A new member of the family

 His first night at home, July 9, 2011

I have not been out birding too much lately as the heat has been so high and I have been spending time with our new dog, Wilson.  He came to us from down in West Virginia via a rescue group.  He is about 18 weeks now and is rapidly becoming a part of the family.  It has been sixteen months since we lost Kody and I think we have found the right dog to take over where Kody left off.  I certainly hope he becomes as much of a sidekick for me as Kody was.

Northern Parula at Quabbin in July.

Northern Parula, Magee Marsh, OH, May 2010

I ran across a Northern Parula at Quabbin Park this morning. The bird sang twice and then remained quiet. I believe this may be my first July record of this species in western Massachusetts. Although common in migration it does not breed anywhere nearby so it was a most unusual bird to find. Perhaps a late lingering bird or an early migrant...who knows? This was a nice consolation bird given that the Hooded Warbler that had been present in another area of Quabbin appears to have moved on. Overall the warbler diversity is still good with quite a bit of song but the songs seems to trail off early. At home a Louisiana Waterthrush continues to work the brook and give fleeting views.