After work today I headed down to nearby Arcadia and arrived to find the location very foggy (a common theme the last few mornings). I didn't have any target species in mind and just planned on walking a few of the edges and fields and hope the fog lifted early (it did not do so). As far as warblers go it was quite slow with a noticeable decline in both overall diversity and numbers (the lack of sun didn't help the situation). Overall I had just five species of warbler at Arcadia but what the stop there lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. After walking a few edges and finally coming across my first Common Yellowthroats of the morning I noticed another bird pop up and a quick look with binoculars revealed a very late Connecticut Warbler! The bird was exceptionally cooperative (at least as far as this species is concerned) and allowed great looks in the open and some great photos despite the less than ideal photography conditions. The sighting today blew away from previous late date for the species in Hampshire County by nearly a week (my previous late date for the species was October 7 which I had in both 2016 and 2017). Not what I was expecting to find in the middle of October but was certainly very happy to see it.
Besides the Connecticut Warbler today I had a total of half a dozen species today plus a few others for the second week of the month totaling eleven species of warblers. Nothing too unusual which is not too surprising as the migration conditions have been great for most of the month so far which has moved most species along and resulted in less lingering species.
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