Cape May Warbler

Among the warbler in my travels this morning was a Cape May which I found at dawn along the road in from Gate 22 at Quabbin. Although the views were less than great the bird showed well enough to ID. There were twelve warbler species I came across today with the numbers of Yellow rumped, Blackpoll and Palm continuing to grow and the numbers of other continuing to drop. The inevitability of the changing of the seasons.

Eighteen species of warbler today

I spent the entire day outside exploring Quabbin Gates 22, 16, 12, 11, 10, 9 and 8. I finished the day with a total of eighteen species of warbler with the highlights being Wilson's, Blackburnian, Bay Breasted and a bright adult male Yellow.

Connecticut Warbler

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia Meadows, September 17, 2010

Connecticut Warbler, Arcadia Meadows, September 17, 2010

Given the weather forecast of early clearing leading to sunny skies with lighter north winds made me decide to make the trip across the river once again to hawk watch at Goat Peak. I first arrived at dawn at Arcadia before going up to hawk watch. There was a bit of drizzle but it quickly stopped. There appeared to less warblers around then on previous trips there over the last few days but it may have been the weather. I wasn't sure I was going to have much luck and then I came across the best warbler of the day. The highlight was the Connecticut Warbler I came across after about an hour here. It showed itself well as it moved about in the dense thicket. It started raining at this point but I stayed and got continued great views and managed at least a few marginal shots. The distance and lighting were terrible but at least I got great looks. My impression was it was a adult female given the plumage I got looks at. It was interesting to see the size comparison as a Black throated Green Warbler flew down next to it and a brief second. The only other big arrival I could find here this morning were Palm Warblers.

Arcadia meadows

Another good day down in the Arcadia Meadows for warblers. I found fourteen species down there plus another in a different location for a total of fifteen species for the day. Species seen included Yellow, Blue winged, Prairie, Palm, Pine, Black throated Blue, Black throated Green, Magnolia, Blackpoll, Nashville, and Yellow rumped Warblers, plus American Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroat. I oddly missed finding some more common species like Chestnut sided and Black and White.

Arcadia meadows, Mount Tom and Lawrence Swamp

Black throated Green Warbler, from Goats Peak tower at Mt Tom State Reservation

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia Meadows, Northampton, MA

I decided at the last minute to head over to Northampton this morning and check out Arcadia Meadows (AKA West Meadows) and then head up to Goats Peak at Mount Tom for some hawk watching. As I got into Hadley the fog got very thick and I thought I may have made a mistake on the choice of locations this morning but it turned out to be a great morning. Despite the fog the Arcadia area near the Ibis Pool and other hedgerows was great. Lots of good stuff and some incredible looks. I had a surprising total of four Yellow Warblers here plus a Tennessee and Prairie. After a great beginning to the morning I headed up to Goats Peak tower. I had some nice movement of warblers on the way up with one group containing a Bay Breasted and several Blackpolls plus others. On the tower I had a few more groups move through during the morning. It is always interesting to be looking down on the warblers. Overall seventeen species of warblers made for a great day with the following seen Black thoated Blue, Black throated Green, Black and White, Bay breasted, Blackpoll, Tennessee, Yellow, Nashville, Prairie, Magnolia, Chestnut sided, Pine, Yellow rumped, Ovenbird, American Redstart, Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroat

Quabbin west gates and Quabbin Park...and a remembrance

Northern Parula, Gate 22

I started another trip to Quabbin at Gate 22 this morning and ran into some migrants just down the hill from the gate. The birds here included my first of season Nashville Warbler, half a dozen Northern Parula's, and eight other species of warblers. Gate 16 and 11 had few warblers around but Quabbin Park had one really good spot. There was a large mixed species flock that contained several species of warbler including Nashville, Ovenbird, Blackpoll and several each of Northern Parula, Black throated Blue, Black throated Green and Black and White and others. Overall for the day I totalled 14 species of warbler which I was quite happy with given the less than ideal weather conditions. In addition I had a still singing Prairie Warbler at Quabbin Park..

Today is also a sad day. It has now been six months since I lost my good dog, best buddy and frequent birding companion Kody. He is missed.

Cape Cod warblers

I spent the weekend on Cape Cod and despite some great migration weather and a bit of looking I turned up only five species of warbler there including Blackburnian, Blackpoll, Pine and Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroat. I certainly hope I have a little more luck now that I'm back home.

Western gates again...22, 16, 11, and 10.

Black throated Blue Warbler, Gate 16, September 6, 2010

Another trip up the west side of Quabbin this morning brought more good sightings. Its alwasy interesting to see how the diversity and numbers change from day to day. I started at daybreak at Gate 22 and then onto Gate 16, 11 and 10 finishing up around noon. I found a male Wilson's Warbler at Gate 16 and a few mixed species flocks at various spots. I managed a total of 13 species of warblers . Besides the Wilson's Warbler I had Canada, Chestnut sided, Black throated Blue, Black throated Green, Pine, Yellow rumped, Black and White, and Magnolia Warblers and American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird and Northern Parula.

West gates at Quabbin

Black and White Warbler, Gate 11, September 5,2010

Northern Parula, Gate 11, September 5, 2010

I made yet another early morning trip up the west side of Quabbin. I began this morning at dawn at Gate 22. After a close encounter at dawn with a large bull Moose I made the trek down to the water and back. The woods along the way held a few mixed species flocks with a total of seven species of warbler here with the highlights being a still singing Black throated Blue Warbler, my first Northern Parula of the season and two Tennessee Warblers together. I got a marginal record shot of one of the two Tennessee's.

Tennessee Warbler, Gate 22, September 5, 2010

My next stop was at Gate 16 which held a few nice birds including a total of nine warbler species including another Northern Parula. The breeze continued to pick up so I decided to move down to Gate 11 to try and get there before the wind got any worse. However by the time I started down Gate 11 road the breeze had turned into a wind with gusts over 30 mph. I almost gave up on finding anything in these conditions but thought I would give it a try anyway. I'm glad I tried as I came across a nice mixed species flock feeding both high and low and moving down the road. I found four Northern Parula's including one still calling, a Blackpoll, several Black thoated Greens and others. For the morning I had a total of twelve warbler species.

I made another early morning stop along the rail trail in Amherst. I had one little mixed species flock which contained a Tennessee, Prairie, Blue Winged, Pine and Black and White Warbler plus an American Redstart, Common Yellowthroats. I wish I had more time to try and find some others but that will have to wait for the weekend.

Palm Warbler yesterday

On a morning walk along the rail trail in Amherst I had a Palm Warbler among the other handful of warbler species including Pine, American Redstart and Common Yellowthroat.