Record early Tennessee Warblers and Northern Parula

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Tennessee Warbler (second individual), Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Tennessee Warbler (first individual), Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Prairie Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Northern Parula, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Yellow Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Aug 3, 2023

I headed out this morning to make an early stop over to the East Meadows to look for shorebirds for the month and had some decent luck before a Peregrine Falcon came in and flushed everything and then a thick blanket of fog moved in.  I then headed out of the meadows and looked for a fog free area.  I settled on the Silvio Conte NWR in Hadley.  I knew that Ted had some very early returning warblers there yesterday (his list here) so I figured I would give the spot a try.  Trying to relocate warblers can be a fools errand at times but sometimes you get lucky.  The mosquitoes were a bit annoying and thick during my entire time there even with a liberal spraying of insect repellent.  I walked multiple areas and initially came up with just some Common Yellowthroats and I almost left at that point.  I then decided to give it one more go after the sun continued to warm things up.  I quickly added more warblers with a small group of Yellow Warblers and a Blue winged Warbler.  I then caught sight of a Tennessee Warbler and got a few photos before a Warbling Vireo chased it away.  I moved around a bit to try to relocate it and came across even more warblers with a Prairie Warbler and then a distant Northern Parula and another Tennessee Warbler (a different plumage from the one seen earlier).  Apparently there is an earlier than typical influx of some northern breeding warblers into the northeast and this may be in part due to the ongoing wildfires in Canada.  I did not expect to run across two Tennessee Warblers and a Northern Parula on August 3rd but I was certainly happy to do so.  There is some recent history with both of these species showing up early the last couple years.  Today tied my earliest ever return date for Northern Parula that I also had on this date in 2021 plus I had another early date last year with one on August 8th.  My previous earliest date for Tennessee Warbler in the county was August 8th (last year) so the sighting today marks a new early date for me.  These two early species add to the 19 species I already had in the first two days of the month, giving me an incredible start to the month of August.

Black and White Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 3, 2023

American Redstart, Home, Belchertown, MA, Aug 3, 2023

Once I got home to take Wilson for a walk I walked outside and noticed a decent amount of activity and after a little bit of looking I turned up five species of warbler, with some that are certainly dispersing post breeders.