With the peak of warbler migration here I decided to try my luck in seeing as many warbler species in Hampshire County as I could in a single day...a warbler big day. There are so many variables at work when trying to plan to see as many warbler species as possible in a single day. The overall tempo of the migration needs to be looked at first with the hope for delayed departure for early migrants and the early arrival of late migrants. The weather is the biggest factor in determining the speed at which various migrants arrive and that obviously changes from year to year. This year overall the migration has been slightly delayed compared to the last several years (at least). The next factor to consider is the weather on the few days leading up to and the big day attempt and especially the weather on the day of. You hope for calm conditions on the day of so you can see movement among the rapidly leafing out trees and allow you to hear any songs or calls. Overcast conditions can actually be quite good as it keeps birds somewhat lower and singing longer into the morning but sunny days with low humidity and comfortable temperatures are more enjoyable (which was the case this year). By the middle of May most breeders have arrived and the later season warblers are showing up. The toughest part is finding lingering early season migrants (ie. Palm Warblers) and unusual to rare species that cannot be counted on to be around with Hooded Warblers and Orange crowned Warbler being the most likely to possibly be found. There is always the outside chance of a really rare warbler to show (such as Kentucky Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler or Golden winged Warbler or something even rarer) but the chances are exceedingly low. With all these factors in mind I decided to try for a warbler big day on either yesterday or today (in fact I decided to keep both days open to try on both of them). Yesterday ended up being the better day both for overall species and cooperative weather. On Monday I got out the door slightly later than I planned but still made it over to Skinner SP just before 5:30 in search of a Hooded Warbler seen there the day before. I heard it sing distantly a few times but could never get looks at it (perhaps the same Hooded Warbler seen at Mitch's Way at the end of April?). I then made a quick hike up the mountain to get Worm eating Warbler and Cerulean Warbler (the go to spot for both of these species in the county). I then headed to nearby Mitch's Way where I added 15 species of warbler including my first Bay breasted Warblers of the season as well as multiple Mourning Warblers. I made a brief return to the base of Skinner SP to look for the Hooded Warbler again but had no luck in relocating it. I then headed to a few spots in Amherst to add a few more species (as well as a hybrid Brewster's Warbler) before going to Quabbin Park. Quabbin Park is always great for warblers and a spot I would typically start a big warbler day but with the Hooded Warbler sighting I changed to starting in Hadley instead. I then went to a spot in Belchertown that has had a Lawrence's Warbler but I was unable to relocate it and it may have moved on. I spent the rest of the day around the house trying to find more warblers with the exception of a brief foray over to Northampton to check out a rare Red necked Phalarope. By the end of the day on Monday (really by the end of the morning) I had found 28 species of warbler plus a hybrid. As far as I can tell this is the most warbler species I have had in a single day in the county. A thanks to Mary, Derek, Joe, Aaron, Chuck and Greg for keeping a lookout for any unusual warbler for me...sadly none of us could turn up a Palm Warbler! As a side note I ended up with 115 species total for the day...not my highest total ever for the county but fairly respectable.
After my day yesterday I tried again this morning but didn't have as much luck as the previous day with less species around and the wind picking up by late morning. Nonetheless I still had a good morning with a total of 25 species of warbler while I hit most of the same locations. It was certainly fun trying to track down warblers the last couple days and I will certainly continue to do so through the end of the month but my chances of having a big day to top Monday is exceedingly low for this year but there is always next year to look forward to.
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