Today was windy and cool and I didn't have really high expectations to begin the morning but given that it is early May there is always the chance for good stuff, especially after the first big influx of warblers that arrived yesterday. I started my morning along the rail trail in Amherst where I had eleven species of warbler with several species just being one or two individuals. After running a few errands I went down to Sweet Alice Conservation Area. I checked my phone when I arrived and saw that Cory had seen a Brewster's Warbler at the location a little earlier. A quick text to him let me know the bird looked to be the returning individual from last year. I quickly found the individual and got some photos. I then decided to try my luck in tracking down a Lawrence's Warbler so I went to an area in Belchertown that has had a Lawrence's Warbler the last couple years. I honestly didn't expect to find it but as I arrived at the location I heard a Blue winged Warbler song and after a little looking I got looks at the Lawrence's Warbler. Both hybrids of Blue winged/Golden winged Warbler in the same morning once again. It is amazing to me how individual birds have such site fidelity and return to the exact same spot year after year after wintering in the tropics. I tried a few other areas in the hopes of finding a Golden winged Warbler but no luck, although I did have a moment at Piper Farm when I thought I had something interesting when I heard a single long song that reminded me of the Golden winged Warbler I found at Quabbin Park back in 2017. The individual turned out to be a typical Blue winged looking bird singing an odd song sometimes.
Yesterday was the first big influx of warblers for the spring season and I ended the day with 21 species. I spent most of the morning at Quabbin Park with 18 species in the park with a large increase in Ovenbird, Black and White Warbler and Black throated Blue Warblers. It was nice to finally have a morning with lots of warblers around. After a few other stops around the local area I headed over to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River mainly looking for the returning Purple Martins. There were certainly warblers around and I added a few more species for the day including my first Wilson's Warbler for the county this spring (no day is really complete without a Wilson's Warbler!). I added a Cape May Warbler at the house late in the afternoon.
The first five days of the month were somewhat slow for migrant warblers due to subpar migration conditions but I still had some good stuff including killer looks at a Cerulean Warbler. The first week of the month produced 23 species of warbler overall for me in the county.
No comments:
Post a Comment