The second week of August

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Cerulean Warbler with leg bands, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 14, 2025

Cedar Waxwing on nest, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Aug 13, 2025

Prairie Warbler, Rail Trail, Ware, MA, Aug 13, 2025

Wild Turkey poults, Quabbin Park MA, Aug 13, 2025

Belted Kingfisher, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Aug 12, 2025

Wilson out on the trail, Belchertown, MA, Aug 12, 2025

Monarch caterpillar, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Yellow throated Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 11, 2025

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 10, 2025

Red eyed Vireo, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 10, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 10, 2025

The second week of August continued to be hot and sunny overall with another heat wave and I continued to enjoy having my days off to try to track down birds.  I have continued to slowly add new species for the month and I currently stand at 149 species in the county...a couple species ahead of my best ever August.  I have checked Lake Wallace most every morning in the hopes of catching up with a rare wader joining the hordes of Green Herons.  Although breeding continuing for some species the vast majority are now in the post breeding dispersal mode and the hint of mixed species flocks starting to form is taking place in a few areas.  Some species have already departed for the tropics and many will soon follow as fall migration starts picking up.

Snowy Egret this morning plus several other waders

Snowy Egret, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Snowy Egret, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Snowy Egret and Great Blue Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Great Egret and Great Blue Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Green Heron, Lower Mill Pond, Easthampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Belted Kingfisher, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 9, 2025

White tailed Deer fawn, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 9, 2025

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Golden crowned Kinglet, Quabbin Gate 8, Pelham, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Great Egret, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Green Herons, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2025

Wood Ducks, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 8, 2025

It has been a good few days for various wader species in the area with the highlight by far being a Snowy Egret that Theresa found yesterday and I was able to relocate early this morning.  I was up early and out the door to make a trip over to Lower Mill Pond in Easthampton.  I was there before sunrise and was rewarded with a flyby Black crowned Night Heron, which I was never able to relocate on the ground (almost certainly the same individual Theresa also found yesterday).  As I waited for the sun to rise a Great Egret flew in to join the Great Blue Herons and Green Herons already present.  The Great Egret was immediately followed by the Snowy Egret (five waders in perhaps 15 minutes...not bad at all in the valley!).  I got a number of digiscoped shots in the morning light.  I also checked Arcadia and the Holyoke Dam before heading back toward home with a stop off at Lake Wallace.  Yesterday I had my first Great Egret since spring time and also had my highest count so far this year of Green Herons at Lake Wallace with an impressive 31 individuals.   

I also spent some time yesterday exploring at Gate 8 at Quabbin in the quest to track down Red Crossbills and Golden crowned Kinglets for the month and I happily was quite successful with both species present as well as other species. 

In the last few weeks I have a total of eight species of waders with the most unusual among them being White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Least Bittern and the Snowy Egret.  I also had American Bittern in the spring and missed on a Little Blue Heron that showed up when I was unable to chase it...so a very good year for waders so far.

Hermit Thrush, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2025

Red winged Blackbird, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2025

Baltimore Oriole and American Robin, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 7, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Yellow Warbler and Black capped Chickadee, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2025

 

Northern Flicker, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 6, 2025

The camera at the water feature has captured quite a few species in the last.....days with a few new ones of the year. I have attached just a small sample of the many photos captured.

First week of August sets me on a record pace for the month in Hampshire County

Solitary Sandpiper, East Meadows, Northampton, Aug 7, 2025

Orchard Oriole, Great Pond, Hatfield, Aug 7, 2025

Wood Ducks, Great Pond, Hatfield, Aug 7, 2025

Mink, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Aug 7, 2025

Greater Yellowlegs, Holyoke Dam, South Hadley, MA, Aug 6, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 5, 2025

Gray Catbird, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Yellow Warbler, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Cedar Waxwing with nest material, Rail trail, Ware, MA, Aug 4, 2025

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Dark eyed Junco, Skinner SP, Hadley/South Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2025

Canada Warbler, Pelham, MA, Aug 2, 2025

Grasshopper Sparrow, Silvio Conte NWR- Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 2, 2025

The first week of August has now come to an end and it has been a productive week with a total of 138 species in Hampshire County (my highest total ever for the first week of August...previous best was 137 in 2023 and I had my best August that year with 166 species!) and I managed to do this as I nurse some ongoing back pain.  Getting out walking helps and I have taken advantage of my time outside.  I have found a number of unusual species as well as lingering species that usually have headed off to the south already.  Highlights have included a dozen species of shorebirds (including a White rumped Sandpiper), Bonaparte's Gull, Marsh Wren, Grasshopper Sparrow, a few late Orchard Orioles, 18 species of warblers including a couple late Cerulean Warblers and a Blue Grosbeak.  The Connecticut River north of the Holyoke Dam has featured mudflats for a few days due to the water lever being lowered to have some work done on the dam.  Shorebirds have shown up along the river and although nothing too unusual it is great to see shorebirds away from the few flooded small ponds in the fields along the river.  This is now prime season for an unusual wader to show up during post breeding dispersal plus the peak of Green Herons in the area.  

Decent start to August with 100 species today

Semipalmated Plover, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Killdeer fledgling, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Groundhog, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Merlin, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Green Heron, Lake Wallace, Belchertown, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Gray Catbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Northern House Wren, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Northern House Wren, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

Northern House Wren, Quabbin Park, MA, Aug 1, 2025

After the heavy rain of yesterday into this morning with some north winds I knew some migrants would be moving south and I got out before sunrise to head over to the East Meadows of Northampton.  The best species I had was right at the beginning of the day with an adult White rumped Sandpiper in a small muddy puddle with a few Least Sandpipers and a Semipalmated Plover (I only managed to get a photo of the plover).  The White rumped Sandpiper headed off to the south toward the phalarope puddle but a check there failed to relocate it.  The puddle was almost too full of water with just some muddy edges.  Nonetheless there were still shorebirds around and I had a total of nine species of them there...no sign of the Glossy Ibis I had there yesterday.  I then tried the Honey Pot and had just Killdeer for shorebirds but did have a female Blue Grosbeak during my short stop.  Silvio Conte NWR in Hadley held a number of species including the singing Grasshopper Sparrow and a slightly late Orchard Oriole.  My next stop was to Lake Wallace where the number of Green Herons continued to impress.  I then headed to Quabbin Park and covered just a small portion of the area and added a number of species for the day.  A walk with Wilson and then yard work around the house added even more species and by the end of the day I had gotten to a hundred species...a great start to August for sure.