31 warblers species this spring in Hampshire County

Hooded Warbler, Mt Tom State Reservation, Easthampton, MA, Jun 12, 2017

Golden winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 31, 2017

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 20, 2017

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2017

Worm eating Warbler, Bare Mountain, Hadley, MA, Jun 15, 2017

Cape May Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2017

Orange crowned Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 4, 2017

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2017

Ovenbird, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2017

Louisiana Waterthrush, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 20, 2017

Northern Waterthrush, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 3, 2017

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, Apr 28, 2017

Nashville Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 17, 2017

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, May 16, 2017

American Redstart, Quabbin Park, MA, May 2, 2017

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, May 3, 2017

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Gate 12, Pelham, MA, May 21, 2017

Blackburnian Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2017

Yellow Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 11, 2017

Chestnut sided Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 10, 2017

Blackpoll Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 23, 2017

Black throated Blue Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 4, 2017

Palm Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, Apr 20, 2017

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 20, 2017

Yellow rumped Warbler 'Myrtle', Home, Belchertown, MA, Apr 28, 2017

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 10, 2017

Black throated Green Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 10, 2017

Canada Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2017

Wilson's Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, May 17, 2017

With the arrival of July the spring migration season has come to an end I'm taking a quick look at the warblers I managed to find in Hampshire County this year so far.  I decided to focus a bit more on warblers this year to see what I could find and I was quite successful in my quest so far finding a total of 31 species of warbler (my best spring ever) and managed to get photos of almost all of them.  I also had a good run of hybrid warblers with more details and photos bout them at the bottom of the post. The only two species that were reported in the county that I missed included a heard only Kentucky Warbler that showed up in Hadley one morning in mid May but was never seen or heard again and a Yellow breasted Chat that spent a morning at Fitzgerald Lake but didn't stay around (yes, I still consider the chat a warbler).   Beyond the typical species of warbler usually found in spring around here with a little effort I turned up some unusual species including an Orange crowned Warbler, a Golden winged Warbler and a Hooded Warbler.  I also had some success with a few other species that can be tough to find some years including three Cape May Warblers, three Bay breasted Warblers and at least ten different Mourning Warblers including one seen in the first part of July in Quabbin Park that seems to be on territory and trying to attract a mate (more details in a previous post at the following link: (Mourning Warbler in July).  The Mourning Warblers were the biggest surprise with my total this spring easily eclipsing any previous spring.  As an interesting side note the recordings I was able to get of the various Mourning Warblers migrating through here show that they come from two separate vocal groups (Eastern group and the Nova Scotia group).  Link with additional information regarding the various vocal groupings of Mourning Warblers and the notes from the researcher here:  http://quabbinbirdingandbeyond.blogspot.com/2017/05/more-mourning-warblers-and-unusual-blue.html

Over the years I have had a total of 35 species of warbler in the county.  The species I have previously seen but are so far missing from my list this year include Prothonotary Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Connecticut Warbler and Yellow breasted Chat.  I should be able to turn up a Connecticut Warbler or two this fall (last year was an incredible year for the species, see the following link- Connecticut Warbler fall 2016.  A chat is also a decent possibility with a lot of effort and some luck.  The other two species will be very difficult to find in fall but I'll certainly be looking.  There is also the chance of something even more unusual showing up and there are records of four other species of warbler that have been seen in the county that I have not yet seen here including the following:  Black throated Gray Warbler (Westhampton, Oct 1973), Hermit Warbler (North Amherst, Nov 1995), MacGillivray's Warbler (Northampton, Oct 1998) and Yellow throated Warbler (Hadley, Oct 2010).  These species are obviously extremely rare in the county but worth trying to find as they have occurred before.

Lawrence's Warbler, Mineral Hills Conservation Area, Northampton, MA, May 13, 2017

Brewster's Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 13, 2017

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2017

This spring has also been great for a variety of Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrids including a Lawrence's Warbler in Northampton, two Brewster's Warblers (one at Quabbin Park and a second in Belchertown) plus another hybrid that looked like a typical Blue winged Warbler except for a golden wing patch.  This is only the second year I have found both named hybrids in the same year (the first time was back in 2012).  Taking a quick look at eBird records for this spring it appears that only two Lawrence's Warblers were found in the state with the other being at Fannie Stebbins, while a total of three Brewster's Warblers were found in the state with the only one besides my two being an individual out in Pepperell.