I had a bit of extra time late this morning after work so I decided to head up to Athol to check out a Tennessee Warbler that has been coming to feeders at a private residence since late November. I normally wouldn't have gone up to see it as I will certainly see this species once migration brings them back north again but a winter record of the species anywhere in Massachusetts is exceedingly rare. In fact there are just a handful of records with almost all of those coming from December and not true winter. The species typically winters in southern Mexico through Central America and into the northwest part of South America and is a species I commonly see when I travel down to Costa Rica so having one in Massachusetts in January is very rare. In fact this individual is the northern second most member of the species being reported this year (beat out by a single individual at the southwest corner of Newfoundland at a migrant trap) and one of the most northern records ever for the species in the January-March time frame. The species is hard to find anywhere in the United States in the winter. I made the drive up after checking with the homeowners about making a visit and arrived a bit after eleven and almost immediately had the bird coming in to visit the feeders on the house. The bird seemed very bold and would chase any other species away when it was feeding. Not long after I had seen the bird one of the homeowners (Jeff) came out and we talked for quite awhile about the bird. The entire time we were perhaps 30-40 feet away from the bird and he was nearly constantly in view at the feeders or in one of the nearby scrubs. According to the homeowner the bird arrived in late November and has been present every day since. It initially came into a feeder on the side of the house that held sunflower hearts but now favors the feeders at the front of the house and feeds on crickets (usually detaching the legs and then eating the body), sunflower hearts (ground into small pieces by the homeowners) and bananas. The bird apparently shows up as soon as it gets light and stays all day feeding before heading to roost (which the homeowner thinks is under a tarp covered tractor in the front yard). It will be interesting to see how long this species can hang on...so far it seems to be doing quite well. Thanks to the homeowners (Jeff and Sherry) for letting me stop by and for providing a great home for a very wayward Tennessee Warbler. More photos with the eBird list at the following link.
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