Detailed look at Bay breasted, Tennessee, Cape May, Blackpoll and Mourning Warblers this spring

Bay breasted Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 16, 2019

Tennessee Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

Cape May Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 15, 2019

Blackpoll Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

With the end of May comes the end of warbler migration for the most part (there are still some birds moving north but the big numbers are gone). It was a very active month with a total of 29 species of warbler in Hampshire County for me (I'll cover all those in a later post). The most noteworthy part of the warbler migration this year was an absolutely amazing influx of a number of northern breeding species (that feed extensively on spruce budworms) including Bay breasted Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Cape May Warbler and Blackpoll Warbler. The numbers were not totally unexpected as these above mentioned species have had great breeding success the last couple years but this year was truly spectacular. The most impressive species for me was the large numbers of Bay breasted Warblers. There are some years it is tough to find the species around here with just a handful seen with lots of looking. This year I had them in multiple numbers on many days including days when I had double digit counts of the species at a single location! To illustrate just how impressive the numbers of Bay breasted Warblers (and the other species mentioned above) were I have looked at the last several springs and added up my total sightings for each species during spring in Hampshire County.

                 Bay breasted Warbler     Tennessee Warbler   Cape May Warbler    Blackpoll Warbler

2019         106                                  80                             56                              107
2018         11                                    53                             22                              36
2017         3                                      5                               3                                31
2016         4                                      17                             1                                23
2015         3                                      8                               1                                29
2014         7                                      16                             3                                33

It will be interesting to see if the high numbers of the species continue this fall.

Mourning Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 23, 2019

The end of the month also brought in another decent count of Mourning Warbler with a total of 13 seen so far.  I continue to record all the singing Mourning Warblers I can to assist a researcher from New Hampshire who is studying the four different ‘regiolects’ of the species (Western, Eastern, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland). Individuals from each area sing a distinct song that sets them apart from those of other areas. I have managed to record songs of three of the four regiolects (I have not yet had a western one around here).  I have included an eBird list with an example of the three different regiolects I was able to record this spring.

Eastern regiolect
Nova Scotia regiolect
Newfoundland regiolect

Bay breasted Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 22, 2019

Blackpoll Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 24, 2019

Bay breasted Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 24, 2019

Bay breasted Warblers, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 24, 2019

Blackpoll Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, May 25, 2019

The yard was also productive for warblers with 23 species for the month including amazing numbers of Bay breasted and Blackpoll Warblers including several that were captured by the motion camera at the water feature.

Hooded Warbler, multiple hybrids among 27 species of warblers for the second week of May

Bay breasted Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

Nashville Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

Cape May Warbler, UMASS, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Blackpoll Warbler, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

American Redstart, rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Pine Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

Black and White Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

Although the end of the second week of the month of May is not yet here, between the cold and rainy weather and work commitments I probably won't get a chance to add any others in the next couple days.  As expected the second week of May has been great for warblers even if the weather has been quite cool.  The most unusual species for the week was a Hooded Warbler (possibly two) that Ted found along the rail trail on Friday the 10th with at least one continuing until the morning of the 11th.  I found out about the bird late in the morning and headed right over to the area it was reported to still be in.  I arrived to hear it singing as I pulled up but a street sweeper coming by and the immediate onset of rain quieted the bird down and I never heard it again for the nearly two more hours I was there...super frustrating but that is how it goes.  I later found out Ted found another (or the same one that relocated from the original location) further up the rail trail off on a side trail.  The timeline of my sighting and his second one could correspond with the bird relocating but no way to know for certain.  I returned to the rail trail on Saturday morning and relocated a Hooded Warbler near the area where Ted had it later in the day.  It sang several times and I got recordings but it remained very tough to get any views of and no chance for photos.  The number of other species continue to show in above average numbers including Cape May Warbler, Bay breasted Warbler and Nashville Warbler.  Oddly Tennessee Warblers have not been around in large numbers, which is surprising as the species (as well as Cape May and Bay breasted Warblers) have had some great breeding success the last few years in boreal north.  A more detailed post I did last year about it can be found at the following link.

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 8, 2019

Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Quabbin Park, MA, May 10, 2019 (third year in same area)

Blue winged Warbler (normal individual for comparison), Quabbin Park, MA, May 9, 2019

I also found a number of Blue winged Warblers that showed some traits associated with hybridization with Golden winged Warblers including one individual that has returned to the same location at Quabbin Park (May 2017, May 2018).  The most unique individual was the one found along the rail trail in Amherst that featured an unusual mask and could possibly be a Lawrence's Warbler backcross.  Another interesting Blue winged Warbler was one at Sweet Alice Conservation Area in Amherst that sang an odd single pitch song and sounded almost like a Worm eating Warbler but looked like a typical Blue winged Warbler (link to video)

26 species of warblers to finish out the first week of May

Cerulean Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2019

Worm eating Warbler, Skinner SP, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2019

Cape May Warbler, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2019

 Common Yellowthroat, Mitch's Way, Hadley, MA, May 7, 2019

 Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler hybrid, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2019

Yellow Warbler, Sweet Alice Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2019

Blackburnian Warbler, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, May 7, 2019

Blue winged Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2019

Magnolia Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2019

Prairie Warbler, Quabbin Park, MA, May 7, 2019

I spent the morning hitting a number of locations to see what the great migration conditions brought in overnight and I managed to turn up a total of 26 species (plus a hybrid) during my morning....a very respectfully total for the first week of May.  Highlights included several Worm eating Warblers, three Cerulean Warblers and a Bay breasted Warbler at Skinner SP, three Cape May Warblers together at Mitch's Way, a Tennessee Warbler and a hybrid Blue winged x Golden winged Warbler at Sweet Alice Conservation Area and a Canada Warbler and Wilson's Warbler along the rail trail in Amherst.  About the only somewhat likely species that I didn't find was a Blackpoll Warbler (but it is on the early side for the species).  Home was also quite productive with a total of eleven species seen.