First Connecticut Warbler of the fall

 

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Connecticut Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

I had my first Connecticut Warbler of the fall this morning in the East Meadows while trying in vain to track down a Stilt Sandpiper that I missed by just a few minutes.  The morning featured intermittent rain showers and conditions like this can produce some good shorebirds (and other stuff) forced down by the weather.  After a brief stop at Winsor Dam I headed over to Hadley and was at the Honey Pot looking at shorebirds when I got a text from Ted about a Stilt Sandpiper and headed across the river only to arrive a couple minutes too late.  I then bounced around the area and finally settled on spending a decent amount of time in the East Meadows.  Ted had mentioned he had a Connecticut Warbler in a large cornfield so I had that species in the back of my mind as I walked the various mud filled roads in the meadows.  After my third pass by the cornfield I heard the distinct chip of a Connecticut Warbler and it sounded close.  I got some recordings and then waited and looked for movement.  I came up with a couple Song Sparrows in the area and then eventually the warbler.  It actually showed as well as I have had the species in a few years and I snapped off loads of photos as the bird perched up within the corn perhaps ten feet from me.  Always a great experience to get some up close looks and photos of this typically cryptic species.  Although not the expected spot to find these warblers I have had a few in cornfields in the past and is yet another spot to try when looking for them in fall around here.  The species is just starting to arrive in the area and the prime time is coming up from the mid part of September until the end of the month so worth getting out and looking and listening.  Hopefully I will turn up several more before they make there long flight down to Amazon basin.

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Yellow Warbler, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Sep 11, 2023

In addition to the Connecticut Warbler I had a couple Yellow Warblers as well as several Common Yellowthroats.  Not a ton of diversity for sure but some really good stuff nonetheless.  A walk with Wilson in the drizzly late morning added an Ovenbird and a couple Pine Warblers to the haul for the day.