down migration quite a bit.  Today was a rare day when the sun shined a bit (at least after the morning fog burned off) and actually got into the mid 60's after a cool start in the 30's.  I made a few stops on the east side of the river for the morning and found a few new species for the year here including Eastern Kingbird, Yellow throated Vireo, Ovenbird and Northern Parula.  It was the first day of the spring where I broke into double digits for warbler species with a total of ten (more on warblers for the day at the following link).

Eastern Towhee, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Yellow bellied Sapsucker, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Wild Turkey, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Merlin, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 27, 2023

Yesterday I stayed in the southern Quabbin area with a few visits to Winsor Dam and a longer stay within Quabbin Park.  The dam featured nine species of waterfowl including a pair of White winged Scoters plus a breeding plumage Bonaparte's Gull.  Quabbin Park highlights included a pair of Merlin that copulated and could very well breed in the area and decent numbers of Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Purple Finches, Chipping Sparrows, Eastern Towhee and Black and White Warblers among 46 species present.

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail Trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 26, 2023

Eastern Bluebird, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Apr 26, 2023

Wilson watching a train go by, Belchertown, MA, Apr 26, 2023

After work on Wednesday I made a few stops in Hadley before heading to the rail trail.  My stops in Hadley turned up my first Warbling Vireo and Rose breasted Grosbeak and other expected species with some building nests.  The rail trail highlight by far was a Least Bittern I had in flight at one the marshes and then dropping out of view.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to relocate it without any luck.  Other notables that morning included lots of Purple Finches at multiple stops.

Double crested Cormorants, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Chipping Sparrow, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 22, 2023

Blue winged Teal, Amherst, MA, Apr 24, 2023

Following some very heavy rain during Sunday while I was working, I headed over to Hadley to check a few fields to see if the rain grounded any interesting birds.  Most fields were devoid of birds with the most productive spot being a flooding field in Amherst that held three species of shorebirds as well as some waterfowl, including a pair of Blue winged Teal among a larger group of Green winged Teal.  I also made a stop at Winsor Dam where I had a frustratingly distant dark hooded gull that I could just not see well enough to ID...sometimes stuff just gets by without a definitive ID.  The cool weather also produced a good show of swallows at the dam with over a hundred individuals of four species (most being Tree Swallows)