The first week of October ended warm with some sun as we enjoyed four days in a row with sun and temperatures way above normal in the upper 70's into the low 80's...a last gasp of summer as we continue inevitable slide toward winter and cold temps (and less warblers). Some of the mornings have had some low clouds and fog making photography a bit tough. I have found a number of late individuals of multiple species as well as some oddly plumaged birds (covered in earlier posts here and here). So far for the month I have found 17 species.
I will be presenting a program at the Hampshire Bird Club a week from today...the title of the program is "Endemic Warblers of the Caribbean". The program is free and open to the public...more info at the following link.
The peak of fall warbler migration has now come to an end with the ending of the month of September. It was a great month for warblers with a total of 27 species including four Connecticut Warblers, a Mourning Warbler as well as multiple late species. The end of the month also brought a great influx of Blackpoll Warblers as well as increased numbers of Yellow rumped Warblers and Palm Warblers. I also had Black Bears in various spots for multiple days in a row. October will bring the peak of these two warblers and rapidly decreasing numbers of most of the remaining species. I will be out as much as I can trying to track down late staying warblers, more Connecticut Warblers and with lots of luck, a true rarity from the west.
After a couple days of somewhat rainy weather we returned to mainly sunny and rather warm conditions the last couple days and although the winds were not perfect for migration the last two mornings have produced impressive numbers of Blackpoll Warblers with double digit counts at multiple locations both days...with my highest count at a single spot being 33 in a bit under a mile of walking! I also had above normal counts of Northern Parula, Ovenbird, Cape May Warblers and Chestnut sided Warblers in at least a few spots. This morning had the biggest diversity and numbers with a total of 17 species. We should have continued warmth until a cold front comes in to start off the month of October and I expect to see the next big push after that front.
