October ends with some warmth and then cold

Pine Warbler, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Pine Warblers, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 22, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 23, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 25, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 25, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 27, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 28, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 29, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 31, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 31, 2023

The last week or so of October has been a bit of a roller-coaster of weather with seasonal conditions followed by record setting warmth for multiple days and then a big cool down to end out the month (of course I caught a bit of a cold when the temps changed!).  I continued to concentrate on tracking down warblers when I had a chance to get out.  Although mainly Yellow rumped Warblers I found a few others including multiple Palm Warblers at a few spots as well as some late Pine Warblers and a Common Yellowthroat today.  Overall I found 16 species for the month with the big diversity early on.  With the arrival of November the diversity will dwindle to perhaps just a few species but the off chance of a big rarity showing up keeps it interesting and keeps me looking.

Wilson on his first walk after surgery, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 27, 2023

A quick update on my boy Wilson.  We finally got to get out and take walks again starting on the 27th as we reached the three week marks since his surgery.  It was nice to be out with him again on the trails.

Warblers for the third week of October

Common Yellowthroat, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 20, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Great Pond, Hatfield, MA, Oct 17, 2023

We have now reached the roughly half way mark of October and the weather is starting to reflect that with cooling temps with the first frost of the season looking to happen early next week following a weekend of rain and wind.  The warbler numbers have dropped off considerably with Yellow rumped Warblers making up most of what I come across now as I continue looking for other species.  There are still a few Palm Warblers and Blackpoll Warblers around but even those are dwindling rapidly in numbers.  I did find a couple slightly late Common Yellowthroats this morning at Wentworth Farm in Amherst before the rain arrived.  The next few days will be less than conducive to tracking down warblers but I will try.  So far for the month I have found a total of 16 species and adding to that total at this point will be tough without a very late lingering species or a rarity from out west.

An even later record late date for Cape May Warbler today

 

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023

Blackpoll Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 15, 2023

After spending a hour and half plus at Winsor Dam watching for waterfowl and raptors being pushed south on the strong north winds, I decided to try to get out of the wind for a bit and see if I could find any warblers.  The last few nights have had fantastic migration conditions and the vast majority of warblers have moved out of the area with the main exception being Yellow rumped Warblers that have become the default warbler most everywhere.  I picked a spot in Belchertown that seemed to be fairly wind free and I started walking and almost immediately came across a few Yellow rumped Warblers.  The big story for the morning was the huge numbers of Ruby crowned Kinglets and slightly lesser numbers of Golden crowned Kinglets and Winter Wrens but still high numbers of those...it was a morning of tiny passerines for sure!  As I was heading out I tried another spot that has turned up good stuff in the past and found the above mentioned species plus a few Blackpoll Warblers and then a very late Cape May Warbler, setting yet another new late date for me for the species (I just broke my previous late date three days ago with one on the 12th).   

More late warblers including new late dates for Ovenbird and Cape May Warbler

Wilson's Warbler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Wilson's Warbler, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Easthampton, MA, Oct 9, 2023

Black and White Warbler, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 11, 2023

Northern Parula, Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River, Hadley, MA, Oct 11, 2023

Cape May Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Ovenbird, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Pine Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 13, 2023

I have not been able to get out much as I would have liked the last few days due to work and being home more to watch Wilson as he recovers from his surgery.  With the little time I did have I concentrated on tracking down warblers and had a handful of late species including a Wilson's Warbler on the 9th at Arcadia, a couple Black and White Warblers and a Northern Parula at Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River on Wednesday morning and my latest ever records for both Cape May Warbler and Ovenbird on the 12th in Belchertown along with two Northern Parula.  On Thursday morning I had a total of nine species of warblers and if I had a bit more time I'm sure I could have ended up with a double digit count. Friday morning I didn't find any late species but did find some other good stuff beyond warblers.

Wilson enjoying the sun, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 12, 2023

It has now been just over a week since Wilson's latest surgery to remove the ruptured tumor on his right front foot and the surgery went well.  The recovery slowly continues and hopefully within a couple more weeks we will be out together again for walks.  For now we just have to wait for the healing process to continue and keep him from licking at the wound site....easier said then done at times.  We hopefully are past the worst of it.

Warblers for the first week of October

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 1, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 1, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 1, 2023

Northern Parula, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 1, 2023

Tennessee Warbler, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 1, 2023

To start the month of October I headed over to Arcadia on a foggy morning after getting out of work.  The night before featured some great migration conditions and lots of birds certainly moved out.  After a little over two hours I had found ten species of warblers with a couple slightly late Cape May Warblers being the highlight as well as above typical counts of Tennessee Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Northern Parula.  I added a couple other species later in the morning during a walk with Wilson bringing the total for the first day of the month up to an even dozen.

American Redstart, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2023

American Redstart, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2023

Blackpoll Warbler, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2023

Northern Parula, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 3, 2023

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2023

I had to work on the 2nd so not much to report from that day.  After getting out of work on the morning of the 3rd I headed over to a foggy Arcadia where a bit of looking in the pea soup turned up just five species of warblers.  I then went across the river to Hadley and the fog continued, although not quite as thick.  No unexpected warblers there unfortunately.  A final stop for the morning in Belchertown found sunny conditions and more warblers with nine species during a short walk.  The transition to most warblers being either Palm Warblers or yellow rumped Warblers was particularly evident starting on this day.

Cape May Warbler, UMASS demonstration forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2023

Black throated Blue Warbler, UMASS demonstration forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2023

Common Yellowthroat, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 4, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Rail trail, Ware, MA, Oct 4, 2023

Wilson on a walk before his surgery the following day, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2023

For Wednesday the morning fog once again made early morning birding a bit tough.  I found a somewhat fog free area in Ware along the rail trail where I spent over an hour and a half and found just four species of warblers.  A brief stop at Quabbin Park found it too foggy so I headed over to another spot in Belchertown and had better luck with sunny conditions and had five species including two late Cape May Warblers travelling together and my first Black throated Blue Warbler of the month.  I also enjoyed a final walk with Wilson before his surgery to remove the ruptured tumor on his front right foot. 

Northern Parula, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 5, 2023

Black throated Green Warbler, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2023

Northern Parula, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2023

Cape May Warbler, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2023

Wilson coming home after surgery, Oct 5, 2023

Wilson's surgery day was the 5th so I didn't get any early morning birding in.  Once we dropped him off and made our way back home I headed out into the fog once again.  Thankfully it was not really foggy early when we were driving to Sturbridge but by the time we made it back home the dense fog had settled in.  I made a few stops before finally finding a fog free location and the birds responded to the sun.  I found a dozen species of warbler at the fog free location including a late Ovenbird, three Cape May Warblers (also late) and three Northern Parula...probably the last time I will have a double digit count for species in a single location around here until next spring.

Common Yellowthroat, UMASS Demonstration Forest, Belchertown, MA, Oct 6, 2023

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2023

Friday turned out to be cloudy with some occasional drizzle so not a great day to try to track down warblers.  We had a follow up appointment with Wilson back down in Sturbridge late in the morning but I had a few hours free early on and despite some effort managed just three species of warbler for the day.  

To end out the first week the weather continued to be less than ideal with overcast conditions and occasional drizzle that continued for the day with heavier rain late in the day.  Just a paltry two species for the effort.

Overall I found 15 species of warbler (sadly no Connecticut Warblers among them).  There is still a chance to add a late species but increasingly the chances continue to drop but the possibility of an out of area rarity goes up.  As an example a first state record of Virginia's Warbler showed up on Cape Cod late yesterday and continued through the day today.