A very late Common Yellowthroat today

 

Common Yellowthroat, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2022

Common Yellowthroat, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2022

Common Yellowthroat, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2022

Marsh Wren, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2022

White tailed Deer, Rail trail, Amherst, MA, Dec 6, 2022

I was out again today before the rain arrived checking more areas for any lingering warblers.  I found a single Yellow rumped Warbler on the 4th in Hadley and hoped to turn up more of them (or perhaps another warbler species if I was really lucky).  This morning I decided to check along the rail trail in Amherst in the slim hopes of turning up a Common Yellowthroat.  I walked for a bit trying to find a Yellow rumped Warbler along the streams near the rail trail without any luck.  I then made it down to the edge of a marsh were I have had late Common Yellowthroats in the past (one in December 2019 and my latest ever date for the species in mid January 2019!).  The marsh was flooded a bit so I knew I would not be able to make it in very far so I tried my luck from the edge.  I pished a couple times and almost immediately heard a Common Yellowthroat start calling!  I then spent the thirty plus minutes or so trying to get some better looks and perhaps a photo of the bird.  The bird would occasionally pop into view but stayed hidden most of the time with occasional calling.  I was able to get a recording right away but getting photos was a tougher mission.  As I was looking for yellowthroat while standing in very cold ankle deep water I heard another scolding call and another rarity popped into view as a Marsh Wren showed up.  This bird was a bit more cooperative for photos.  As I continued to play cat and mouse with the yellowthroat, a White tailed Deer walked down to the edge of the marsh and then walked right up to me.  It was totally oblivious to my presence and not as wary as it should be during hunting season.  I could have almost reached out and touched the deer!  Eventually I got some identifiable photos of the yellowthroat.  I have only had a handful of records of Common Yellowthroat in December in Hampshire County including the one at the same spot in 2019 (mentioned above) and another individual I had on a few days in early December at Arcadia in 2017.  There are only a couple other records in eBird for the species here in December so certainly a great find for the day.