Multiple Yellow rumped Warblers to start off December

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

Yellow rumped Warblers 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Dec 1, 2025

I headed out this morning with cool and windy conditions and initially I was not going to go back to Hadley to try again for the Audubon's Warbler I had there yesterday.  The weather was not optimal plus it was the first day of shotgun season for deer season and that usually means you don't want to be anywhere near any place where hunting is allowed.  After a quick stop at Winsor Dam I decided to try my luck over in Hadley again with the couple hours I had free.  I just kept my fingers crossed there would not be many hunters at the location and thankfully there was just one.  I didn't want to disrupt any hunters (seen or unseen) so did not cover all the areas I normally would have covered.  Although I did not find the Audubon's I did have at least nine Myrtle subspecies of Yellow rumped Warblers.  With the warblers this morning I have extended by streak of seeing at least one warbler species in Hampshire County to 104 consecutive months!

AUDUBON'S WARBLER today in Hadley!

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Audubon's', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, Nov 30, 2025

A fantastic end to November today with an 'Audubon's' subspecies of Yellow rumped Warbler in Hadley!  I had more time free than typical this morning so I decided to head over to the Amherst/Hadley area.  I try to take advantage of Sundays to spend more time at areas that are usually too busy during the week or get heavily hunted in the fall.  I originally was going to go to some spots along the river but instead decided on the area around UMASS (after a brief stop at Winsor Dam).  The forecast called for windy conditions with an increasing chance of rain/snow as the day wore on so I didn't have a lot of  confidence in tracking down any warblers or other lingering passerines.  The forecast was wrong and the wind held off through the majority of the morning thankfully.  I was over in Amherst around 8:30 when I got a text from Ted letting me know he found an 'Audubon's' Yellow rumped Warbler in Hadley (oddly in the exact spot I was thinking of going instead of the UMASS area).  I immediately headed south and arrived there about twenty minutes later and walked in with Mary.  We caught up with Ted and got some info on where the bird has been and then started looking and listening for it.  We found some 'Myrtle' Yellow rumped Warblers but initially no luck with our target.  We then split up to cover more ground and Scott also arrived.  I heard the bird flyover fairly high (it sounds much different from the Myrtles in the area).  I quickly caught up with Mary and Scott and after a few minutes the bird flew back over us and briefly landed and I got a few marginal photos before it flew off again and was not seen again.  I thought I heard it distantly perhaps an hour later but it was quite far.  It seemed to be covering a large area and occasionally was with some Myrtle's but other groups of that subspecies I found later did not contain the bird.  I wish I got better looks and photos (and perhaps a recording) but it was not to be and I feel luck to have even gotten the photos I did get.  It is a fairly dull bird with a noticeable yellow throat that does not wrap around the side of the face and an overall plain gray face.  Unfortunately the area it was in gets hunted fairly heavily and with shotgun season for deer starting tomorrow and then snow forecast to arrive I'm not sure how much luck anyone will have relocating it. In addition some areas the bird seemed to go to is either inaccessible due to water or is private property.  Although a subspecies now it was once considered a unique species before being lumped with other subspecies into Yellow rumped Warblers.  At the very least this species should be split three ways (and possibly four ways...more on that on a future post sometime).

In looking through old records that have been published regarding this subspecies the only record I was able to find for the entire western Massachusetts area was a bird in Greenfield in 1988.  There was mention in the Baggs and Eliot "Birds of the Connecticut River Valley in Massachusetts" that mentions a record from Southampton but the observer was not certain of the ID and she retracted the report.  There are certainly records from coastal Massachusetts but even there it is a rarity and the subspecies is on the review list for the state (meaning reports get reviewed by the Massachusetts Avian Records Committee).  

Earlier this fall I had an interesting Yellow rumped Warbler in the early part of October that looked good for a hybrid Myrtle x Audubon's Yellow rumped Warbler. 

 

Common Yellowthroat this morning

Common Yellowthroat, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 24, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 24, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Nov 24, 2025

I finally managed to add a new warbler species for November with a Common Yellowthroat at Great Pond, continuing since at least yesterday when Mary found it.  Some years this species will linger quite late and has even overwintered before.  I have looked as much I could for the species in multiple locations for a few weeks with no luck.  Thankfully this guy stayed for me to see and hear it.  There is lots of good habitat so this individual certainly has the potential for sticking around for a bit.  I also had a flyby Yellow rumped Warbler at Great Pond to give me two warbler species for the day.  I tried to relocate the Palm Warbler I found on the 21st but no luck.

Third week of November ends with a late 'western' Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Palm Warbler 'western', North Hadley, MA, Nov 21, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warblers 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Nov 20, 2025

With the end of the third week of November any warbler species in the area will be noteworthy with even the Yellow rumped Warblers becoming scarce.  I have tried to get out to track down some late warblers but with mainly breezy and cool weather days as well as other commitments at home I had not had too much luck until today when I found a quite late 'western' Palm Warbler in North Hadley.  I was not really expecting to find a warbler today as it was overcast and cool so when the silent Palm Warbler popped up I was quite surprised.  Not my latest date for the species in the fall but not too far behind it.  Yesterday I managed to track down half a dozen Yellow rumped Warblers in an area along the river I have had the species overwinter multiple times so hopefully these birds will stick around.  There seems to be ample food in the area for them.  Time will tell.   

Slow start to November with just two warbler species and a Wilson update

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Nov 2, 2025

November is off to a slow start for warblers with just two species thanks mainly to colder than normal weather and windy conditions on multiple days.  Today was actually the first morning without winds but we now face very windy conditions again starting tonight and throughout the next few days.  I have run across a handful of Yellow rumped Warblers but even those seem to be in lower numbers than usual for early November.  The only other species I have had was a brief look at a 'yellow' Palm Warbler this morning in Amherst.  Tough going for warblers for sure.

Wilson resting, Home, Belchertown, MA, Nov 5, 2025

Now for some sad news concerning my best bud Wilson  The cancer on his foot has returned to the point that the tumor has ruptured on a small part of the foot.  We knew the tumor would be back at some point as the removal of two toes on the foot two years ago did not completely removed the cancer but we could not go through with a full amputation at that point.  He has thrived the last couple years and does not his age of just over 14 1/2.  He is in no pain right now but he has to wear a botty to keep him from licking the foot.  After a consult with a surgeon there unfortunately are not any good options going forward and we are still trying to decide what to do.  In the end it will be quality of life for him, as it has always been.  He is convinced he can just lick the cancer away if we just gave him the chance!  He still runs around like a pup when it is play time, even with the boot on.  Fuck cancer.

Split of Yellow Warbler gets me a new species of warbler

Mangrove Yellow Warbler (Greater Antillean), Coco Point Road, Barbuda, Feb 28, 2020

Mangrove Yellow Warbler (Martinique), Reserve Naturelle de La Caravelle, Martinique, Dec 13, 2017

Mangrove Yellow Warbler (Martinique), Reserve Naturelle de La Caravelle, Martinique, Dec 13, 2017

Northern Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Jun 25, 2025

There has been a recent split of Yellow Warbler that has resulted in me gaining a new warbler species without having to go anywhere!  Yellow Warbler has now been split into Northern Yellow Warbler (the migratory form that breeds in North America and winters in the tropics) and Mangrove Yellow Warbler (the resident form that breeds in coastal locations from just into the US south through Central America to northern South America and throughout the Caribbean).  Visually the Northern Yellow Warbler males have all yellow heads while the Mangrove Yellow Warblers have rufous/chestnut coloration on the head varying from just the cap to a full hood (depending on subspecies).  I have seen multiple subspecies of Mangrove Yellow Warblers over the years during my travel in the tropics but have not yet had it in the US (hopefully I will catch up with one in Texas in a few weeks).  It was a split that was overdue given the difference in plumage, habitat, migratory pattern and even song and I was glad to finally see it come to pass.  With this split the number of new world warblers recognized by eBird stands at 116 species (with two of those almost certainly extinct) and I have seen 106 with the only remaining species for me being in the remote Darian on the Panama/Colombia border and in Venezuela. 

Eight species of warblers this morning

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

I took advantage of some great weather this morning to try to see how many warblers I could find and I managed a very respectable eight species including three that are getting late (Nashville Warbler, Tennessee Warbler and Pine Warbler).  It started off sunny and cool but the sun warmed things up within a few hours of sunrise and a decent southerly breeze kicked the temps to near 70 by the end of the day.  I started my morning in Amherst where I spent almost two hours covering a bit under two miles.  Not a ton of diversity for warblers with just three species (Yellow rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler and Common Yellowthroat) but the number of Yellow rumps were good with nearly forty present.  I then moved on to a couple spots in Belchertown before heading home.  By the time I got to the first spot in Belchertown it was a little before nine and the breeze was coming up so tracking birds was a bit tougher.  Nonetheless this quick stop produced two of the three late species for the day (in the same tree) plus a single Blackpoll Warbler.  With half a dozen warbler species at this point I headed to one other spot in Belchertown and had multiple Yellow rumped Warblers plus a couple Palm Warblers, then an Orange crowned Warbler and then finished up with a Pine Warbler still singing.  Eight species of warblers for this year on this date is really good as migration conditions have been so good and not many species are lingering.